“Don’t pick on my hankie,” Michael countered. “And remember how many times it’s saved you.”
They reached the corner where Maggie’s shop was, and he stopped as a phone he knew wasn’t his buzzed in his pocket. Michael pulled the phone out.
Kevin had no passcode, which meant the message preview sat clearly on the lock screen for both of them to see. He read the preview and raised one eyebrow.
"Maggie," Michael said quietly. "It looks like Vanessa is efficient after all."
"What does it say?" Maggie asked, leaning in.
He turned the screen toward her. The preview read in full:
The website is updated, babe. The new designs are live. Should we save the celebrity post for tomorrow or push tonight? The orders are already rolling in. We’re going to be RICH.
Maggie read it twice. Her smile, when it came, was slow and crafty.
"She really did walk right into the trap feet first," Maggie said.
"She really did," Michael agreed.
"We could pull this up on my laptop," Maggie suggested. "I want to see what she’s actually put on the website."
“Sure,” Michael said and then wanted to kick himself at how fast he’d agreed.
Michael didn’t let her see that he’d been hoping she’d suggest exactly that, because he wasn’t ready for his time with her to end.
The boutique was quiet, and her two assistants were neatening up the shelves when Michael and Maggie walked into the shop. They both looked up and greeted them.
Maggie led Michael back through the boutique to the design room. She unlocked the door, let him in, and closed the door behind them.
Maggie crossed to the desk where just a few hours ago they’d sat with Vanessa and Kevin. She opened the laptop perched on top of her desk as Michael sat beside her. He was, suddenly and acutely, aware of how close they were sitting.
Michael forced himself to look at the screen.
Maggie typed. The Kitsch Couture homepage filled the screen. And there it was.
The front page of Vanessa's boutique website now featured a large image of the decoy sketch Maggie had drawn that morning, with a banner across the top that readExclusive New Bridal Line — Inspired by Hollywood. Pre-Order Now.Below the sketch sat a smaller gallery, and the second photo in the gallery was Vanessa's selfie with the celebrity, who was wearing the silk separates Maggie had couriered to her that morning. The caption beneath the selfie readComing soon to Kitsch Couture in collaboration with Maggie's Originals.
Maggie went very still beside him.
"In collaboration with Maggie's Originals," Maggie repeated softly. Anger reverberated through her voice. "She used my brand name."
Maggie sat back slowly in her chair, and to Michael’s surprise, she was smiling.
It was not a warm smile but one of a predator that had just cornered its prey and knew there was no place else for it to go.
"I told you," Maggie said quietly. "She just couldn't resist."
"I never doubted you for a moment, Maggie," Michael answered.
He realized, as he said it, that he was looking at her again instead of at the screen, and that her face had turned toward his. Her eyes had darkened, and his heart picked up speed as his pulse raced. He cleared his throat. He turned, deliberately, to Kevin's phone on the table.
"Right," Michael said firmly, clearing his throat once again. "Now let us see what we have on this."
He tapped the screen. The phone unlocked, and Michael stared at it for a full two seconds.
"He still doesn’t have a passcode on this thing," Maggie observed, leaning over to see.
"Doesn’t look like it," Michael confirmed.
