Then, because that sounded so dire, Gretchen burst into tears.
“Oh my goodness,” Audrey said, hurrying forward. The motherly tone was in her voice—ironic, considering that Gretchen was older. “What are you talking about?”
“Come sit down,” Daphne soothed. Her hand went to Gretchen’s arm and she gently steered her toward one of the chaises peppering the study. “You’ve just got bridal nerves. Everyone gets that.”
“It’s nerves,” Gretchen agreed, wiping her face with her hand. “And . . .” She thought back to the woman in Hunter’s office the other day. “I think someone’s trying to blackmail him into not marrying me.”
“What? How could someone possibly not want him to marry you?”
“Right?” Gretchen wailed. “I’m fucking fabulous!”
Daphne rubbed Gretchen’s back. “What do you mean, blackmail?”
So Gretchen cried and blew her nose in the tissue Audrey handed her, and told the story. About how the woman had sauntered into Hunter’s office with pictures of some kind, and their conversation had been suspicious, and it was clear that whatever it was, the blackmailer was putting a high price tag on things that Hunter didn’t want to pay. “It’s awful,” Gretchen declared. “I can’t believe someone’s blackmailing my sweet Hunter.”
The twins were silent.
Gretchen blew her nose again. When they remained silent, she got suspicious. “What?”
“Is it possible . . .” Daphne began delicately.
“. . . That he’s cheating on you?” Audrey’s voice was no-nonsense. “And that’s what the blackmail is about?”
“What?” Gretchen gasped and lurched to her feet. She pushed off their well-meaning arms. “No! Absolutely not! Hunter would never look at another woman. He loves me.” She shook her head. “You guys are insane. That man worships the ground I walk on.” After all, she’d punched Hunter’s V-card for him. She’d helped him start to get out of Buchanan Manor every now and then instead of hiding away from the world. He’d bred roses for her. He’d refused to get a prenuptial agreement repeatedly even though Gretchen had suggested it. He loved her. More than anything.
She knew him, and she knew that wasn’t it. She shook her head. “It has to be blackmail of some kind.” She turned to Daphne, a beseeching look on her face. “You’re the expert. What should I do?”
“Me?” Daphne put her hands on her chest. “How am I the expert on blackmail?”
Audrey snort-giggled.
Daphne shot her an irritated look.
Gretchen waved all of that aside. “Not on blackmail. On being sneaky. On men. This one here’s terrible at dating.” She gestured at Audrey. “Married the first guy that looked in her direction.”
“Hey,” Audrey protested. “Why are we bagging on me suddenly? And I’ll have you both know that Reese is amazing. He’s got the baby today and hasn’t complained a bit.”
“How is the baby?” Daphne’s expression was wistful. “Do you have pictures?”
Audrey hesitated. Then, she pulled out her phone and began to scroll through. “I’m not very good at taking photos, but here’s one of—”
“Hey, can we focus on me here?” Gretchen snapped. “The woman in crisis? Hello?”
“Sorry,” Daphne said, but she didn’t put the phone down as Audrey reached over and flipped through photos. “What do you want to do, Gretchen? I’m happy to help, whatever it is. Do you need me to hire you a private investigator?”
Gretchen shook her head. “I get married in a matter of days. I just . . .” she wrung her hands, shredding the tissue she was holding. “I want to help him and he won’t talk to me.”
“You want my advice?” Audrey asked. “Maybe it’s not blackmail at all. Maybe you’re just misunderstanding.”
“Sure sounded like blackmail,” Gretchen said dubiously. She thought of the woman’s smug look as she walked in. The look of horror on Hunter’s face as he glanced over at Gretchen. He . . . looked like a man caught. But he loved her. She knew that and she didn’t doubt it in the slightest. It had to be something, but what? “I just want him to talk to me about it. Whatever it is, we can work it out together.”
“Seduction,” Daphne said, flipping through the pictures on the phone. A high-pitched squeal escaped her a moment later. “Oh my god, look at her face! She’s so cute, Aud!” She touched her cheek, a teary expression on her face. “She looks just like you. And me. Oh crap, this is too much.”
Audrey’s firm mouth twitched a little, tension easing. “I think she looks like Reese.”
“What do you mean, seduction?” Gretchen asked, snapping her fingers. “Can we focus?”
“Sorry,” both twins said at once, and then exchanged a startled look.
Daphne cleared her throat a moment later. “I mean, seduce it out of him. Wild, dirty sex. If it’s something that’s bothering him, he’ll feel guilty. And most men aren’t able to keep a secret when a woman’s going down on him.”
Audrey hmmed. “She does have a point.”
Gretchen rubbed her hands. “Okay, so attack Hunter the moment I see him. Like that’ll be hard? I do that anyhow.”
“Yes, but kick things up a notch,” Daphne advised. “Turn it up to eleven. And then withhold from him.”