I grinned. “That was a misunderstanding, as I’m sure you’re aware.”
“And it was understandable. His removing that ring… let’s just say, between us, that this past week has seen a string of unusual occurrences.”
“Are you sure I won’t be bothering him if I go in the office?” I still didn’t know what Nox did for a profession. What if he were talking to one of his bosses? I thought about Alton and how he didn’t like people coming uninvited into his office.
“No, dear. He asked for you to go to him, right?”
I nodded. “Well, in a note.”
“Then there’s your answer. Mr. Nox doesn’t say what he doesn’t mean.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Witt.”
She nodded. “You let me know if I can get you anything to eat.”
“I will.”
Carrying my coffee, I padded barefoot toward Nox’s office. I knew the layout of the suite from my other visits. Thankfully, the door was slightly ajar.
“I don’t care.” His gruff tone came through the crack. “The debate has been going on too long. I want this resolved—yesterday.”
I pushed the door wider, afraid there was someone with him, or he was on webcam. Instead, I found him standing at the window, wearing gym shorts and a worn Boston t-shirt, with a phone to his ear. The stern tone I’d heard in his voice showed in his face as he turned toward the creak of the opening door. And then his expression morphed: his blue eyes shimmered as his scowl curved into a smile.
I probably looked like an ogling schoolgirl, but the sight of Nox with sex-mussed hair, a day’s beard growth, and casual clothes had me smiling from ear to ear. I hadn’t thought it was possible for him to look sexier than he did in a silk suit or swim trunks, but it was. The familiar tightening inside me returned. It seemed to be a constant ailment in his presence.
“Good morning,” he mouthed, still listening to the person on the other end of the phone. “Edward, I’m going to need to continue this discussion another time. Something just came up.”
My gaze lowered to his shorts.
When I looked back up, he winked. “Resolve it. Goodbye.”
I took a step toward him as Nox did the same.
“Not one of your bosses?”
Nox’s eyes widened. “That call? No. Nobody really. I could tell you all about it, but that would break our no-information rule, and then I’d have to…” He pursed his lips.
“You’d have to what?”
“I was thinking about that.” He reached for my waist and pulled me close. “I’m sure I can think of something.” After a quick kiss he asked, “How are you this morning?”
I tilted my head against his chest. “Good.”
Lifting my chin, he asked, “Good? Is that all?”
“No, I’m better than good.”
WHEN THE LIGHT of day finally leaked around the edge of the heavy draperies and the sound of staff passed my locked door, I let myself drift off to sleep. I couldn’t do it while the darkness gave cover. I couldn’t do it as I stared at the glass doorknob and willed it not to turn. I wouldn’t do it knowing that the old silver key that was supposed to keep my door closed could be pushed out with the right tool.
It was almost noon by the time I woke to the knock.
“Who is it?” I asked through the wood after I groggily made my way across the room.
“Me, child. Are you going to sleep the day away?”
I opened the door to Jane’s smiling face. “Maybe,” I replied with as much cockiness as I could muster.
She walked past me and looked around my room. Shaking her head, she opened my drapes.
The bed was disheveled from my sleepless night, but other than that, everything seemed ordinary. “Why are you shaking your head?”
“I was just wondering if you was alone.”
I forced my squinted eyes to open in the now too-bright room. “What? Of course, I’m alone.”
“Well,” Jane said, in a tone that meant she was letting me in on some big secret. “Word around the kitchen is that Mr. Spencer be here until late. Nobody sure when he left.”
My hands went to my hips. “Mr. Spencer and I walked to the lake after the party. Then he left. End of story.”
“Uh-huh.”
“No, uh-huh, Jane. Last night was the first time I’ve spoken to him in four years.”
She tilted her head. “Then why I hear you two stayed close.”
“Where? Who told you that?”
“You know how it is? Bethany, in the kitchen, she’s friends with one of the Ashmores’ girls. She said she heard Miss Millie talking to Mr. Peterson ‘bout you. Said she wasn’t surprised. She knew you two were just keeping it on the down low.”
Oh my God!
“Down low? Are you serious?”
It made sense. That was how stories and rumors got going in Savannah. It was the system long before Facebook or Twitter and now with the help of cell phones, it was probably faster. The house staff didn’t repeat what they didn’t see or hear, but give them a rumor and it not only made its way around Montague Manor, but to every other house in town with help.
I reached for my phone on the nightstand. I needed to talk to Bryce again. If this weren’t corralled, the people of Savannah would have us engaged before I left town tomorrow. The icons flashed. I’d missed two calls from Chelsea. We’d been texting halfway through the night. It wasn’t so bad for her—she was three hours behind. For me it was after three when we stopped chatting. I’d played a few mean games of whatever the latest game app was for a little while before I’d gotten lost in the book I’d recently downloaded.
Once law school started I anticipated my time for fun reading would be severely diminished.
I scrolled down my contacts, and while I let the screen linger on one name, I forced myself to scroll back up to the B’s. “I don’t even have his number.” Exasperated, I looked at Jane. “You can see how close we are.”
Her face scrunched together. “So you two’s not…”
“No. We’re not.”
