Chapter Four
"More coffee, Mrs. Soukoulis?"
Hope managed a smile for Elaine. "Yes, please."
"Mr. Soukoulis had left for a meeting in town an hour ago," the other woman shared while setting a plate of fresh fruit beside Hope's untouched toast. "He asked me to tell you the car will be ready at noon for the golf club luncheon."
"If I may," Elaine hesitated, uncharacteristically tentative. "The blue dress that arrived yesterday would be particularly appropriate for a country club. Classic but not ostentatious."
Hope managed a smile. Even the staff knew she needed guidance in Colin's world. "Blue it is, then."
She traced the rim of her coffee cup absently. She had slept poorly last night, her dreams haunted by images of Colin cheating on her with his ex. But could it really be called cheating when their marriage was nothing but a business arrangement?
Her phone buzzed. It was a text from Edith, and Hope composed a cheerful response, omitting any mention of Princess's dramatics or her own growing confusion about Colin. Some truths were better left unsaid.
She was halfway through her fruit when Colin's name flashed on her screen with an incoming call.
"Good morning." She aimed for casual, missing by inches.
"Hope." His voice held an edge she couldn't identify. "There's been a change of plans."
Her stomach tightened. "Oh?"
"Princess's car broke down outside of town. I've gone to help her." A pause. "I'll meet you at the luncheon."
"I understand." Hope struggled not to think that Princess had deliberately caused this to happen. "I'll see you at noon." After hanging up, Hope stared out at the manicured grounds of Colin's home.
So it began.
Princess's campaign to reclaim Colin's attention after last night's humiliation.
And Colin was already rushing to her rescue.
****
The golf club was everything Hope imagined and feared it would be. Every inch of the place spoke of wealth and privilege, and she could only be grateful she had followed Elaine's advice. This way, she looked like she belonged...even when she actually didn't.
Hope checked her watch. Twelve-thirty. Colin still hadn't shown up, and he was already thirty minutes late.
"Mrs. Soukoulis?" A server approached with a flute of champagne. "Your table is ready. Mr. Soukoulis called to say he's been delayed."
Hope was starting to realize how easy it was for her to fake smiling now. "Thank you." And this made her sad.
The dining room buzzed with reunion attendees, the women in summer dresses and pearls, the men in crisp golf attire. Hope made her way to the indicated table, spine straight despite the curious stares following her progress. Alone. Without Colin.
"Hello, Hope. It's nice to meet you again in person."
Hope turned around in surprise. The voice was familiar, and when she saw who it was...
Oh!
"Charlotte," she exclaimed. The other woman was the founder of Heart's Match, and in truth, that was the only reason Hope had found the confidence to send her application.
A client of hers had told Hope about Charlotte's business, and after speaking to the other woman on the phone, she had been so impressed by Charlotte's sincere but pragmatic outlook that she had asked, quite shyly, if she could send an application herself.
"I heard you remarried," Hope said with a smile.
Charlotte's sensible features turned into a picture of loveliness at the words. "I did, yes. I'm actually here because of Sano's work, but I completely forgot that Colin's reunion is being held in the same place." Charlotte looked at Hope, asking, "How are you two doing?"
"We're, um, doing good."
"I was hoping you'd say you guys were doing fantastic."
Hope colored. "Oh, but actually—" A commotion caught her attention, and she broke off mid-speech. Why were people looking at her before looking back at...oh.
Her heart plunged to her stomach. A crowd of guests was still blocking her view of who had just come in. But she could easily guess who it was...and of course, she was right, with Colin entering the dining room and causing eyebrows to shoot up upon seeing Princess walking right by his side.
"Do you need me to talk to him?"
Hope slowly shook her head. "This is what I signed up for." She watched Colin's gaze sweep the room until he finally found her, and his body turned rigid when he realized she was with Charlotte.
"But if you do need someone to talk to..." Charlotte touched her arm. "Just give me a call. Promise?"
"I promise. And thank you." Charlotte's offer of support meant the world to her, especially since the contract she signed included a non-disclosure agreement. There was truly no one else to talk to except for Charlotte.
Hope's heart was banging loudly against her chest as she finally forced herself to join Colin and Princess.
He bent to kiss her cheek, the gesture both public and perfunctory. "Sorry I'm late. Princess's car needed a tow."
"I understand." This was the truth, but it didn't keep her heart from breaking. She turned to Princess, saying, "I'm glad nothing bad happened to you."
"You're so sweet." And yet her tone indicated otherwise.
"But seriously, thank you for being so understanding," Princess added as she slipped into the chair opposite Hope.
"And of course, I'm so grateful to Colin.
He's always come running to my rescue, ever since we were kids.
And honestly..." Princess released a sigh.
"I need someone to lean on right now. Badly.
Especially since Roland and I have been.
.." Her smile turned strained. "We're just having a difficult time lately. "
Colin's jaw clenched, and Hope had to bite her lip hard to keep herself from saying anything.
Lunch proceeded with excruciating slowness. Princess dominated the conversation with reminiscences of high school days—stories carefully selected to highlight her history with Colin while excluding Hope.
