The Best of Friends Read online

  But every time she saw him, her heart pounded, her knees went weak, and she found herself torn between wanting to bolt for cover and beg him to take her, just one time, up against the wall. Okay, she thought as she hurried up the steps and opened the front door. Against the wall would be tacky and was probably one of those positions that only looked sexy in movies. But she wouldn’t turn down a nice, slow, private seduction.

  Instead, David was charming, friendly, and so obviously uninterested in her that she was left feeling foolish. It was hard to hope in the face of constant reality, but Jayne did her best.

  She punched in the alarm code, then checked her watch. David was due any minute. She scanned the foyer, with its marble floors, two-story ceiling, crystal chandelier, and custom furniture, then frowned when she saw that the large, round table in the middle of the department store–size space was empty. Elizabeth always put flowers there. Well, technically Elizabeth told Carmine, who always put flowers there, but still. Hadn’t the flowers been delivered?

  “No one was here,” she said aloud. She dropped her purse onto the chair by the wall, then raced down the hallway, through the kitchen, past the utility room—which was the size of her entire condo—to the back door.

  Sure enough, a gorgeous spray of flowers sat on the wide rear step. It was done in Elizabeth’s signature white—a combination of Casablanca lilies, calla lilies, dendrodium orchids, and roses.

  Jayne bent down to grab it and nearly lost her balance. Not only was the glass vase wet from being overfilled with water, five or six hundred dollars’ worth of flowers was damned heavy. She tried again and got the arrangement off the pavers, then stood. Her hands slipped a little. She swore. Dropping the vase wasn’t an option.

  She made her way through the house to the foyer, where a series of events conspired to ruin her day.

  First, she heard someone put a key in the front door. Trying to get rid of the armful of flowers before David walked in, she started to run… only to catch the side of her right foot on the leg of a small, curved sofa. She was moving too fast to stop her forward momentum, and scrambling only caused her to skid like a cartoon character. Then her fingers slipped on the wet glass of the vase. She threw herself forward in an effort to keep it from falling.

  The vase went up, the flowers rained down, and Jayne was caught in the middle. She stared helplessly at the soaring glass vase. Even as cold water and flowers drenched her, her only thought was to keep the vase from hitting the marble floor and shattering. She reached up and grabbed it. The unexpected weight caused her to stagger back, where her heel came down on a lily stem. Her foot shot out from under her, and she fell, just as David walked into the house. She landed on her hip and her left wrist. The unfortunate cracking sound didn’t come from the glass… it came from her.

  David Worden, tall, handsome, blond, and blue-eyed, immediately rushed to her side. “Jayne? Is that you? Are you all right?”

  She sat in a puddle of water, wet flowers and greenery hanging off her, the picture of humiliation. If only she could believe the pounding in her chest was a result of her fall and not his crouching next to her, looking all concerned and drool-worthy. Even the sharp pain in her wrist, regrettable proof that she’d probably snapped a bone, wasn’t enough to jolt her out of her longing for up-against-the-wall sex.

  So much for being over her crush, she thought sadly as he took the vase from her arms. So much for the sophisticated first impression she’d planned. She probably looked like a drowned rat.

  “Where does it hurt?” he asked.

  “My wrist. I think it’s broken.”

  “Then we’d better get you to the hospital,” he said, helping her to her feet. “Can you walk?”

  “It’s my arm, not my leg.”

  “You have wet flowers in your hair. Do you really think attitude plays well with that look?”

  Despite her humiliation and the pain and the fact that she would never be able to look David in the eye again, she smiled. “Attitude is all I have going for me right now.”

  “Rebecca would tell you to work your strengths.” He pulled a couple of flowers out of her hair, then put his arm around her. “Let’s go get you X-rayed.”

  Rebecca waited while the limo driver carried in all the luggage she’d brought, but her attention was on Hans. The security expert had disappeared into the second bedroom of her rented space to check out the safe she’d purchased. Only after he’d declared it acceptable would she get possession of her little beauties.

