Amy Atwell - Lying Eyes

“Myth?” Mickey pierced her with his gaze.

“There’s never been any proof the story is true, but Mom always believed in it.”

Mickey downed his drink, conscious that his headache was gone. At last things were beginning to fall into place. Of course, if he hadn’t been so interested in Iris, he might have seen the problem from this angle long before now. The magician hadn’t been some happenchance choice-Cosmo’s bosses had a motive in hiring him to move the gems.

Cosmo knew about alexandrite from his Russian wife; he possibly had connections over there. And Mickey knew the magician had flown back from St. Petersburg three nights before.

Mickey started to rise when he heard a telephone trill. Iris lurched to her feet, reaching up to touch her hair as if to be sure everything was as it should be. She faltered a moment when she realized her pins were gone and her hair down.

“Excuse me,” she said before hurrying toward the kitchen. He waited, and his silence was soon rewarded. “Hi…No, I’m here and everything is fine…What?”

During the lengthy pause, Mickey had to force himself to remain seated.

“I just found out today…Well, shocked, really…Oh, now he didn’t kill anyone-even the police said they didn’t think he was responsible. It’s just that the body was in his car, so naturally they want to question him, only he seems to have disappeared.”

The ragged breath she drew told him in an instant she needed someone on her side. “And there’s something else you should know, something I just learned. Cosmo committed bigamy, and he had two other families…Yes, I have two younger half sisters.”

The tone of defeat in her voice tugged at him. Mickey rose, ill at ease with eavesdropping on even half her conversation with the noble if clueless David. Still, he crept toward the doorway to watch her. Why did she always sound like she was apologizing to the guy?

“No, of course I didn’t know anything about them. I’m still trying to fathom how he kept this secret from all three of us for so many years.”

There was another pause, but he noted that she squared her shoulders.

“It’s awkward for you?” This time, her brittle laugh about shattered Mickey. “You might have given me at least thirty seconds of sympathy before you brought the campaign into it…No, I don’t think we will discuss it over dinner. I don’t think I even want to see you tonight.” With a sigh, her voice eased. “David, it’s been a long day, what with the police, Cosmo’s two other daughters-”

The jewel thief in my living room, Mickey finished the thought for her. He backed away to survey the living room, dotted with the remnants of Iris’s casual striptease, their drinks, the telltale indentations on the sofa where they’d sat, and willfully suppressed the urge to clean things up. It was best for her to continue to think of him as a bad guy.

Best for them both.

She returned, composed and collected. The façade was well constructed, but he wondered how much it cost her. “Are we about done here?”

“Yeah.” He set down his drink. “Is he coming over?”

She eyed him but let the invasiveness of his question slide. “No.”

“Because I could help you pick up, make it look like I was never here.”

Iris wished it were that easy. Sure, she could clear away all physical traces of him, and David would never suspect a hot thief had visited her. It would be much harder to prevent Mickey’s sexy image from haunting these rooms. She should never have allowed him in here.

Wait, she hadn’t let him in. He’d broken in. Hot or no, the guy was still a criminal, and she’d be crazy to trust him.

“That’s not necessary.”

He got the hint. “Thanks for the lesson. I’ll call you as soon as I have some word on Cosmo.”

“Thanks.” She followed him to the door, but paused as he took her hand. The way his charismatic eyes held hers, and those lips-they curved in an invitation. His fingers tightened on her arms, and she knew the momentary triumph of an impending kiss.

An abrupt knock made them both freeze.

Mickey raised his brow at her, and Iris shrugged. Standing on tiptoe, she peered through the peephole. Cosmo’s two other daughters stood in the hall.

Peachy.

She looked sidelong at Mickey. “I don’t suppose you can climb out a window?”

He didn’t answer, merely nudged her aside to look through the peephole himself. “Wow, are those your sisters?”

She pushed him out of the way and opened the door to glare at the women. “What do you want?”

Corazon’s brow immediately furrowed, and her eyes took on an adversarial glint.

But Allie smoothed things over with a smile. “We wanted to talk. Please, Iris.”

“Why don’t you ladies come in,” Mickey said with a sweep of his arm. “I was just leaving.”

“Are you David?” Allie tilted her head to look at him.

“How do you know about David?” Iris asked, feeling that more than her home was being invaded by these two.

Corazon pushed over the threshold waving a handful of paper like a weapon. “First, your engagement is listed on this. Second, we’ve been down at your shop. Once Ginny found out we were your sisters, she told us your whole life story.”

“Oh, jeez.” Iris leaned back against the open door. She’d crafted a sensible adult life with the same skill and artistry she’d use for any new piece of jewelry. How could her hard work come crashing down upon her all in one day?

Allie still stood in the doorway, studying Mickey’s face. “You’re not, are you? David, I mean.”

He held out his hand to her. “Mickey Kincaid. I’m Iris’s cousin.”

“On my mother’s side,” Iris added.

“Well don’t get all snitty about it.” Cory shook hands with Mickey, too. “Cory Fortune and this is Allie. We’re Iris’s half sisters.”

“So I gathered. She’s been telling me about it.”

Cory leaned forward to whisper to him. “Is she always this bitchy?”

Mickey smiled. “She’s had a rough day.”

“Haven’t we all?”

Iris resented the sarcasm. More than that, she resented that the other woman had any right to judge her. Grabbing Mickey’s sleeve, she tugged him into the hall. “Sorry you have to leave, cousin.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow, Rissie. Sooner if I find Uncle Cosmo.” He bent down to kiss her cheek.

Iris didn’t move away fast enough. The roughness of his five o’clock shadow melted as the warmth of his lips on her skin tingled all the way down her body. Everything about this guy was so wrong, what made his kisses feel so right?

His jaw was set in a hard line as he withdrew from her, and she thought she spied a tic in his cheek, as if he were irritated about something. Maybe the interruption by the other women. She was annoyed by it, too.

God, she was in such trouble. She should be thanking these women for saving her from the biggest mistake of her life. Sad to let pheromones or whatever tempt her into doing something stupid, something she’d regret.

Still, there was no denying the regret she experienced as Mickey walked down the hall. He never even looked back, leaving her alone to face Cosmo’s other daughters.

She refused to think of them as sisters.

When Iris reentered her apartment, she found Cory holding her discarded high heel sling-backs by two fingers. With a quirked brow, the brunette appraised her. “Does David know about Mickey?”

“I told you, Mickey’s my cousin.”

“And I’m the Queen Mother.” Cory scanned the living room. “It looks like your cousin barely got you in the door before you started shedding clothes. Or did that happen after you shared a drink?”