Page 37 of Take the Wheel

Nancy glanced toward the grand staircase, her heart thudding. They needed a plan.

‘So…’

They heard footsteps approaching, and Laurence, the butler, appeared. ‘Ladies,’ Laurence said, clearing his throat with a slight bow. ‘I trust you’re ready for the spa?’

Nancy blinked, caught off guard. ‘The what?’

‘All female guests are invited to attend a spa session to prepare for the wedding,’ he explained. ‘The men are horseback riding. Shall I show you the way to the spa?’

‘Guess so,’ Nancy said, swapping a look with Ari as they reluctantly followed him. Planning would have to wait.

Twenty-Eight

Ari had been so close. And she was determined to get back in that room.

Unfortunately, there was no way to do that when you were being herded into a silk robe and surrounded by the scent of lavender and the sound of Enya’s greatest hits.

Nancy was sunk into the plush lounger next to hers. The spa area by the indoor pool was packed with women in various stages of indulgence—some stretched out on massage tables, others with thick layers of green clay hardening on their faces.

Ari was getting coated in an avocado face mask. But she didn’t need glowing skin. She needed to get back in that room.

‘Try to look like you’re enjoying it,’ Nancy muttered from beneath cucumber-covered eyes.

Ari suppressed a sigh. She glanced around the room, clocking Paris’s cousin in the corner getting a pedicure, and another woman—who Ari vaguely recalled as Paris’s Great Aunt Margot—having her nails painted a soft, bridal pink. But no one within five feet. This might be their best chance to talk.

The aesthetician finished making her into guacamole and left. Ari leaned towards Nancy. ‘OK. We need to get into Paris’s room. When?’

Nancy closed her eyes as though simply absorbing the spa atmosphere, but Ari saw her fingers twitch against the armrest. ‘It’s got to be when everyone’s distracted. The wedding is at five o’clock this evening. The men are off doing that gender-bullshit horseback riding thing now. If we can slip away now—’

‘No good. Some of the women might take the chance to nap, but others will be wandering around the house. We need them all occupied.’

‘You have a better idea?’ Nancy asked, barely moving her lips.

‘The dinner. That’s our best window.’

Nancy let a beat pass. Then, in the same low tone, she asked, ‘Any ideas how we’re getting back in that room?’

‘Nope.’

Nancy peeked out from beneath one cuke. ‘Not a natural criminal, are you?’

Ari smiled. ‘We’re not in prison yet.’

‘Thanks to me,’ Nancy said.

Ari nodded. ‘You get full credit for that,’ she said sincerely.

She wasn’t used to having someone on her side, not really. The fact that Nancy trusted her enough to go along with this, to believe in her instincts, meant more than she could say. It gave her something firm to hold on to in the swirling chaos of this whole situation. Maybe she should tell Nancy that.

Maybe later.

‘Look, here’s the thing,’ Nancy said, getting serious. ‘We need a key to that room, or we need someone to unlock it. We also need to know for a fact that everyone is rounded up in one place.’

Ari was stunned. ‘You want to get the necklace during the wedding?’

‘You got a better idea?’

Ari opened her mouth, then shut it. She tapped her fingers against the armrest, thinking. ‘That’s risky.’

---