I fasten the second pearl earring. “Do I look okay?”
He steps back, releasing my hair. The skin around his mouth changes, his five o’clock shadow stretching around a tight smile. “You look beautiful,” he says finally. “Like always. Nathan will be pleased.”
I push back from the vanity and stand, willing this memory from my mind: his concern, his proximity, his touch on my hair, his lies for my sanity. I don’t really give a fuck if Nathan is pleased. Half of me is still upset over his earlier outburst, the other half is still aroused.
I walk to the house, feeling Drew’s eyes on me, his hand settling on my back as he reaches forward and opens the door. “Mr. Dumont is in the office.”
The office. I raise my eyebrows. I haven’t seen the office since my first tour of the house, everything off limits except for the common areas and gym. I follow Drew’s lead and step into the room, a big space with dark blue walls and deep wood accents. Nathan is there, standing by the window, his tie loosened, arms crossed over his chest. I stop.
“Swimming. How important is it to you?”
I try to hide my surprise. This may be the first time Nathan has ever asked my opinion on something, our conversations limited to instructions and orders. I look down, searching for the right words. “Not important enough for me to negotiate for, but I would enjoy swimming. It would give me something to do during the day.”
“My issue, my anger earlier today, was not about you swimming.” He steps forward, rolling up one sleeve in perfect, precise folds, unveiling muscular forearms. “Granted, I was upset that you purposely disobeyed my rule—the rules are in place for a reason, and I need you to follow them. But what caused me to lose my temper was your stripping down to your underwear in front of Drew.”
My face flushes, and I wonder where Drew is right now, if he is still behind me, or if he just dropped me off and moved on.
“I understand that you have trouble understanding the difference between our sex and your exhibitionism, so know this: unless I tell you to, you will stay fully clothed in front of the staff. Do you understand?”
I nod meekly, my cheeks burning as I am talked to in the manner someone would a small child.
“I’ll speak with your hair stylist. I’m sure there is some product that can be purchased to protect your hair. I will allow you to swim, assuming you do it during the day when I am at work.” He finishes the second sleeve, both forearms now bare, the look—combined with his loose tie and rumpled hair—incredibly hot.
I will allow you to swim. His gifts are still insults. “Thank you,” I say stiffly. “But I still don’t know why you seem so mad at me.”
He raises him eyebrows, looking at me as if I am a dolt. “I just explained that to you.”
“No,” I struggle to explain. “I meant before. Before I stripped down in front of Drew. Ever since we got back from Napa, you’ve acted as if I’ve messed up in some way. Was it something that happened in Napa?”
NATHAN
“Was it something that happened in Napa?”
She asks the question so cluelessly, as if Napa Valley had been fun and games, and not a torture chamber of temptation.
Yes, he wants to scream. Yes, it has to do with Napa. I don’t love you. I am using you, and everything that happened in Napa felt like fraud. He swallows. “It has nothing to do with Napa except that I feel you came back from that trip with unrealistic expectations about our relationship.”
She crosses her arms over her chest, and the air between them turns cold. “So you thought you’d be a grade A asshole to push me back into my corner?”
“Possibly.” He lifts his chin, returning the glare that she slings in his direction. “And, from the look you’re giving me, I think I’ve accomplished that purpose.”
She snorts. “Don’t flatter yourself. You can be a human being without having a woman fall for you.”
Isn’t that the truth. He’d been more than human with Cecile, and look how that had ended.
“All I’m asking is that you not be cruel.”
He can’t give her that. It’s not in him to be kind and not care. It’s too risky to befriend her when she is only a tool. And this backbone that she’s growing isn’t helping anything. He jerks a head toward the door. “I think it’s time you went back to your room.”
If a glare could be tangible, hers would slice his head off. She waits, and there is a moment when he almost expects her to refuse, to stand her ground and just stare him down until the mosquitos came out and Drew nodded off from the pure boredom of it all.
But she doesn’t. She turns on one sexy heel, giving him a parting look at that deliciously round ass, and heads out the door, the scent of her perfume lingering as she all but stomped toward her room.
CHAPTER 24
“Your husband is so handsome.”
I look up from my book, my feet tucked beneath me, my father’s snores comforting in their regularity. “I’m sorry?”
Pam beams, a worn Southern Life magazine clutched in her hands, as she scurries closer. “Jeanie brought this in, it’s got photos from your trip to Napa. I didn’t realize how handsome your husband was. Why, you’re famous!”
She unfolds the magazine, folding it back on itself, thrusting the glossy pages forward, one bare fingernail tapping insistently on the page. I accept it carefully, my eyes devouring the pages.
I know that Nathan is important, a part of Nashville society, which apparently makes him fodder for southern gossip rags. I glance quickly through the photos, ones from a charity luncheon we attended, grapevines in the distance, the sunny warmth of the day coming through in the images. The shots seem to focus on us, the other couples in attendance mostly ignored by the photographer. I look fabulous—glowing with happiness, my head tilted toward Nathan, a proud smile on his face, as he looks at me with an emotion some might confuse with love. My hand tightens on the magazine. I love these pages; I want to pore over each one, to savor the images I wish were real.
My chair shifts as Pam’s weight rests on its arm, her bosom against my arm as she leans forward and points to a photo of the two of us. “This is my favorite one of him. Whew!” She fans herself dramatically. “What I wouldn’t give to trade places with you, honey.” She laughs, a pleasant trill of joy.