Page 2 of No Stone Unturned

“You’re lovely.”

I looked at myself in the mirror for the millionth time and tried to tug the neckline higher. “I’m overdressed and I’m in white. I’m a disaster waiting to happen. I should have worn jeans.” I stuffed my hands in the dress pockets so I wouldn’t bite my nails.

“You’renotoverdressed, I promise.” Our eyes met in the mirror and he smiled. “Cara, look, if you’re feeling overwhelmed at the party, just squeeze my hand twice, and I’ll figure a way to extract you. Remember, close friends and family, okay?”

“And unnamed guests.” Anxiety coursed through me. “I don’t understand how we got so many friends in such a short period of time. I was perfectly fine with only three friends for the past two years. The ratio had better not grow at the same rate over the next year or so, or we’ll need two houses to hold everyone.”

He thought I was joking, but only partially. I really did require a lot of personal space.

He chuckled and walked over to me while buttoning his shirt. Cupping my chin in his hand, he lowered his lips to mine, kissing me. Mmmm...he smelled like aftershave and soap. When he leaned back, I wound my arms around his waist, pressing my head against his chest.

“Want to cancel?” he murmured.

“Yes. I really do. But we won’t. I really do like all of our friends, it’s just that I’m not sure I like them all here at the same time. If you’re with me, I’ll make it through.”

“Okay, then. Let me finish dressing and we’ll go downstairs. People will be arriving shortly.”

My parents were the first to arrive, twenty minutes early. No surprise there. My dad was a high-powered attorney in Georgetown and he’s habitually early to ensure he’s punctual. He’s also wicked observant, which helped hone his interrogation skills, but also meant I never got away with anything growing up.

After a lot of awkward hugs and a grand tour of the house, Slash and my dad disappeared into the kitchen to get beer. That left me alone with my mom, a former beauty pageant queen and social butterfly. If there was a television show for the Rich Housewives of Georgetown, she’d be one of the stars. I turned toward her, trying to look like I was totally excited about the party and having everyone over. After that failed, I decided to modify and aim for looking like I didn’t want to run out of the house screaming.Thatwas far more achievable.

“Oh, you look so pretty, Lexi.” She fussed with my hair, arranging it on my shoulders. After that she studied my ring for a long time, then beamed with happiness. “Love looks good on you. Have you and Slash set a date for the wedding yet?”

“No.”

“So we’re clear—you arenoteloping, young lady.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “I would never forgive you.”

It was scary how accurate my mom was at reading my mind. I tried not to look guilty, but she probably saw through that. “Mom, we haven’t eventhoughtabout the wedding yet. We’ve got a lot of other stuff going on right now.”

“What could be more important than a wedding? Your house is beautiful, the furniture is lovely—although a bit modern for my taste—and you both have well-paying jobs. Get on with it already. Although, it is kind of strange those people follow you around all the time.”

“They’re Secret Service agents, and they’re just doing their job.” It was hard for me to be annoyed about this comment when I was still coming to terms with them being parked in front of our house whenever Slash was home. I automatically looked toward the window, wondering which team was on duty tonight.

“If you say so. Look, darling, let me give you a piece of advice. Don’t make Slash wait forever.”

I tried to keep the exasperation out of my voice. “Mom, we just got engaged a few weeks ago. Can’t we enjoy that for a while?”

“Of course you can enjoy it. Just enjoy itwhileyou’re planning your wedding.” She reached forward, adjusting one of my earrings, then stepped back and examined me. Mom was a perfectionist. Her blonde hair was long, shiny and expertly styled and she always knew just what clothes to wear to show off her best features. Tonight she wore a form-fitting red dress with a scoop back and dangling diamond earrings that caught the light and sparkled every time she moved. She was gorgeous. Sometimes it was hard being her daughter, because people who hadn’t met me expected a lot more than a lanky, brown-haired girl who was into math and computers and didn’t care much about clothes and makeup.

“Remember, the best wedding venues fill up fast,” she continued as if she hadn’t heard my protest. “Your father and I have a lot of social contacts, but we’ll need plenty of lead time to get you what you want.”

“We don’t even knowwhatwe want.” That was true, but we were both one-hundred percent certain whatever it was we wanted, it wouldnotbe what my mom had in mind. She was all about pomp and pageantry, while Slash and I were way too private and minimalist for that.

“Well, at least we’ll go shopping for your wedding dress soon,” she said. “I’ve already bought several bridal magazines for us to flip through so we can determine what you’re thinking about in terms of style.”

The mere thought of flipping through a bridal magazine filled me with such dread, I shuddered.

“I also sent you that link to the online wedding dress style quiz last week,” she continued, oblivious to my horror. “Why haven’t you taken it yet?”

Jeez! That was it! I had to get out of there right now.

“Ah, excuse me, Mom. I need a drink.” I executed a sharp turn and made a beeline for the kitchen.

My dad and Slash were leaning against the kitchen counter, drinking beer and laughing about something. Ever since Slash proposed, my dad had relaxed his constant interrogation tactics and had started to enjoy Slash’s company. Thank God for small miracles. It did make things between us a lot more comfortable. I still had to be on my guard, though, because while my dad understands me a lot better than my mom, I knew he wouldn’t side with me on any wedding-related drama. I was on my own for that, and prepared for lots of it, because everyone knew thatnothingbrought out the family drama more than a wedding.

Thank God Slash was from Italy where most of his family resided, except for his mom and stepfather—who I’d never met. Yet. They’d moved from Italy to London when Slash started working at the Vatican. Either way, their location in another country was a plus for me, and possibly for him, too. An ocean away was a comfortable distance, in my opinion. In my case, it meant I had to deal with only one set of relatives at a time.

I reached for the wine when the doorbell rang. Slash and I exchanged a glance. He held out a hand and I took it. Together we walked into the foyer and opened the door. Grayson Reese stood there smiling. She was a CIA analyst and one of the few people willing to discuss quantitative research with me. Maybe we could hide in a corner and talk about the new trends in research statistics and evaluation. Justanythingnon-wedding related. Her brown hair was loose and curled and she wore a cute black dress and heeled strappy sandals. Her boyfriend, Hands—his Navy SEAL nickname—was nowhere in sight.

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