Lie to Me (Pearl Island Trilogy #4)(74)

He needed to slow down before he did something stupid to scare her off.

“Hey you,” a woman said, coming up behind Chloe to squeeze her shoulders.

Chloe’s amusement vanished before she pasted on a smile and turned. “Diane.”

“You haven’t introduced me to your friend.” The woman gave him a dazzling smile. He knew Chloe’s mother’s name was Diane, but this woman looked young enough to be Chloe’s sister.

“I’m sorry,” Chloe said. “Diane, this is Luc Renard. Luc, this is Diane. My mother.”

“It’s good to meet you,” Diane said, looking more genuine about the greeting than the grandmother had.

“It’s good to meet you, too.” He shook her hand, trying to forget how much this woman had upset Chloe by trying to pressure her into taking the necklace away from him.

“If you don’t mind,” Diane said, smiling broadly, “I need to steal Chloe away for just a second.”

“Not at all.” He lifted his plate. “I’ll just help myself to some food.”

“Please do,” Diane said. “The caviar is especially good, so be sure you don’t miss that.”

Chloe suppressed a groan as her mother led her to an area where they could still be seen, but not overheard.

“Have you lost your mind?” Diane asked in a furious whisper through smiling lips. “John just told me that your guest has been trying to take our necklace away from us.”

“How could he know that?” Chloe asked, jolted. She never would have invited Luc if she’d known anyone in the family had a clue about his relationship to the necklace. “I never told you someone else was trying to claim the necklace.”

“The Historical Commission must have told him,” Diane said, oblivious to the bomb she’d just dropped. Good Lord, John must be actively going after the necklace if he’d contacted the Historical Commission. Diane frowned at her. “I can’t believe you’d invite the person who wants to steal the key to restoring our family fortune.”

“It’s not the key to restoring anything for us,” Chloe told her in a hard whisper, smiling with stiff lips. “The necklace belongs to Luc’s grandmother.”

“Marguerite gave it to us,” Diane insisted.

“How many times do I have to tell you that my finding it has nothing to do with Marguerite?”

“At first you said it did.” Diane looked both wounded and confused. “Are you changing your story because you’re interested in Luc? You’re not doing this to catch him, are you?”

“No,” Chloe said, not surprised by her mother’s assumption. “I changed my story because I found out I was wrong.”

“From Luc?” Diane’s expression turned skeptical. “If you’re going to help anyone get the necklace, shouldn’t it be your family?”

“Stop.” Chloe closed her eyes for a second. “I don’t want any part of this battle over the necklace. I’m not helping anyone get it. I’ve made that clear to Luc, and now I want to make that clear to you. The whole notion that it will replace Marguerite’s necklace is crazy.”

“You said it had some sort of magic.”

Chloe smiled as the Johnsons passed by, then lowered her voice even more. “Even if the necklace has the kind of magic you and John need, it wouldn’t change things in the next two weeks.”

“You don’t know that.” Desperation lined Diane’s face.

“Diane,” Chloe sighed. “The only thing that will get you out of marrying Harold is you having the guts to break things off.”

“I can’t.” Diane looked horrified.

“Yes, you can. I know the thought of having to support yourself terrifies you, but you could do it.”

“How?”

“You could start by selling off your jewelry while you look for a job.”

“A job doing what?”

“I don’t know.” Chloe pinched her forehead. “Become an event planner or something.”

“An event planner?” Diane pressed a hand to her chest and glanced around at the party surrounding them. “For hire?”

“Why not?” The idea grew in Chloe’s mind. “You’d be great at it.”

“How? With my former friends as clients? Do you know how humiliating that would be?”

“Would it be worse than marrying a man you don’t even like?”

“I didn’t say I don’t like Harold.” Diane had the grace to look down.

“Do you like him?” Chloe cocked her head.

“I don’t dislike him,” Diane hedged. “I know he’s not handsome, but…” Diane’s gaze drifted toward her fiancé. Sensing her attention, Harold looked over and smiled.

To Chloe’s complete astonishment, color bloomed on Diane’s cheeks.

“Oh my God,” Chloe breathed. “You do like him.”

“I don’t know.” Diane wrung her hands. “I guess. I just don’t know how to deal with him.”

Chloe decoded that to mean Diane didn’t know how to manipulate him. Well, hallelujah, she wanted to shout. About time Diane met a man who couldn’t be led around by his penis. Especially since that never lasted.