“That’s my girl. Don’t let no man stop you from your dreams. You’re going to be a famous judge!”
I love her so much.
“I don’t know about judge or famous,” I responded, “but lawyer is the plan.”
“You get cleaned up and dressed, and I’ll bring your lunch.” She shook her head with attitude. “You done missed breakfast.”
“Thanks, Jane. You don’t need to do that. What time is lunch? I can eat with Mother.”
A shadow passed over Jane’s gaze, the same one that spent the night lurking the hallways and doorways, and then just as quickly it was gone. “Your momma’s not feeling well today. She’s resting. You know how those headaches of hers can be. And I don’t mind bringing you some food. I’m so happy you’re here.”
My appetite disappeared again. If I stayed here too long, I’d waste away. “All right. But after I eat, I’ll go see her.”
“Let me see if she’s awake.”
Awake? That wasn’t what Jane needed to check and we both knew it. We just didn’t say it.
Smoke and mirrors.
I started to walk to the bathroom and remembered my door. “Jane, when you go get that food…”
She nodded and patted the pocket of her slacks. “Of course.”
Jane had said Mother was sleeping, and since I had nothing else to do while I waited for the mystery meeting tomorrow, after my shower and lunch, I spent some time on my laptop scheduling the movers. They were supposed to pick things up on Thursday. That didn’t give me much time. Chelsea and I had already started packing a few things, but the big stuff needed to get across the country, and fast. I wasn’t sure where the summer had gone, but it had. It was crunch time. Even though the company promised coast-to-coast service in under two weeks, I figured I’d be sleeping on a sofa in New York for awhile, waiting for my bedroom suite to arrive.
I wasn’t taking all the furniture. First, I doubted it would fit. My
new apartment was nice looking from the pictures, but I knew New York well enough to know nothing was large. The other reason I wouldn’t take it all was my best friend. We still had two months left on the lease in Palo Alto, and I promised her I’d pay my part while she figured out exactly what she was going to do.
I also looked at flights to get me back to California. I wished I could take one of the early ones, but I didn’t know for sure what time our meeting was. As I let the cursor float over the different flights, I decided to wait until I had more information.
Living in a huge house was like going to the local supermarket. The analogy had nothing to do with food, but made sense anyway. When you went to the supermarket in sweatpants, ponytail, and barefaced, not wanting to see anyone, you ran into everyone you knew. It was the way it worked. If you’re freshly showered or had just come from work or class, and you had time to run into people, you wouldn’t. Living in Montague Manor was like that. The corridors could be quiet and empty, or I could run into people at every turn.
I’d made an effort with my hair, but as much as my mother complained about the ponytail, the humidity in Savannah wasn’t my friend. I settled for a messy bun, but went to the trouble of putting on another of the casual sundresses she’d bought. It was the one Jane had pulled from the closet the first night. I couldn’t believe after all this time, Adelaide still thought I liked pink. Red heads don’t wear pink. Yes, usually the brown dominated the auburn, but my stay in Del Mar had brought out the reds and a few streaks of blonde.
My stay in Del Mar had done more than that, but I wouldn’t let myself think about it—about him. We’d said one week. It may have been the best week of my entire life, but that was all we had. Besides, if we ever did find each other again, it wouldn’t be the same. Del Mar was special because it was fantasy, not real life. I didn’t think my heart could take Nox in my real life. He was too… too… Nox. That didn’t mean I couldn’t daydream about him. Real life can’t ruin daydreams.
Each room I passed on my way to the rear terrace was pristine and empty. If I’d have walked around in the shorts and t-shirt that I slept in, I would have surely met Mother and Alton along the way.
I walked around the grounds. Perhaps it was because it was Sunday, but everywhere I went, there was no one but me. I wasn’t looking for anyone, but it seemed strange that no one was about.
Even with the heat of the summer, the gardens were beautiful. Path after path wove through flowers, some as tall as me. Iron benches dotted the path. As a little girl I’d pretended it was a maze and only I knew the way in and out.
When I passed by the pool, the crystal clear water beckoned and I thought about swimming, but decided it wasn’t worth redoing my hair. Instead, I sat on the edge, pulled my dress higher on my thighs, and let my feet dangle in the tepid water. My mind slipped back to the last morning in Del Mar.
It was the sunrise I’d been dreading—we’d been dreading. If I didn’t wake up, if I lay perfectly still with my body pressed against Nox, maybe I wouldn’t need to get on the plane, maybe I could stay in Del Mar forever. The warmth radiating from his skin covered and shielded me from the cool air-conditioned chill of the suite.
Skin to skin, nothing separated us.
“Are you awake,” he asked, his deep voice gravelly with sleep.
“No.” I buried my head against his chest.
“Isn’t this early for you? Yesterday you didn’t wake until, what… ten?”
My cheeks filled with crimson. “I think you wore me out the other night.”
“Oh?”
Nox rolled me onto my back, his hands upon my shoulders and chest against mine. “Does that mean I didn’t do a good job wearing you out last night?”
