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  That damn beer.

  “Classified,” Brittany scoffed. “You make it sound like you’re working with the nuclear warhead codes.”

  After her conference call two hours ago, Lanie would have preferred the detonation codes. She made sure no one was nearby, then lowered her voice. “Okay, wrong word choice, but you get the point. Joke all you want, but if this leaks, I’m as good as fired.”

  Her cousin looked dubious. “You’re kidding.”

  “And why do you think we make all the people in the know sign NDAs?”

  “Surely word’s leaked out before the opening of one of those stores.” When she saw Lanie’s warning look, she rolled her eyes. “Calm down. I never even said the name.”

  Margo Benson Boutique.

  Margo Benson designs were sophisticated yet affordable, and there were only fifteen stores in the entire world. Before one opened, secrecy was the absolute name of the game, and Lanie’s job depended on it.

  “You can’t even hint at it.” Lanie’s stomach knotted with anxiety. Britt didn’t need to name the store. The term secret opening was clue enough to cause speculation. Up until today, Lanie had been sure her ruse was working. It had taken a few strings to get everything lined up, but the community seemed to have accepted that the retail space in the nearly century-old outdoor shopping plaza where the boutique was opening was undergoing a structural update.

  But during her earlier conference call from her new West Coast VP, Lanie had found out rumors were floating around that a Margo Benson was going into the Country Club Plaza. A Kansas City Star reporter had called corporate in LA asking for confirmation, but the public relations manager had given her the brush-off, saying there were larger metropolitan areas higher on the potential location list.

  The crisis seemed temporarily averted, but the VP had made her displeasure clear and placed the blame on Lanie. Not that Lanie was surprised. Eve Gaines had made it clear from day one that she planned to come in and put her mark on everything. Which included fixing things that didn’t need to be fixed. It was nothing new. Lanie had been through it several times before, but it didn’t make it any less annoying now.

  “Eve,” Lanie had said, trying to keep her cool, “I realize this is your first Margo Benson opening, but this is my twelfth. The secret openings were easy to pull off the first four or five times, but people are watching now. It’s next to impossible to keep them under wraps.”

  “Are you saying you can’t do the job?” her boss had asked in a sharp tone.

  “I’m saying that I’m having to become more creative. We paid the management of the Plaza a handsome fee to support our cover story.”

  “Well, someone knows that Montgomery Enterprises is opening a store in Kansas City,” Eve countered.

  “They don’t know,” Lanie countered. “They only speculated. For all we know, it was a cold call hoping to strike gold. The same thing happened in Seattle. But I’ll talk to the handful of people who do know tomorrow and remind them of the importance of minding their NDAs.”

  “And remind them that negating those NDAs comes at a steep price.”

  Literally.

  The first two Margo Benson locations had surprise grand openings, and since the brand was so popular, corporate discovered that each new opening was met with greater fanfare than the last. Every city wanted a Margo Benson Boutique, so when the tarps covering the storefront were pulled away on opening day, it was a media phenomenon. The store received publicity they couldn’t buy even if they tried. But keeping the press off the scent and the openings secret had been a nightmare at the last two stores.

  What if she couldn’t pull this one off?

  Britt tugged on Lanie’s wrist. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to the other bridesmaids before I open my gifts. I promise to maintain your cover story.” She winked. “You’re a retail time management consultant and offer suggestions on increasing productivity.”

  Lanie grinned back and shook her head, sending a shooting pain through her skull. She touched her temple in an effort to ease the beginning of a headache. “I love you, Britt, but you know there’s not a domestic bone in my body, so I’m going to beg off watching you open gifts. Toasters and juicers give me the hives.”

  Britt wrinkled her nose. “A juicer? Like I’d ever use a juicer.”

  Lanie paused, then pointed to the present table. “See that white rectangular box with the white bow? Just hide it under the table, and I’ll bring you the receipt when we meet for lunch.”

  “A juicer?” Britt asked with a laugh. “Do you even know me at all?”

