Touch of Paradise. Dara Girard
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me around a bit while I look into what’s going on.”
Harvey unfolded his damp handkerchief and wiped his forehead, his cheeks and his neck, then crumpled it in his fist. This was the news he didn’t want to deliver. “That’s the problem.”
Aaron stilled. “What is?”
“Your mother needs you to be in charge.”
“Me? Why?”
“She broke her ankle while vacationing in Switzerland and won’t be able to be here, either.”
Wethers looked out the window at the swaying palm trees and said in a low voice, “How convenient.”
“It doesn’t sound very convenient to me.”
Wethers shifted his gaze back to Harvey. “You missed the ring of sarcasm. I’ll try to be clearer next time.” He tapped a finger against his lips and said in a quiet voice, “I wonder what those two are up to?”
“I really think your sister’s frightened.”
“Then why didn’t she tell me directly?”
“She didn’t think you’d believe her. And this event is very important to her. This new designer is making waves around the globe. Red Beacon Villa Resorts will make a name for itself hosting the Cromwell Collection.”
“I don’t care what his name is—”
“Her. Her name is Rebecca Cromwell,” Harvey continued, ignoring Aaron’s obvious boredom with the topic.
Aaron stared at him for a long moment, making it clear he didn’t care.
Harvey swallowed. He hated when Wethers pinned him with that penetrating look. “I just thought you should know.”
“Tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“What you really think. Should I be concerned?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Harvey said, relieved that at least that was the truth. “There are a lot of people involved in this event—volunteers, caterers, photographers, the stage crew, the stylists. Mistakes are bound to happen.”
“You’re giving me excuses, not an opinion. What do you really think?”
“I think that if what Candace believes is true, we have a serious problem because things seem to be escalating. The corrupted file and lost props were an annoyance, but tampering with the model’s makeup makes things more dangerous. Only the top three models were affected, and they were to be the key draw for the event, since one of them is a local girl. If anything else goes wrong, it’s possible we’ll have to cancel.”
“I’m not going to let that happen. We may have lost three days, but we have eleven days left.”
“Yes, sir,” Harvey said, feeling his heart cheer. He knew Wethers would do whatever it took to save the show.
“I want to meet with security in an hour.”
“Yes.” Harvey nodded, then left the room, wiping his forehead again when his phone rang. “Hello?”
“What does he think?” Candace Wethers said.
Harvey lowered his voice. “You should have told him yourself.”
“You know I couldn’t. Was he angry?”
“Yes, at first, then he said he’ll look into it.”
“Did you tell him about Rebecca?”
“Only briefly. I thought it best to focus on the show. I don’t think he’ll believe she’s the one being targeted. Besides, there’s no proof.”
“I know, but I just have a bad feeling about this. I think whoever is trying to sabotage the show is trying to hurt her.”
“You think her life’s in danger?”
Candace sighed. “I really don’t know. It doesn’t make sense, but I have a horrible feeling that Rebecca could get hurt in more ways than one.”
“Do you think perhaps we should reschedule or cancel the show?”
“No,” she said quickly. “Don’t even think that. I know that Aaron can do this.”
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
Candace laughed in a way that made Harvey nervous. “I always know what I’m doing.”
* * *
Aaron studied the lizard sunning on his windowsill. “If it were just Candace and my mother I wouldn’t care much, but it’s not like H.C. to worry,” he said, talking to the creature. “I can’t have that, but Candace knew I wanted to stay out of this fashion thing.” Was she faking this crazy story about sabotage? No, it would be too easy to verify. And she wouldn’t leave a key event, like a high-profile fashion show, just to annoy him. Although he wouldn’t put much past her. She liked to get her way and thought his life was dull. Was this her way of adding some spice?
The lizard looked at him briefly, then darted away. Aaron rested his hands on the window frame and looked out at the ocean. Was it wrong to want a quiet, simple life? His sister always wanted more. More friends, more excitement, more fun. That’s why she trotted across the globe while he stayed on St. James, raising his son. She was the creative one in the family. She was the one who loved fashion and art. She was beautiful, reckless, changeable and irresistible. He’d idolized her so much as a child that, as a grown man, he’d married a woman similar to her, and that had been a disaster.
His marriage to Ina Margarita Sheldon had shown him just how much he and his sister were dissimilar. He was practical and rational and would never change, although his sister continued to try to encourage him to do so. He remembered their conversation last month as they sat on the veranda of the main house, where he and his son lived. His mother and sister each had their own separate small three-bedroom chalet, located several hundred feet away from his residence, but Candace always liked to stop by to chat, scold or tease him, depending on her mood.
“You can do better,” she said, nibbling on a fresh slice of melon. A large pink pinwheel hat shaded her face.
“What are you talking about?” Aaron asked as he watched his sister make her way through the plate full of fruit.
“Mary, the new woman you’re seeing.”
Aaron shook his head and speared a mango cube. “Her name is Martha Banyan.”
“And she’s a librarian.”
“She’s a teacher.” He pointed his fork at her. “I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“I’m glad you did. I would have found out anyway. You know news travels fast on this island. I just know you can do better.”
Aaron set his fork down, no longer interested in eating. “I thought you’d be impressed.”
“Impressed by what? Plain, boring, dull—”
“She’s pretty and sweet.”
“I wasn’t talking about how she looks. I was talking about her clothes.”
“Not all women are interested in fashion like you, or can afford to change their wardrobe every season.”
Candace made a face. “There’s no need to exaggerate.”
Aaron grinned. “I thought I was being conservative.”
Candace rolled her eyes and swung her foot. “She’s just not the right one for you.”
Aaron sat back and folded his arms, trying to keep his tone neutral, although his sister’s criticism bothered him. “I thought you’d at least be happy for me. You’re the one who’s been pressuring me to start dating again.”
“Settling