G'Day to Die by Maddy Hunter Page A

had in mind when I suggested he needed to spend more time with me. Old people retired. What was he thinking?
    I tapped his shoulder. Up went his head. “What?” he said breathlessly.
    “We need to discuss this retirement thing.”
    “It’s only temporary, darling. I have something else in mind, but—”
    Knock, knock, knock .
    He froze. “Don’t answer that. It’s probably Lazarus.”
    “I thought you two were buds.”
    “Closer than brothers. Now, where was I?” He resumed the prodigious task of sucking all the air from my lungs.
    Knock, knock, knock.
    “Etienne!” I gasped, breaking off his kiss. “I need to answer that. I’m expecting Nana.”
    “Is she planning to stay long?”
    “May I get up, please?”
    Groaning, he detached himself from me and assisted me to my feet. “Next time you decide to wear the hot dress, would you schedule more free time into your evening?”
    “You was right,” Nana said, when I opened the door. “Her name—Whoa.” She took one look at me and stumbled back a step. “Why don’t Tilly and me come back when you don’t got company.”
    “How do you know I have company?” I lifted my hand self-consciously to my head. “It’s my hair, isn’t it? Do I have bed-head?”
    “Your hair don’t look bad, dear, but you know how Helen Teig looks when she accidentally smears her eyebrows across her face?”
    “You have the same look going on with your lipstick,” Tilly observed. “It bears a startling resemblance to Zulu war paint.”
    “Ladies.” Etienne flattened his palm against my lower back as he came up behind me. “Is this a girls-only event, or can anyone join in?”
    “I knew one a you fellas was in there,” Nana said, smiling. “Did you buy them international small-cap funds we was talkin’ about?”
    “The best advice yet, Marion. They went through the roof.”
    I stared at Etienne; I stared at Nana. I fluttered my finger between them. “The two of you are exchanging financial advice?”
    “It’s not exactly an exchange, darling.” Etienne trailed his fingertips down my naked spine, causing the down on my arms to stand on end. “It’s more like a one-way transfer of knowledge from your grandmother to me.”
    My jaw dropped in shock. “How long has this been going on?”
    “Since Italy,” said Etienne. “I had little need for financial advice before then.”
    “Hail, hail, the gang’s all here.” Duncan tramped down the hallway toward us, breathing heavily and appearing a little ragged around the edges. “I would have joined you sooner, but both elevators are mysteriously stuck on the forty-fifth floor, so I had to take the stairs.” He sent a questioning look Etienne’s way before gaping at my Bozo the Clown mouth. “So, what have I missed?”
    Oh, yeah. Having both “boys” along on the same tour was working out really well.
    “Not much,” said Etienne. “The ladies are getting together for girl talk, and you and I are heading back to our room to allow them their privacy.” He nodded to Nana and Tilly and dropped a kiss on my forehead. “See you in the morning, bella .” He gave Duncan’s back a friendly slap and redirected him back down the hallway. “So you had to hike up all twenty-one flights of stairs, did you? That must have been a bear.”
    Nana nodded toward Etienne. “Isn’t that somethin’? For a foreigner, he’s learnin’ our clichés real good.”
    “He bought a dictionary.” I pulled Nana and Tilly into my room and closed the door behind us. “Did you find Claire’s name on the registrant list?”
    “You bet,” said Nana. “Her name was there, just like you said.”
    “Her business affiliation was listed as Global Botanicals.” Tilly read from a scrap of paper. “According to their website, they’re an ‘international company involved in research and development of age-reducing cosmetics and organic supplements that help the human body operate at peak performance.’”
    “Yes! I knew it! Your