Manolos in Manhattan (32 page)

“Hols,” Natalie chirped, “how are you? How was your evening with Ciaran? Why didn’t you come back here afterwards?” She added breathlessly, “Did you and Mr Sexy
sleep
together?”

“No!” Holly said, and blushed. “Of course we didn’t! I’m still at the Midtown.”

“So you patched things up with Jamie, then?”

“No,” she said, and hesitated. “Yes. Not exactly.”

Natalie laughed. “Well, there’s a definitive answer.” Before Holly could reply she added, “Are you free for lunch? The painters are painting the nursery, so I’m staying out for the afternoon. I know you’re busy, but I’d love to catch up.”

“As it happens, I
am
free. Rhys’s P.A.’s just gone out for a longish lunch – that’s Chaz-speak for a quick shag with his new boyfriend – and so not only can I have lunch with you, I can take as long as I like.”

“Perfect. You can fill me in on all your exciting, single-but-juggling-two-hot-men-at-once news.”

“You make my life sound much more X-rated than it is.” They arranged to meet at a Thai restaurant around the corner in twenty minutes.

“I just need to run a couple of errands first,” Holly told Nat as she tucked the receiver under her chin and retrieved her purse. “Grab us a table if you get there before me.”

As Holly emerged from the building a few minutes later, a warm breeze flirted with her hair. It was a picture-perfect summer day, and she smiled as she made her way down the street to Duane Reade. She wondered idly where Chaz had gone for lunch. That was the problem with Manhattan – there were too many choices, and too many places to disappear.

As she hurried past the coffee shop, Holly glanced inside, her thoughts resolutely focused on shampoo and toothpaste.

“And conditioner,” she muttered. “Don’t forget to buy conditioner.” She was halfway past the window when she stopped, causing the man behind to run into her. She apologized as he scowled and muttered something about “crazy broads,” and turned back to peer through the glass. Wasn’t that…?

It was! It was Chaz. And he was sitting at a table with a man, both of them with their heads together, deep in conversation.

Holly edged back (taking care not to run into anyone else) until she was out of Chaz’s line of sight and tried to see who the mystery man was. But his suit-clad back faced the window.

Damn
. She really wanted to get a look at this bloke. Chaz had been so secretive about him for these past few weeks that her own interest was now irredeemably piqued.

Who
was
he?

With a glance at her watch, Holly sighed. She’d be late for her lunch date with Nat if she didn’t get a move on. She was just about to turn away when the man stood up and went up to the counter to pick up their order.

Well
, Holly reasoned,
I might as well wait until Mystery Man turns around. Which he will do, any second now...

He turned away from the counter returned to the table, and as she got a good, long look at his face, Holly stood rooted to the spot in shock.

No, it couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible.

But there could be no question. The man in the expensive suit with the tray of coffee and sandwiches in his hands, darkly handsome and smiling as he returned to the table, was the same man who’d once stalked and abducted Natalie.

Chaz’s new boyfriend, Holly realized in shock, was Ian Clarkson.

Chapter Fifty-Six

Although Holly had never actually met him, she’d seen Ian’s photograph plastered all over the newspapers when he’d abducted Natalie, and she knew – without a single doubt – that he was the man inside the coffee shop.

But he’s locked away in Broadmoor
, she reminded herself uncertainly.
He’s a sociopath. He couldn’t possibly be here.

Could he?

Troubled, she left and made her way around the corner to Duane Reade to buy her toiletries, then crossed the street to the restaurant where she’d agreed to meet Natalie.

She ran straight into a man just coming out the door.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “My fault.”

“No, it was mine,” Holly assured him, momentarily dazzled by his engaging smile and fit build. “I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

“Can’t blame you. The food here’s very good.” With a nod and another polite smile, he left.

“Sorry I’m late,” Holly apologized to Natalie, slightly out of breath as she took a seat across from her at the table. “I had a couple of errands to run.”

“No problem. So ‒ tell me what you’ve been up to,” Natalie prodded. “What’s going on? Are you with Ciaran now, or Jamie? Or have you decided yet?” She eyed Holly wistfully. “Shame you can’t have them both.”

Holly fidgeted with her silverware. What on earth should she tell Nat? How could she explain that she’d just seen Ian, the man who’d stalked and terrorized her in London for months, hanging out with Rhys’s PA? It wasn’t something you just mentioned casually in conversation.

