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‘God, the blood…’ Nancy said with a haunted look in her eye. She turned to him. ‘It was the way she didn’t even blink. She just…’ Nancy paused here to let the tension build. ‘She justdidit. There was no emotion in her. Her eyes were socalm.’

Barclay’s smirk vanished entirely. ‘Wow, that’s, er… I think I see my friend.’

Nancy exhaled slowly, watching him retreat. As the echo of his hurried footsteps faded, her gaze drifted across the room and landed on Ari. There, amidst the crowd, Ari was watching her. And shedidlook angry. Not stabby, probably. Something else.

‘Why did you make me leave you with that idiot?’ Ari murmured, coming back to stand beside her as they both pretended to admire a floral centrepiece.

‘I didn’t want a scene,’ Nancy said. ‘And you were going to make one. I sorted it quietly.’

Ari caught her eye. ‘I just wanted him to understand that you’re mine,’ she said. She blinked. ‘My date. My pretend date.’

Nancy swallowed the absolute panic that filled her. ‘So. The key. Where do we find one?’

Ari was quick to shake off the moment. ‘Well, obviously Paris has a key, but she won’t have it on her. The cleaning staff have it, as we found out.’ Ari’s gaze flicked around the room, scanning the guests. ‘I saw the father of the bride talking about security measures earlier. We should split up. One of us can—’

‘No,’ Nancy said quickly, surprising herself. ‘We stay together.’

Ari smirked. ‘You just don’t trust me on my own.’

‘Exactly,’ Nancy shot back, ignoring the way Ari’s smirk made something tingle in her stomach again. She was going to have to have a word with her body later. It was acting like a tit. She was in the driver’s seat. She wouldn’t let herself steer off course.

All she had to do was steal a necklace during a lavish wedding without letting Ari get under her skin.

Piece of cake.

Thirty-Two

The wedding pre-drinks were in full swing around Ari, the grandeur of the manor house making the whole thing feel like a scene from some period drama. However, instead of lingering glances and whispered love affairs, she and Nancy were planning to rob her ex-girlfriend.

It sounded a bit stupid when she thought of it like that. So she changed the genre. She was in a spy movie at a swank political reception. The necklace was the thingamabob that they needed to stop the terrorists from blowing up whatdoyoucallit.

Put like that, was it sexy? No. Still felt dumb. Better to just ground herself in reality.

She imagined the moment—the stolen necklace back in her mother’s hands. ‘There, see? I got something right,’ she’d say. And for once, her mother might actually be surprised. Maybe even shocked enough to shed a single, stunned tear.

That was what she wanted. To catch her off guard, to see the briefest glimpse of something real. A crack in the usual annoyed indifference. Just a flicker of recognition that Ari wasn’t a total disappointment. That, for once, she’d done something her mother couldn’t ignore.

Once Ari had that? Well, she didn’t know what she’d do with it. But she’d have it.

Nancy, standing beside her, was watching the room with quiet calculation, her cool gaze scanning the staff. Luckily, shehadn’t noticed Ari’s mad jealous moment. Things were weird enough as it was.

‘There,’ Nancy murmured, chin tilting ever so slightly toward a young woman in a waistcoat and tie, a ring of keys fastened to her belt. ‘Permanent staff.’

Ari nodded. ‘Nice catch. How do we do this?’

Nancy’s gaze lingered on the woman. ‘Subtlety. We create a diversion, slip the keys away unnoticed, and return them before she realises. No fuss, no theatrics.’

Ari grinned, already stepping away. ‘On it.’

Nancy grabbed her wrist, holding her in place. ‘Ari.’

‘Relax,’ Ari drawled. ‘I’ve got this.’

Nancy released her reluctantly.

Ari slunk up behind the woman with the keys, moving with confidence. She was gonna do this so slickly Nancy would be stunned. But the timing was everything.

She bumped into her lightly from behind, murmuring, ‘So sorry,’ as she reached, fingers poised to unhook the keys before anyone even noticed they were gone.