Harlequin Desire: March 2022, Box Set 1 of 2 by Nadine Gonzalez

Author:Nadine Gonzalez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

SIX

Penelope

Penelope looked down at her six-carat diamond engagement ring, surrounded by emeralds from ancient Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, passed down through the Ryder-White clan to the wife of the oldest son. She was the fifth—or was it the sixth?—Ryder-White wife to wear the magnificent and irreplaceable jewel.

Like so much else about her life, she both loved and hated it. Loved that the jewel was rare and stunningly expensive, hated it because it was another stupid Ryder-White tradition and neither of her daughters would one day wear the ring. Her father-in-law had made it clear that it was on loan to her.

Bloody Callum.

Through force of will, Penelope kept her spine steel-rod straight, her clasped hands resting on the cheap vinyl table in a diner on the west side of town. She’d refused coffee, asked for water, and pushed away the menu with one finger, the tip of which was perfectly painted in bright fuchsia.

This wasn’t her usual milieu. She didn’t know how to relate to blue-collar folk but this meeting required anonymity and discretion. Nobody would expect Penelope Ryder-White, society wife and fundraising maven, to frequent this slightly grubby, riotously busy truck stop on the edge of town.

Penelope removed her designer sunglasses, carefully folded them and tapped the edge of the frame against the table. She’d been waiting for five minutes already and her contact was late. She abhorred tardiness and would wait for, precisely, another five and then she would leave. And then she’d find another private investigator, someone who could, at the very least, be punctual.

Finding an investigator wasn’t hard; finding one who could give her quick results was trickier. Callum was becoming increasingly difficult. Things were changing and she needed information to anticipate and head off trouble.

A middle-aged, curvy woman holding a coffee cup dropped onto the bench seat opposite her and shoved her own, cheap sunglasses into bright red hair. With her deep green eyes, freckles, a wide mouth and lack of makeup, she looked like any other suburban housewife.

Penelope raised her thin eyebrows in displeasure. “Excuse me, that seat is taken.”

Amusement flashed in her eyes. “Ms. Ryder-White, I’m KJ Holden.”

She was KJ Holden, reputed to be one of the best investigators in the city? This woman was a whiz at tracking down missing people and family members?

She didn’t think so.

“You?” Penelope demanded.

With an annoyed sigh, KJ lifted her bottom and pulled a thin wallet from the back of her pants. After flipping it open, KJ eased a card from a slot and pushed it across the table. The card told Penelope that she was a registered PI and bail bonds agent.

Right, so much for assumptions. “You must get that a lot,” Penelope said. It was as close as she could come to an apology. People of her ilk and wealth weren’t in the habit of dropping sorrys like snowballs.

“Normally people are politer,” KJ said on a false smile.

She was feisty, too. Penelope rather liked that. Her daughters were feisty and fierce and she liked that they were strong and independent women.

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