Rich Bitch: Everything's Going to the Dogs by Nancy Warren

through her, she hadn’t fallen in love that second, she’d only just let herself accept her feelings.
    Love. And with an American! As she waited for the panic and horror of her situation to sink in her stomach like an emotional Titanic, her feelings continued buoyant. In fact, she couldn’t keep the smile
 off her face.  This time, her heart had chosen well.
    And if the man she loved wanted to play detective in order to protect the dogs he’d grown fond of, then she supposed she was going to have to pull herself together and help him.
    “All right,” she said. “What is the plan?”
    “We invite them for lunch.”
    Her eyes widened so suddenly she felt her eyelashes scrape her lids. “Am I supposed to poison them?”
    Vince laughed. “Tempting. But I have something else in mind. I’ve got a few calls to make to set things up.”
    ***
    “Pooh,” she said, when Vince returned from taking Sir Galahad across the hall to 17B. He’d hired the neighbor’s boy to look after the dog for a few hours while the sting operation went down in 17A.
    She ran her hands down the front of her short black skirt on her way to check on the lunch. The food at least would be good. Everything else made her nervous. “Why did you have to invite them for lunch?” she asked as she stirred soup. “I hate these people.”
    “Stop fidgeting. You’ll do fine.” He hoisted Mimi to his shoulder, where she perched like a fluffy angel.
    “I wish I could hide next door.”
    “I need you here. My partner in crime busting,” he said and kissed her swiftly. Then he raised his head and with one hand touched her cheek. “My partner in—”
    The doorbell chimed, so she jumped with nerves, and Vince stopped in mid-sentence to kiss her once again. Hard and swift. “Here’s something to take your mind off the charade,” he said, his eyes crinkling as he stared into her eyes the way he did sometimes when he was deep inside her body and moving toward climax. “I love you.”
    While her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, he grinned at her once more and kissed her open mouth. Then he went for the door.
    It was all right for him, addling her brains and making love to her mouth, then telling her he loved her. All right for him to tell her to relax; she had the pivotal role in this farce.
    He loved her.
    Oh, she wished he’d chosen a better time for his declaration. Given her time to assure him in the most obvious way that she returned his sentiments.
    She glanced at a million dollars an ounce Mimi, yapping from Vince’s shoulder, thought of Sir Galahad next door, who was still moving slowly.
    She watched Vince’s strong, broad back as he opened the door. The man she loved. The man who loved her. She wouldn’t let them down. She wouldn’t let any of them down.
    She was smiling and calm when Vince ushered in two similar-looking, expensively dressed and groomed cousins. Jonathon did his best to look down her shirt when he was introduced and held her hand a little too long. Esme didn’t stoop to shake hands with the staff, merely nodded, gazing at her with cold eyes.
    So the woman was a snob and her brother a lech. Just a couple more counts to add to their rap sheet along with attempted murder.
    Vince poured them all a glass of dry white wine, and Sophie brought out a tray of hors d’oeuvres, and they sat sipping and munching for a few awkward minutes.
    “Really, Vince, I can’t believe you’re still in this dismal apartment now you’re a multimillionaire,” Esme said by way of an opening conversational gambit.
    “Not me,” he replied with a smile. “Mimi’s the multimillionaire.”
    She laughed. “You’ll hardly let an insane old woman’s will stop you from spending a fortune.”
    “We’ll see,” he replied noncommittally, but Sophie saw the flare of anger in his eyes. He didn’t talk about Aunt Marjorie much, but she could tell he’d been fond of the woman.
    “As flattered as we are to be invited for a family