impossible to get onto the grounds of his estate. Too much security.”
Davis raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Praise be, some common sense, at last.”
“The same was true of his office in the Guild compound,” she continued, ignoring him. “But he’s involved with a lot of civic and political stuff. He attends receptions and fund-raisers every week, and he spends a lot of time at his club. He doesn’t surround himself with security when he goes to places like that. It’s bad for his image.”
“You mean he doesn’t use any obvious security,” Davis said.
She looked at him, frowning. “You saw him a few minutes ago. He didn’t have any bodyguards with him.”
“Got a hunch they were waiting for him down in the lobby.” Davis gave that some more thought. “My guess is he didn’t bring any up here because he believed that he was going to be talking to you alone about the relic. Evidently he didn’t want anyone, not even his security people, to hear that conversation. Interesting.”
Walker began to pace the small space. “This is a hell of a situation. One thing’s for sure, we can’t tell Mom and Dad about it today. They’d be frantic. And Rachel’s day would be ruined if she found out what was going on.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Celinda got to her feet and straightened her shoulders. “That is precisely why you will both keep quiet about this whole thing. Understood? If either one of you upsets anyone else in the family, I will never forgive you.”
“Okay,” Walker said, raising a hand, palm out. “I agree that keeping quiet about this is for the best. At least for today.”
Celinda switched her steely gaze to Davis. “Will you give me your word you won’t say anything more about this today?”
He contemplated the possibilities and then inclined his head. “Assuming no other factors in the equation are altered, I’ll keep quiet. I think we’ve got a better chance of handling this from Cadence, anyway.”
Celinda regarded him with deep suspicion. “Factors?”
“What do you mean about dealing with this from Cadence?” Walker asked, watching him closely.
“Benson Landry thinks Mercer Wyatt is an old man who’s lost his edge,” Davis said. “He’s wrong.” He thought about how Wyatt would react when he learned that Landry was trying to steal the missing relic. “Probably dead wrong.”
Chapter 22
“THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE,” RACHEL SAID.
Celinda smiled at her in the mirror. “You look so beautiful. When you walked down the aisle I could tell that Josh couldn’t believe his eyes.”
They were alone in the mirrored dressing room. Rachel was still in her wedding gown. Yards of white satin and gossamer netting billowed and drifted around her. She was radiant.
The formal Covenant Marriage ceremony, replete with all the ancient vows and customs that the First Generation colonists had brought with them from Earth, had lasted nearly an hour. Now the reception was in full swing in the hotel ballroom. Celinda could hear the muffled strains of the music.
“You’re the one who made it all possible.” Rachel turned and hugged her tightly. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“I’m sure that you and Josh would have found each other without me.” Celinda hugged her back. “I speeded up the process a little, that’s all.”
“I don’t believe that for one moment. You made it happen, and we will always be grateful.” Rachel stepped back. “We both owe you so much. Now, it’s your turn. Mom says that things look serious between you and Davis Oakes. I’m so glad you’ve found someone at last.”
“Slight misunderstanding, I’m afraid.” Celinda made a face. “Davis and I got into an embarrassing little argument in the bar last night, and suddenly Mom decided we were meant for each other.”
“Don’t discount her intuition. You know it’s way above average.”
“Trust me when I tell you that Davis and I aren’t going to be sending out wedding invitations any time in the near future.” She hesitated. “Davis is not keen on the institution of Covenant Marriage.”
“You could start with a Marriage of Convenience. Let him get used to the concept.”
“You know how I feel about MCs. Not interested.”
“I know,” Rachel said. “MCs are against your rules. But if Davis isn’t ready for a full Covenant Marriage, you might want to consider one.”
“Why are we talking about Davis and me?” Celinda rezzed up a bright smile. “This is your day. We’re supposed to be getting you changed into your traveling clothes. Got a feeling Josh has had enough of the formalities. He’s ready to start the honeymoon.”
She put her hands on Rachel’s shoulders and turned her firmly around to face the mirror. Then she reached up and carefully unpinned the wedding veil.
“You love him, don’t you?” Rachel said, watching her in the mirror.
Rachel had inherited their mother’s keen intuition. Everyone in the family knew it.
Celinda went still, the pearl-studded veil in her hands. She met her sister’s eyes. “I’ve only known him for a couple of days.”
Rachel smiled. “I knew I wanted Josh the moment I met him. He says he felt the same way about me.”
“Wanting and loving are not always connected.”
Rachel wrinkled her nose. “You’re quoting your own rules again. Know what I think?”
“What?”
“I think you should burn your little book. It’s one thing to exercise common sense and discretion. It’s another thing to have so many rules that you end up missing out on life altogether.”
Celinda said nothing. Just looked at her in the mirror.
Rachel’s eyes widened, first in comprehension and then with delight.
She started to grin. “You’ve already thrown out a few of those stupid rules, haven’t you? Which ones?”
Celinda sighed. “I started with the No One-Night Stands rule.”
“Hmm. Has there been a second night?”
“No,” Celinda said. “There hasn’t. Not yet.”
Rachel chuckled. “Something tells me there will be.”
HALF AN HOUR LATER CELINDA STOOD WITH DAVIS, HER family, and the rest of the wedding guests at the front entrance of the hotel. They all watched Josh sweep Rachel through a hail of pink rose petals and tuck her into the front seat of a gleaming gray Coaster. He got behind the wheel, put the car in gear, and drove away.
There was a great deal of waving and cheering. Celinda realized that her eyes were damp with tears again. She was not alone. Both mothers, Great-Aunt Octavia, and most of the other women were dabbing at their eyes with handkerchiefs.
“I can’t believe my little sister is actually married,” Celinda whispered to Davis. “It feels almost unreal.”
He smiled. “You’re the one who matched them.”
“I know. But this is my sister we’re talking about. I mean, I remember when she went out on her first date, for heaven’s sake. I knew he was all wrong for her and told her she was wasting her time.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she knew he wasn’t the guy she was going to marry, but she wanted to get in some practice so she’d be ready when the right man came along.” Celinda smiled fondly, thinking about the past. “Rachel was always the more adventurous of the two of us.”
“Could have fooled me.” Davis took her arm and drew her back into the lobby. “Plotting the cold-blooded execution of the next boss of the Frequency Guild strikes me as fairly adventurous.”
She looked around swiftly. “Good grief, Davis, keep your voice down.”
“It’s okay,” he said, mouth curving faintly. “I like that in a woman.”
She felt as if he’d picked her up and dropped her into a pool of glacier-melt water. Reality returned with an