  The driver finished, and Rebecca walked down the short hall to the spacious spare bedroom.

  As her landlord had promised, it was prepared for guests. A queen-size bed sat opposite a sliding-glass window with a view of the beach and ocean. There was a flat-screen TV on the wall, a private bath, and a big closet. And sitting right in the middle of that closet was a black 980-pound safe.

  “It will survive two and half hours at over twelve hundred degrees,” she said, leaning against the doorframe. “There are twenty-six locking bolts securing the door and a drill-proof steal plate.”

  “I know,” Hans said in his lightly accented voice. “I read the specs.” He closed the door and locked it. “Tell me the combination.”

  She smiled. “I might be a natural blonde, but I’m not stupid. No one knows that combination but me.”

  One dark eyebrow raised. “Very good. I give you your diamonds now.”

  “Lucky me.”

  He unlocked the briefcase from his wrist and set it on the bed. Rebecca moved closer as he opened the case and unfastened the protective covering. Inside, 387 diamonds glittered and winked in the afternoon light. Her cost—three million. Retail value once she set them in jewelry—about twelve million.

  A few of the diamonds were white, but most of them were colored. They ranged from pale yellow to champagne to cognac to the rare dark pink stones.

  “Very nice,” Hans said.

  “Thank you.”

  She pulled her inventory list and her triplet loupe out of her purse, then set the bag on the bed. Hans also had an inventory list and a loupe. Together they went over each diamond, confirming it was exactly the same as it had been before they’d left Italy. When they were finished, they signed each other’s copy of the paperwork and she put the diamonds in the safe. Hans made a call to the insurance company, letting them know the diamonds were back in her possession.

  “Great doing business with you,” Rebecca said. “The limo driver will take you wherever you want to go.”

  Hans put his jeweler’s loupe back into his jacket pocket, then smiled. “Or I could stay.” He moved toward her. “Just for an hour.”

  He was big and handsome and probably knew what he was doing, and she couldn’t have been less interested in an afternoon quickie with a stranger. Must be jet lag, she told herself. It couldn’t be for any other reason.

  “A thrilling offer,” she said with a smile. “Tempting, but no.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.”

  He shrugged as if to say the decision was incredibly stupid on her part, then left. When she’d locked the front door behind him, she returned to explore the rest of the condo.

  There was a master suite, with a balcony and west-facing view of the Pacific; a big living room with the same view as the master; and a kitchen she would use only to store leftovers. An envelope from the car rental company sat on the counter. She opened it and withdrew the keys. A note told her which underground parking space held her car, information she would need when she went out to get something to eat. Or maybe she and Jayne could walk down to one of the oceanfront restaurants for an early dinner.

  Rebecca went into the master to deal with her luggage. Hans had carried the diamonds, because they were the most valuable, but she had the settings with her, and a little something Hans and the insurance company didn’t know about.

  She opened her carry-on and pulled out several boxes of platinum settings that she’d designed over the past year.
One-of-a-kind pieces waiting for her beautiful diamonds to complete the looks. She removed her small laptop, a book, the OK! magazine Jayne had bought her, and a six-pack of Oreo cookies. When the bag was seemingly empty, she felt around at the bottom until she found a small plastic snap partially concealed by a fold in the lining. She pulled it free and removed her treasure from its hiding place.

  Three layers of soft cloth protected the uncommon stone. She unwrapped it, letting it fall onto her palm where it winked in the afternoon light. Six carats of perfect blue diamond.

  Blue diamonds were so rare, most jewelers never saw one. Rebecca remembered her father taking her to the Smithsonian years ago, where she’d seen the famous Hope diamond. But that stone, while large, had been a grayish-blue. This one was deep ocean blue. Flawless. Precious.

  Nigel had given it to her six months ago, when he’d flown to Milan to tell her he was getting married. But not to her.

