CHAPTER 4
“MORE ORANGE JUICE, GRACE?” Frances refilled her guest’s glass even before the poor girl could answer the question, then went ahead and spooned out an additional serving of eggs. Apparently just in case Grace forgot that she was starving.
Kyle worked to hide his smile. From the moment he and Grace had walked through the door, Frances had assumed they were an item. He hadn’t bothered to disabuse her of the notion, and so his aunt was going all out to make sure that Grace was welcomed into the family.
Any other woman might sink under the table and pray for sweet oblivion. Not Grace. She was holding her own with Frances, and Kyle wondered again if she was as much of a con artist as she was a thief.
The thought reminded him of why they were there, and he finished the last of his own juice—Frances hadn’t bothered to refill his glass—and then put his napkin next to his plate.
Frances noticed the gesture. “Finished?” Her expressionturned concerned. “You two aren’t leaving already, are you? You just got here.”
“Of course not,” Kyle said. “We came to chat. After Grace met Emily last night she realized that meant that my aunt wastheFrances Dormand, and she was dying to meet you.”
“He’d originally told me your name was Frances McIntyre,” Grace said. “It wasn’t until I met Emily that I made the connection. You’re one of my favorite character actresses, and, well, I begged Kyle to introduce me.”
They’d come up with the story during the drive to the house. They didn’t really need an excuse, of course, but considering that he was only supposed to be helping Grace to change a flat tire, they’d decided that it made the most sense to have some sort of story in place.
He could tell from Frances’s expression that the plan was a good one. In a world where Emily tended to get all the attention, a little bit of fawning in Frances’s direction went a long way.
“McIntyre’s my married name,” Frances said. “God rest his soul, Daniel was an old-fashioned man, and he wanted me to take his name and retire after we married. He was the chairman of a huge conglomerate, and appearances were important tohim. I did, of course.” She patted Grace’s hand. “Those were different days back then.”
Grace smiled. “I don’t see anything wrong with that. Not if you made the choice out of love.”
Once again, Frances beamed, and Kyle felt an absurd sense of pride. Ridiculous, since he wasn’t really there to show Grace off to his aunt.
Deliberately, he pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. “I promised Grace I’d show her the upstairs den. And then maybe take her on a tour of the house. Is that okay?”
“Of course. Of course.” Frances waved an arm in the general direction of the upstairs den. “All my old movie stills are hanging in that room.”
“I can’t wait to see them,” Grace said. The plan was to get Frances in that room and then while she regaled Grace with stories of the past, Kyle would slip out and put the necklace back into the safe in her bedroom.
“You two go on ahead,” Frances said. “My arthritis is acting up. I’ll just stay down here and have coffee.”
Kyle frowned. Frances hadn’t complained about her knee in years. “Are you okay?”
“Of course, of course. Just wear and tear.”
He wasn’t entirely convinced, but he couldn’t argue with good fortune. If Frances stayed downstairs,he and Grace wouldn’t have to worry about sneaking away to replace the necklace. All in all, the situation couldn’t have been better even if he’d planned it.
Grace caught his eye, and he half shrugged, then held out his hand to her. “Come on. I’ll give you the nickel tour.”
“I really would like to see the den,” Grace said, as soon as they were out of earshot of Frances. “Frances wasn’t ever as big as Emily, but she really is one of my favorites.”
“I’m sure she’d appreciate knowing that,” Kyle said. Frances’s second-tier status had been at the heart of a long-standing family feud. Even her superior financial position after she’d married Daniel McIntyre hadn’t mended the fences. Frances’s biggest dream had been to win an Oscar, and Emily had never let her sister forget that she’d been the one to take them home. It was petty and stupid and, at this point, Kyle was pretty certain the feud was fueled more by habit than by any true ill will.
“Let’s offload the necklace first,” he said. “We can look at the den on our way back down.”
As they headed for Frances’s bedroom, he kept listening for footsteps, sure she’d change her mind and follow. But he heard nothing, and they ended up in her overly floral room all alone.
He shut the door behind him. “The safe’s behind the Monet.”
Grace squinted at the painting. “Is that real?”
“Far as I know.”
“Wow.”
He waited. She did nothing. “Grace. The painting.”