  The question was asked in jest, but Lanie turned serious. She and Britt hadn’t gone to the same schools when they were kids, but they’d lived five miles apart and had been best friends until Lanie had headed to the East Coast for college. She’d tried to keep in touch, but her job had gotten in the way. Just like it had gotten in the way of relationships with her past boyfriends and cultivating friendships. As she stared at her cousin and looked around at the backyard full of people who clearly loved Brittany and Randy, Lanie suddenly wondered what she’d sacrificed for the sake of Margo Benson.

  Worry filled Britt’s eyes. “Are you okay?”

  Lanie waved her off. “Just my headache.”

  “Okay, I’ll give you a reprieve this time. You go home, and I’ll fill you in about all my presents when we meet for lunch.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Brio at noon on Thursday,” Britt said. “It’s close to…where you’re working, so you’ll be less likely to back out at the last minute.”

  Lanie didn’t deny it. She’d already cancelled a lunch and a happy hour with her cousin. She vowed to make it this time.

  Britt kissed Lanie on the cheek. “You work too hard. Life’s short, Lanie. Don’t waste it.”

  Lanie watched her cousin walk over to Randy, snagging his hand and pulling him toward the present table. Adoration filled his eyes as he gazed down at his bride-to-be.

  Lanie had sacrificed this. And until this afternoon, it had been worth the price.

  Now she wasn’t so sure.

  Chapter Three

  On Wednesday morning, Tyler was supposed to be preparing for a deposition, but his mind kept wandering again to the mystery woman in the garage. He’d seen her talking to Brittany when he’d brought out the ice to Holly. She’d left soon after, and he’d never found out who she was—not that he’d tried very hard. He hadn’t dared asked Britt, and the few people he’d questioned had no idea.

  It hadn’t stopped him from thinking about her. In his bed. And in his shower. And even on his kitchen counter.

  And it bothered the shit out of him.

  Of course he’d had his share of daydreams and fantasies, but he’d never had so many of just one woman. Tyler was an equal-opportunity fantasizer. But then, he’d never gone five months without sex either. Maybe the two were related.

  “Hey, Tyler.” Victor Minecroft, one of the associates at Goldman, Taylor, Hughes, and Evans, stood in his doorway. “What can you tell me about your case a few years ago, the one about the real estate contract.”

  Tyler gave him a sardonic grin. “That narrows it down to about twenty.”

  “The one with the noncompete lease.” When Tyler continued staring at him, Victor added, “The case with the hot blonde.”

  “Oh.” Tyler nodded with a grin. “That one.”

  “You totally screwed her, didn’t you?”

  Leaning back in his chair, Tyler picked up his pen and clicked the top. “I would never hook up with a client.” Then he grinned. “But after I won, we might have had a celebratory evening.”

  “You’re the man, Norris.”

  He used to be that man. He’d slept with a lot of women, never forming any deep attachments. And that’s exactly how he’d preferred it. Then last spring, he’d decided he was thirty-three and it was time to settle down. So he’d found a woman who had seemed normal, if not boring. He’d been so wrong.

  As thoug
h Victor could read his mind, he asked, “Hey, what ever happened with your crazy ex?”

  Tyler tried to hide his unease, shifting in his seat. “Which one?”

  “You know, the one who tied you to your bed naked.” Tyler didn’t respond, but Victor didn’t seem to get the hint. “Didn’t she have a shrine with your pictures and your underwear in her apartment?” He chuckled. “I heard she hung a few condoms around it, too.”

  Everything but the condoms was true, but Tyler didn’t care to get into the specifics. He narrowed his eyes. “Do you have a point?”

  Victor had never been a very perceptive guy. God only knew how he’d gotten this far in their competitive, four-partner, twenty-associate law firm. Tyler was sure it had something to do with the fact that his uncle was a founding partner. But Victor seemed to finally understand this was unwelcome territory. “Was she convicted?”

  “Probation…and a restraining order.”

  “That’s all?”