  Despite her claims of independence, her need to go it alone, she had truly been defined by two people in her life—her mother and Nigel. She had loved others—her father, David, and, of course, Jayne. She’d hated her mother, and she’d lived through every emotion possible with Nigel. In the end, he’d chosen someone else.

  She’d told herself that it didn’t matter, that she was too powerful for him, too determined. That he had never respected her abilities, her intelligence, or her drive, and that he’d been threatened by her success. All of which was true, but didn’t take away the ache inside. For ten years he’d been the center of her universe, and now, without him, the world was a darker place. He hadn’t wanted her. Shades of the conversation she’d overheard when she’d been seven. Her mother complaining to her friends that Rebecca had been an accident—one she’d always regretted. At least Nigel’s dismissal had been kind.

  The diamond was a hell of a consolation prize. Natural blue diamonds were nearly impossible to value, and this one was perfect. A small, cold piece of rock she’d been given instead of a man’s heart. Only time would tell if she’d gotten a good deal.

  She rewrapped the diamond in the cloth and put it back in her carry-on bag. The bag went in the safe, where it would stay until she decided what she was going to do with it.

  She’d barely closed the door and made sure it was secure when her cell phone rang. She recognized David’s number on the small screen.

  “Are you back?” she asked by way of greeting. “Did Mom arrange a band, or did you have to make do with a small plaque?”

  “Nice. Very loving and supportive.”

  “The young prince returns home. All is well in the kingdom.”

  “I’m not the young prince anymore.”

  She grinned. “I know, but ‘the rapidly aging prince’ doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

  He chuckled. “You’re pushing thirty, kid.”

  “You got there first.” She had planned to say more, then heard a loudspeaker in the background. “Where are you? Still at the airport?”

  “No.” He hesitated. “At the hospital.”

  Her humor faded. “What? Are you okay? What happened?”

  “I’m fine. It’s not me, it’s Jayne. She had an accident.”

  Rebecca’s stomach tightened as her whole body went cold. Panic surged. “Is she all right?”

  “She’s going to be fine. She broke her wrist. They’re setting it now. She’ll be released in a couple of hours. I know you two are tight, so I wanted to let you know.”

  “Broke her wrist? How?” she asked, then thought about Jayne’s errand to her parents’ house. “This is about you, isn’t it? This has ‘young prince’ written all over it.”

  He winced. “It wasn’t my fault. She was carrying a big vase of flowers. I wasn’t there at the beginning, so I don’t know how it started. Apparently she slipped, and when she fell, she broke her wrist.”

  Some of the panic eased. “I am so going to kill you. Jayne is my friend. How could you hurt her?”

  “I didn’t hurt her. It was an accident.”

  “It was your fault.”

  “Hey,” he said, sounding both amused and frustrated. “I don’t like this, either. And before you go off on me, I’ll remind you that I have a pass for the rest of my life. Let’s not forget that, little sister.”

  He was right—ten years ago she’d promised him she would never get mad at him again. “This is different. This is about Jayne.” She walked to the master bedroom and dug a notepad out of her purse. “What hospital? I’m coming right over. And don’t for a minute plan on leaving until I get there and say you can.”

  “You’re turning into Mom. You know that, right?”

  “Don’t think you can distract me, David. You’re in big trouble. Now stay with Jayne and make sure she’s all right. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

  “I’ll alert the media.”

  “You’re trying to be funny, and it won’t work.” She put her purse over her shoulder and walked to the kitchen, where she grabbed her car keys.

  “I’m trying to tell you everything is fine,” he said. “Of course I’ll stay with her until you get here. I’ve always liked Jayne.”

  “Oh, please. You’ve never even had a conversation with her.” She walked out of the condo and locked the door behind her.

  “Sure I have. She’s funny.”

  “Don’t for a moment think you can make time with my best friend. Just stay put and don’t make trouble.”

  “Promise. Jayne and I will be here, waiting for you, planning our elopement.”

  “You’re so not her type.”

