Page 89 of Risky Obsession

“They’re not going to fall for that old trick. They’ll have a list with names on it, surely.”

“You could blame me instead and make a scene. You’re good at that.”

“Ha, ha. Still doesn’t get us in without our names on the list. Maybe there’s a back entrance?”

“There could be.” He nodded ahead. “We’re coming up to the venue now.”

The enormous castle was lit with massive spotlights and against the blackness of night, it was like something from a fairy tale.

Following instructions from ushers, Kane drove the car toward a parking lot and took the space next to a silver Bentley that was polished to perfection.

We climbed out, and Kane took my hand. “Remember, we belong here, so smile.”

I forced a smile as we strolled toward the grand entrance. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I’d been in situations that were a thousand times more stressful than this one. Convincing myself that it was because I felt soout of place in this fancy outfit, and not because Kane looked so damn good in his, I turned my attention to the castle. I tugged on his arm. “The castle has a moat.”

“Yes, we talked about that.”

“The map we bought in Gunter’s shop showed a castle with a moat.”

“It’s not this one. The one on the map was near the Black Forest.” He frowned at me. “There are plenty of castles in Europe with moats still around them.”

“I know, but the one on the map had a hand-drawn lion next to it. I forgot to look at it when we were studying that map again. Do you think that’s what Gunter saw?”

He fiddled with a gold cufflink on his shirt sleeve. “Don’t know. We’ll ask him when we bail up the slimy bastard.”

I grinned, but the smile dropped from my face when I noticed two guards standing on either side of the grand stone arch at the entrance to the bridge over the moat. “Provided we get past those guys,” I whispered.

“We will.” Kane’s confidence was unwavering.

Maybe he was used to things going his way.

As we merged in with the crowd approaching the entrance, my outfit proved to be slightly underwhelming compared to the lavish ballgowns worn by some of the other women. Many wore fur coats or shawls draped over their shoulders. I would give anything to have one of them at the moment, provided they weren’t real fur. Diamonds and precious jewels were on full display, and I was so grateful Kane had bought my jewelry. I would never have chosen something so lavish.

The woman at the jewelry shop had said that Baroness Sophia van der Hausen had required extra security because of the jewelry she planned to wear. Were the women around me also worried?

This event would be a major drawcard for a skilled thief.

I searched the crowd for more security guards. Once the guests passed through the grand entrance, they walked across the moat bridge. On the other side of the bridge, four more guards flanked the grand wooden doors. In front of them were a couple of immaculately dressed staff members, checking tickets and marking off names on a clipboard.

A wave of dread washed over me.

We will not get through.

“Kane.” I squeezed my hand around his arm.

“Yes, princess?”

“Hey. Cut that out,” I hissed. “Listen, there is no way we’ll get past those guards.”

“We’ll be fine.”

His confidence was beginning to piss me off.

Two couples ahead of us was a man in a tuxedo that virtually matched Kane’s. He looked to be in his fifties, or maybe sixties, but the young woman on his arm couldn’t be any older than twenty-five. Maybe she felt me staring at her because she turned to glance at me over the fur shawl across her shoulders, and her large pregnant belly, draped in a red satin dress, stood out like a beach ball. Her gaze lingered on me, and I wondered if she could tell that I didn’t belong on such an exclusive guest list.

As she turned back to the front, she waved an elegant fan across her face, possibly trying to cool an internal heatwave.

I was the opposite. If we didn’t get inside soon, I was going to have frostbite on my nipples.