Infiltrating Your Heart (12 page)

“This one’s got a simple but elegant
band. It’s thin, and the diamond is an Old European cut.”

I take the first ring, examining it.
It’s pretty, but I’m not sure it’s right for Evelyn. I give it to Ciara to
examine. She looks at it.

“I’m not convinced Evelyn will love
this one.”

“Just what I thought.”

The woman blinks twice. I can tell
she thought Ciara was my girlfriend. I hand the ring back.

“This other one’s got a split shank,”
says the woman. She picks up a second ring, handing it to me. “The diamond cut
is Round Brilliant, and the metal is white gold. Small stones surround the
diamond.”

“I like it,” I say. When I look at
Ciara, she nods. Only, she doesn’t look too convinced. I leave the ring on the
counter. “And the other one?”

“This is one of our most expensive.
The diamond is an Asscher cut, and the metal is platinum. Its shank is tapered
and encrusted with small diamonds.”

I grab the ring. It’s gorgeous, but I’m
just not sure. This ring doesn’t seem Evelyn, either. Ciara also looks at it. I
think she likes it a lot, but doesn’t think it’s the right one for her best
friend.

“Show me a few more. Just keep this
one out, I’m considering it,” I say. She nods, putting back all the rings
except the second one.

The woman shows Ciara and I about a
dozen more rings. This is an important decision, so I consider my choices with
care. Although Evelyn prefers silver, I also consider a few yellow and rose
gold rings. In the end, I ask the woman to reserve the eighth ring she showed
us. I make a down payment for it.

Smiling, I exit the store. I’m
getting nervous about becoming engaged. And I’m also starting to think about
everything it entails. Yes, I know I’ll have a bachelor party. And I’m thinking
about Patrick. I wouldn’t put it past him to hire strippers. Maybe I should
stop by his place and shoot down those ideas before he gets them.

“That was the right pick,” Ciara
tells me when we’re back inside my car. “I’m sure Evelyn will love it.”

“I’m glad you think so. Evelyn
deserves nothing less than the
right
ring. That one seemed perfect. It
looks
expensive but isn’t much so. The beauty of the diamonds and the curves…it’s
so her.”

Ciara
laughs. I rev the engine and drive forward.

~*~
Mercedes

Later that day, Patrick stops by my
apartment as he said he would. I hear the doorbell ring while I’m watching TV.
I turn it off and then go open the door.

“Good afternoon, Patrick,” I tell
him. He gives me a curt nod, and I stand aside to let him in.

“I don’t have good news for you,”
Patrick says without preamble. I frown, watching as he walks to the sofa and
sits. I sit down as well, dismissing his lack of manners.

“First, Patrick, I want to ask what
on Earth you and Gabriel were doing at the party. He ran into me right into the
middle of a…um, an assignment! What if he finds out that I’m an escort?”

Patrick doesn’t seem fazed.

“Why, I thought you handled it like a
pro.”

“It wasn’t without difficulty. I put
my brain through a real workout trying not to mess up.”

“Be thankful that it went well.
Gabriel and I were there by Evelyn’s invitation. The Carrolls are good friends
with the Mayor’s family.”

I nod, sighing.

“Anyway, assignments. Funny way to
put what you actually do.”

I arch my eyebrows.

“I don’t have to explain myself to
you.”

Patrick brings his hands up, palms
facing me.

“I’m not judging you, Mercedes. If I
were my brother, I wouldn’t let you go if I had you. You’re so smoldering that
I’d overlook the fact you have sex for a living.”

I shoot Patrick a pointed stare. To
my chagrin, he doesn’t even cower.

“So, the bad news. It’s about
Gabriel. I…he’s just told me that he plans to propose to Evelyn.”

Mercedes

I gasp. Patrick’s revelation could
foil my plans.

“They’re that serious?” I ask.

“Gabriel and Evelyn have been dating
for years. I’ve bene trying to seduce her, but I’ve had to be discreet in doing
so. I don’t want Gabriel to suspect.”

“Has she shown interest in you?”

Patrick looks at me as though I’d
just asked him if the sea is blue.

“Evelyn is practically the princess
of San Francisco. You’d have to do something freakin’ amazing to get such a
girl interested, if you’re a guy like me.”

I bite my lip. I’m considering telling
Patrick that he’s rather good-looking. Only, I don’t want him to get the wrong
idea. I already know him well enough to guess how he would take such a comment.

“This of course means that your
mission has just become harder,” Patrick continues. I switch my glance from the
coffee table to him. “You’ll have to up your game if you don’t want to fail.”

“What do you want me to do? It’s too
soon to pull out the big guns.”

Patrick looks at my chest, and then
back at my eyes.

“If you have to do it, you should.”

I roll my eyes.

“Patrick, you may peg me for an easy girl,
but I’m not. I won’t be pushy or direct.”

“If that’s what it takes, you must do
it.”

“I don’t want Gabriel to think I’m
desperate. That’s the best way to make anyone run away.”

“You may not strike me as easy, but
you do strike me as smart, astute, and resourceful. I know that you can figure
out a way.”

I purse my lips, trying to think of
how to play harder without appearing desperate. The mission won’t be easy
anymore. If I were less beautiful, I would say that I’ve already lost.