I looked into the pale blueness of his eyes. It was barely light outside, but his gaze held that hint of menace that twisted my insides. He’d done a fine job of testing my limits. I still didn’t know where they were—not with him. It wasn’t that I’d ever imagined some of the suggestions Nox made. It was that when he proposed the limit, no matter what it was, I wanted to test it, for him and for me. I saw the happiness he derived, and I knew the happiness he could provide. Nox made each and every prospect sexy and pleasurable. Even if, like the wax, it didn’t start that way, Nox made sure it ended that way.
I shook my head. “No, you did a fine job. It was just…”
The pad of his thumb tenderly caressed my cheek as his prominent brow furrowed. “Charli, why are you crying? Did I..?”
I swallowed and shook my head. I didn’t want Nox to think he’d done anything wrong. I also didn’t want to admit how strongly I felt for him, or how I didn’t want our time together to end. “I don’t want to wake up. If I stay asleep then today will never come.”
His lips gently brushed mine. It was meant as an affectionate kiss, but I didn’t want that. I wanted more, needed more. I wove my fingers through Nox’s dark hair and pulled him closer. The taste of his lips and his tongue as it wrestled with mine was the catalyst to my desire. Breathing no longer mattered as my back arched and I pushed my pebbled nipples against the hardness of his chest.
We didn’t rush. For what seemed like an eternity, we lost ourselves in one another. It was much different than our first time, and different from every time after that. Nox had said he’d made love to me the night he brought me back to Del Mar after 101, but this was more. Every movement of his hands, tongue, and body was deliberate. He played me like an expert musician plays a prized instrument.
My body ached with need and desire as he took me to amazing highs with catastrophic earth-shaking conclusions. I gripped the sheets and called out his name, afraid I’d fall, and yet each time he was there to catch me. When we both descended from the final high, I collapsed against his shoulder and slipped off to sleep.
He’d granted my wish. The day wasn’t ready to begin.
A warm breeze brought me back to reality, and I shifted against the edge of the pool. I had no idea where Nox was, but even from far away he could do things to my body. Looking down at my breasts, I thanked God that I was alone. My thin strapless bra and pink dress did little to conceal the thoughts my nipples broadcasted.
I leaned back on my arms, lifted my face to the sun, and twisted my head from side to side. The slow movement allowed the warm wind access to my perspiration-moistened skin and freed the few stuck renegade strands of hair that had escaped from my messy bun.
Is it the Georgia heat that turned up my internal thermostat or my thoughts?
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been outside when I made my way back toward the house and up the stone staircase, but when I entered the house, Mother and Alton were in the sitting room. They didn’t hear me enter and for a few minutes I stood and watched them. Last night I’d heard their exchange, but today, from their expensive casual clothes to the way Alton waited upon my mother, filling her wine glass, they appeared the perfect couple.
It wasn’t until my shoes clicked upon the hardwood floor and Adelaide’s red-rimmed eyes met mine that I knew there was more to their current charade. She didn’t speak, but sighed, bit her lip, and turned toward the window.
“Alexandria,” Alton said, “have a seat. We need to speak to you about our meeting tomorrow morning.”
I sat, but spoke to Adelaide. “Momma, what’s the matter?”
“I just can’t… I can’t…”
Alton stood taller by her side. “Your mother has been upset since our office discussion yesterday.”
I moved to the edge of the chair. “It’s fine,” I placated, like the good daughter I’d been taught to be.
Tears coated my mother’s cheeks as she reached for Alton’s hand.
“Momma, are you sick?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Alexandria, if only you would have tried.”
“Tried? What are you talking about?”
Her chin dropped to her chest. “The meeting tomorrow is to update you on your trust fund.”
“I thought it might b
e, but why are you so upset. If I get it early, I won’t do—”
“You’re not getting it early,” Alton said. “You no longer have access to it. It’s gone.”
“GONE? I DON’T understand. How is a million dollars gone?” I stood, unable to contain my fury.
“You’ve lived on it for four years,” Alton said. “Stanford isn’t inexpensive. I guarantee it wasn’t a million any longer.”
“I review the online statements every month. It was not gone the last time I looked.”
“It’s been re-appropriated.” His tone slowed. “Before you decide to make any more threats, I assure you, it’s completely legal and within the guidelines of the clauses set forth by your grandparents.”
“Darling,” Mother interjected. “I didn’t want you to be blindsided at the attorney’s office like you were yesterday with Bryce. That was my fault. I should’ve talked to you about Bryce earlier in the day, but we were having such a nice time.” She dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.
I didn’t give a rat’s ass about Bryce. I did about my trust fund.
“Columbia?” I asked collapsing on one of the many sofas.
“That’s what we were saying yesterday. You don’t have the funds to attend Columbia.”
“Your first semester is paid,” Alton interjected. “You’ll need to transfer, or you could withdraw and receive a refund. It’s time you stop wasting money and concentrate on the future.”
I palmed my temples and pushed. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. The future? Law school was my future.
“Dear, are you all right?”
“No, Mother, I’m not. I’m not all right. I was accepted into Columbia Law. Do you have any idea how difficult that is? No, you don’t. You don’t because as soon as you finished your degree—in art appreciation—at Emory—you married my father. You didn’t apply to graduate school. And you…” I stared at Alton. “…your master’s is from Georgia State!”