Still, it was a relief not to have to face her and hear her say, I told you it would be a mistake to go off with Cesar. If you do that, then you’re the kind of stupid, naive, dumb blond he seduces after every race.
Despite the fact that Luc’s antipathy toward Olivia had made her do it, heat filled Olivia’s cheeks to realize that once Greer had left on her honeymoon, Olivia had gone off and done the exact, stupid thing Greer had warned her not to do.
In fact it was Greer who’d told Olivia she wasn’t in love with Fred. Olivia had already figured that out after meeting Luc, but she’d gone on dating Fred for the six weeks prior to Greer’s wedding in an effort to forget Luc and prove that Greer’s power over her wasn’t absolute.
Unfortunately she’d paid for it in the end when she’d been forced to tell Fred that it was really over. She’d been very unfair to him by leading him on, and was still smarting from the pain she’d caused him. One piercing glance from Greer with that “I told you so, now you’ve really done it” look, hadn’t helped matters.
What really miffed Olivia was the fact that even though Max had claimed Greer for his wife and taken her away, Olivia was still battling her sister’s powerful influence over her. She could just imagine Greer’s reaction if she knew what Olivia was planning now.
You’re what? Are you insane? Didn’t we all learn a very important lesson the first time around?
“Signorina?” the driver called over his shoulder. They’d arrived at the hotel. She’d been so immersed in her new strategy, she hadn’t even noticed!
After paying him a bundle of Euros she didn’t even bother to count, she got out of the taxi and rushed inside, anxious to set things in motion.
Once she’d confirmed tickets on a flight to Nice leaving in two hours, she phoned Piper at her hotel in Genoa.
After relating the spectacular news that Cesar had won the Italian Grand Prix, Olivia told Piper what she was intending to do.
“You’re what?” Her sister sounded suspiciously like Greer just then, which didn’t help matters.
“I’m going back to Monaco to force Luc to make my trip good. It’s payback time.”
“Say that again?”
“You heard me,” Olivia answered defiantly. “We were cheated out of our first trip to Europe because Max and his cousins thought we were jewel thieves and they ruined everything!
“By the time the whole business got straightened out, our vacation had to be aborted because Max wanted to be alone with Greer on the Piccione. Luc owes me ten days on that boat!”
“It’s Fabio Moretti’s boat! August is still high season. Some other tourists have probably chartered it. Don’t forget it’s the Moretti’s livelihood.”
“I’m sure Luc will be able to work something out with Fabio. We paid three thousand dollars each for a trip along the Riviera that never happened!”
“Technically you’re right, Olivia. But in return we acquired Max, the dream brother-in-law who has treated us like the Duchess of Parma herself while we stayed at his family’s royal palace. That beats any vacation I can think of.
“Besides, what are you complaining about? Your dream came true when Cesar whisked you off to Monza for the last three days. I thought you were crazy about him. At least that’s what you told Fred.”
Conscience made Olivia bite her lip. “I had to tell Fred something that would help him retain his pride. If I’d been truthful and said I couldn’t picture him as my husband, it would have hurt him a lot more.”
“Okay… I can buy that, but what about Cesar?”
“He’s a friend. Even if he weren’t, he’s spoken for.”
“By whom?”
“By the entire female population of Europe!”
“Yeah, well Greer already told you that.”
Olivia ground her teeth. “Greer doesn’t know everything.”
“Yes, she does.”
“She didn’t know we talked Daddy into setting up that phony Husband Fund that brought us to Europe in the first place.”
After a moment of quiet, “That’s true. It’s probably the only secret we ever kept from her.”
“Yup. And it worked!” A satisfied smile broke out on Olivia’s face. “We finally got her married off. Now we can do what we want, and I want to go on the vacation that never happened. Don’t you?”
“Maybe one day. At the moment we’ve got a calendar business to run.”
“Has Signore Tozzeti decided if he wants to take us on as a client?”
“Not yet. He says there are a few other people in his company he needs to talk to, but they’re on vacation, so he won’t be able to get back to us for a while.”
“Great.”
“That’s why we’ve got to go home and see about enlarging the market there. Otherwise we’re not going to be able to pay the rent. We need to do it now!”
“You sound just like Greer!”
Greer was the oldest triplet by a matter of minutes. Yet Olivia, who’d been born last with Piper in the middle, had always been dominated by Greer, their natural born leader.
Over the years she had made the decisions about everything, whether Olivia or Piper liked them or not. For the first time ever, Olivia could do what she wanted without having to hear Greer’s opinion.
“With Greer gone, someone needs to talk sense into you. What’s the real reason you want to stay? You and Luc looked like mortal enemies after the wedding ceremony, so I don’t understand why you would dare confront him again—oh, no—tell me it isn’t true.”
“What?”
“Tell me you haven’t fallen for Luc de Falcon—”
Her cheeks turned to flame.
“Olivia? You can’t!”
“What do you mean, I can’t?”
“Because you just can’t, that’s all.”
“Why?”
“Think of Greer.”
“That’s all I’ve ever done. We’ve had to do everything her way because she always took charge. Now she’s married, I want to think about moi for a change.”
“Then you need to think again because Luc is Max’s first cousin.”
“So?”
“So, Greer married Max, and Luc has become her family, too. You can’t horn in!”
“Excuse me?”
