Chapter Six
Pretending to be in love with your gay best friend, Sasha discovered, was going to require significantly more concentration when said best friend was clearly developing a case of the vapors over someone else entirely.
"Right," Ambrose said, straightening his shoulders as they stepped out onto the terrace after breakfast. "Estate tour. Family bonding. Convincing girlfriend behavior. I can do this."
"You sound like you're preparing for battle," Sasha observed, watching him smooth down his hair with the sort of nervous energy usually reserved for job interviews or root canals.
"I am preparing for battle. The battle against my own complete inability to act heterosexual for more than five minutes at a time.
" He glanced around to make sure they weren't being overheard, then leaned closer.
"Did you see how gorgeous Lukas the gardener is?
Because I'm fairly certain I made heart eyes at him over the fence during breakfast."
"I was too busy trying to figure out the family dynamics," Sasha said diplomatically, trying not to think about Victoria’s restless energy.
Actually, trying not to think about the woman at all because, well, because who wants to be reminded of their mistakes?
She colored just thinking about it. Crawling into bed with someone else. Honestly.
"Fair enough. There are a lot of us to keep track of."
But even from the lawns, she could see Victoria through the morning room windows, pacing back and forth with her phone pressed to her ear, her free hand gesticulating wildly at something or someone who couldn't see her.
"She's always been like that," Ambrose said fondly, catching her looking. "Even as a child, she couldn't just sit and watch television. She'd rearrange her dolls or reorganize her bookshelf or color-code her school supplies."
"Sounds exhausting."
"Says the woman who once reorganized my entire spice rack at two in the morning because you couldn't sleep."
"That was different. Your spice rack was chaos. An affront to civilization." Which was true, but also she really didn’t want to talk to Ambrose about his sister just at the moment. She wasn’t entirely sure why, but the change of subject was a welcome one.
They made their way across the manicured lawns. Perfectly maintained gardens stretched in all directions, dotted with mature trees and meandering paths that seemed designed for romantic strolls, with the breeze off the distant sea and the shade of ancient oaks.
"The formal gardens are over there," Ambrose said, pointing toward geometrically precise hedges and flower beds.
"Father's pride and joy, though he'd never admit it.
The kitchen gardens are behind those walls, and the greenhouses are…
" He trailed off as a figure emerged from behind a rose-covered archway.
Sasha followed his gaze and immediately understood the heart-eyes situation.
The man walking toward them was indeed quietly handsome in that understated way that probably made sensible people do foolish things.
Tall and lean with work-roughened hands and sun-streaked brown hair, he looked completely at home with himself.
"Lukas," Ambrose said, and Sasha was fairly certain his voice went up half an octave.
"Morning," Lukas replied, a slight accent on the word. His smile was warm but professional. "You must be Sasha. Welcome to Cornwall."
"Thank you," Sasha managed, trying not to laugh at the way Ambrose was practically vibrating beside her. "The gardens are beautiful."
"We try our best. Though this heat is making things challenging." Lukas wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, and Sasha heard Ambrose make a sound that might have been a whimper. "Would you like to see the greenhouses? Sir Archibald has some magnificent orchids."
"Oh yes," Ambrose said immediately. "Sasha loves… flowers. Don't you, darling?"
Sasha blinked. "I… do?"
Ambrose glared at her. "You do unless you want to have a conversation about what exactly happened last night in great detail?" He smiled at Lukas. "She can't get enough of them. Roses and… and other flowers. The flowery ones."
Lukas looked amused. "Well, we have plenty of those."
Sasha stuck her tongue out at Ambrose. "It was an accident and it’s not up for discussion, I’m embarrassed enough about it as it is."
Lukas looked confused, but before he could question them, they were joined by another figure emerging from what appeared to be a potting shed: a young woman in practical clothes with soil under her fingernails and an expression of mild exasperation.
"Don't mind me," she said, hoisting a bag of fertilizer onto her shoulder with impressive ease. "Just trying to keep the place from falling into complete ruin while his young not-quite-lordship entertains another one of his inappropriate girlfriends."
"Cathy," Lukas said mildly.
"What? It's true. Yesterday she asked if we could paint the roses different colors because the red ones don't match her aesthetic." Cathy set down the fertilizer bag and wiped her hands on her trousers. "You must be the fake girlfriend."
"Cathy," Lukas said again, more sharply.
"What? Everyone knows. Well, except Lady Alexandra." Cathy grinned at Sasha. "I'm Cathy Mayer. I keep the actual gardens running while these two moon about looking decorative."
"I don't moon," Lukas protested.
"You absolutely moon," Cathy said. "You just do it very quietly and with excellent posture."
Sasha was beginning to like Cathy immensely. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sasha, and I'm definitely fake."
"Refreshing honesty. I approve." Cathy glanced between Ambrose and Lukas, both of whom were studiously avoiding eye contact while somehow managing to stand closer together than strictly necessary.
"Right, well, I'll leave you to the garden tour.
Try not to let Ambrose walk into any tree branches while he's staring at Lukas. "
She shouldered her fertilizer again and headed off toward the kitchen gardens, calling over her shoulder, "And Lukas, those tomatoes won't stake themselves!"
"She's very… direct," Ambrose said weakly.
"She's practical," Lukas said, and there was affection in his voice. "Her father was head gardener before me. She knows these grounds better than anyone."
As they made their way toward the greenhouses, Sasha found herself genuinely enchanted by the gardens. There was something peaceful about the organized chaos of growing things, the way different plants seemed to complement each other in ways that looked natural but were clearly carefully planned.
"Your father really does all this?" she asked Ambrose, who was trailing slightly behind, ostensibly to admire the flower borders but more realistically to admire Lukas from behind.
