Page 37 of Her Dark Lies

Ana hugs Claire, then Jack.

“Good night, my dears. We’ll see you in the morning.” She leaves with Brice, and Jack blows out a huge breath. They are finally alone. Claire breaks a breadstick in half and nibbles on it.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Dad has things in hand, of course.”

“Elliot looked pissed.”

Jack laughed, sharp and short. “Elliot is being a dick.”

“They’re getting divorced. He and Amelia.”

“Mom told you that?” She nods. “I suspected as much. He’s been on edge for weeks. And Amelia looked terrible.”

“Are we going to be okay?” Claire asks. “I mean, the servers, surely there’s something important... Are you still okay with everything? I know—”

He cuts her off with a kiss. “Hey, bride. Wanna get drunk under the stars? It might be our last chance to be alone for a while.”

The way she smiles at him makes his entire body light up. “Yes, please.”

“Good. Follow me.”

22

Making Love Out of Nothing at All

We go down the hall to the library again. I hadn’t noticed the French doors on the near wall. The curtains are drawn, huge, thick sheaves of oyster Dupioni silk draped in front of the doors. He pulls them back with aschwingand I can’t help myself—a gasp flies from my lips.

“Oh my God, the view is incredible from here. Why would you ever close these?”

“Light can damage the books. We’re on the edge of the island. Doesn’t it feel like we’re dropping off in the sea?”

“Is that the infinity terrace we saw from the boat?”

“Yep.”

He leads me out, positions me at the stone’s edge. The sun has slipped away now, and the sky is a few shades darker than the lavender of our bathroom ceiling. The clouds are ominous, but still holding themselves back. Jack pours champagne in our glasses, then tips his glass to mine. “To my bride.”

“To my groom,” I reply, taking a sip. I hadn’t noticed the label, but it is excellent, of course. I expect nothing less.

“To your 30 percent. I hope you aren’ttootaken aback by our little arrangement,” he says, voice now laced with amusement. He sounds himself again.

“Jack, you know I’m not interested in your money. But a little heads-up would have been nice. I felt foolish.”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“Oh, you surprised me, all right.”

A small smile quirks the edge of his lips. “I’m to take note that you don’t like surprises, correct? Marriage lesson number one?”

“Yes. Marriage lesson number one. Marriage lesson number two... It’s too much, Jack. A third of your estate? What am I supposed to do with it?”

“Buy a small country?”

“Ha-ha.”

He brushes a piece of hair back from my cheek, tucks it behind my ear. “Claire. Listen to me. I love you. I want you to be taken care of, no matter what. As you might have just noticed, being a Compton can come with certain...constraints. This is your safety net. If something happens to me, I wanted you to be covered.”