Page 81 of The VIP Doubles Down

“What do you mean?”

“When you said we were landing at the Southampton heliport, I expected something more than two patches of asphalt. Can’t one of you billionaires at least spring for a trailer here?”

“We didn’t get to be billionaires by wasting money on a trailer when our drivers meet us right across the street.” He guided her over the roadway to the waiting Bentley. “You should see this parking lot in the summer. It’s wall-to-wall Bentleys, Maseratis, Ferraris, and Rolls-Royces.”

“If you drive a Lexus, are you allowed to park here?”

“Only in the very back of the lot,” Gavin said, before he nodded to his driver, who was holding the Bentley’s door open. “Afternoon, Linda.”

Allie had been eyeing the car, trying to decide if it was an exact twin of the one Pie was riding out in. When she heard the female name, her gaze went to the chauffeur, an attractive young woman with her hair tucked up under her cap. Allie smiled at Linda as she slid into the back of the car and gave Gavin a gold star for his lack of sexism.

As the car glided down Meadow Lane, Allie peered out the window, trying to catch glimpses of the beachfront mansions. Many were behind gates or dunes, but occasionally she got a sense of how large the houses were. “I guess you never pop over to the neighbors’ to borrow a cup of sugar.”

“Sugar? No, but I might beg a fifth of bourbon on a dreary Sunday.”

“Seriously, do you know any of your neighbors?”

“Yes, but we all pay a great deal for privacy, so I wouldn’t drop in for a visit unannounced.”

“That’s kind of sad. Anyone famous?”

“If you’re looking for actors or singers, no. They gravitate toward East Hampton. Southampton is a staid crowd of financiers and businessmen.”

“How’d you get in?” she teased.

“Money. The Hamptons are very democratic that way.”

The car eased off the road and drove through two cast-iron gates that swung open as they approached. The driveway was surrounded by high, tangled bushes, so she could see nothing of the house or grounds. “I feel like Julian Best entering the lair of his archenemy, Sturgis Wolfe.”

“Sometimes I get lazy and just look out my window when I need a description.”

Suddenly the bushes fell away, and a winter-brown lawn spread out before them, leading up to a rambling mansion clad in gray shingles, the trim of its mullioned windows and graceful columns painted a crisp white. Allie loved the asymmetry of it, with oriel windows punctuating a gambrel roof here while a brick chimney poked up there. Somehow that made it seem less imposing and more inviting despite its massive size.

Linda drew the car up under the front portico with a flourish, jumping out to swing open Allie’s door. The scent of the sea met her nostrils again, but the house sheltered them from the slam of the wind.

Gavin put his arm around her shoulders. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

Allie snorted. “It’s about as humble as you are, but I like it. It has charm.”

“If I match it in humility, I hope I also match it in charm.”

“That’s not the first word that comes to mind.”

He dropped his arm to her waist and bent so he could murmur in her ear. “Let’s play word association. What adjectivedoescome to mind first?”

She debated between honesty and humor but went for the first. “Fascinating.” She could have addeddark,sad, andenigmatic, but she didn’t want to get that complicated before she’d even gotten inside the house. Other words—words about her feelings toward him—she was trying to banish from her own mind.

“I’ll take it.” His grip tightened. “Although I was hoping forsexy ashell.”

“That’s three words, so it’s not acceptable.”

He huffed out a laugh and started them up the brick steps to the wide planks of the front porch. He pulled open the bright red front door to usher her into a light-filled double-height entrance hall with a curving staircase climbing up on the left, and arched openings offering glimpses of elegant rooms on three sides.

“You leave it unlocked?”

“Linda opened it before she left. I didn’t think you’d let me get away with being greeted by the butler.”

“The butler. You have a butler here.”