"With help," Lukas answered for him. "Sir Archibald is quite knowledgeable about orchids and roses, but the day-to-day management falls to the staff." He paused by a particularly spectacular climbing rose. "He has excellent instincts, though. Most of the design work is his."
"It's beautiful," Sasha said, and meant it. She'd never paid much attention to gardens before, but there was something about this place that felt almost magical. Everything seemed to belong exactly where it was, from the towering delphiniums to the neat rows of herbs near the kitchen door.
Through the windows of the house, she caught another glimpse of Victoria, still pacing, still gesticulating at her phone. Even from this distance, she could see the tension in Victoria's shoulders, the way she moved.
"Is your sister alright?" she couldn’t help but ask Ambrose. "She seems rather… intense."
"Ugh, Vic's always intense. It's her natural state."
"What exactly does she do?" She was prying, but at least she was trying to do it carefully. And Ambrose was distracted enough by Lukas that she could probably get away with it.
"Something terrifyingly important with other people's money. Investment advice, corporate restructuring, that sort of thing. I don’t understand a word she says about it either. She's brilliant at it, but it does rather consume her entire existence."
They'd reached the first greenhouse, and Lukas held the door open for them. The air inside was humid and fragrant, thick with the smell of earth and growing things. Exotic plants lined the benches, and Sasha found herself drawn deeper into the space, fascinated by the variety of shapes and colors.
"These are magnificent," she said, pausing beside a display of delicate purple flowers. "What are they?"
"Orchids," Lukas said, moving to stand beside her. "Sir Archibald's passion. This one is a Cattleya, very temperamental. She requires exactly the right temperature, humidity, and light, or she sulks."
"Rather like people, then," Sasha observed, and Lukas laughed.
"Exactly like people."
Behind them, Ambrose was making conversation about fertilizer with the desperate enthusiasm of someone trying very hard not to say anything inappropriate. Sasha decided to take pity on him.
"I might wander around a bit more," she announced. "Let you two discuss... plant care. Or whatever."
She left them to their increasingly obvious flirtation and continued exploring. The estate was larger than she'd realized, with gardens flowing into more gardens, each with its own character.
She found herself gravitating toward a bench beneath an apple tree, drawn by the dappled shade and the peaceful sound of bees working among the flowers.
It was the first time in days that she'd felt truly relaxed. Well, as long as she didn’t concentrate on the fact that she was unemployed again and definitely didn’t think about climbing into bed with beautiful women.
Because Victoria was beautiful. The kind of beautiful that gave Sasha an ache in her stomach and made her want to do ridiculous things. Like kiss her best friend’s sister.
"Enjoying the gardens?"
Ambrose's voice made her jump. He'd appeared beside her bench looking thoroughly disheveled and slightly dazed.
"How did the plant discussion go?" she asked innocently.
"I may have accidentally propositioned a rhododendron," Ambrose said, slumping down beside her. "Lukas was very understanding about it. Also very attractive when he laughs, which is incredibly inconvenient."
"Poor you. Having to pretend to be straight while surrounded by gorgeous men who share your very new-found interest in plants."
"It's torture." Ambrose stretched out his legs and tilted his face toward the sun. "Though I have to say, you seem quite taken with the estate. Very authentic girlfriend behavior, being impressed by the family home."
"It really is beautiful," Sasha said, which was true enough. She chose not to mention that she was becoming equally impressed by certain family members.
He looked over to the large windows, where his sister was still pacing around on the phone. "Vic's always so stressed." He was quiet for a moment, watching clouds begin to bank heavily over the house. "Sometimes I wonder if she envies me."
"Envies you?"
"You know, for being the disappointment.
The one who doesn't have to be perfect." His voice was carefully light, but Sasha heard something underneath it.
"She's always been the golden child. Straight A's, perfect university, perfect career.
Meanwhile, I can barely manage to fake a relationship without accidentally flirting with the gardening staff. "
"You're not a disappointment," Sasha said firmly.
"Am I not? Twenty-eight years old, no proper career, gay son who can't even come out to his own grandmother, bringing home fake girlfriends to family gatherings…" He shrugged. "Victoria would never do any of this. She'd find a way to handle the situation with dignity and efficiency."
"She looks like she’d create a spreadsheet," Sasha said. "With columns for 'acceptable topics of conversation' and 'appropriate levels of affection to display.'"
That got a laugh out of him. "She absolutely would. With color coding."
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching Cathy work among the vegetable beds with the sort of focused efficiency that suggested she genuinely loved what she was doing.
Lukas had disappeared, presumably to stake tomatoes, though Sasha suspected Ambrose was mentally tracking his location.
As the weather grew stickier, they got up and started walking again.
"So, no interest at all in talking about climbing into bed with a stranger last night?" Ambrose asked eventually.
"None," Sasha said. "And she wasn’t a stranger, she’s your sister. And it was an accident. Stupid big house."
Ambrose laughed. "Probably gave her the fright of her life. I’m surprised she didn’t clout you with a hockey stick or something."
Sasha had a sudden vision of Victoria wearing a short hockey skirt and long socks and almost fell into a flower bed. "Thinking about actually asking Lukas out then?" she asked, to cover up.
Before Ambrose could respond, Cathy's voice carried across the garden: "Oi! Fake girlfriend! Your fake boyfriend's about to walk into the fountain while staring at Lukas!"
Sure enough, Ambrose was starting to wander vaguely in the direction of the ornamental fountain, his attention entirely focused on something happening near the greenhouses.
Sasha sighed and hurried to redirect him away from potential drowning. Then she caught one more glimpse of Victoria through the windows, and found herself wondering what it would take to make someone that composed look genuinely, thoroughly happy.
It was, she realized, becoming a rather pressing question.
She was happy to be distracted when Cathy roped her into helping in the gardens.