Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Raleigh wiped sweat from her brow and looked around.
Dylan was running laps around a near-by track.
A warmth flooded her heart as she tossed the ball in the air and brought her racket down on it as hard as she could.
The ball flew over the court, skimming just over the top of the net, and dropped like it was made of stone.
Jenn missed it by a mile.
“Yes!” Raleigh’s partner, Marielle, yelled as she raised her fist in the air.
The pert blond was obviously thrilled if her wide smile was an indicator.
She adjusted her pale pink tennis dress and tried to dim her grin, but her blue eyes twinkled with joy.
Although Raleigh shared the sentiment, she kept her mouth shut.
Jenn was clearly livid. It was written all over her perfect face.
Her eyes were practically shooting fire.
Her lips were pressed thin, white with rage.
They all approached the net. “Good game,” Raleigh said to Jenn’s partner Diane, a tall brunette with a lively smile and brown eyes.
She wore a blue tennis dress with matching tennis shoes and racket.
After shaking the woman’s hand, Raleigh leaned over and offered her hand to Jenn, who glanced down at it and then immediately stalked off toward the bench where they’d stowed their bags.
Raleigh glanced over at Diane who shrugged.
“Must be wedding stress,” Marielle mused. “Don’t worry about it, Raleigh. She’s just, um, a little upset this morning.”
“Is there something wrong?”
“No,” Diane said quickly, shooting a silencing glance at Marielle. “Everything is fine. Jenn’s not thrilled Dylan is here obviously so, you know she’s a bit on edge.” She turned and walked over to join the bride-to-be.
Marielle sighed. “Don’t mind them. You’re really good. Where did you learn to play?”
“I grew up in Connecticut. My parents were big players, so they made me take lessons my whole life. I was never a huge fan, but it’s nice to get out and play every once in a while. How about you? Have you been playing long?”
“No. A couple of years. I think Jenn only asks me to play because she knows she can beat me.” She rolled her eyes. “It was really nice to win today, so thanks for that.”
“It was a team effort.” Raleigh smiled. “Well, I guess we should get going.” She nodded at the players entering the court. They both started toward the bench, chatting idly about the weather. It was warm and beautiful, perfect for the wedding.
Raleigh glanced around to locate Dylan. He was on the track but now he was stretching. The thought of him close by kept her belly free of fear and the weight off her shoulders.
Jenn glared at Raleigh as she continued to gather her things.
“I guess we’ll see you at lunch,” she sniped as soon as Raleigh was close enough to hear.
“Please see Donna beforehand so she can tell you what to focus on in your next article.” With that, she grabbed her bag and flounced off, her tennis skirt flapping in the breeze.
Raleigh gritted her teeth. The warm feels that she’d been carrying around all morning from waking up next to Dylan just died with that statement. She hated being ordered around.
Always had.
She tried to reclaim her calm state of joy, but it was gone. This morning she’d opened her eyes after the first real night’s sleep she’d had in weeks to find herself all snuggled into Dylan with his arm wrapped around her waist. She was safe and at ease, something she hadn’t been in a long time.
And as she lay there, she started to feel other things, too.
When he’d pulled her tight against him, his hardness pressed against her butt.
If she hadn’t moved, it would have been awkward when he awoke, and after he’d backed away from her last night, she didn’t want to make things worse. That’s when she had decided to get up.
“Please don’t pay attention to Jenn. She’s just overwhelmed. The wedding…” Marielle’s voice petered out.
“Yes. It’s a big weekend. Stressful for anyone,” Diane said, trying to normalize everything, but it was obvious there were plenty of undercurrents at work.
Raleigh sat down. She smoothed out the skirt of her white tennis dress. “You know, I feel really bad. I didn’t know about Jenn and Dylan.”
Both women turned toward her. “You didn’t know?” Marielle asked, incredulous.
“No. Dylan and I have never discussed any of our exes by name. I mean, it’s all in the past, right? It never occurred to either one of us that I would end up working his ex-fiancée’s wedding. I usually only do PR for major cultural events. This is my first wedding.”
The women were silent as they drank from their water bottles. Eventually, Diane said, “Well, there’s an argument to be made that this wedding is a major cultural event for Bedford Hills.” She smiled as she tucked her blue tennis racket into her bag.
Marielle laughed.
