Page 52 of Elijah

My stomach roiled as I listened to the soft snoring beside me, wondering why on earth I’d allowed myself to fall into bed with Finlay.

Of course I knew why, the phone call I’d had with Claudia earlier in the day. She’d told me she’d been back to the house to collect the final cheque from Tino and Sophie and had mentioned to them how good the gardens were looking, now that they were almost finished. She’d asked if the guys were around to say hello. Tino had told her they were, except for Elijah, who was having a day off to go shopping with his girlfriend for new bedding for when she moved in with him.

Claudia wasn’t going to tell me, but when I said I’d decided I was going to pull out of my dinner with Finlay, she didn’t want me to be pointlessly pining for Elijah. Feeling sick with jealousy, I ended the call and listened to the voice inside my head which said it’d be a good idea to go out with Finlay and seduce him. I put on a tight dress, some high heels, and left my room with one aim in mind, to end the day with sex.

That voice had obviously pissed off somewhere, because it had been replaced with one that was giving me a lecture on what a stupid idea it had been and that I should escape as soon as I could.

Lying as still as possible, only moving my head, I looked around the room to find my clothes. Thankfully, they all appeared to be piled next to the side of the bed in which I was sleeping, so as quietly and a slowly as possible, I slithered out of the bed. Stooping to pick up my dress, underwear, and shoes, I risked a glance at Finlay, thankful to see that he was still sleeping, face down, one arm above his head and one hanging down the side of bed, his fingertips moving up and down on the carpet as he took each sleep filled breath. He seemed to be in a heavy sleep, so I was confident I’d be able to leave his room without waking him. The other issue was that all the family bedrooms, plus their lounge and kitchen were on the same floor, so I had to get past Iain and Marcia’s room to get to my own, without waking them. I was hopeful that as it was still early, only five-thirty, they’d also be sound asleep.

Sleeping with Finlay had been totally the wrong thing to do; both personally and professionally. I let my self-pity and jealousy take over my sanity, my common sense, and now I felt terrible. I felt dirty and easy and was mortified at what Mr & Mrs Murray might think of me. As for Finlay, I couldn’t even think about him and what this would mean for our professional relationship. I also had a suspicion that our night together would mean something to him. He’d showered me with attention both at dinner and in bed and while the sex had been good, I was ashamed to say my mind had wandered to Elijah throughout most of it. I was a horrible person and Finlay didn’t deserve to be treated as a substitute for my ex-husband who was living with his girlfriend.

With one last look at the sleeping body in the bed, I gently opened the door and slid through it, clicking it shut behind me. Once on the landing, I held my breath, waiting to hear Finlay or his parents, but the top floor of the hotel was quiet, bar the ticking of the Grandfather clock that stood in the lounge. Feeling relief, I slowly tiptoed back to my room, closed the door and slid down to the floor, muffling my sobs with the fabric of my creased dress.