‘Eyes up, ladies.’ A voice Nella had not expected chastised her out of her stupor as Detective Noah Avery appeared from Bessy’s passenger side. Jett apparently couldn’t sense the crackling estrogen in the air or realise Avery’s uninvited presence deserved an explanation, simply nodding at Max and giving Daisy a look that Nella didn’t understand, because Jett and Daisy didn’t know each other. Was Daisy staring too much at him and he found it weird? Or worse, was Daisy staring too much at him and he liked it?
Either way, he strolled past, ignoring Nella completely.
‘We’re going to Milan, not the Maldives.’ Daisy rolled her eyes at his wetsuit as Jett took the stairs two at a time.
‘What the hell’s going on?’ Nella rounded on Avery to ensure she got an answer. Cops were legally bound to answer you truthfully, right?
‘I ran into Jett in town.’ Avery shifted his weight from foot to foot like a toddler lying about eating the last biscuit. ‘He was running late, so I offered to drive him in his car. I’ll take it back and give it to your brother.’
‘Hmm.’Bullshit.Jett never ran late. He was a fucking Tokyo train.Whathad they been doing?
‘Ms Barbarani?’ The pilot – Jarls – stood at the top of the stairs. ‘We really must be going now.’
‘Is your fiancée okay?’ Nella couldn’t help asking as Avery bent under Bessy’s boot, fiddling with something out of sight.
His broad shoulders tensed. ‘Doing better. I’ll let her know you asked.’ He slammed the boot, a twelve-pack of chilled chinotto Nella had forgotten to remind Jett to bring (she never travelled without a supply of the bitter Italian soft drink) now under Avery’s arm.
‘Don’t do that,’ Nella grumbled, gratefully accepting the chinotto. ‘Any mention of me is bound to undo any healing progress.’
The pilot cleared his throat. ‘Ms Barbarani, I must insist.’
‘Sorry, Jarls. Thanks, Avery.’ She wasn’t sure what she was thanking the cop for – the chinotto or for bringing Jett before he missed the flight. She couldn’t help thinking, from the way her body reacted to the sight of his bare chest – and from the literal cold, wet shoulder he’d given her – maybe Jett missing the plane would have been for the best.
‘Nella.’ Max grabbed her wrist as she started up the stairs, her voice low and deadly. Nella could barely hear her over the roar of Bessy’s engine. ‘I know this is hideous timing but ... Forrest?’
Nella blinked, guilt swarming inside of her for continuing to push Max and the Forrest case down her list of priorities. How many friendship challenges had she broken by being single-minded and selfish? Grey’s comment last night (well, technically this morning) had helped her see more clearly – her friendship with him and Max was important, special. She could not take it for granted.
She gripped Max’s hand in a silent apology and, just like that, as she caught the rapid movement of the swarm of journalists in the corner of her eye, a plan formed.
‘Leave it with me and Daisy. I won’t let you down.’
Once they were in the air, Jett slunk off to the bathroom, giving Nella the breathing room she needed to get her head straight. With a glance at Ariana to make sure she wasn’t buckling into a parachute ready to escape, Nella plonked herself next to Daisy, who was busy sectioning Clarkson’s Boogie Board app notes into her own colour-coded categories.
‘Take a break.’ Nella handed her a chinotto.
‘What’s this?’
‘It’s like Italian Coca Cola.’
Daisy took a sip and made a face like those babies in the viral ‘lemon-tasting’ reels.
‘It’s an acquired taste,’ Nella said, ripping her gaze away from the closed bathroom door. ‘I have an idea for how to get’—she looked over at Ariana, who was sipping her own chinotto—‘you know who ...convicted of the poisoning murders.’
Daisy’s eyes widened. ‘Go on.’
‘Luca gave me the idea – well, Luca’s baby mama’s announcement. Forrest’s never going to willingly hand over DNA, and if he or the La Marcas get a whiff that they’ve found DNA on the victims, then it will be impossible to get something off him without him knowing.’
‘Plus it wouldn’t hold up in court.’
‘Correct.’ Nella felt a prick of pride at how fast Daisy was learning, but it was quickly followed by a stab of guilt at having left her and Ian and Pearl for six months to fend for themselves. And as soon as she’d come back, she’d managed to turn the office into a crime scene and traumatise them all for life. ‘But if he willingly consents to a paternity test, that’s another story.’
Daisy nodded. ‘Okaaay, but why would he take a paternity test?’
‘That’s whereshecomes in.’ Nella nodded at Ariana, who was staring out the window at the fluffy, marshmallow clouds they were gliding over. ‘We need to get her to tell him she’s pregnant.’
‘And why would he assume she’s been unfaithful? She seems pretty straight and narrow to me – she’s even got a cross around her neck.’ Daisy fiddled with her septum piercing, shooting Ariana a dubious look through her long, un-mascaraed lashes.
Nella smiled. ‘Because Forrest Valentine comes from a family like mine,’ she said, twisting the lid on her drink. ‘And you can bet the very first thing my older brother and mother are doing this morning is driving round to Divya Patel’s house and making her do a paternity test. Even though Luca’s essentially kidnapped.’
