Deidra nodded.
“What time does your plane leave?”
“The de Laurent jet takes off tonight at six.”
Nick looked like someone had stuck a pin in his favorite balloon. “I’m kidding myself,” he said, shaking his head.
“Why?” Deidra asked, her tone carried a measure of hope. Obviously, Deidra knew something he didn’t. Lecie liked him. In fact, Deidra suspected that Lecie was in love with Nick.
“She and I come from different worlds. She has a private jet at her disposal. I couldn’t afford a deeply discounted ticket in coach.” He shook his head, looking like he’d lost his best friend. “Her family would never accept me.”
“Do you not remember her sisters-in-law?” Deidra asked.
“Yes.” He nodded. “The fact that we’re all Americans is the only thing we have in common.”
Deidra leaned back and smiled. “Boy, have you got a lot to catch up on.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember Camille?” she asked, but didn’t wait for him to respond. “She was a reporter when she married Lecie’s eldest brother Julian.” There was no need to go into all that reporter-pretending-to-be-an-actress bit. “And Tasha…the one you miraculously got sprung from jail?” She nodded. “She was an aspiring actress who made her living as a waitress when she married Andre. Yeah.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“I can call and you can ask them yourself.” She offered her phone.
He was silent again for a time, then he stood and looked down at Deidra. “I’ve got to talk to her. Is she at the house?”
Deidra nodded and stood. “She was there when I left. As far as I know, she’s not going anywhere before we head out to the airport.”
“I hope you won’t think I’m rude.” He moved toward the door. “But I’ve got to go.” And then he was gone.
Deidra sucked in a satisfying breath. Damn, she was good. She should do this shit for a living. Hook people up. She could be a matchmaker. Yeah.
Half-seriously considering it, she left Nick’s office and went to the bar. She deserved a drink. Besides, she needed to give Nick and Lecie time to make up.
If this worked out the way she thought it would, she and Lecie wouldn’t be going anywhere, which was good. She was not ready to leave California. Not yet.
Who knows, given a little time, she might find her own Americanized Prince Charming.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
INSIDE THE FRONT DOOR OF LECIE’S HOUSE, expensive luggage crowded the foyer, bringing it home to Nick that she was truly leaving.
Damn. When the girl got an idea in her head, she didn’t waste any time.
Gerard appeared in the entryway of the living room. “Ah…Mr. Matthews. Will you be requiring my services after Mrs. Matthews returns to France?”
Mrs. Matthews. He’d never heard anybody call her that. It was kind of shocking, and exhilarating. Once Nick got control of his senses and realized what Gerard had said, he laughed. Not a jovial laugh, but one of those, yeah, right kind of laughs. “That won’t be necessary, Gerard.” Hell, the guy probably made more money than Nick did.
“Very well, sir.” Gerard looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it and backed out of sight.
“Oh, wait…Gerard…?” Nick rushed after him and caught up to him in the living room. “Is Lecie upstairs?”
“No, sir.” Gerard shook his head. “She left a while ago. I believe she said something about errands before heading to the airport.”
Nick looked around at her luggage. It was still here. But of course it was. Lecie wasn’t the kind of person who dealt with her own luggage. She had staff at her disposal for that.
Just when inferiority was about to overcome Nick, he swatted it away with a mental slap. He had more important things to do than get swallowed up by his own insecurities. He had to find her before that plane left the ground. Trouble was, he had no idea where to look.
Nick tried Lecie’s cell, but got nothing. He checked back in at Hang Ten, but Lecie hadn’t been there. He stopped by a couple of other places he knew she liked, but they hadn’t seen her either.
He glanced at his watch. 5:00. Was she already at the airport? He tried her cell again. Still nothing.
On a whim he called Deidra, and was surprised when she answered. “Deidra, it’s Nick. I’ve been looking for Lecie ever since I left you, but I can’t find her anywhere. Is she with you now?”
“No, she’s not.” Deidra’s voice sounded puzzled. “I thought you two would’ve met up by now.” She was silent for a minute. “You have to tell her that Ginny’s not back. That you don’t want her back.”
“I don’t want Ginny back!” he insisted.
“Lecie doesn’t know that.”
“I know.” He nodded, as if Deidra could see it. “I would tell her, if I could find her.” Nick sucked in a breath, trying to quell the frustration that was starting to get the better of him.
“She’s not at Hang Ten?” Deidra asked, and then started rattling off all the places she could think of that Lecie might be.
Nick had the same response for each location that Deidra suggested. He’d already been there and nobody had seen Lecie. At least, not today.
“Well, what about Dean…?” she asked. “Has he seen her?”
Dean. He was the only one Nick hadn’t talked to. “I’ll give him a call.” About to hang up, he added, “Thanks for your help.”
He heard Deidra chuckle just before he clicked off the call.
Nick wasn’t feeling all that lucky when he set the call to Dean, but he was running out of options.
When he heard the call connect, Nick said, “Have you seen Lecie today?”
“What’s the matter?” Dean said, a little too cheerily. “You lose her?”
“This is not funny,” Nick said. “She’s heading for France in…” He glanced at his watch. 5:30. “God, I’m so stupid, I should be at the airport right now.” He shook his head. He’d never get to LAX by six o’clock.
“Why would you want to be there?”
“Her family’s jet is taking off at six.”
“Well if it is…” Dean said knowingly. “It’ll be leaving without her.”
“And what makes you so sure of that?”
“Because I’m looking at her right now.”