Chapter Fifteen
After an afternoon of pretending that she hadn’t kissed and no longer wanted to kiss her brother’s fake girlfriend, Victoria found that sitting through family dinner was a special kind of torture.
Honestly, at this point she was wondering whether she ought to hire some sort of escort or something to take care of business just so that she could concentrate.
But then there was Sasha, looking so wonderfully, beautifully innocent.
Victoria had managed to dress appropriately, brush her hair, and arrange her face into something resembling normal human expression.
What she couldn't manage was to stop thinking about the way Sasha's mouth had felt against hers, or the soft sound she'd made when Victoria's fingers tangled in her hair, or the fact that Sasha was sitting directly across from her looking unfairly lovely in a simple blue dress.
"Victoria, darling, you're miles away," her mother said, and Victoria jerked back to attention to find the entire table watching her with varying degrees of amusement.
"Sorry, just thinking about work," she managed, which was possibly the least true thing she'd said all week.
"Ah yes, work," Lady Alexandra said, fixing Victoria with a sharp gaze. "Well, you are Senior Vice President. Quite impressive for someone your age."
Victoria's stomach dropped. "Yes, well…"
"I do hope they're not working you too hard," her grandmother continued. "Though I suppose that's the price of success these days. Not like when I was young and people understood the value of a proper work-life balance."
"The banking industry is certainly demanding," Victoria said carefully, taking a large gulp of wine.
"Indeed. Though I imagine the opportunities must be quite exciting. International postings, perhaps? I heard the Bank of England was recruiting senior talent, and, of course, these days a move to New York has to be considered part of a solid financial services experience, doesn’t it?"
Victoria nearly choked. "I'm not sure where you heard that…"
"Oh, you know how these things circulate.
Lord Paddingham mentioned it over dinner last winter.
Said they were looking for exactly your sort of expertise.
" Lady Alexandra smiled. "But then how thrilling it would be to have a granddaughter working internationally, I can’t stand those that are fussy about the Americans, I’ve always found them quite lovely people. "
"Right," Victoria said weakly. "Thrilling."
"Of course, it would mean relocating, wouldn't it? Quite a commitment. Though I suppose at your age, with no particular attachments…" Her grandmother's eyes barely flicked toward Sasha, who was making conversation with Sophie about veterinary training.
"No particular attachments," Victoria repeated, her gaze following her grandmother's. Sasha was laughing at something Sophie had said, her face bright with interest, and Victoria felt that familiar flutter in her chest.
She managed to take a breath, trying to think of a way to change the dangerous subject. In desperation, she turned to her brother.
"—absolutely fascinated by everything," Archie was saying, his voice carrying the sort of enthusiasm that suggested he was completely besotted. Again. "She's never been in a house like this before."
Victoria turned her attention to Archie's latest acquisition.
Liza was perhaps twenty-five, with perfectly straightened blonde hair and the sort of wide-eyed wonder that gave at least the initial impression of being quite charmingly na?ve.
She was staring around the dining room like she'd stumbled into a museum.
"It's just so… grand," Liza said. "Like something out of Bridgerton, innit? All these paintings and fancy bits. Must be worth an absolute fortune."
"The Reynolds is a particularly fine example," their father said mildly, gesturing to the portrait above the sideboard.
"Is that the one with the lady in the blue dress? She's gorgeous. Bit old-fashioned, but gorgeous." Liza turned to Lady Charlotte. "Must be mad expensive to keep up a place like this. All the staff and that."
Lady Charlotte's smile was quite genuine. "We're very fortunate to have such dedicated people working with us."
Victoria wondered if perhaps, just perhaps, her brother might have finally found someone that the rest of the family could actually stand.
"Oh yeah, absolutely," Liza was saying. "That girl who helped me park earlier, what's her name? Katie?"
"Cathy," Archie supplied.
"Right, Cathy. Lovely girl. Very helpful, even if she did get a bit snippy about where I put the car." Liza laughed. "I suppose the help don't always understand how expensive cars work, do they? Can't blame them, really."
The temperature in the room dropped several degrees. Victoria caught her father's expression, the way his jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. Her mother's fork paused halfway to her mouth.
"Cathy's been with the family for years," Lady Charlotte said carefully. "She's extremely knowledgeable about the estate."
"Oh, I'm sure she is. Probably knows everything about, you know, gardening and that. But cars are a bit different, aren't they? I mean, my Porsche is worth more than most people make in a year. Can't expect someone like her to understand that sort of responsibility."
Victoria winced. So much for Archie having a girlfriend the family might like then.
She shook her head slightly. This one wasn’t going to last long at all.
"Actually," she said, her voice perfectly pleasant, "Cathy's one of the most capable people I know.
And she's been driving estate vehicles since she was sixteen, so I imagine she's quite familiar with expensive machinery. "
"Oh, of course," Liza said quickly. "I didn't mean anything by it. She seems lovely. Just, you know, different worlds and all that."
Ambrose glanced at Victoria, who raised her eyebrows at him, and cleared his throat. "Speaking of different worlds, Sasha was just telling me that she was thinking about doing some volunteer work with urban garden projects. Quite fascinating, the way communities can transform unused spaces."
Victoria nodded. Trust Ambrose to redirect toward safer territory.
There was no point in picking at the poor girl, she’d be gone soon enough, dumped by Archie himself from the look on his face.
