Almost Lost. Блейк Пирс

the jack of diamonds.

      “Dammit,” he said.

      “The jack. Always ready to cover for his queen. Loyal to the end. But our queen of hearts, the emblem of love, still eludes us.”

      “So where’s the queen?”

      “Where indeed?”

      Cassie had noticed, while he shuffled the cards around, that there was one he hadn’t touched at all—the one on the far left. That had been the ace of spades.

      “I think she’s there,” she guessed, pointing to the card.

      “Ah, so here we have a clever lady, pointing to the one card she knows it couldn’t possibly be. But you know what? Miracles happen.”

      With a flourish, he uncovered the card—and there was the queen.

      Laughter and applause rang through the square and Cassie felt a surge of delight as Dylan and Madison high-fived her.

      “What a pity you didn’t put money on it, my lady. You would have been richer now, but that’s the way it goes. Who needs money, when love has chosen you?”

      Cassie felt her cheeks redden. If only, she hoped.

      “As a memento, you may have the card itself.”

      He dropped it into a paper bag and sealed it with a sticker before handing it to Cassie, who put it in the side pocket of her purse.

      “I wonder what would have happened if I’d chosen that card,” Dylan remarked as they walked away.

      “I’m sure it would have been the jack of diamonds,” Cassie said. “That’s how he makes his money, by switching the cards when people bet.”

      “His hands were so fast,” Dylan said, shaking his head.

      “They must be naturally good and then train for years on top,” Cassie guessed.

      “I suppose they would have to,” Dylan agreed, as they reached the bus stop.

      “It’s also misdirection, but I’m not sure how that applies when there are four cards so close together. But it must work somehow.”

      “OK, let’s practice. Try and misdirect me, Cassie,” Madison asked.

      “I will, but the bus is coming. Let’s get on it first.”

      Madison turned to look and while her attention was distracted, Cassie snatched the toffee apple out of her jacket pocket.

      “Hey! What did you do? I felt something. And there’s no bus.” Madison turned back, saw Dylan burst out laughing, paused for a moment as she replayed what had happened, and started giggling herself.

      “You got me!”

      “It’s not always that easy. I was just lucky.”

      “The bus is coming, Madison,” Dylan said.

      “I’m not looking. You can’t trick me twice.” Still snorting with laughter she folded her arms.

      “Then you’ll get left behind,” Dylan told her as the sleek single-decker country bus pulled up at the stop.

      During the short ride home they all did their best to misdirect each other. By the time they reached their stop, Cassie’s stomach felt sore from laughing and she was warm with happiness that the day had been a success.

      As they unlocked the front door, her cell phone buzzed. It was a message from Ryan, telling her he’d be bringing pizzas home, and were there any toppings she didn’t like?

      She typed back, “I’m easy, thanks,” and then realized the connotations as she was about to press Send.

      Her face felt hot as she erased the words and replaced them with, “Any toppings are good. Thank you.”

      A minute later her phone buzzed again and she grabbed it, eager for Ryan’s next message.

      This text wasn’t from him. It was from Renee, one of her old school friends from back home.

      “Hey, Cassie, someone was looking for you this morning. A woman, calling from France. She was trying to find you but she wouldn’t say more. Can I give her your number?”

      Cassie reread the message and suddenly the village didn’t feel remote or safe anymore.

      With her ex-employer’s trial upcoming in Paris, and the defense team searching for more witnesses, she was terrified that the net was closing.

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      As she helped the children with their evening routine of bath time and pajamas, Cassie couldn’t get the disturbing message out of her mind. She tried to convince herself that Pierre Dubois’s legal team could have called her directly, without needing to track down an old school friend, but the fact remained that someone was looking for her.

      She urgently needed to find out who that person was.

      After she’d tidied the bathroom, she messaged Renee back.

      “Do you have a number for the lady? Did she give you her name?”

      Leaving her phone behind, she headed through to the kitchen and helped Madison set the table with all the extras that accompanied pizza—salt and pepper, crushed garlic, Tabasco sauce, and mayonnaise.

      “Dylan likes the mayo,” she explained. “I think it’s yuck.”

      “I do, too,” Cassie confessed, and her heart leaped as she heard the front door open.

      Madison rushed out of the kitchen, with Cassie close behind.

      “Pizza delivery!” Ryan called, handing Madison the pile of boxes. “It’s good to be indoors. It was getting icy out there, and dark, too.”

      He saw Cassie and just as she’d hoped, his face broke into that wickedly attractive grin.

      “Hello, Cassie! You’re looking beautiful. I see you have some color in your cheeks after all our seaside air. I can’t wait to hear about your day.”

      Cassie smiled back at him, grateful that he’d assumed her flushed face was caused by the fresh air, and not by the fact that she’d started feeling excited and strangely self-conscious as soon as he’d walked in.

      As she took the boxes from him, she told herself it would be a good thing when this crush on her boss calmed down.

      A few minutes later, Ryan joined them in the kitchen, and Cassie saw he was holding a brown paper bag.

      “I bought gifts for everyone,” he announced.

      “What did you get me?” Madison asked.

      “Patience, sweetheart. Let’s all sit down first.”

      When the children were seated at the table, he opened the bag.

      “Maddie, I bought you this.”

      It was a black, fitted top with a pink glittery slogan that was written upside down.

      “This is my Handstand Shirt,” the slogan read.

      “Oh, that’s so pretty. I can’t wait to wear it to gym,” Madison said, beaming in delight as she turned the shirt, watching the light catch the sparkles.

      “For you, Dylan, this.”

      His gift was a neon yellow, long-sleeved cycling top.

      “Cool, Dad. Thanks.”

      “I hope it keeps you safe, now that the mornings are getting so dark. And for you, Cassie, I bought these.”

      To Cassie’s amazement, Ryan took a pair of elegant, warm gloves from the bag. Her eyes widened as she realized they were almost identical to the ones she’d tried on in town.

      “Oh, they’re absolutely beautiful, and they will be so useful.”

      To her consternation, Cassie realized she was in the throes of her crush once again and was imagining herself wearing them while sitting outside and sipping wine with him.

      “I hope they’re