  “There’s a challenge.”

  “I’m hanging up now.”

  Two

  “THE PAINKILLERS WON’T WORK tonight,” the ER doctor said cheerfully. “Don’t expect to sleep. You’ll try. Everyone tries, but you’ll be up. Tomorrow will be better.”

  “You need to work on your bedside manner,” Jayne told him, nearly shifting on the bed, then remembering that any movement would send pain shooting through her arm. She’d already done it twice in the past three minutes and was determined not to face the searing wave again anytime soon.

  “Just telling you what you need to know,” the doctor said, patting her uninjured arm, then winking at David. “Give the nurses a few minutes to finish up with the paperwork, then you’ll be free to go.” The thirty-something doctor eyed David again, then left.

  “You have a fan,” Jayne said absently, staring at the pink cast that went from her knuckles to about an inch below her elbow. Talk about stupid. She couldn’t even pretend it was just one of those things. It wasn’t. It was just dumb. Idiotic, even. She’d sacrificed herself for a vase. Who did that?

  “I get that a lot,” David said.

  She looked at him. “Excuse me?”

  He shrugged. “I’m irresistible. You should see me around kids and dogs. They go crazy.”

  Had she hit her head, along with breaking her wrist? “What did you say?”

  “Nothing.” He moved closer to the bed as his smile was replaced by an expression of concern. “How are you feeling?”

  “Wonderful. Practically perfect. Look, it was great of you to bring me to the hospital, but you don’t have to stay. You said Rebecca would be here soon and…” She found herself getting lost in his dark blue eyes. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Nice try, but no. Rebecca insisted I stand guard. She’s worried about you. Actually, she blames me for the accident.”

  “You didn’t have anything to do with it!” She’d been well on her way to tumbling before he’d walked into the house.

  “You’re going to have to tell her that,” David said, pulling up a chair and sitting. “She’s out for blood, and she can be vicious.”

  He was teasing. She heard it in the tone of his voice, saw it in the humor glinting in his eyes. He was big and muscled and so close to physically perfect that being around him nearly made breathing impossible. Of course that could also have been the throbbing pain in her arm.

&nb
sp; “I’m not usually so uncoordinated,” she said, plucking at her shirt, noting that the material was finally dry. There were very attractive stains on her white pants, however. So much for looking classy.

  “It was spectacular,” he said, lightly touching the cast. “Too bad you won’t have a scar. Guys really go for scars.”

  “And tattoos.” She smiled. “I actually have one of those already.”

  “Really?”

  “No, not—”

  “Are you okay? What happened? Is that a cast?”

  Jayne managed to jerk her attention away from David’s mesmerizing gaze to see her friend Katie hurrying into the room. Katie, a petite redhead who worked at the breast center with Jayne, came to a stop on the other side of the bed. The visit wasn’t a surprise. All the radiology nurses knew one another, including the nurse who had taken Jayne’s X-rays. No doubt she’d called the breast center to spread the word.

  “What happened?” her friend demanded. “You take off for a couple of hours and now this?” Katie glanced at David. “Who are you?”

  “Jayne’s ex. We were married in high school. She didn’t mention me?”

  Katie’s mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”

  Jayne did her best not to laugh. “No. Don’t be funny,” she pleaded. “Movement of any kind will hurt. Katie, this is David. Rebecca’s brother.”

  Katie looked at him, then raised her eyebrows. “Keeping it in the family? You never mentioned him before. He’s very mentionable.”

  David leaned close. “See? If there was a dog here, you’d be really impressed.”

  Jayne accidentally chuckled, then wished she hadn’t as it jiggled her arm. “Ow. Stop it. David doesn’t visit very often. I don’t really know him.”

  “But she’s pined after me for years,” David said. “It’s a curse. It happens everywhere I go.”

  Jayne told herself he was kidding. The man had a sense of humor—something she hadn’t noticed before. Probably because she’d been too busy gazing from afar to listen to actual words.