“The last time Marcus made our costumes, you looked like a nun.”
“I was a nun.”
Gabrielle shrugged as if that were utterly beside the point. “Besides”—Kat heard the teasing tone in her cousin’s voice again—“you’ve got legs.”
“Thanks,” Kat said flatly.
“What’s wrong? Are you afraid your men might notice?”
“What men?”
“You know…” Gabrielle teased. “Your boyfriends . . . Hale and the new kid.”
“Hale’s not my boyfriend,” Kat blurted.
“Of course not.” Gabrielle rolled her eyes. “Hale is definitely not your boyfriend.”
“But you just said—”
“Let’s face it, Kitty Kat. Of all the men you’ve known in your life, Hale’s the first guy who could be your boyfriend.” Kat started to protest, but Gabrielle silenced her with a hand. “And a tiny little part of that great big mind of yours has always thought that someday he would be your boyfriend.”
Kat wanted to deny it, but she’d forgotten how to speak.
“Turn,” Gabrielle commanded, but Kat didn’t move. She just watched her cousin finish. “And Nick . . . well, Nick’s the new Hale.”
“No”—Kat’s voice was as sharp as the pins in Gabrielle’s hand—“he’s not.”
Gabrielle raised her eyebrows. “Well then, maybe you should make sure the old Hale knows that.” Kat stood perfectly still for a long time, thinking about the guys in her life: the ones she could trust and the ones she could con, wondering if she really knew the difference—wondering if, in that respect, she’d ever be as wise as Gabrielle.
“Do you like Nick?” Kat asked timidly. “I mean . . . do you trust him?”
Kat felt her cousin’s hands fall away from the skirt. “Those, Kat my dear, are two very different questions. Why do you want to know?”
“Do you remember that day I was late coming back from the Henley—the day before I met Nick? I saw Taccone that afternoon. He gave me these—”
“Excuse me, miss?”
Kat turned to see Marcus in the doorway of the dressing room, holding a massive bouquet of roses and lilies and orchids so rare that Kat imagined they must have been stolen from nature itself.
Gabrielle squealed and ran toward them. “Oooh! Sven!” she cried, reaching for the card. But then she stopped. A shadow seemed to fall across her face. “They’re for you.”
Her cousin tried to hand her the card, but Kat stood back, staring. Something told her that nothing that beautiful ever came without some kind of string attached, so she didn’t reach for the flowers. She didn’t want to listen as Gabrielle started to read.
“‘I was sorry to hear that your father is currently unavailable. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to seeing you very soon. Yours, A. Taccone.’”
The room was suddenly cold, the smell of the flowers overpowering. Gabrielle seemed like the wisest person in the world as she sighed and said, “Sometimes I really hate boys.”
2 Days Until Deadline
Chapter 29
La Casa di Vetro was neither Rome’s most expensive restaurant nor its most exclusive, but Kat could see why it was Arturo Taccone’s favorite. There were no tourists here, no crowds—only decadent smells and soft candlelight. But as she walked through the intimate dining room, she thought back to the look on Abiram Stein’s face as he’d stared at Two Boys Running Through a Field of Haystacks, and she remembered that the man at the small secluded table in the corner was evil. It didn’t matter that they were in one of the greatest restaurants in the world; he was still a common criminal.
But then again, Kat realized, so was she.
“Hello, Katarina.” Taccone smiled as Kat settled into her chair. His eyes passed to Gabrielle, who stood, arms crossed, three feet away. “And who is this?” he asked, appraising the beautiful girl with cold disinterest.
“She’s the muscle,” Kat answered simply.