Chapter 12
LENA
“Oh. My. Freaking. God!” Tess said, gaping down at the picture on my phone. In it, I stood in the middle of the extensive driveway, the house rising up behind me, just so I could actually show off the grandiosity of Lochbrae. “It’s like an actual castle!”
“I know!” I cried, reclining in the treatment chair next to hers. “That’s what I told you.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think you meant it had turrets and everything.
” She laughed in disbelief, showing the photo to one of her bridesmaids, Laura, before scrolling through more of my photos.
She was wrapped in a silky pink bathrobe and had a glass of ridiculously expensive champagne in one hand while her feet were soaking in some fancy, black clay mud mask that cost more than I made per hour.
“I feel glorious!” another one of the bridesmaids—Courtney—sang as she strutted out of a back room. “Anyone who wants a flotation massage, I highly recommend.”
“Ooo,” Tess said, wiggling her eyebrows at me in interest. A few of the other bridesmaids abandoned their seats to go explore the flotation therapy room.
“If anyone needs me,” Courtney continued, “no you don’t, because I’m going to be up to my eyeballs in a deep purification facial.”
Tess and I both laughed.
Weston had booked out the entirety of Maison d’Or to kick off Tess’s bachelorette weekend.
The luxury spa was known for entertaining celebrity clientele, but today it was all ours.
And with all the treatments on Weston’s dime, the bridal party was taking full advantage.
“Is the whole place like this,” Tess asked, pulling my attention back to the photo, “or is this just like some fancy facade work? You know, like a movie set and then there’s nothing behind it. ”
I smirked. “Trust me. The whole castle is like that. Wait until you get to the pictures of the inside.”
“Never mind the inside,” Tess said, eyes still glued to the phone. “Look at these views!”
I’d hiked up the edge of the driveway, coming to the top of a low-lying hill for those photos.
From there, you could see the edge of the gardens with their hedges and fountains and statues sprawling out along the side of the building.
But beyond that, you could see the greens of the pastures rolling along endlessly, with hints of purple heather.
Tess gasped. “It’s gorgeous.”
“Sunrise has been amazing all week,” I said. “I almost broke and called you one morning just so I could show you.”
“Well, I appreciate that you didn’t,” she said, laughing.
“I’m up early enough with Cole’s schedule—you know, getting up at dawn to tend the animals.
” Her fiancé was a rancher through and through.
“But it works out for me, too, because there are always clients who want to squeeze in an appointment before work, and they like that I open early. But seriously, it’s so nice to be the one being pampered for once.
I don’t have to pluck or primp anyone for seventy-two glorious hours. ”
“Hell yes, girl!” Laura called. “Live your best life.” She was now reclined in her chair, eyes closed, in the middle of a mani-pedi.
“I’ll let Weston know you approve,” I told Tess.
I couldn’t deny that the spa had been a treat for me as well.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d treated myself to a massage—college, maybe.
Weston had provided us with luxurious penthouse accommodations at Ritz Paris and a private chauffeur for the weekend.
I’d walked into my room last night to find a margarita on the dresser with a tiny cocktail umbrella and a note from Weston that read: I know it’s not a beach, but the suite comes with a private bartender who has been directed to make as many margaritas as you, Tess, and the bridal party can drink.
His attention to detail had made me smile. I had to admit, even after seven years as a billionaire’s assistant, he could still surprise me.
“Hey! What are all those tiny white dots?” Tess asked.
I glanced over at the photo she flashed in my direction. “The sheep,” I said. “And some cattle, probably. They sort of wander up the hillside to graze.”
Tess sighed dreamily. “I want to be a sheep that gets to graze on a hillside by a castle.”
I snorted. “Tell me about it. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about paying my bills.”
“Or employees that don’t turn up on time,” Tess muttered.
“Or keeping Weston’s calendar.” Or his wind farm project. Or the summer festival. Or the way my heart flip-flopped when he looked at me too long across the dinner table. I wouldn’t have to worry about all the new and strange feelings that had cropped up in the past couple of weeks.
“Or arguing with my landlord over the rent increase on my salon!” Tess continued as I fought off the heat of a blush. “We could eat piles of Scottish grass, and I wouldn’t have to drag myself to the gym because no one can tell if my ass is saggy if I’m covered in wool.”
I burst out laughing as Tess wriggled her toes in her mud mask. That was the thing about Tess. It didn’t matter what kind of day I was having—good, bad, or in between—she never failed to fill it with joy.
