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Chapter Nine

"What did Paula talk to you about when she took you upstairs?" Andrew asked as soon as we left the villa.

"She doesn't like that Allison is an attractive woman cozying up to her husband to get a job. Paula wanted to know why you were pushing Allison on Victor."

He frowned at my words. "I wasn't pushing Allison. I made an introduction. That was it."

"Well, Paula doesn't like her. She says that Victor has a weakness when it comes to beautiful young women, and she won't have him taken advantage of. By the way, Bennett told me the same thing. He said that attractive young women working with his father doesn't usually work out well for his mother."

"Good God!" Andrew said. "Allison is trying to get ahead in business. She's not after Victor personally. She's a pretty woman, yes, but she's not some supervillain adulteress. I don't know why everyone is getting so worked up about her."

His defense was far too passionate for my liking. "You asked me what Paula said, and I told you. And I wasn't the one who brought Allison up to Paula or Bennett. They asked me about her because she's your friend, and she's on this island at your invitation."

His jaw tightened. "All right. I get it. I'll talk to Allison."

"I could go with you. I'd like to get to know her better."

"You can get to know her another time. You have a lot of feelings about her, Lauren, and I don't want any more drama."

I frowned at the sharpness of his words. "She's the one causing drama, not me, Andrew."

"We don't know that she has done anything." He paused. "You need to trust me, Lauren. I don't know why it seems like you don't anymore."

"Maybe because it feels like you're not being completely honest."

"I've told you everything you need to know about Allison."

I thought his choice of words was telling. Everything I needed to know, not necessarily what I wanted to know. But I was tired of arguing about her. "I'll meet you back at the room. I could use some time to myself before I have to get on a horse, which I am not looking forward to doing."

"You'll be fine. I'm sure there will be a nice calm horse for you to ride."

"I hope so." I gave him a pleading look. "I don't want Allison to come between us, Andrew."

"Then don’t let her. Believe me when I say she isn't important."

"Okay, I believe you. I'll see you in a bit." I kissed him and then headed up the path.

When I got back to our suite, I felt some trepidation upon opening the door, but the suite was just as I'd left it. I got a bottle of water from the fridge and took it out to the balcony, taking a few moments to enjoy the view. It was nice to be on my own, no one asking me questions or telling me to smile. But my peaceful moment was interrupted by the ring of the doorbell.

Letting out a sigh, I went back inside. After checking the peephole, I saw Ethan Stark in the corridor. I debated pretending I wasn't there when I heard his voice.

"I know you're in there, Lauren," Ethan said. "I saw you go in on the security camera."

I opened the door. "Now the camera is working?"

"Yes," he said, brushing past me.

I shut the door behind him. "What do you want? Didn't we just have a conversation?"

"We did, but I didn't want to talk to you about this in front of Andrew. I saw that you came up here alone."

"Great. Now you're spying on me?"

"I wasn't, but since I had the opportunity to speak to you alone, I decided to take it. Where is Andrew, anyway?"

"Talking to his friends."

"Does that include Allison?"

I shrugged. "Possibly. But Andrew and I have spoken about her quite a bit today, and I believe him when he says they're just friends, and there's nothing for me to worry about."

"I researched Allison's movements the last few months. Then I cross-referenced her travel with Andrew's to see if any of their trips overlapped. They did. Six weeks ago, they were in Paris at the same time. Did you know that?"

I stared at him in surprise. "Andrew didn't go to Paris six weeks ago. He hasn't been outside the country since we got together."

"He was there March twenty-second to the twenty-sixth."

I thought back to March. Andrew had taken a couple of trips that month, but he'd gone to New York and Chicago. "You're wrong. He wasn't in Paris. He went to New York."

Ethan took out his phone to show me a photo. I really didn't want to look at it, but I couldn't stop myself. It was a receipt from a hotel in Paris, and Andrew's name was on it. But that was impossible. He wouldn't have gone to Paris without telling me.

"Allison was staying in the same hotel," Ethan added. "Different room, though, if that makes you feel better."

"None of this makes me feel good. But even if they were in Paris together, so what?"

"I have a confidential informant who works as a fence in Paris. Someone approached him about the painting by Juan Martine that was allegedly destroyed during the hotel fire. He didn't like the offer, so he turned it down."

"Who are you talking about?"

"The offer was made through a third party; he didn't know the seller."

"But you think the seller was Andrew?"

"Or maybe Allison," he said. "The timing fits. They were both there."

I shook my head in confusion. "I don't know what you want me to say. I don't even know what a fence is."

"It's a person who facilitates the buying and selling of stolen art. The fact that a painting that was allegedly destroyed in a fire is now being offered for sale backs up my theory that it was stolen and not turned to ash. Andrew was in Paris at the time my contact met with a third-party seller offering that same painting. It feels like more than a coincidence."

"Why don't you track down the third-party seller and find out who hired him?"

"I'm in the process of doing that."

"Then I don't know why you're talking to me."

"I was curious if Andrew told you he was going to Paris. Clearly, he did not. Why do you think he didn't?"

That was a question I couldn't answer. I had never grilled Andrew about his work. When we were together, we didn't talk about our jobs. We'd both wanted to separate our business and personal lives, because before we'd met, we'd spent far too many hours concentrating solely on work. I'd thought it was great we were on the same page. I wasn't that interested in his job, and he wasn't that interested in mine, but we were both supportive and encouraging of each other. That was what mattered.

