Page 9 of The Honeymoon Hack

My brain circled, drifting to the visit with my mother. I’d learned eight months ago that she and my father knew I’d slept with Brie. Like earlier today, it was in a moment she’d confused me for my father. She’d brought it up twice since the first time.

Three times in a year.

And the fourth today, with Brie sitting right there.

We didn’t talk about it in the car. Didn’t talk about it when I dropped her off to grab her car and head home. Just like we hadn’t talked about it in the ten years since it had happened.

“Will?” Ashley prompted.

“Sorry.” I snapped back to the moment. “Greece? Two weeks in Santorini and Crete.”

“Remember when I had to smush up against the wall on the donkey track?” Ashley tapped my chest as she giggled. She was playing up the story, rehearsing the rapport we should have had.

But honestly? I had no idea what she was talking about. “Donkey track?”

“The switchback up the…” Her fake laugh stopped, her shoulders dropping. “I thought they picked Santorini because you’d been there?”

“No.”

“Didn’t you study the undercover dossier?”

“I did.” I tried to stifle a yawn behind my glass. “But it’s been a long day.”

She frowned.

Why did I agree to this? I was tech support. I’d told Evelyn exactly that, at least ten times since she announced I’d be going undercover with Ashley. I’d reminded her I didn’t do undercover work. Sure, I was on-site for plenty of jobs, but working behind the scenes was different.

Front-of-the-house work was not one of my skills.

“Screw the official plan.” She took another sip from her glass. “How about we change it to… We only got married a few weeks ago. What if we say the data center job offers came in right before the wedding, and we didn’t want to pass them up?”

“So we rescheduled the honeymoon?”

“We’ll be in the Bahamas. We can say we thought it could be half work, half play?”

“If it means I can skip memorizing everything about Santorini, I’m all for it.”

The living room hummed with conversation and laughter. The catering staff moved efficiently between clusters of guests, offering drinks and appetizers on sleek platters. The air smelledof overpriced food and the subtle scent of whatever candles Evelyn had burning—something woodsy and expensive.

Declan and Zac stood near the fireplace, deep in conversation with our pilot, Brian. Three of our IT staff were by the window, laughing over something on one of their phones. Pockets of employees gathered, everyone showing up to welcome me home.

Scarlett and Malcolm hadn’t arrived yet. Nor had Brie.

The front door opened and closed, and my heart did the same little jump as every other time. But it was Jenn who appeared around the corner from the foyer, her smile lighting up when she spotted me. “Will!”

Emmett followed a step behind her, looking amused at his girlfriend’s enthusiasm. She was one of Scarlett’s best friends since they were young, almost as long as Brie and I had been joined at the hip. She was a few years older than me, but we’d all practically grown up together.

“Jenn,” I said, pushing off the wall to receive her hug. “Good to see you.”

“Scarlett said you were back, but I couldn’t believe it until I saw you myself.” She stepped back, studying my face. “You look tired.”

“We flew out from London early this morning.” The reminder made my eyes itch even more, and no amount of blinking would fix that problem. My plan after seeing Mum had been to head home and grab a couple of hours’ sleep before coming to Evelyn’s. But my brain was buzzing after everything Mum said, and sleep had evaded me. “Actually, I think it was last night, if you account for the time zones.”

She put her hands on her hips, giving me a blatant once-over. “Something’s different.”

“He’s been working out,” Emmett added, clapping my shoulder. “Must have found a decent gym in Oxshott.”

“Not much else to do between looking after my mother and the crazy work hoursyourmother forced me into,” I said with a laugh that turned into another yawn. It hadn’t been a gym. I’d spent almost every hour in the converted loft above my mother’s maisonette. How could I leave her alone? Instead, I’d made my own little gym and used it every day. “How’s the restoration work going?”