  Tyler had been the one to push for probation and a psych evaluation. He was certain she wouldn’t have hurt him. She was just looking for someone to love her. He just hadn’t been that person. He was pretty sure he was incapable of loving anyone. He was too damn selfish.

  Tyler cleared his throat. “Back to the Carothers case. What exactly are you looking for?”

  “What precedent did you use to get the tenant kicked out?”

  “Higgens versus Clark.”

  “Thanks,” Victor said as he turned to leave.

  “Is it a commercial space?”

  Victor glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah. A retail store on the Plaza.”

  Tyler was about to ask him for more details—while he’d used the precedent, the Carothers case had been tricky, so he’d used it in an unorthodox way—but his cell phone rang with a number he didn’t recognize. And Victor was already halfway down the hall.

  “Tyler Norris.”

  “Tyler, this is Principal Carter at Blue Springs High School. I’m not sure if you remember me.”

  Tyler released a chuckle. “Mr. Carter, you’re pretty hard to forget, considering how much time I spent in your office.”

  The older man laughed. “I was a brand-new assistant principal your freshman year. You gave me plenty of disciplinary experience to help bump me up to principal.”

  Tyler grinned. “I’m sure I deserved every punishment you doled out.”

  “Maybe so, but you’ve turned into a man your father should be proud of.”

  Ah…there was another touchy subject. “I suspect you didn’t call about my previous bad behavior.”

  “You’re right. I’m calling about your brother Eric.”

  “Is he okay?” Common sense told Tyler he was, otherwise the principal would have led with that, but he couldn’t imagine why Mr. Carter was calling him.

  “He’s physically fine, but he’s in some trouble.”

  Tyler rubbed his temple. “Uh…no offense, Mr. Carter, but why are you calling me?”

  “I can’t get ahold of your father. In fact, I’ve tried to reach your father for the past two weeks, and he hasn’t returned any of my phone calls. Since you’re listed as Eric’s emergency contact, I’m now contacting you.”

  Tyler’s father had devoted most of his time to his auto repair shop and hadn’t been the most attentive parent, even after their mother left when Tyler was sixteen, but he’d always responded to the schools. And Tyler had raised plenty of hell in high school to prove that to be true. “What’s Eric done?”

  “We’re only two weeks into the school year, and Eric’s already falling behind in several of his classes. His teachers say he’s apathetic, not turning in assignments and skipping classes.”

  Tyler resisted the urge to say, That’s all? Hell, he’d done much worse during his time at Blue Springs High School. “No offense, Mr. Carter, but isn’t that typical teenage boy behavior?”

  “Not for Eric. Until the beginning of the school year, he was the model student. Turned in his work on time. Respectful of his teachers. Straight-A student and decent basketball player, given the fact that he was just a sophomore last year. But his teachers see a change in his attitude. He hasn’t turned in a single assignment.”

  “No offense,” Tyler said, “but why are you calling me instead of our brother Alex? Given my high school history, I’m not actually the best role model for Eric.”

  “Which is exactly why I’m calling you. I thought you might be able to get through to him, since you went through the same thing yourself. Maybe you can give him some insight to pull him out of this.”

  Tyler’s relationship with his younger brother was far from close. He’d seen him twice over the entire summer and both times had been when Alex coerced them to meet for dinner at Olive Garden.

  “With all due respect, Mr. Carter,” Tyler said, “you and my two best friends were what pulled my head out of my—” He cut off the curse, remembering who he was talking to, but it didn’t make the statement any less true. When Mr. Carter had threatened expulsion after a senior prank gone wrong, Kevin and Matt took him to the secluded camping spot Kevin’s father had taken him to on their monthly camping trips and threatened to beat the shit out of him until he admitted he was screwing up his life. The sad truth was that Tyler hardly knew anything about his kid brother’s life. Did Eric have friends who would have his back like that?

  “Eric’s a bright young man and reminds me a lot of you,” Mr. Carter said. “You seem to be doing well for yourself. You harnessed your powers for good instead of evil.”

