Frank Hardy yawned as he slid into bed. Three o'clock in the morning, and while he had a few more clues, he still hadn't found the one that would solve the case. He and Joe had already planned to meet in a few hours over a gallon of coffee and figure out the next step.
But, until then...
The woman who had been warming his bed rolled over with a yawn and gave him a sweet, sleepy smile. "Hey babe."
"Hey," he replied, lingering over his kiss. She was naked, and she pressed herself against him, twining her leg around him in invitation.
"How's it going?"
"Mmm. A lot better, now," he growled, helping as she shoved the side of his boxers down.
He still couldn't believe it. She'd said yes. This incredible, gorgeous woman, his counterpart in every possible way, had said yes. Soon, she would be his wife.
The diamond he'd put on her finger winked as she brought her hand up, twining her fingers in his hair. "Have I told you how beautiful you are?" he asked, rolling on top of her.
She shook her head, her eyes sparkling as she gazed up at him in the near-darkness, lips curling up in a grin.
"Devastating," he said, as she wrapped her legs around him. "Mrs. Hardy."
"And you are the most handsome man in the world," Nancy Drew replied.
--
It had happened so quickly, although when he thought about it, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
She had been staying at the same hotel where Frank and Joe had been during a case, and when they had run into each other, he had been bowled over by the incredible bolt of attraction. "I'm sure you don't remember me," she'd said, with a saucy grin and a gleam in her eye.
They hadn't seen each other in—it had to be eight years, at least. Their fathers were still friends, but then Nancy and Frank been old enough to stay home, to start working quasi-independently on their own cases, and they had drifted apart. Reconnecting with her was like being struck by lightning. Frank hadn't been ready for her before, apparently. But he definitely was now. She was so gorgeous, so self-assured, so confident in her own skin. So different from the gawky pre-teen he remembered, and so irresistible.
She'd had a boyfriend. Those first few kisses, embraces, had been furtive, almost guilty, but Frank felt no guilt where she was concerned. It was just too natural, too right.
And it was just too right to leave it so informal.
She'd broken things off with the boyfriend; he'd told Callie that he'd met someone else. He had proposed the next month.
Their wedding was going to be the event, the one that really started his career, his everything. And he couldn't wait to share it with her. He couldn't wait to share the rest of his life with her.
He hoped she loved all the surprises he had in store.
--
Carson Drew re-read the letter for a third time, then shook his head as he let it drop back onto the surface of his desk. Well. He'd certainly received his share of strange correspondence in the past, but this was above and beyond.
He picked up the phone, and after two rings, heard his daughter's voice. "Why, hello," she said, smiling. "What's going on?"
"That's an excellent question," he replied. "I just received a very strange letter. And, on a related note, are you free Saturday?"
"I think so. What did you have in mind?"
"Oh, I don't know." He tapped the letter. "Cocktail attire, I think."
"Ooooh. Am I your plus-one?"
"I thought I was under strict orders."
"Well, I can make an exception. But he does love to dance, if you have another invitation."
Carson chuckled. "Let's just say that I don't think he'll want to miss this for worlds."
--
"Okay." Nancy tugged her reddish-gold hair back into a high ponytail and glanced back at her husband with her eyebrows raised. He laughed in response.
"What?"
"Just you. In action-mode." He crossed to her, sliding an arm around her as he captured her lips in a long, sweet kiss. "I think it's at five o'clock, so we have some time to kill."
She nodded.
"And you've already looked up the venue."
"Yeah. That took some digging, but what I found... doesn't make sense."
"Apparently nothing about this has made any sense."
"True." She stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him again. "Why do you do that when I'm trying to think?"
"Isn't it obvious?" He slid his other arm around her, kissing her again, and when they surfaced he had her backed up to the bed, his dark eyes aglow with desire.
"We're meeting Aunt Eloise for lunch."
He groaned. "Rain check. Promise."
She nodded. "Definitely," she replied. "Although I can't promise that I won't rip off your suit once you've put it on."
"Don't threaten me with a good time," he said with a grin.
The promise of a mystery meant her husband's clothes stayed on, much to his chagrin, and at quarter to five that night, she glanced down at her engagement and wedding rings as she smoothed the full skirt of her blue dress. He'd always loved seeing her in blue, and tonight was no exception. A scatter of sequins embroidered over the bodice and trailing down the hem caught the light.
His fingertips slid down the satin. "You look ravishing in anything," he said, his voice a low growl that sent a shiver directly between her thighs. "But this..."
She stood up in her heels and touched her thumb to his lips. "Later," she promised, then replaced her thumb with the brief brush of her own lips. He chased her and she retreated with a giggle.
"Later."
He nodded. "Very, very definitely, later."
The venue was trendy, with a wall of glass to provide a spectacular view of the sunset over the city. Nancy walked in with her arm tucked through her husband's, a few steps behind her father, and smiled as she took it all in. She loved New York. It wasn't Chicago, but she'd always had fun here. And it didn't hurt that she and her father were most certainly walking into a mystery.
"Fenton!"
"Carson!" The other man greeted Nancy's father with a wide grin and a hearty backslap. "So good to see you."
Nancy and her husband waded into the group, skirting chattering couples and knots of friends, and she felt the exhilaration of being undercover. No one here knew her, but she was passing as a guest. She didn't release her husband's arm; she saw the speculative, admiring glances being cast his way, and was definitely anticipating casting her own at him as soon as she could.
