“Honestly, it would look better if you did,” Fran said softly. “There are some people out there who would just love to challenge the validity of this marriage in order to get their hands on Kane Holdings. Even though they don’t have any proof, we can’t be too cavalier. After the divorce, you can always change it back.”

Joanna sighed and leaned back, resting her elbows on the step behind her. “Okay. I guess that’ll work.”

“I’ll help you with it. I promise.”

“Thanks.”

Trying to lighten the mood, Fran held up the bottle of champagne. “So, where’s your father? I thought he’d enjoy a bit of the bubbly.”

Joanna grinned. “He would, except he wasn’t feeling well. He went to lie down.”

“Is he all right?”

“Yeah, he's okay. I just think he's getting a cold,” Joanna said, taking the glass Fran was offering. Joanna took a sip, and her grin grew even larger, tasting the swirling, earthy essence of pear and pineapple. “This is really good.”

Fran nodded as she watched Joanna take another taste. “It should be at two-hundred and fifty pounds a bottle.”

Joanna gasped, instantly sending the champagne in her throat in the wrong direction. Coughing and sputtering until her lungs were clear, she eyeballed Fran. “What!”

Fran broke out in giggles at Joanna’s reaction. After quickly looking around the foyer to make sure no one had come running because of Joanna’s scream, Fran said, “Addison may not give a shit about furniture or paint, but when it comes to food and drink, she demands only the best.”

“Yeah, but two hundred and fifty pounds a bottle?” Joanna said, looking at the sparkling beverage in her glass.

“You’ll get used to it,” Fran said, smiling. “And by the way, you did well today.”

“What do you mean?”

“With the registrar,” Fran said, pouring another splash of champagne into Joanna’s glass. “You smiled in all the right places and didn’t try to steal the show. You played the shy fiancée, just like Addison described you to be.”

“That’s because I was shocked at how charming she became all of a sudden.”

“She can pour it on thick when she wants to,” Fran said as she stood up. “And speaking of Addison, if I were you, I’d disappear for a while.”

“Why?”

“Let’s just say, in a few minutes there’s going to be an explosion, and unless you want to get hit by shrapnel in the form of books and lamps flying from the study, I’d find another place to sit.”

Fran tiptoed across the foyer to Addison’s study, and after peeking inside, she turned back to Joanna. Keeping her voice as low as she possibly could, she said, “And I would definitely suggest somewhere out of the line of sight.”

***