Betrayal (Infidelity Book 1) - Aleatha Romig Page 0,55

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