  Tyler laughed. “I just applied my deviousness to my career. My clients tend to appreciate it, although their opponents not so much.”

  “Let’s hope you can convince your brother to do the same.”

  Tyler hung up, not overly concerned. Principal Carter had been right. Tyler had been a much worse fuck-up in high school, and he’d turned out pretty well. Eric was a smart boy. He was just testing his boundaries.

  Still, it wouldn’t hurt to talk to his brother. He set an alarm on his phone to call Eric when he got out of school, but Eric beat him to it.

  “I hear Mr. Carter called you,” Eric said, sounding pissed.

  Nothing like cutting to the chase. “You heard right.”

  “So are you gonna lecture me?”

  Tyler released a sigh. “Look, I’m not your dad, but I will say this…It’s okay to screw off every once in a while, but Jesus, moderation, dude. You can’t blow off everything.”

  “Yeah, okay…”

  “So…is it a girl?”

  “What?”

  “You’re trying to impress a girl, right?”

  Eric was silent for several seconds until he finally said hesitantly, “Yeah…right.”

  Tyler grinned. Maybe Eric was more like him than he thought. “Look, I know this bad-boy routine is new for you, but you have to figure out what you can get away with and what you can’t. You have to make some effort at school, okay?”

  “Yeah. Thanks.” His brother was silent for several seconds. “Alex is coming over to watch the MU football game on Saturday. Want to come over?”

  “I’ve got plans,” Tyler said as his assistant walked into his office and handed him a file. “Maybe some other time.”

  “Yeah. Right,” Eric grunted before he hung up.

  Tyler often turned down Norris brother events, but he had a real excuse this time. Brittany had some wedding activity planned.

  He’d love nothing more than to tell Brittany no, but she and Randy had been there for Tyler after his crazy stalker incident, and he felt like he owed her.

  Tyler set his phone on his desk as Victor popped his head in the doorway. “Thanks again for the case reference. We filed an injunction this afternoon, and the papers should be served tomorrow morning. I owe you. If you need something, just tell me what it is.”

  Tyler waved his hand as he turned to his computer screen. “Thanks. I’ll file that away for future use.” Victor’s Royals season tickets
came to mind.

  If only he could get his phone call with his brother out of his head. Tyler had screwed around in high school and turned out just fine. Eric would too, right?

  Chapter Four

  Thursday afternoon, Lanie stood impatiently at a street corner as she waited for the light to change. A quick glance at her phone confirmed that it was 2:03, one minute later than the last time she’d checked.

  The pedestrian walk signal popped on, and she ran across the pavement, an impressive feat given her three-inch heels. She glanced up at the entrance of Brio and saw her cousin standing in the open doorway.

  Brittany quirked an eyebrow. “You’re late. Even after you postponed our lunch for two hours.”

  Lanie held her hands out at her sides. “I’m sorry. This morning’s been crazy.”

  “And apparently your afternoon, too.” Brittany gave her a mocking glare, then laughed. “I’m just glad you showed up at all.”

  Feeling terrible, Lanie followed Britt inside. The hostess led them to their table. When they were settled, Lanie said, “So…tell me all about your gifts from the shower.”

  Britt laughed. “You should have stayed. You might have actually enjoyed a few of them.” She picked up her water glass. “It was a couple’s shower, and some of the gifts fit the theme.”

  “Oh,” Lanie teased. “Did you get a few naughty things?”

  “A copy of the Kama Sutra.”

  “Tame.”

  “His-and-hers dildos.”

  That got her attention. “When you say his-and-hers…how can you tell? Maybe they just gave you a variety…of sex toys,” Lanie suggested with a grin as she picked up her water and took a sip.

  “Because they were pink and blue…and engraved with our names.”

  Lanie sputtered water onto the table and started coughing. “I’m sorry, did you say they were engraved with your names? Who gave you that?”

  “Celesta. She’s one of my bridesmaids. I need to apologize for her in advance…but she’s Randy’s cousin, and his mother insisted we include her in the wedding.”