Gunning for the Groom by Debra Webb Page B

with a short laugh.
    â€œA good pair.” He took her hand and drew her close to his side, playing his role to perfection once more.
    â€œYou don’t have to fawn over me all the time.”
    He only grinned. “Relax. I know you’re not big on public displays of affection.”
    â€œI’m affectionate,” she argued.
    He laughed as they crossed the street. “Sure you are. Just keep following my lead.”
    His assessment gave her pause. “Do you think my mom suspects we’re pretending?” That could put an end to her best chance to know the truth.
    â€œNo, she’s seeing what we want her to see right now.”
    â€œWhy do I feel slimy?” The moment the words were out, Frankie regretted them. Aidan tensed, just a subtle flex of muscle in his arm, and she chattered to cover the gaffe. “I know this approach was my idea. I stand by it,” she insisted. “You said yourself it’s working. She’s distracted by wedding brain. We’ll be able to get what we came for before she knows what happened.”
    â€œAt this rate you’ll be telling her you’re pregnant by Friday,” he said, his voice cool.
    Frankie considered and dismissed the idea as too soon. “The corporate apartment can work for us, too.”
    â€œHow? You think the doorman knows something?”
    â€œNo.” Her patience had stretched thin during brunch, but she couldn’t let it snap. Aidan was her only ally. She needed him to see the real Sophia under the social sophistication and perfect-mother image. “We’ll uncover the truth.”
    They walked down the block toward the waterfront, admiring the blend of historic and new architecture spiking up around them. Aidan asked her questions about the city and she answered, trying to decide if this was part of the cover. A pleasant breeze toyed with the hem of her skirt. “Are you pleased or disappointed we don’t have a tail?” she asked, getting the conversation back to safe ground.
    â€œPleased,” he replied. “She trusts us. Paul might pose the bigger problem.”
    â€œPaul’s reserved, that’s all.” Thinking about Sophia’s business partner, Frankie couldn’t help making a comparison. “He’s the polar opposite of my father. Do you think she went for the quiet and serious type this time on purpose?”
    â€œI think she partnered with the man who gave Leo Solutions the best chance to succeed. He and your parents go way back.”
    â€œDon’t remind me.” Aidan had found the connection last night and pieced together the trail. Frankie had been more than a little alarmed by the discovery. Not to mention the kiss her mother had deposited on the man’s cheek.
    â€œShe wasn’t having an affair, Frankie.”
    â€œYou sound so sure.” She reached back and pressed a point on her back, above her hip. Keeping pace with his longer stride created a good ache as her muscles loosened up.
    â€œI am. I’ve been systematically working through your mother’s history.”
    They’d divided the searches for the purpose of efficiency and objectivity. Everything Frankie found on Sophia only made her cranky, which stalled the progress. So she dug into the general’s last months in Afghanistan while Aidan investigated her mom.
    â€œAre you working present to past?” If so, it left her exposed as he learned of her mother’s trips to hospitals and spine injury rehab centers to help Frankie recover. She pushed down the swell of embarrassment. Of all the people involved in this mess, she had the fewest secrets.
    â€œA little of both, actually.”
    She could tell he had more to say, a new question or accusation about her lousy approach on this case. “Spit it out. I can take it.”
    He stopped to admire a display in a gallery window, draping his arm around her shoulders. They were just a couple out for a walk on a