Ben would never agree to her leaving the White House to meet with her handler. The idea of sneaking out and betraying their still-fragile trust of one another made her stomach turn. But if she could get some information that would protect him—and her parents—it was a risk she would just have to take. A plan was already beginning to hatch in her head. She said a silent prayer that he would forgive her—especially if she could give him information on the traitor.
She named a location close to the White House. A public place where they could both exchange a few words without being noticed. And one she could get to quickly. Her handler agreed to meet her there in thirty minutes. Turning the phone off, she shoved it in one of the cabinets. It was too risky to keep with her. Dorothy might appear to be motherly, but she had the clairvoyance of a Highland witch.
“You’re back,” Josslyn cried when Quinn and Dorothy returned to the sitting area in the residence.
Agent Groesch looked up from the seating chart she was helping organize. The little terrier yapped a few welcome barks.
“Yes.” She sighed as she dropped onto the sofa next to Ben’s friend. “I found it was all too much for me. My anxiety about my parents was causing me to distract Ben.”
The dog trotted over from its bed and began to dance around Quinn’s feet.
“Fergus, leave her alone,” Josslyn commanded.
“It’s okay.” Quinn reached down and played with Fergus’s soft ears. “I need something to divert me.”
“Well you’ve come to the right place.” Agent Groesch indicated the place cards spread on the table in front of them. “Welcome to wedding central.”
“I heard there might be cake samples somewhere,” Dorothy said, sounding hopeful.
“In the kitchen.” Agent Groesch stood and led the other woman in the direction of the family kitchen. “I’ll get us each a piece.”
Josslyn patted her stomach. “None for me. If I sample any more cake, I won’t fit into my dress.”
“I was thinking about the flower arrangements,” Quinn began. “Would it be okay if I snapped a few pictures of the sample the florist created? And I had some more ideas to pass along to her regarding flowers that will accent the roses already in the garden outside.” She was careful not to oversell her plan. “Having something else to focus on will help calm me down a bit.”
“Oh, absolutely,” Josslyn agreed. “Just let me finish with this and we can head downstairs.”
“Take your time,” Quinn replied, trying to keep her foot from tapping in agitation as she felt an imaginary clock ticking.
“You should eat something,” Dorothy suggested when she emerged from the kitchen.
She waved a paper plate with a generous piece of cake in front of Quinn’s nose. Despite looking delicious, she doubted she could get anything past her thick throat.
“Actually, I was going to go down to the florist shop to take some photos first,” she said. “Then I thought we might check out the rose garden. Perhaps we can have some tea and cake there?”
“That sounds perfect. That way you don’t have to sit around waiting for Agent Groesch and me to finish,” Josslyn said. “Can you take her down to the florist shop, Dorothy?”
The older woman eyed Quinn sagely. “Of course.”
“I’ll meet you there shortly,” Josslyn added.
“How about if we meet you in the rose garden?” Quinn suggested. “We’ll bring Marilyn with us and that way I can explain my ideas to both of you at the same time.”
Josslyn’s face lit up. “You’re so sweet to do this when you’ve got so many other things on your mind.”
“It’s a distraction, remember?” Quinn replied with a forced smile.
She hated herself for taking advantage of Ben’s friends. But it was for his own protection. Surely, they would want him kept safe. With luck, none of the women in the room would pick up on the fact she was executing more of a diversion than a distraction.
The floral shop was quiet when she and Dorothy made their way down there. Too quiet. Her heart sank to the soles of her feet. If Marilyn had left already, then there went her ride. But the florist’s keys were still where they’d hung the day before. Quinn sucked in a breath.
“Hullo?” she called.
A moment later, Marilyn appeared from the back of the shop. A broad smile spread over her face when she recognized Quinn.
“Well, hello there,” Marilyn said. “I was hoping you’d find your way back down here. I wanted to pick your brain about the flowers for the service. You have a natural eye for color and nature. If Miss Josslyn can’t go to Africa to get married, I want to bring a little bit of Africa here.”
Quinn’s heart stuttered. What would it be like to have someone care for her so much they’d do anything to make her wedding perfect? To come in from their retirement and work tirelessly to ensure her wedding matched her dream? This lovely woman was indeed the national treasure Josslyn made her out to be.
Too bad Quinn was going to use that kindheartedness against her.
She’d taken advantage of people like Marilyn countless times in her career. Benevolent individuals were typically the easiest marks out there. But this was the first time she felt a wave of guilt while doing so.
The end justifies the means. She would do anything, betray anyone, to keep Ben from harm.
“I’m happy to share my ideas,” Quinn said. “In fact, I had a few thoughts when we passed by the rose garden earlier. Josslyn is going to meet us out there shortly. But first, I wanted to take a few photos of the sample centerpiece.” She made a show of looking around for the camera bag she’d deliberately left upstairs. “Oh, blast. I must have left my camera in the sitting room.”
She looked expectantly at Dorothy. This was the tricky part. If the other woman didn’t bite, she’d have to resort to something a bit more drastic. And she wasn’t sure she could explain away locking the two women in the florist shop’s walk-in fridge.
“I can go get it,” Dorothy surprised her by saying.
“Perfect.” Quinn’s heart was beating out of her chest. “We’ll walk down to the rose garden and meet you there. Maybe you could bring down some cake for Marilyn and we can all enjoy a leisurely chat?”
She was pushing it, she could tell by Dorothy’s dubious expression, but she needed to do whatever she could to buy herself time.
“Oh, cake would be lovely,” Marilyn helped her out by saying. “Especially if Chef Marin made it.”
Dorothy hesitated a long moment. Quinn held her breath.
“Cake it is,” she finally said. She gave Quinn a pointed look. “We’ll see you in the rose garden.”
Quinn waved a jaunty salute then waited patiently until the other woman’s footsteps faded. She quickly turned to the florist.
“Marilyn,” she whispered. “Wouldn’t it be keen if we could get some El-Nino flowers for the rose garden? It would make the wedding feel a lot more like the Serengeti. And the colors would complement the roses perfectly.”
“That would be lovely,” the florist agreed. “But how could we get some here in time?”
“The florist at the botanic gardens is a friend of mine,” she lied. “I spoke to him earlier and he’s willing to let you borrow theirs.”