"Remember that time we drove for like hours for that concert?" Princess twirled a strand of blonde hair around her finger. "Your old truck broke down, and we had to spend the night in that awful motel?"
Colin shifted in his seat. "That was a long time ago."
"But unforgettable. I think it's true, what people often say. The first times are impossible to forget. Or get over with."
Drew came up to them at that moment, reminding Colin that the golf tournament was about to start, and relief flashed over Colin's features.
"I'll have to leave you while I get changed," Colin told her.
Hope wasn't allowed to reply with Princess asking, "May I walk with you? Reception's on the way, and I need to make some calls about the car." Princess then glanced at Hope, her expression hesitant. "You don't mind, do you?"
"No, of course not." Hope told herself she meant this, and then she started repeating the words like a mental chant as she watched Princess accidentally trip (over nothing?), which caused her to stumble towards Colin, her breasts pressed against the side of his arm.
Hope forced herself to look away and fixed her gaze on her meal. You have no reason to feel hurt, Hope. You knew what you signed up for. So stop acting like this marriage is real.
Hope had just signed Colin's name to the lunch bill when she received a text from her husband.
Tournament running late. Meet you at hotel after?
Hope stared at the message, reading between the sparse lines. He wasn't coming back to escort her. She was on her own.
****
Colin signaled the bartender for the check, watching Princess sway slightly on her barstool.
Three martinis had transformed her careful composure into something loose and reckless, her laughter a touch too loud, her gestures increasingly unrestrained.
The hotel lounge had emptied considerably in the past hour, leaving them in a bubble of relative privacy he was beginning to regret.
"One last drink," Princess begged.
"I think you've had enough." Colin kept his tone firm but gentle, signing the bill without examining the total. "We should get you to your room."
"I was hoping you'd say that."
The implication hung between them, layered with history and alcohol-induced suggestion. Colin straightened, putting deliberate distance between them.
"I'll ask one of the female staff to assist you." He stood, signaling to a nearby attendant. "You're in no condition to be alone."
"Always the gentleman." Princess's expression shifted, vulnerability briefly replacing calculation. "That's why I loved you, you know. Even when you had nothing, you acted like you owned the world."
Loved, she said. She said she had loved him, and he used to believe that was true. But now? He was truly starting to question whether love had been present at all...for either of them.
"Let's leave the past where it should be," he said finally. "We've both moved on."
"Have we?" She slid from the barstool, closing the distance he'd carefully established. "Because it feels like we've been circling back to each other for twenty-five years."
"I'm married," he reminded her, the golden band on his finger suddenly heavier than before.
"You barely know her," Princess sneered.
She was clearly talking about the length of time he had been with Hope. But Colin realized that time was not everything.
Sometimes, you just knew.
And that was how it was with his wife. Even though they had been together for less than a month, he already knew Hope as if he had known her for a lifetime.
He knew about his wife's quiet strength and gentleness.
He knew about her desire to see the best in people—even when there seemed no goodness in them to be found.
Or at least that was how it seemed to him.
But Hope somehow managed to prove him wrong each time.
The urge to see his wife seized him out of the blue, and he was at once restless and impatient. Colin signaled to the female attendant now waiting discreetly nearby and placed a hundred-dollar bill on the counter. A much-deserved tip, with how the woman would soon have her hands full with Princess.
Colin turned to leave, but Princess's fingers tightened around his arm, surprisingly strong despite her intoxication. She pulled herself toward him, rising on tiptoes as her free hand caught the back of his neck.
He saw her intention a second before she moved, turning his face just enough that her lips landed clumsily at the corner of his mouth rather than fully on target. The near-miss sent a jolt of alarm through him, not because he was tempted, but because of how instinctively he had recoiled.
Colin stepped back firmly, steadying her with hands on her shoulders, maintaining clear distance. "That's enough."
Hurt flashed in her eyes, quickly masked by drunken bravado. "Your loss."
He guided her gently toward the waiting attendant. "Please make sure Ms. Halstead reaches her room safely," he instructed, pressing a folded bill into the young woman's hand.
"Of course, sir."
As the attendant led Princess away, Colin remained rooted in place, watching them disappear into the elevator. He knew alcohol had lowered her inhibitions, exposed desires she might have otherwise kept hidden. Princess wasn't entirely to blame.
He was.
He should not have been alone with her in the first place. And only now was he starting to realize how all of his actions in the past few days must have brought his wife shame. How the hell had he been so blind?
Colin took the next elevator up, watching floor numbers illuminate in sequence, each bringing him closer to a confrontation he wasn't prepared for.
It disturbed him to remember how Princess' attempt to kiss her had left him cold.
..while he only had to remember the taste of Hope's lips, and he would have a sudden need for a cold shower.
This wasn't proceeding according to plan. Hope was supposed to be a means to an end: revenge, closure, perhaps a business-like companionship. Not someone who made him question decisions made over martinis with a woman he'd once believed was his future.
He would make it up to her, Colin thought grimly as the elevator doors slid open on their floor. He would find the right time to apologize. Acknowledge that he had been an ass. He owed her that much.
And after that...