They might be rich, but they weren’t spoiled, and they certainly weren’t about to take insults aimed toward the very people who helped sustain the huge responsibility of running a house like this one.
"Really?" Lady Alexandra turned her attention to Sasha. "How interesting. I wasn't aware you had experience with horticulture."
"I’ve been working a bit with Cathy here," Sasha said easily. "She was the one that mentioned urban gardening. I think there's something wonderful about helping people grow their own food, especially in areas where fresh produce isn't easily accessible."
"Very admirable," Lady Alexandra said, and Victoria could hear the approval in her voice. "Far more useful than photographing oneself with expensive cars."
Liza laughed, apparently missing the barb entirely. "Oh, I do loads of charity work too. Just posted about this amazing foundation that rescues designer handbags from owners who don't appreciate them properly."
The silence that followed was practically tangible.
"Right," Archie said finally. "Well, that's… charitable."
Victoria rolled her eyes at her brother, who rolled his right back.
Archie might be misguided at times, but he wasn’t a bad chap.
Then she caught sight of Sasha smiling at Sophie and her heart started to beat out of her chest again.
Really, was an escort such a bad idea? A little quiet financial arrangement?
Surely that would be better than a summer fling with…
with her brother’s best friend and fake girlfriend.
"More wine, anyone?" their mother asked brightly, clearly desperate to salvage the conversation.
THE REST OF dinner passed in a blur of stilted conversation and careful politeness.
Victoria managed to field more questions about her fictional promotion while trying not to stare at Sasha's mouth when she laughed.
By the time dessert was served, she felt like she'd run a marathon while juggling flaming torches.
"I think I'll turn in early," she announced when coffee was offered. "Long day tomorrow."
"Of course, darling," her mother said. "Don't work too hard."
Victoria escaped to the hallway, breathing more freely once she was out of the dining room's oppressive atmosphere. She needed air, space, and possibly several large drinks to process everything that had happened today.
She took herself on a walk around the gardens, but the sticky heat refused to help her cool down. So she decided to treat herself to one of her father’s most boring books from the library, anything to help her fall to sleep.
Not expecting to find anyone in the library, she strode in and then stopped short.
"Sorry, I was just… oh." Sasha paused, clutching a crystal decanter of what looked like their father's best whiskey. "Victoria."
"Sasha." Victoria's mouth went dry. They were standing very close, close enough that she could smell Sasha's perfume again and see the way her pulse jumped at the base of her throat.
"Ambrose wanted whiskey," Sasha said, holding up the decanter like evidence. "Said something about drowning his sorrows. I think dinner was a bit much for him."
"It was a bit much for everyone." Victoria took a step closer, drawn by something she couldn't name. "Liza's quite something."
"She's certainly… unique." Sasha's eyes flickered to Victoria's lips, then away. "Though I suspect your grandmother may have her measured for the guillotine."
"Grandmother's standards are rather exacting." Victoria moved closer still, close enough that Sasha had to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact. "She doesn't suffer fools gladly."
"No," Sasha said softly. "I don't imagine she does."
They were standing in the shadows between the door and a bookshelf, the room dimly lit by a single lamp. Victoria could hear the distant sound of conversation from the dining room, but it felt like they were alone.
Which was a terrible idea.
"This is a terrible idea," she said quietly, reaching up to cup Sasha's face in her palm.
"Terrible," Sasha agreed, but she leaned into the touch, her eyes fluttering closed.
Victoria traced her thumb across Sasha's cheekbone, marveling at the softness of her skin. "You're supposed to be dating my brother." Not that that was going to stop her. Heat was pulsing through her so hot that she wasn’t sure anything could stop her right now.
"Fake dating," Sasha corrected, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Still complicated."
"I like complicated."
Victoria felt something snap inside her chest. Before she could think better of it, she was backing Sasha against the bookshelf, her hands framing Sasha's face, the decanter forgotten on the side table, as she pressed her hips against Sasha’s, as she breathed Sasha’s breath.
"Victoria," Sasha murmured, and the sound of her name in that voice made Victoria's knees weak.
"Tell me to stop," Victoria said, her lips barely an inch from Sasha's.
"I can't."
"Tell me this is wrong."
"It is wrong." Sasha's hands twisted in Victoria's dress, pulling her closer. "Completely wrong."
"Tell me you don't want this."
"No," Sasha said, her eyes dark in the lamplight.
And Victoria was drowning in green eyes and the scent of summer air and the way Sasha was looking at her like she was something precious and dangerous all at once.
She wanted to kiss her, properly this time, wanted to press her against the bookshelf and forget about everything else except the way Sasha felt in her arms.
She wanted to strip that blue dress off her shoulders and map every inch of skin with her mouth. She wanted to hear Sasha say her name like a prayer. She wanted things that were completely inappropriate and entirely necessary and…
"—thinking of turning in early myself," came her mother's voice from the dining room, growing closer. "This heat is simply exhausting."
Victoria sprang away from Sasha like she'd been burned, her heart hammering against her ribs. Sasha grabbed the decanter with shaking hands, her face flushed and her hair slightly mussed.
"Get out of here," Victoria growled, like she was warning her away. "Go."
Sasha nodded, face flushed and lips swollen. "I’m going."
And she fled, leaving Victoria feeling like she was on the very edge of a cliff and very, very close to toppling over into the void.