“Katrina,” she said. “I remember you. I’m Alicio’s assistant.”
“Oh. Right. Sorry.”
“No omelet?” Sasha said, rubbing her fingernails across the silk of her robe. “I asked Elaine for an omelet.”
I froze. “The kitchen is pretty busy with all the wedding food prep; I’m sure this is the best Elaine could manage.”
“That’s right. I’d forgotten.” She eyed my figure and picked at the corner of one of the muffins. “You’re one of those women who think carbs are an acceptable choice.”
Think of Paige. Think of Paige. Think of Paige. “The coffee’s still hot,” I said, nudging the mug toward her.
“When are you coming back to New York?” Sasha asked, finally picking up the coffee.
I swallowed. “Um, I’m not sure exactly.”
“Well, when you do, come and see me first. You know how much I appreciate your attention to detail, and you were such a great assistant. Maybe we can talk about you getting your job back.” The woman was actually serious.
“I’d like that,” I lied. Apparently my groveling the week before had done its job.
Over the next hour, Sasha’s bridesmaids arrived, and I became the go-to errand girl. To the kitchen for more muffins—seemed carbs weren’t so offensive after all—and several bottles of champagne. To the store for more bobby pins, except I didn’t go to the store. I just went to Alex’s car and retrieved my own stash. To the back door to meet the florist who was delivering the bouquets. By noon, my feet were killing me and possibly all for nothing. Sasha hadn’t left the room one single time. And she had to be minutes away from putting on her dress; the wedding started in less than two hours. I had to act. And fast.
Back in the room, I put the flowers on the bed and pulled out my phone to text Alex. There was a message from him already waiting for me.
Decoy is upstairs. Linen closet across the hall.
You’re my favorite, I texted back. Is Alicio back?
Just now, he responded. I’m waiting for Victor to leave him alone, then I’ll confront him. Are you ready?
My stomach tightened. It was now or never. Ready, I responded. Let’s do this.
I felt both completely invigorated—one doesn’t get to star in her own spy movie every day—and completely nauseous all at the same time. I looked around the room, trying to calculate my first move. The room bustled with activity and no one was particularly paying me very much attention, but if I up and grabbed the dress, hanging on the outside of the closet door across the room, and walked out, someone was going to notice.
Sasha’s phone rang. She reached for it, a flash of something like anger crossing her features before she stood and hurried to the balcony where she answered the call.
I only wasted a second wondering who had called her and why it had seemed to bother her so much. I didn’t care why she was upset. I didn’t care about anything but getting Paige’s dress and getting as far away from the LeFrancs as possible. Digging deep to find my very best acting skills, I crossed the room and reached for the dress.
I had an excuse at the ready—Elaine had texted me and asked that I bring the dress to her for one more quick steaming before Sasha put it on—but no one even asked. I’d been helping them all morning. I’d apparently earned their trust. Or, maybe just their disinterest.
I paused outside the door, heart hammering in my ears and took a deep breath. Almost there. Crossing to the linen closet, I pulled it open. Towels, towels, towels, sheets, sheets, sheets. No dress. I scanned the shelves up and down, shifting things this way and that, but it’s not like a wedding dress is an easy thing to hide. There was nothing in that closet.
“Looking for this?”
I spun around. Elaine stood behind me, the decoy dress, in all its tacky glory hanging from her hand.
“Um . . . I . . .” I had nothing. No explanation. No reason for why I’d hidden a spare wedding dress in a linen closet. Or why I had Sasha’s actual wedding dress in my hand.
Elaine stepped toward me, fire in her eyes. “I think you better tell me what you’re up to.”
“It’s not what you think,” I said, taking a step back. Except, it probably was. It didn’t take a genius to realize I was trying to swap out one dress for the other.
Before either of us could say another word, Sasha’s door flew open and the bride herself tumbled into the hallway, her cell phone still in her hand. Her eyes darted from me to Elaine, then back again. I pulled Paige’s dress tighter against my chest.
“Solomon, dear,” she said into her phone. “Find Alicio. Tell him we have a problem upstairs.”
I stilled. Solomon. Solomon her brother who was helping her embezzle funds? It wasn’t a very common name. But that meant . . . Solomon knew Alicio?
Time slowed. With sickening clarity, everything clicked into place.
Alicio hadn’t caught Sasha in her embezzling because Alicio was in on it. That’s why he’d threatened Alex when he’d come close to discovering the truth. He wasn’t trying to defend Sasha. He was trying to protect himself. I didn’t have any hard and fast evidence, just a feeling in my gut. But I was right. I knew I was right. Which meant the conversation Alex was about to have with Alicio was going to go very differently than Alex expected.
“You little sneak,” Sasha said, her voice low and menacing. “You better give that to me right now.”
I took another step backward. “No.” It was stupid to back up. I was cornered. The only way out of the house was to get through Sasha and Elaine. What did I think I was going to do? Fight her for it? Six months ago, I might have argued I was capable of out-punching the impeccably dressed Sasha Wellington. I mean, she didn’t even like to open her own coffee creamer for fear of breaking a nail. But I had a feeling I’d underestimated the Alabama-born and bred Sally Mabel Rivers. If she’d made it this far, she was used to fighting for what she wanted. Fist for fist? I didn’t stand a chance.
“You seriously think I’m going to let you walk out of here with that dress? Are you completely delusional? You’re a nobody. One phone call and Elaine could have this whole place on lockdown. You’re not going anywhere.”
“I know who you are,” I said, willing my hands to stop trembling. “I know who you are, and I know what you’ve done.”
She narrowed her gaze. “You don’t know anything.”
My Bluetooth buzzed in my ear and I reached up, answering the call in a move that I hoped looked like I was simply tucking back a loose curl. Isaac’s voice filled my ear. “I’m at the back door ready and waiting.”
I closed my eyes. I could make a run for it. Push past Elaine and try and make it to Isaac before security could slow us down. But that would leave Alex on his own. And the thought of that? Suddenly the dress didn’t seem all that important.
Paige had already forgiven me once. She didn’t need the dress to know how much I loved her.
My hands dropped and the dress slid to the floor. “I have to go,” I said softly.
Katrina appeared in the bedroom doorway, my clutch and phone in hand. “Heads up,” she said, before tossing them my direction. Whether she was actually trying to help me, or just be rid of me sooner, I’d never know. But as I raced down the hallway toward Alex, I hardly cared. I had to stop him. I had to keep him from humiliating himself in front of Alicio. At the bottom of the stairs, I scrambled for my phone. Isaac was still on the line.