cameras. They’d been strategically placed around the store to watch for anything out of the ordinary.
This stop in New York represented the last leg of a long trip that had taken Lucca around the world on business for his country. Unfortunately, he had no more excuses to stay away from Castelmare. The dreaded reunion with his parents was coming and inevitable. When he returned home this time, there’d be no escape from certain matters that would change his life forever.
Suddenly his attention was caught by the American woman he could see in the monitor. She was obviously upset, and he found himself listening intently. It seemed there was a situation developing in Defore’s office.
Lucca’s ears picked up the word Grigory, a name associated with the old Russian aristocracy. Curious, he turned to one of the computers and logged into several Web sites including the store’s archives.
When he found what he wanted to know, he moved closer to the monitor with its black-and-white screen. That’s when he heard another exchange that gave him pause. The woman battling with the head jeweler was Kathryn Carlisle’s daughter?
He was stunned because he didn’t know the Hollywood film idol even had children—he could see no physical resemblance.
Like all hot-blooded Italian males, Lucca appreciated a beautiful woman. He’d seen one of the star’s films several years ago during a flight to Asia. The tempestuous actress, whose life had come to a tragic end like all too many American A-list celebrities, did have exceptional looks with her come-hither blue eyes and champagne-blond hair. Yet it appeared the only thing she’d passed on to her offspring was her legendary, impossible temperament. Like mother, like daughter.
Defore didn’t make mistakes. For that exact reason Lucca had appointed him to be head jeweler three years ago. Naturally he couldn’t help but be fascinated by the woman’s refusal to take Defore at his word. Evidently she was as spoiled as her mother and even more naive.
How could her daughter not have known the troubled star with her uncontrollable hunger for money would have run through her own finances a long time ago and had hocked her jewels as a last resort?
When the security alarm sounded, one of the guards said he’d take care of the problem and started for the door, but Lucca moved his six-foot-three frame out of the chair and reached it ahead of him.
“I’ll deal with it.” As he left the room with Carlo, he nodded to his other bodyguard standing outside the door. The three of them walked down the hall to Defore’s office.
“Wait for me and don’t let anyone else in,” he told them both before opening the door. Once inside, he told the wide-eyed secretary she could take a long lunch, then he entered Defore’s office.
The jeweler took one look at Lucca and was so shocked to see him rather than one of the security guards, he was struck dumb. Lucca had never had reason to interfere with Defore while he was working with a client, but then, he’d never been this intrigued before.
“I’ll take over,” he murmured, freeing a worried-looking Defore so he could leave. Lucca gave a barely perceptible shake of his head, warning the jeweler not to give him away.
“Yes, yes. Of course.”
Lucca shut the door behind him before turning to face the flushed woman whose tall, willowy figure hadn’t been noticeable from watching the screen. “Signorina Grigory?” He extended his hand.
After a slight hesitation she held on in a firm grip before releasing it. “I’m embarrassed Mr. Defore had to call in security, but all I wanted was to speak to Mr. Hudson for a minute,” sounded a tearful voice she didn’t try to hide.
He in turn didn’t bother to correct her faulty assumption that he was part of the security team. In fact, he was glad of it, since it didn’t happen very often that he wasn’t recognized. The photos and lies perpetuated in the tabloids about Castelmare’s playboy prince made anonymity virtually impossible no matter the continent where he traveled to do business for the crown.
Right now he was fascinated by her slightly windblown, dark blond hair and her lack of self-awareness. To his surprise there was nothing fake about her. Somehow he hadn’t expected Kathryn Carlisle’s daughter to be her total opposite in every way.
She was dressed in a draped, smoky-blue blouse tucked into pleated beige pants, putting him in mind of a 1940s style. Only a woman of grace with long elegant legs, soft curves and square shoulders could get away with it.
This close he could see shadows beneath her pewter-gray eyes with their sweeping dark lashes. Lines caused by suffering bracketed her wide, voluptuous mouth, one of the few physical traits she’d inherited from her infamous mother.
The other familiar trait was less definable. She had a certain breathlessness bequeathed to her by her mother who’d exhibited that same quality on the screen. In person it created an air of urgency Lucca found exceptionally distracting.
“You said this was a matter of life and death?”
She tossed her head back nervously. “Yes,” she blurted, “b-but I didn’t realize our whole conversation had been captured on camera,” she stammered. “Evidently you heard every word of it.”
He shrugged. “A necessary precaution in this business.” She eventually nodded. “Why don’t we both sit down.”
“Thank you.” She returned to the chair opposite the desk. “I didn’t mean to take you away from your duties when you have the responsibility of helping keep an eye on the Ligurian diamond display.”
Lucca hadn’t expected her to be this polite. Now that she was in control he found her low, husky voice incredibly attractive.
“It’s under heavy guard. I’m not worried.” He noticed she was still torturing the bracelet in her hand. “May I see it, please? Everyone hired by the House of Savoy is trained to recognize a mined diamond from a fake.” Which was true.
As she handed it to him, their fingers brushed. Strange that he would be so aware of her he could still feel the sensation while he examined the stones beneath the loupe.
After a moment he said, “I’m afraid Mr. Defore was right. This bracelet is pure imitation. Dare I say not even a good one?”
The second he saw her face lose color, he moved to the corner of the room where he switched off the camera and the audio so they would have complete privacy.
“But my fath—”
“Your father did purchase a bracelet exactly like this years ago. I checked the records. It was valued at $500,000.00 back then and would probably be worth several million today.”
Her expressive face crumpled. Alex knew that her mother had always kept certain secrets from her daughter. Yet this one had been quite a secret, since the whole collection would have brought her a nice sum of money if the stones had been genuine diamonds.
“I’m sorry, signorina.” After the sensational headlines built up in the tabloids concerning her mother’s lifestyle, he suspected the star hadn’t been in control of her spending and had been forced to sell off her diamonds upon running into dire straits. It was a story that came out of Hollywood and circulated throughout Europe all too often.
He heard a despairing cry before a shadow crossed