Saying she’d just seen Ian Clarkson would only upset Nat. Better, perhaps, to say nothing…?

“Holly,” Natalie asked in exasperation, leaning forward across the table, “what’s wrong? Is it Jamie? Are you two having problems?”

“Jamie? No.” Holly waited as the server brought their Thai iced teas. “We’re not together anymore.”

“
What
?”

“It’s not official yet,” she amended as she took a sip of her tea, “but he’s with Catherine and Izzy right now. And I’m fine with that,” she added as she caught sight of Natalie’s perplexed expression. “I am. Honestly.”

“All right, now you’ve completely lost me. Explain,” Nat ordered.

Holly told her about Ciaran and their attraction that hadn’t quite gone away, and about Jamie and Catherine, and her sister Leigh’s untimely death the night before.

“Oh, how awful,” Nat murmured, stricken. “Poor Catherine.”

“Jamie called this morning to say he’s making the funeral arrangements. Catherine’s devastated. And Izzy...”

“Poor lamb...she’s lost her mum, and at such a young age.” Natalie felt a wash of sympathy for the child.

“Jamie said she refuses to get out of bed. She won’t talk, or eat.”

“She’s grieving.” Natalie sighed. “I remember how I felt when my father died – I wanted the world to stop, and I was furious when it didn’t. It’ll take time, but she’ll come through it eventually. Where’s her father?”

“He’s out of the picture, more or less.”

“Bastard,” she said, but without venom. “Why are some men such rubbish at being fathers?”

“I don’t know,” Holly replied, “but at least you don’t have to worry about Rhys being a crap dad. He’s really looking forward to that baby of yours.”

“Only if I have a boy, and only if he plays wing for England National.”

“Nat,” Holly blurted out, unable to keep the knowledge a secret one moment longer, “I hate to tell you this, but I have to. I saw Ian just now, in the coffee shop around the corner.”

With her fork poised halfway between her Thai salad and her lips, Natalie froze. “Ian? You
saw
him? Are you sure?”

“Yes. He was...he’s having coffee with Rhys’s PA, Chaz.”

Although Holly expected Natalie to scoff, and tell her that she must have imagined it, she did neither. Instead she leaned forward and said in a low voice, “I already know he’s here in Manhattan. Rhys told me.”

Holly’s eyes widened. “You
knew
? Why didn’t you say anything? And how can Ian possibly be here? They put him away, Nat, in that place for the criminally insane!”

“Broadmoor,” she confirmed. “Yes, they did. But he must have convinced them somehow that he’s rehabilitated, and they’ve released him. I imagine he headed straight to New York when he heard Rhys was opening a US branch of D & J in Manhattan.”

“You need go back to London straightaway,” Holly said firmly. “I’m surprised Rhys hasn’t sent you packing already.”

“He tried,” Nat admitted. “We had a huge row about it. But I won’t run away. I’m not letting Ian turn my life upside down again. At any rate, he hasn’t contacted me. At least, not directly.” She didn’t mention the note he’d sent Rhys.

“That doesn’t mean he won’t! Natalie,” Holly urged, “it’s not safe for you to stay in Manhattan with Ian here! Who knows what he might be planning? What if he tries to kidnap you again? You have the baby to think about now.”

“He won’t do anything.” She spoke with quiet conviction. “His ex-wife Alexa said Ian went off her when she fell pregnant. He finds the whole childbirth thing very off-putting. Besides,” she added, “I have Devon to watch over me now.”

“Devon?” Holly paused as their food arrived. “Who’s he, and how can he be ‘watching over you’? Is he your guardian angel, or something?”

Natalie smiled. “In a manner of speaking...yes.” She dipped her spoon in her bowl of Tom Yam Gai. “Umm, delicious.” She indicated the front of the restaurant. “Don’t stare, but did you notice the man who left as you came in? He’s sitting at a table outside.”

Holly leaned round Natalie and peered through the front glass. Sure enough, the fit bloke she’d bumped into, the one with the sexy smile and aviator sunglasses, sat alone at an umbrella-ed table sipping a Thai tea and reading a newspaper.

“Oh, yes, I definitely noticed him. How could I not?”

“That’s him. That’s Devon.”

Holly sighed. “Ooh, he’s gorgeous! You really
are
a dark horse, Nat. So who is he, exactly? Is he a friend of Rhys’s, or is he your new boyfriend?”

Natalie laughed. “He’s neither. And he has a girlfriend – a very famous one, at that. Christa.”