Now, I was reminded once again that my husband had not been completely forthcoming with me, and it was embarrassing to keep learning details about Andrew from a man who was trying to determine if my husband was a thief.

I told myself there was probably a perfectly good reason why Andrew hadn't mentioned Paris. It could have been a spur-of-the-moment business trip, and he hadn't wanted to tell me he was going to Paris without me, because I'd often told him how much I wanted to go there. He could have been protecting my feelings.

Or I could be making up excuses for another lie of omission.

But were they lies? Or had I not asked enough questions?

"Lauren? You're not going to answer me, are you?" Ethan asked.

"I don't have an answer. But thanks for once again trying to create drama and distrust in my life. Does that make you happy? Do you get off on it?" I challenged.

"If you're innocent in all this, I want you to see what's going on. I'm trying to help you, Lauren."

"You're trying to help yourself."

"Maybe working together is how we help each other."

"I don't want to help you. I'm married to Andrew. My loyalty is to him."

"What if he's a criminal?"

A wave of uneasiness ran through me at that suggestion. But Andrew wasn't a criminal. I knew what had happened the night of the fire. I'd been there. Andrew had risked his life to save mine. Then there was all the rest, all the time we'd spent together the last six months. Maybe we hadn't talked about everything, but we had talked about a lot. Hadn't we? Damn! Why did Ethan's questions always bring more questions?

Because that's what he was trying to do. He was trying to divide Andrew and me and find a weak spot, but I couldn't be the weak link in the chain between us. I had to be loyal and defend my husband.

"Andrew did tell me he might have to go to Paris," I said slowly.

"You're lying, Lauren."

"I'm not. I just forgot. I was busy at work. He was already in New York, so we weren't going to be together that week, anyway."

"You just remembered that?" Ethan asked, a doubtful look in his piercing green eyes. "That's convenient."

He could see right through me, and I didn't like it. "Is there anything else? Or maybe you'd like to wait here and ask Andrew your questions?"

"I'll talk to Andrew another time."

"Because you have nothing, and you know he won't let you get to him the way you get to me."

His gaze narrowed as it met mine. "I understand that it's difficult to lose trust in someone. You don't want to do it. You want to fight for the person you think they are. But this isn't only about trust or fidelity…it's about high-stakes crime, past and possibly present. Be careful, Lauren. You are right smack in the middle of whatever is going on, even if you don't want to believe it."

His words sent a chill down my spine. "The middle of what?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to follow the facts wherever they lead, and I hope, for your sake, they don't lead to you or your husband. But if they do, don't say I didn't warn you."

On that note, he left, and I let out a breath as the door closed behind him, my mind racing, my nerves tingling with fear, uncertainty, and anxiety.

Was Andrew up to something? Was I unwittingly part of it?

It seemed impossible to believe. But all the little things Ethan was coming up with couldn't be ignored.

When I had confronted Andrew about his relationship with Allison, he'd finally admitted they'd slept together after first claiming they were just friends. Would he admit to Paris, too, if I asked him about it?

But even if he had an explanation, would I be able to believe it? Because what had happened before we met was much easier to forgive than not telling me about a trip to Paris six weeks ago, after we were in love, after we were engaged, and after we'd started planning a future together.

I was still debating what to do when Andrew entered the suite.

He gave me a funny look. "Everything okay?"

"Yes," I said, realizing I probably looked as confused as I felt. I decided to go with an easy question, something I was already supposed to know. "Did you find Allison?"

"I did." He tossed his keycard on the table and walked over to the fridge to pull out a beer. He opened the bottle and took a swig before continuing, "Allison was working on ideas to show Victor tomorrow. That's all she wanted to talk about. She's desperate to get this job, and she doesn't give a crap about anything else. She's certainly not trying to seduce Victor. She just wants to work for him. I told her she needs to smooth things out with Paula, and she said she'll reassure her she only wants a job. I believe her, Lauren. Allison is not the horrible, conniving person you seem to think she is. She didn't trash our suite, and she's not looking for revenge because I married you."

I wondered if he'd actually asked Allison about the suite, but he wanted my trust, and I wanted to trust him. My wedding vows were still fresh in my mind. "Okay."

"You believe me?"

"I said okay. I'm glad she's just here to work."

Relief ran through his gaze, and his unusually serious mood lightened. "That's all it is. I'm sorry things got off track. I should have told you about her when I invited her to the wedding. I extended the invitation because she asked me for an introduction to Victor. I should have been up front with you about that, but I didn't think her presence would mean anything to you or anyone else. I had no idea Ethan Stark was looking into my relationship with Allison because we happened to be at the same conference. Or that he would come to you and try to turn it into something it wasn't."

I debated asking him about Paris, but before I could say anything, his phone buzzed.

Andrew pulled it out of his pocket and read a text. "I need to make a quick call for work. You should get ready for our ride. We need to be at the stables in twenty minutes." He gave me a smile. "It will be nice to get out on the trail and have some fun."

I had my doubts about that, but at this point, I was willing to risk getting on a horse to find some fun, because so far, my honeymoon was a dud.