Hole. Ken was jumpy, finding it hard to pay attention to the conversation. He blamed the plane trip on that.
“And here are your rooms.” Thea stopped at the end of the hallway, a door on either side of her. “I didn’t know how much space you might need…”
“Thanks,” Ken said quickly, ignoring the question that was implied.
“Well, I’ll leave you to get settled,” Thea said. “We’ll be in the living room when you’re ready. We’re eating in about thirty, but take your time, and let me know if there’s anything you need.”
Adison waited until Thea had left to speak. “How many other guests are there?”
“I’m not sure.” Ken didn’t like not having an answer for her, but he hadn’t asked Thea for specifics on the weekend because they didn’t really matter. The only thing that was important to him was pleasing his potential donor.
“Oh. Okay.” Adison ran her hand through her hair, and he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the way the strands fell from her fingers. “See you in a few minutes, I guess.”
He forced himself to turn away from her. “Yes. See you soon.” With that, he turned on his heel and went into the bedroom directly behind him.
The room was spacious, with a queen-size bed and French doors leading out onto a small patio. The bathroom had a sunk-in bathtub and a large TV mounted on the wall. The setup itself was nice enough to spend the whole weekend in.
That is, if you were staying there with someone.
His chest constricted. Setting his bag on the bed, he began unpacking. Even though they would only be there for a couple days, he still planned on hanging all his clothes. It was simply his habit.
When that was done, he went into the hall and knocked softly on the door directly across from his.
There was no response.
“Adison?” he called.
He knocked again, louder this time. When she still didn’t answer the door, he opened it up and poked his head into the room. Her suitcase was on the floor by the bed, but other than that the room was empty. It appeared she’d gone to meet the others without him.
Even though it shouldn’t have, that stung a little bit. He’d been looking forward to at least spending another half a minute alone with her.
Why? It wouldn’t lead anywhere.
He knew that, of course. Maybe he was simply masochistic.
Even though the home was large, it wasn’t difficult to locate the party. All he had to do was follow the sounds of laughter.
They were in a room with a fireplace; Thea, Adison, and six other people. An oil painting of a blue mountain hung over the fireplace, and furs were strewn across the furniture. Out of curiosity, he brushed his fingers against a white fur as he walked by it, and he decided it was fake.
The place was decorated to look like a hunting lodge, but it wasn’t really. It was a retreat for people with money, and Thea had plenty of that. He’d researched her thoroughly before their first meeting and discovered that she came from a family that had made a fortune in car parts.
“There he is.” Thea’s voice boomed across the cavernous room. “Our last guest. Everyone is finally here.”
She went around the circle, introducing everyone to Ken. There were her friends from California, her friends from Manhattan, and her friends from Buffalo. Ken only caught two people’s names: Rich and Arlene McDade. Normally he could remember names easily, but he felt scattered and distracted, not his usual self.
With the exception of Thea, he realized, they were all couples.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Ken said to the last person…whose name he, of course, had forgotten after two seconds.
Oh, well. They would be there all weekend. He would learn names soon enough.
“Cider?” Thea offered him a glass.
Taking the warm mug, Ken found a seat on a couch next to Adison.
“Enjoying yourself so far?” he asked.
She sipped her cider. “Yeah. It’s really nice here.”
The blond woman Thea had introduced as her friend from Manhattan came and took a seat in the easy chair next to the couch. “So how do you know Thea?”
“Through her work.” Ken sipped his cider. If it was spiked, he couldn’t tell. It tasted so sweet.
“What about you?” Adison asked the woman.
“We go way back.” She made a gesture to the sky, like she couldn’t even begin to explain just how long they’d known each other for. “You look familiar, Ken. I can’t figure out from where,