“Christa? As in, the
pop
singer?”

She nodded. “His name’s Devon Matthews and he’s a D.S. with the CID. He’s here on holiday with Christa.”

“Wow. How did Rhys meet him?”

“He came to the store with Christa to discuss marketing for her new exclusive perfume line – and Rhys asked if he’d be interested in providing part-time protection for me. He agreed; he likes to stay active, even on holiday.”

“I can see that,” Holly murmured, eyeing him again. “He’s very fit.”

“You’ve already got two men. Don’t be greedy.”

“Ha, ha.” Holly turned back to Natalie, and her eyes narrowed. “Why did Rhys ask him to follow you? Something happened, didn’t it? And how did he know Ian was here in New York?”

“Someone left an envelope at the front desk with a sheet of paper inside that said ‘welcome to New York,’ signed by Ian.”

“That means he knows where you live! Natalie, aren’t you the least bit
scared
?” Holly demanded.

“I wasn’t, not at first, because Rhys didn’t tell me. He didn’t want to upset me. And now, with Devon following me whenever I go out, I feel fairly safe.” She paused. “Or at least...I did.”

Holly laid her fork aside, her appetite entirely gone. “Why? What’s happened?”

“Sorry – I thought you knew! It was all over the papers yesterday. Rhys and I were robbed on Saturday night. Someone broke into our apartment and stole my jewels...
and
my father’s portrait.”

Holly blinked. “What? No, I had no idea! With everything going on with Ciaran, and then Catherine’s sister’s death, I haven’t even
looked
at a newspaper. You weren’t in the apartment when it happened, were you?”

“No. I was with Dom at Christa’s concert and we didn’t get back until quite late, and Rhys stayed late at the store. We were in the living room when I noticed the painting was gone.”

Holly leaned forward with a troubled expression. “Nat, you don’t suppose that Ian broke into your apartment and stole your father’s painting, do you?”

She shook her head. “That was my first thought, too. But he was at Christa’s concert. I know, because I saw him,” she added, “so it can’t have been him.”

“Wait a minute.” Holly blinked. “I just can’t take this all in. Ian was at the concert, and the cat burglar was in your apartment? Do the police have any leads?”

“No. But Devon’s convinced there’s a connection between the burglaries. He’s working with the police.” Natalie leaned forward. “Something happened at the store, too.”

“Coco said the sprinkler system malfunctioned on Friday night.”

“Yes. Everything on the first floor was ruined.”

“Rhys must’ve been
furious
.”

“Oh, he was. But it wasn’t a malfunction,” Natalie went on grimly. “The inspector said someone deliberately set the sprinkler off with a match or a lighter...and hit the sprinkler head with a hammer for good measure.”

Holly’s eyes widened. “Who’d
do
such a thing?” she exclaimed. “It has to be Ian.”

“What? How?” Natalie scoffed. “He doesn’t work at Dashwood and James any longer. How would he gain access to the building? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“It makes perfect sense.” Holly eyed her intently. “You’ve met Rhys’s P.A., haven’t you?”

“Chaz?” Natalie nodded. “He has an excellent eye for fashion.”

“He’s been seeing a new bloke, but won’t say who he is – only that he’s English. He’s been very mysterious. And no wonder ‒ now that I know his boyfriend is Ian Clarkson.”

“But Ian isn’t gay,” Natalie pointed out. “He was married, Holly, and he has a child.”

“Doesn’t mean anything. You told me yourself that Alexa said he went off her when she got pregnant, and that he only married her for her family’s money.”

Nat nodded slowly.

“Maybe he didn’t steal your dad’s painting, Nat,” Holly conceded, “but I bet Ian had
everything
to do with that sprinkler malfunction. He could’ve gotten access to the building from Chaz. Although,” she added with a frown, “I can’t believe Chaz would do such a thing.”

“The day Rhys and I moved in,” Natalie said, “he swanned right into the apartment like he owned it.”

“How did he manage that?”

“He said Alastair gave him a key so he could deliver the groceries. He also said his name was on the guest list.” Natalie frowned. “But why would Chaz help Ian do such a thing? Why would he hand his building key over to Ian?”

“Unless he
didn’t
hand it over,” Holly mused. “Chaz doesn’t know that Ian tried to kidnap you. And Ian’s clever. He could’ve taken the key during one of their lunches together, while Chaz was in the loo, had it copied, and called later to say he’d found the key in his car.”