suspected, found only Brigida and Lorenzo waiting at the table.
They ordered drinks and Maggie asked for a cheeseburger, which arrived at the table a minute before the rest of their friends.
“So, fill me in,” Camilla said, slinging her purse on the back of the chair. “And please please please tell me you’ll have time to make me a gown, too. I want to look perfect. ”
“Um, hello. We came here to talk about the last twenty-four hours of stakeouts at Matrigna, not so that you could use Maggie’s position to get your grubby hands on a prince.”
“Excuse me, but my hands are not grubby. And someone’s going to marry him—don’t you all want to see me happy?”
Barty snorted. “You think you’d be happy with that womanizer? A hundred bucks says he makes his future bride sign some kind of non-disclosure prenup that allows him to continue being a dirty, dirty boy…”
“Oh my god, you look like you’re about to have an orgasm just thinking about him,” Lorenzo snorted.
“He probably wouldn’t be the first,” Brigida commented.
Maggie held up a hand, tired of the talk about Salvadore. It bothered her—even though he was the things her friends said, even though the prince himself didn’t seem to mind his reputation, he was more than those things. She had never doubted what he could be if he wanted to, and she hated that because he didn’t believe it himself, this was the way his people talked about him around pub tables.
“Cammie, I’ll try and get to a dress for you, but I’m not sure I’ll have time. I’ll come by your place next week if I can squeeze it in.” Maggie squeezed her beer bottle, willing her voice to pitch lower so she didn’t sound so upset. “Now, what have we learned about the person picking up messages for Matrigna? Anything?”
“No one has come and gone except the receptionist, not that we’ve seen,” Brigida said, managing to sound both bored and frustrated at the same time.
“Damn. Well, it’s only been a day.”
“Look, I know this is important, but I don’t have weeks of my life to spend sitting in a car or lurking on a street corner. It’s cold, and I’m too pretty for grunt work.” Camilla studied her manicure. “So is Barty.”
“Ha, ha,” Barty fake laughed. “But she’s not wrong. If it’s really only a receptionist, we could just…let ourselves in and take a look around. Maybe find some files, or a phone number?”
Maggie’s lips tugged down in a frown. “It didn’t seem like there would be much to find in there.”
“Wait a second, you’re supporting this? Perfect, I-Always-Follow-The-Rules Magdalena Rossi?” Lorenzo’s mouth hung open in fake shock.
Or maybe it was real, she didn’t care. She needed to get back to work.
Magdalena shrugged. “I mean, I’m busy, too. Why waste a bunch of time to potentially come up with nothing when we could come up with nothing in one night?”
“It’s settled,” Camilla said. “When are we doing this?”
“How about tomorrow night?” Barty suggested, waiting for the rest of them to either shrug or nod. Lorenzo and Brigida both looked less than enthusiastic about breaking the law, but in the end, they both consented.
Which was important, because Brigida’s father owned a hardware store, which meant she could bring the ring of skeleton keys that would get them inside.
“Can you get away, Maggie? I mean, I’d hate to jeopardize my chance at getting a dress.”
She shook her head at Camilla, wondering again how on earth they’d managed to fall in with the same group of friends.
“I can, but I think a couple of us should go alone. Five is too many to stay inconspicuous.” She drew a deep breath, knowing that she’d started this whole thing and one of the three should be her. “I’ll go, and Brigida so she can bring the keys. Barty, you come as the lookout. We’ll update the two of you afterward.”
They all agreed. Maggie drained her beer, finished her
They ordered drinks and Maggie asked for a cheeseburger, which arrived at the table a minute before the rest of their friends.
“So, fill me in,” Camilla said, slinging her purse on the back of the chair. “And please please please tell me you’ll have time to make me a gown, too. I want to look perfect. ”
“Um, hello. We came here to talk about the last twenty-four hours of stakeouts at Matrigna, not so that you could use Maggie’s position to get your grubby hands on a prince.”
“Excuse me, but my hands are not grubby. And someone’s going to marry him—don’t you all want to see me happy?”
Barty snorted. “You think you’d be happy with that womanizer? A hundred bucks says he makes his future bride sign some kind of non-disclosure prenup that allows him to continue being a dirty, dirty boy…”
“Oh my god, you look like you’re about to have an orgasm just thinking about him,” Lorenzo snorted.
“He probably wouldn’t be the first,” Brigida commented.
Maggie held up a hand, tired of the talk about Salvadore. It bothered her—even though he was the things her friends said, even though the prince himself didn’t seem to mind his reputation, he was more than those things. She had never doubted what he could be if he wanted to, and she hated that because he didn’t believe it himself, this was the way his people talked about him around pub tables.
“Cammie, I’ll try and get to a dress for you, but I’m not sure I’ll have time. I’ll come by your place next week if I can squeeze it in.” Maggie squeezed her beer bottle, willing her voice to pitch lower so she didn’t sound so upset. “Now, what have we learned about the person picking up messages for Matrigna? Anything?”
“No one has come and gone except the receptionist, not that we’ve seen,” Brigida said, managing to sound both bored and frustrated at the same time.
“Damn. Well, it’s only been a day.”
“Look, I know this is important, but I don’t have weeks of my life to spend sitting in a car or lurking on a street corner. It’s cold, and I’m too pretty for grunt work.” Camilla studied her manicure. “So is Barty.”
“Ha, ha,” Barty fake laughed. “But she’s not wrong. If it’s really only a receptionist, we could just…let ourselves in and take a look around. Maybe find some files, or a phone number?”
Maggie’s lips tugged down in a frown. “It didn’t seem like there would be much to find in there.”
“Wait a second, you’re supporting this? Perfect, I-Always-Follow-The-Rules Magdalena Rossi?” Lorenzo’s mouth hung open in fake shock.
Or maybe it was real, she didn’t care. She needed to get back to work.
Magdalena shrugged. “I mean, I’m busy, too. Why waste a bunch of time to potentially come up with nothing when we could come up with nothing in one night?”
“It’s settled,” Camilla said. “When are we doing this?”
“How about tomorrow night?” Barty suggested, waiting for the rest of them to either shrug or nod. Lorenzo and Brigida both looked less than enthusiastic about breaking the law, but in the end, they both consented.
Which was important, because Brigida’s father owned a hardware store, which meant she could bring the ring of skeleton keys that would get them inside.
“Can you get away, Maggie? I mean, I’d hate to jeopardize my chance at getting a dress.”
She shook her head at Camilla, wondering again how on earth they’d managed to fall in with the same group of friends.
“I can, but I think a couple of us should go alone. Five is too many to stay inconspicuous.” She drew a deep breath, knowing that she’d started this whole thing and one of the three should be her. “I’ll go, and Brigida so she can bring the keys. Barty, you come as the lookout. We’ll update the two of you afterward.”
They all agreed. Maggie drained her beer, finished her
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