Page 46

Eden

My lips still tingled from his kiss, but I followed his lead and didn’t mention it. Maybe he’d heard someone and thought they were coming into the kitchen and that’s why he kissed me. As far as everyone was concerned, I was his wife, and we were still in the honeymoon phase. It would be natural and expected that if no one was around we’d want to touch and kiss each other. That’s what I signed in the contract, and in return he was going to reinvent my life.

So why had it felt real?

Why had heat zipped through my veins when his fingers curled around the back of my neck?

Why had my stomach flipped and twisted with anticipation and not fear?

Why did I want him to do it again?

He paused, one hand on the door, and looked back at me. “Everyone will meet in the kitchen at eight-thirty for breakfast. I’ll leave you to shower and get ready for your day ahead.” He pulled open the door.

“Bishop?”

“Eden?”

“Why did you kiss me?” Apparently, I wasn’t following his lead, after all.

He stepped out into the hallway, and I thought he wasn’t going to answer me, but as the door swung closed, his voice drifted back.

“Why did you let me?”

I threw myself off the bed and darted across the room. Opening the door, I looked outside, but he was gone.

“Eden? Is everything okay?” Dana came out of a room down the hall.

“Hi. Yes, everything’s fine. Bishop just headed downstairs. I hoped to catch him, but I was too late.”

“I’m going down now. Did you want me to send him back up?”

I shook my head. “No. No. It’s okay. It wasn’t anything important.” I retreated into the bedroom, closed the door and leaned against it.

What did he mean?

I didn’t let him do anything. He kissed me . I hadn’t been expecting it. He caught me by surprise!

Hurrying across the room, I snatched up the clothes I’d laid out and went into the bathroom. I didn’t linger long in the shower. I wanted to speak to Bishop before I had to leave with Dana and her friends for the spa. I wanted to know why he kissed me.

I washed, did my makeup, threw on my clothes as fast as I could, and almost jogged down the stairs and along the hallway.

“Eden!” Magdalena jumped up from her chair at the kitchen table when I entered the room.

I gave her a distracted smile and looked around, but there was no sign of Bishop. In fact, only women were in the room, Susannah included.

“Where’s—”

“Rook and Bishop are down at the stables with Crosby and the others,” Dana said before I could finish speaking.

“Stables?”

“Horses, dear,” Susannah said.

“I know what stables are for,” I couldn’t stop myself from snapping.

Dana looked between us. “One of the mares had a foal a couple of days ago. Crosby wanted to show her off.” She sipped her juice. “Does anyone want breakfast, or shall we get moving? We could get there early and take a trip to the shopping mall afterwards.”

“I thought you booked for a certain time?” I wasn’t sure about going anywhere other than the spa. The more time I spent outside, the more risk there was of someone seeing me and contacting Chester, but I couldn’t tell Dana that without getting into everything else.

Dana laughed. “Oh, honey, that doesn’t mean anything . I hired the place out for the entire day. That means no one will be there until we arrive.”

“I’ll organize a car,” Kennedy said, when no one protested.

“I’m going to call Rook and let him know.” Magdalena stood and moved to the door. “He doesn’t like it if I disappear and don’t tell him where I’m going.”

“You know, that’s a terrible red flag,” Susannah said.

“It really isn’t,” Magdalena said. “If you’ll excuse me …” She lifted the cell phone to her ear.

***

“What is Susannah’s problem with you?” Magdalena leaned close so she could talk to me in a low voice.

We were seated side by side in the nail salon, getting mani-pedis. Susannah, Kennedy, and Dana were on the opposite side of the room, safely out of hearing range. Not that they were paying much attention to us. It was obvious that the three women had a history and were talking about people they knew. I don’t know if Magdalena felt the same way, but I was ready to get out of here and go back to the house. The more the women talked, the less I felt I had in common with them.

Dana was lovely, making every attempt to involve the two of us in their conversations, but Susannah ensured it revolved around things neither of us could contribute to. I was sure she was doing it on purpose.

“I don’t think it’s a problem with me , exactly.” I didn’t want to lie to Magdalena. I liked her, and although once my contract with Bishop was over, I’d never see her again, I didn’t want to spoil the tentative friendship that was building between us.

“Bishop?”

I sighed. “She likes him … a lot.”

“Isn’t she married?”

“Yep.”

“Somehow, I can’t see Bishop being interested in her. She doesn’t seem his type.”

Oh, you have no idea .

I smiled but didn’t answer her.

The mani-pedi was followed by lunch, during which Dana, Kennedy and Susannah discussed clothes.

“We definitely should hit the mall. There’s the most divine store that sells one-off dresses there,” Susannah said.

My stomach plummeted. I’d hoped that plan had been shelved. I didn’t want to go shopping. Logically, I knew the chances were low of anyone connected to Chester seeing me. We were thousands of miles away from New York. But there was always that one chance in a million.

How could I get out of it without raising too many questions?