Raleigh smiled. “Yes, that’s true. Still, I do feel awful about the whole thing.
I understand her being upset Dylan is here.
It can’t be easy having your ex-fiancé at your wedding, especially since it was only six—” Raleigh stopped speaking suddenly.
She’d done it on purpose. Would one of them jump in and fill in silence?
Diane sighed and put down her blue water bottle. “Yes, it’s been a bit fast.” She glanced at Marielle.
“We were all a little surprised by Jenn and Andrew. I mean, he’s just not her normal type.
” Marielle shrugged and patted her face with a pink towel that matched her outfit.
“I was shocked when she announced the engagement. I didn’t even know they were dating.
” She looked at Diane. “Did you? You see her more than I do.”
Diane shook her head as she put her racket in her bag. “No, I had no idea. One minute she was with Dylan and the next she was engaged to Andrew. It was…weird. Andrew’s a nice guy, but Marielle’s right. He’s not Jenn’s type at all.”
“Do you think it was a whirlwind romance? Andrew swept her off her feet?” Raleigh asked.
“I don’t know,” Marielle took another drink from her water bottle. “But I doubt it. The way she talks about Andrew I think it’s more likely to be a business move of some kind.”
“Nonsense,” Diane said. “Jenn adores Andrew.” Then she added, “In her own way.” She stood up abruptly and swung her bag over her shoulder. “Anyway, I’ve got to run. See you all at lunch.”
“Later,” Marielle said with a wave. She watched Diane walk away and then turned to Raleigh.
“Dylan being here may have added to her stress, but you shouldn’t feel responsible.
She’s more intense about everything these days.
Dylan is just the icing on the cake. She’s been…
off for a long time. If you ask me, Andrew is just a pawn in Jenn’s game and whatever it is she’s playing at, she means to win. ”
Marielle put her water bottle into the side pocket of her bag.
Raleigh thought for a moment. “Well, hopefully it works itself out.”
“Yeah, hopefully,” Marielle said, but her voice was filled with doubt. She leaned down and picked up her bag.
Raleigh went to grab hers as well, but it was partially open.
She glanced inside, and her whole body froze.
Her mouth went dry as all the air left her lungs.
There was a single red rose inside her bag.
Her stalker had watched her play tennis.
He’d been so close to her again. Dylan. She needed Dylan.
She looked up but he was still on the track on the other side of the court.
“Are you okay?” Marielle asked. “You don’t look so good.”
Raleigh swallowed hard and tried to even out her breathing. “Um, I, ah—”
“Oh, what’s that in your bag?” Marielle leaned over and looked in the bag. “Dylan put a red rose in your tennis bag? That’s so sweet. He must really like you. He never did that kind of thing for Jenn. I mean, not to compare or anything.”
Raleigh looked all around the court, searching for any sign of her stalker.
Besides the group playing tennis, no one.
She glanced up into Marielle’s concerned face.
What had the other woman said? She was having a hard time remembering.
Something about Dylan being sweet to her and not Jenn.
“Ah, it’s fine. No worries. I get what you mean. ”
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You look pale. It’s hot out here, and you did all that running around on the court. Make sure you drink lots of water. You don’t want to get heat stroke.”
“Yeah. I think I’ll grab Dylan and head back to my cabin. I’ll get some more water too, maybe cool off a bit.”
“That’s probably a good idea. See you at lunch.” Marielle gave a half-wave and sauntered off the court.
Raleigh sat hard on the bench and jerked her head around, looking at her surroundings.
There was a group playing tennis in the next court over.
A water station at the far end of her court beyond the fence was being refilled by a maintenance worker, and beyond that was the golf course.
The end of the court was lined with a hedge right up against the fence so there was no way he could reach her bag from there.
How could she not have seen him then? Wouldn’t he have had to come inside the fence?
The game. She’d been so focused on the game. Her entire body shuddered at the thought of him watching her. Lurking in the background of her life. Waiting to strike. Fear still roiled in her stomach, but something else had joined it.
Rage.
She stood up, but her knees were weak. She took a deep breath and then let it out. She could do this. One foot in front of the other, she made her way off the court and went over to where Dylan was stretching.
He took one look at her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
She tried to catch her breath. “He was there. At the tennis courts.”
“Who? Your stalker? Did you see him?”