“You can do it, Mercedes,” Patrick
says. “I saw the way Gabriel looked at you when you were in the party. He’s
definitely attracted to you.”

I try not to blush, but I fail at it.

“You like him too, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I tell Patrick. I’d grow a
long nose if I claimed otherwise.

“That’s good. Gabriel will find you
more believable if you’re genuinely attracted.”

“Still, what if I fail? You say that
I’m competing against the princess of San Francisco. What chance have I got if
Gabriel is in love with her, and about to propose?”

“Darling, if anyone can challenge
Evelyn Carroll, it’s you. Why do you think I picked you?”

I say nothing, considering his words.

“You’ve no idea how glad I am to have
saved you that night. You’re my last chance to get the girl of my dreams. So,
you cannot fail. For both of us.”

I take a deep breath, feeling
resolute. I stand a lot to lose if I don’t succeed.

“I’ll figure out what to do. But you
need to help me, too. We need to attack on both fronts. You seduce Evelyn, and
I seduce Gabriel.”

Patrick nods, liking my idea.

“See? You’re as smart as you’re
attractive.”

I squint at Patrick in amusement. He
chuckles, and then looks around.

“You’ve got a cozy place. It’s
rather…extravagant.”

Patrick stands up from the sofa. He
walks toward the buffet next to the dining table. I keep special occasion
dishes there, along with a few photos.

As I stand up, Patrick’s gaze
switches to a table next to the sofa. He picks up a frame.

“Is this your high school photo?”

I nod, and Patrick puts the photo
back.

“You don’t look any different. Still
young.”

I smile. What woman doesn’t like such
a compliment?

“I’m curious to see the bedroom,” he
says. My eyes widen when he walks there.

“Hey! That’s my sanctuary. You can’t
just walk in there like that!” I say as I follow.

When Patrick reaches my bedroom, he
switches on the light. I’m glad I’m a neat woman. Heaven forbid I have any
underwear lying around my room.

Patrick looks at my bed, and then at
the walls. The corners of his lips turn up when he sees the posters of Henry
Cavill and Chris Hemsworth. Patrick looks at the floor, looking like he’s
struggling not to laugh. I look at him as if daring him to say anything
mocking.

I blanch when Patrick walks to my
closet.

“What are you doing? It’s private!”

Patrick opens the closet doors.

“Wow. You’ve got lots of clothes.”

“A girl needs a good variety of
options when choosing what to wear.”

Patrick looks at my rows of shoes.

“At least you have a sense of style.
Judging by what you’re wearing now, I didn’t think so.”

I look down at my simple brown blouse
and frown.

“Scarlet has nicer clothes,” I answer.
Most of my closet consists of elegant clothes. “I can’t wear what she does.
People will mistake her for me.”

“Oh, so you have double personalities
now?”

“I’d rather keep Scarlet and Mercedes
separate,” I say.

Patrick shakes his head. He then
examines my face.

“You should lose the glasses.”

“They’re part of what differentiates
Mercedes from Scarlet. Besides, I need them to see.”

Patrick raises a questioning brow.

“I have slight nearsightedness.”

“Oh,” he says with a sigh. “Then I
can buy you a pair that’ll flatter you better. Those ones look like you picked
them from the clearance aisle.”

Ouch.

“You never gave me a clue that you
didn’t like how I look in these glasses.”

“Well, I told you just now. I’ll buy
you better ones. They’ll even turn dark in the sun. It’ll be damn handy for
this coming summer.”

I don’t know what to say, so I say
nothing. Patrick walks out of my room, and I follow.

“You’ll have your new glasses soon.
And I’m paying. Don’t try to refuse my offer.”

“Okay, Mr. Control Freak. I’ll let
you pay.”

Patrick
chuckles, and shakes his head. Then he walks to the front door and leaves.

~*~
Gabriel

Evelyn let me know that we might go
look at houses this weekend, so I called Roderick over. As an accountant, he’ll
be able to give us financial advice.

“Look at this one,” Roderick says. He
shows me the screen of his iPad. “It’s a two-story house, with an ample backyard
and a gate on the front. The price’s a little over four hundred thousand.”

Roderick swipes the screen with his
hand to browse through the photos. It’s a great house, but I’m not sure if I’ll
be able to afford it. Evelyn will have to pay the largest chunk, and I’d rather
she didn’t.

“Any single-story houses? We’re fine
with that.”

Roderick nods, and searches for more
houses. After a minute, he comes up with another.

“This one’s single-story. It’s got a
steel roof, a nice backyard
with a pool
, and a rotunda on the front.
Gated, of course.”

“How much is it?”

“Three hundred and fifty-five
thousand.”

I consider it, and shake my head.

“Pools are overrated in cities like
this. We’ve got the beach around the corner.”

“You’re kidding, right? Pools are
so
not overrated. They come in handy when you’d rather not make the drive.
Besides, they also give you privacy.”

I smile, thinking about the
possibilities.

“We’re not in college anymore, Rod.”

“I know. You should still consider
this house, though. If the pool doesn’t convince you, the steel roof should.
Those last a lot longer than shingle roofs.”

Roderick shows me a couple more
houses. When we’re discussing a house with glass walls, my doorbell rings. I
stand up and answer the door.

“Hi!” Evelyn says, embracing me. I
kiss her, glad at her enthusiasm to see me.