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‘What are you talking about now? None of me is fake!’
He laughed. ‘Sure. You’ve even dispensed with your accent so that nobody can tell who you are or where you’re from. That’s not fake? Face it, Jade, you have the services of the goddess of the cosmetic surgery world at your disposal. Don’t expect me to believe you’ve never taken advantage of a slight nip and tuck.’
‘Actually,’ she said, turning to recover her clothes from where they’d been scattered over the floor, ‘I’m past caring what you believe.’
‘So deny it, then. Deny you’ve ever had a cosmetic procedure.’
She’d turned back, her mouth ready to snap back a retort in the negative, when she stopped herself short. Of course she’d had cosmetic procedures. First the botched attempts to remove the birthmark from her torso, and then the skilled hand of Grace finally ridding her of the mark from her face and neck.
So instead of answering she turned away with the bundle of clothes in her arms, heading for the en suite bathroom.
‘I’m leaving,’ she said. ‘Don’t bother seeing me out. I’ll call a cab.’
Mayor Goldfinch’s limo was parked in the driveway when Jade finally arrived home. She cursed silently under her breath. Even without all that had happened tonight the thought of seeing the Mayor made her feel sick to the stomach. His repulsive behaviour that night at the Gala was unforgivable—his betrayal of Grace a black mark that could never be removed.
And yet Mayor Goldfinch was only here tonight because she hadn’t yet told Grace what she’d stumbled upon in the library. So wasn’t her own silence just as damning? Why hadn’t she had the guts to tell Grace what she’d seen? Why hadn’t she at least warned the woman who was supposed to mean more to her than anyone that the man she was involved with wasn’t to be taken at face value?
Damn the man, and damn his presence!
Now there would be no chance to warn Grace tonight about Loukas’s bizarre claims against her. And she had to talk to her. She needed to talk to her. Because on the long ride home Loukas’s evil claims had started to work on her psyche, had started to worm their way into her beliefs, and there were some things that might almost make sense—would almost make sense if you were as grief-crazed with loss as Loukas.
There had been a large number of negligence cases against the clinic settled out of court in the last few years. It might simply be a reflection of the US being a litigious society, as she’d so long assumed, but what if she was wrong? Was it really a sign of something more sinister? What if there really was another reason for the uncomfortable number of cases that had ended in settlements?
Grace’s unexpected cynicism about operating on Pia still irritated her sensibilities. Was the pursuit of money really that important to her?
But Grace could put her mind to rest on all of these issues. And she would.
Because the alternative was just too hard to think about, too impossible to be true.
At least she could be certain of one thing. Grace didn’t do drugs. She knew Grace wouldn’t be so crazy as to risk her whole career. But still she needed to talk to her. And the Mayor’s presence meant that she wouldn’t get a chance tonight.
Quietly she crossed the entrance foyer, heading for the stairs.
‘Jade!’ Grace’s voice trailed out from one of the rooms, stopping her in her tracks. ‘Come in. It’s so good you’re here. I have something to tell you.’
Jade suppressed a curse, taking a deep breath and tucking the stray strands of her hair behind her ears as she tried not to think about the last time she’d seen Mayor Goldfinch—tried not to think about what he’d been doing and with whom. She plastered what she hoped would pass for a smile on her face, and entered the room.
Mayor Goldfinch beamed at her and pulled a bottle of Cristal champagne from a silver ice bucket, pouring into an empty flute. Uneasy prickles started climbing up her spine. Why the hell would they be drinking champagne? Unless…
‘You’re the first to know,’ the Mayor said, pressing the flute into her hand with a beefy smile that turned her stomach almost as much as his words filled her with apprehension. She looked to Grace, hoping she was wrong, hoping she’d misinterpreted what this private little party was all about. But Grace smiled on, her eyes starry, her face radiant.