Then she saw her target, and she couldn't help it; her lips curled up. He was deep in conversation with his brother, and when she tapped him on the shoulder, her expression already in a bright, eager smile, her eyes sparkling, he cast a glance back at her—and then another.
"Hi! Frank?"
He nodded, his brow furrowing, just barely. "Hi..."
"Just wanted to say congratulations! I'm here with my dad, he's back there." She gestured behind her, to where her father and his were still catching up with each other. "And this is my husband, Ned Nickerson. Who was very surprised to find out that we were coming to my engagement party."
"I..."
Ned extended his hand, and Nancy could see the edge in his otherwise open, friendly smile. "Hi. So who's the lucky lady?"
Frank glanced back and forth between the two of them, and she could almost see the wheels turning, when they weren't frozen in utter, blank confusion. "I... we..."
"Haven't seen each other in, well, it has to be ten years now."
His mouth opened and closed a few times.
Nancy glanced up at Ned. She knew it wasn't nice of her, but a decade ago she'd been kind of relieved to just let her connection with Frank fade away. This just felt like deep, complete confirmation that she had made the right choice.
Joe, who had apparently figured things out much faster than his brother, was leading a woman over to them. Nancy and Ned glanced over at her.
And for an instant, before she could master her expression, the other woman bared her teeth.
Ned actually growled.
Nancy sucked in a breath. "Jessica. What the fuck are you doing out of prison?"
Jessica blinked once. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Nancy shook her head and took a step closer to the other woman. "Nice hair. When you couldn't murder my boyfriend, you decided to steal my identity instead?"
Jessica half-raised her hand toward her dyed-red hair, then let it drop back to her side. Nancy saw the diamond flashing there and raised her eyebrows, looking at Frank.
"What..."
Nancy snickered. "Come into a landfall, Hardy? Something publicized?"
Frank was still impersonating a landed fish when Joe spoke up. "He and Chet came up with an invention that was bought by the government for an obscene amount of money."
Nancy angled a little toward Joe. "And how much time passed between the media coverage and... this, happening?"
"Uh... maybe three weeks."
Nancy crossed her arms. "Look, my only advice to you: don't get on a plane with her. It might be the last trip you ever take."
Jessica's expression creased in rage, but had become merely angry when Frank turned to her. "Sweetheart," she crooned. "I've never met this—girl before in my life. Clearly she has me mixed up with someone else. You poor, sweet dear."
The corner of Nancy's mouth turned up. "And nice touch, telling this idiot that my father and I were estranged. You just needed to keep us away until the ink was dry on the marriage certificate, but guess what? He was so eager to reconcile us that he couldn't help himself."
Frank had paled. "And that's Carson over there," he said with a gesture, clearly having trouble comprehending the sheer scope of Jessica's deception. "You..."
"I love you," Jessica said, searching his eyes, her expression one of pleading sincerity.
Nancy reached for Ned's hand. "Don't let her out of your sight," she murmured. "I'm gonna make a call."
He gave her hand a squeeze. "You got it, babe."
Nancy almost felt bad, after, but she knew all too well what the alternative was. A plainclothes officer had come in to take Jessica into custody, and afterward Frank had stood on a chair and given an oblique, incomprehensible speech that had probably left all the other guests wondering whether his blood alcohol level was in danger of killing him. She saw her father talking to Frank's father still, and the latter shaking his head.
"You know, if she escapes again she's gonna come for you."
"I hope she does," Nancy growled. "Let's do another trial. Let's try for supermax this time."
Ned squeezed Nancy's hand. "As much of an idiot as he seems to be, at least he tried to do something nice and ended up saving his own life in the process."
Nancy shook her head slowly. "Yeah, but... who's gonna hire him, after this? Damn."
"Maybe he's better at financial stuff." When Nancy snickered, Ned chuckled. "Okay, maybe not. But this had to be a fucking blow to his self-esteem."
"And it should have been!" Nancy declared. "How long did it take you to peg her for a con artist?"
"Figuratively? Probably five minutes."
"And she's had her hooks into him for months."
Ned shrugged. "Maybe she learned something, while she was going after me and while she was in prison. Maybe."
"Eh." Nancy swung Ned's hand a little higher as they walked together. "To get that close to someone, without knowing..."
"Oh, like you know everything about me," Ned said lightly.
She glanced over at him, briefly. "That's impressive," she replied. "Do you want me to list all the women you found naked in your bed at Omega Chi in alphabetical order? Or quote your current credit card balance?"
Ned's adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. "How—how many?" he said, his voice slightly strangled.
"Three. That I know of." She shot him a sunny smile. "Other than me, of course."
"Mmm. Best 'congratulations on finishing your exams' surprise ever." He shook his head in remembered appreciation. "So we're just talking a ridiculously thorough background check."
Nancy shrugged. "Something like that," she chirped. "Look, everything I found out about you just confirmed that I'd fallen for an incredible, stand-up guy. Especially knowing the temptation you'd gone through while we were dating."
"Maybe because I knew that if you ever found out, I'd be toast."
"Mmm. Toast." She moaned softly. "I'm famished. Let's find something awesome here to eat that we can't get back home, take it to the room, and fuck until we've run out of condoms."
"Mmm." Ned nipped just below her ear, and she shivered, laughing as she tried to squirm away. "Promise?"
She launched herself up and caught his earlobe in her teeth, giving him a gentle bite before she beamed at him. "Always."