Fat Tuesday Read Free

kissing her hard."I won."
    She returned his smile."So I gathered." '"Another acquittal."
    "Congratulations."
    "Thank you, but this one was hardly a challenge." His expansive grin belied his humility.
    "A less brilliant lawyer would have been challenged."
    Pleased by her praise, his grin widened."I'm going to the office to make a few calls, but when I come back I'll be bringing the party with me. Roman had everyone on standby. In fact, I noticed the catering vans arriving when I came in."
    Their butler, Roman, and the entire household staff had been on alert since the trial began. The parties Pinkie hosted to celebrate his legal victories contributed to his notoriety as much as the flashy diamond ring he wore on the small finger of his right hand, from which he'd derived his nickname.
    His post-trial bashes were as much anticipated as the trials themselves and were well documented in the media. Sometimes Remy suspected jurors of voting for an acquittal just so they could experience firsthand one of Pinkie Duvall's famous fetes.
    "Is there anything I can do?" Of course there wasn't, and she knew that before asking.
    "Just show up looking as gorgeous as always," he told her, sliding his hands down her back and giving her another kiss. After releasing her, he wiped at the smear of dirt on her forehead."What are you doing out here, anyway? You know I don't like a lot of traffic in here."
    "There hasn't been a lot of traffic. Only me. I brought a fern from the house because it didn't look healthy and I thought it could use some TLC. Don't worry, I didn't touch anything I shouldn't."
    The greenhouse was Pinkie's domain. Horticulture was his hobby, but he took it seriously and was as much a stickler for neatness and precision in the greenhouse as in his law practice and in every other area of his life.
    He took a moment now to survey proudly the rows of plants he had cultivated. Few of his friends, and even fewer of his enemies, knew that among Pinkie Duvall's other passions were his orchids, in which he specialized.
    Extreme measures were taken to maintain the delicate balance of the environment inside the greenhouse. There was even a special enclosure within the greenhouse to house the equipment that monitored and controlled the climate. He'd done an exhaustive study of the topic and attended the World Orchid Congress every three years. He knew the precise light, humidity, and temperature conditions in which each particular group flourished. Cattleyas, laelias, cymbidiums, oncidiums Pinkie nurtured them with the attention of a neonatal I.C.U nurse, providing each with proper potting, drainage, and aeration.
    In return, he expected his plants to be exemplary and extraordinary.
    As though they didn't want to disappoint their master, they were.
    Ordinarily. But now he frowned as he moved toward a grouping of plants labeled Oncidium varicosum. The stalks were heavy with blossoms, although they weren't as profuse as some of their neighbors'."I've been pampering these nonas for weeks. What's the matter with them?
    This is a very poor showing."
    "Maybe they haven't had time to " "They've had plenty of time."
    "Sometimes when " "They're inferior plants. That's all there is to it." Pinkie calmly picked up one of the pots and dropped it to the floor. It broke upon impact with the stone tiles, creating a mess of fern root, shattered crockery, and bent pedicels. Another soon joined the first. "Pinkie, don't!" ' Remy crouched down and cradled one of the tender plants in her hand.
    "Leave it alone," he said with detachment, even as he sent another of the plants to its doom. He didn't spare a single one. Soon the entire group lay in shambles on the tiles. He stepped on one of the stalks and ground the blossoms beneath his heel."They were ruining the appearance of the greenhouse."
    Remy, upset over the waste, began scooping up the plants. Pinkie said, "Don't bother with that. I'll send one of the gardeners in to clean up."
    He left with her promise