Page 28 of The Naughty One
She shook her head, dismissive. “I don’t have time.” She took the papers from him and scrawled her signature where he indicated. Stuart put the signed papers back in his jacketpocket.
“Thank you. I wish you well,Hilary.”
Hilary smiled at him and for a brief second, Stuart could see the beautiful woman she had once been. Then the malice crept back in her face. “Tell your girlfriend’s daughter to watch out for Blue … he isn’t what he says heis.”
Hilary’slast words were still bugging Stuart as he drove back to Magda’s home. They had decided that he would move in with her after the wedding, selling his massive condo. “I don’t need it,” he’d told her, “this is home to menow.”
Magda saw the preoccupation on his face and Stuart told her what Hilary had said. Magda shrugged it off. “She’s just trying to upset you. Blue is a good man; we all knowthat.”
Stuart sighed. “I know. I just don’t trust Hilary not to go screw things up for him. She loathed Bianca, and barely even spoke to Blue —until, get this, until he was a young teenager and started to blossom into his looks. Then she would show him off like a trophy. Blue isn’t like Gaius. He hated being paraded around like a prize. As soon as he was eighteen, he left home, just to get away from her. I confess, I helped him move out.” He sat and rubbed his face, but then smiled at Magda. “But all that aside, she signed thepapers.”
Magda grinned and sat down on his knees. “You’re a freeman?”
“I’m a free man … so, officially, Magdalena Helen Sasse … would you do me the great honor of marryingme?”
Magda laughed, and nodded. “I will, Stuart Gregory Eames. I really will … and if you’ll have me, on ChristmasDay.”
Stuart grinned, knowing the arrangements were almost in place for their wedding. He kissed her tenderly, gazing up into her navy-blue eyes. “I can’t wait, my darling. I can’twait.”
Romy was concentrating so hardon the practice dummy she was performing a surgery on that she didn’t see Mac sidle into the room until he poked her side and made her jump. “Dude! You just killed mypatient.”
Mac laughed. “Nah, she was a goner anyway.So…”
Romy hid a grin. “Yes?”
“You and DocAllende?”
Romy flushed, but smiled. “Prettymuch.”
“Howlong?”
“A couple ofmonths.”
“Rom?” She looked up to see his smile. “Is itlove?”
She nodded, flushing again. “It is. I’m crazy abouthim.”
“Good. You get your man, girl. It’s not like it’s a huge surprise toanyone.”
Romy looked at him sharply. “What?”
Mac held his hands up. “Slow your roll. I didn’t tell anyone. But the chemistry between the two of you speaks foritself.”
He watched her for a few minutes as she worked. “Rom? Did you hear? Moremurders.”
Romy’s hand slipped and she cussed, ripping off her gloves to see the small gash in the top of her finger. Mac helped her to clean it up. “Girl, why were you wearing gloves to operate on adummy?”
“Habit,” she said, “ouch.”
“Sorry. Look, it just needs cleaning and a stitch is all. No biggie. Want me to doit?”
“Please.”
Mac studied her face as he helped her. “I know you think these killings are your fault. They’re not, babe. They are the work of a very sick, very bad man. Do you know how many times I thank God that he didn’t kill you that day? And I didn’t even know you back then. You’re a survivor,Romy.”
“But what does that mean when innocent women are being killed because ofme?”
“It’s not because of you!” Mac said angrily. “God, I could kill Dacre Mortimer with my bare hands. Have the police told you anything about theirsearch?”