“What the hell is that?” Tess asked, showing me a closeup of a scruffy horse mane.
“Bonnie,” I muttered.
“The horse that beat you up? That tiny thing?”
My jaw dropped. “She’s a demon, okay? And you had to be there. I was literally fighting for my life. The thing wanted to trample me dead and gnaw on my bones.”
Tess choked on her champagne, cackling until she was winded. “It’s like…the size…of a four-year-old.”
“And has the strength of an enraged bull,” I said. “Trust me. Bonnie thinks she owns the property and has no chill. Fences don’t stop her. Milo doesn’t scare her. So now I give her a wide berth.”
Tess pinched her lips together with her fingers, trying to keep herself from giggling. “Aww, she wants to be a lap pony. Why not just take her inside and let her sprawl out in front of the fire?”
I shook my head. “Because she’d try to take over the place like the queen she thinks she is. I can’t handle that.”
“Ah, Bonnie, you adorable little menace!” Tess said affectionately.
“You wouldn’t be saying that if you met her,” I muttered. “You’d be afraid for your life!”
Tess lit up. “I want to meet her. I think you should totally introduce me to your demon pony.”
“Well, maybe one day Lord Kincaid will see fit to let me invite you to the estate,” I joked.
Tess pursed her lips, giving me a knowing look.
“What?” I asked.
“Lord Kincaid?”
“What?” I said again.
“Oh, nothing.” She handed me my phone back and put her champagne glass down, leaning over to inspect her feet. “I think I’m sufficiently coated. If Cole doesn’t think I’m as smooth as butter in July, I’ll eat a snail. What’s next on our list?”
“Actually eating snails?” I suggested.
Tess barked a laugh. “Don’t even joke about that. Getting the full Paris experience doesn’t have to mean getting that experience.”
“Well, what does the bride-to-be want to do?” I asked.
Weston had prearranged some luxurious activities for the weekend: A Michelin-star meal at Le Cinq.
Sunset drinks at the lounge at Le Tout-Paris.
A private cruise along the Seine. A perfume-making workshop and shopping along Saint-Germain-de-Pres.
But he’d also left ample time in the schedule for whatever sightseeing Tess wanted to squeeze in.
“Personally, I’m thinking we should drive around the Arc de Triomphe while belting out Spice Girls,” she said. “You think Weston would approve?”
I bit my lip, imagining the wry grin that would curl up the side of his face when I told him. “I think he’ll be very amused to learn how you spent his money.”
“Did you thank Weston for me?” Tess asked as she face-planted on her bed, surrounded by vibrant red Cartier boxes and bags.
“I know I give him a hard time, but that’s because you’re my girl, and I’d go to battle for you.
And I know Paris happened because it was the most convenient option for him not to let you venture too far. But it’s still been pretty epic.”
“You’re a little tipsy, huh?” I said, laughing at the dazed expression on her face as she flopped over.
Tess made a snow angel in her shopping bags. “I’m having the best time.”
Warmth settled in my chest, and I couldn’t help being grateful to Weston. He’d put that glowing smile on my best friend’s face.
Would Tess have preferred a week of my undivided attention on a beach while we drank fruity drinks and sunburned?
Maybe. But Paris was an experience we’d never have had without Weston—and we most definitely never could have had this Paris experience without him, because neither of us could have afforded private jets and luxury hotels and top-shelf liquor.
And I was ecstatic Tess could have an experience like that at least once in her life.
Even if I did have to marry my boss to make it happen.
“I did thank him,” I assured her, moving some of her shopping bags to the floor. “And I told him your impression of him has mildly improved.”
She scoffed. “Lena!”
“What?” I said, “It’s true.”
“Okay, Queen Kincaid,” she said as I flopped down next to her. “My God, the fireplace in this room is the size of my living room.”
“I know. The one in my room at Lochbrae is the same size. I could light up a whole Christmas tree in it.” As I studied the elegance of the room, I couldn’t help thinking that I preferred Lochbrae’s more rustic stylings of ancient portraits of men in kilts and the cool medieval suit of armor that Agnes insisted was authentic.
“So, what did he say?” Tess asked, her cheeks flushed.
I rolled onto my side, staring at her. “Who?”
“Weston, when you told him my impression was only mildly improved.”
“Oh,” I said, lowering my voice and laughing a bit. “He was offended. Obviously. But in a playful way, I guess.” And then it got kind of weird. I bit my tongue, keeping that part to myself.
She’s still a little miffed that I married you, that’s all.