Chapter 10
TEN
NELL
“What do you think? Is this sweater the winner?” Nell smoothed her hands over her torso, looking at her reflection in the mirror before crouching down to nuzzle Mortimer, his raspy purr vibrating through him as she scratched under his chin. Oh, to be a cat.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” she said softly, before standing to head downstairs.
She found Nate in his office, poring over paperwork, looking up only when she cleared her throat.
“It’s the holiday weekend, Nate. No more work.”
“Someone needs to tell my employer that.” He winked, that boyish sparkle catching the dim light.
“Consider her informed. But out of curiosity, what is it that you’re working on?”
Nate smiled, knowingly, “I’m finalizing security plans for your trip to Las Vegas in a few weeks. I’ve been operating under the assumption that Sarah will be joining you for that trip as well.”
“You know what happens when you assume.” Her smile stretched wide, accompanying the familiar teasing tone she so often slipped into with Nate. “I haven’t asked her yet, but your assumption is correct. I have a feeling she won’t say no to the invitation.”
Nate leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, assessing her. “You’ve got that look again.” His tone was singsongy in that way he knew annoyed her.
She arched an eyebrow, responding dryly, “I’m going to need you to be more specific.”
“That look,” he said, tipping his chin toward her. “You get this particular thing happening right about here.” He motioned in a circle around her face. “Like all the hard, pointy parts of you disappear. You relax when she’s around—”
“Oh, please,” Nell scoffed, cutting him off, but he wasn’t letting up.
“That sweater’s a nice choice.” Nate eyed her as she sank into the chair across from his desk. “And no watch today? Interesting.” He shrugged and turned back to his paperwork.
“The watch is for business only. You know that,” she deflected, her fingers immediately ghosting over her bare wrist where her watch usually sat. “Am I that readable?”
“You have your tells. You get quiet right before you see Sarah, and it’s not your usual brooding kind of quiet. You’re less calculating, more thoughtful.”
Nell gave a short laugh, aimed to dismiss and deflect Nate’s absurd observation. “I do not.”
“You do. Trust me. I’ve been reading you like an open book since we were five.” Nate grinned, enjoying this too much. God, he could be infuriating. “Thought it was interesting,” he added, tapping his pen lightly against the desk, watching her closely. “Haven’t seen you like this since Stephanie.”
Her smile faltered slightly before she pulled it back into place. No need to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d thrown her off. It had been years since Stephanie had occupied any of her thoughts.
“That was a long time ago.”
“Didn’t say it wasn’t.” Nate shrugged, his eyes still fixed on her. “Just saying, it’s nice to see you lit up about something again, or should I say someone.”
Nell looked down, adjusting the cuff of her sweater like it needed fixing. “Put the book down, Nate. You’re reading too much into things that aren’t there.”
Nate didn’t push her for more, instead shuffling the papers on his desk, understanding the silence that followed as a sign to drop the topic.
“You want me to finalize the clearance list for Vegas?”
“Yes, please. Keep it lean.” She paused. “And make sure we have the private rooms secured at the casino.”
“Already on it.” He made a note in the margin of his tablet.
“Security is coordinating with the casino. We’ll have private transport, back-of-house access, and I’ve flagged the press perimeter so no one catches anything they shouldn’t, especially given the activities you have planned for Saturday evening. ”
“Perfect.”
He gave her a look. “You know I’ve got you.”
“I do.”
She paced the few steps to the window that overlooked the gravel drive in one direction and the sloping lawn in the other. She stood with her arms folded across her chest, unsettled slightly by the introduction of a part of her past she had quietly tucked away long ago.
“Do you ever think about how far we’ve come?” she asked, after a moment, still not looking at him. “Twenty years ago, I was breaking off an engagement, and you were—”
“Face down in a motel in Atlantic City with an empty bottle of Percocet?” Nate offered dryly.
She turned, giving him a wry smile. “I was going to say having a moment, but yes. That.”
Nate chuckled. “Yeah. And then you showed up, dragged me out, paid for rehab, offered me a job I didn’t deserve, and took care of me.”
“You do what you need to do for your family.” Nell shifted her weight from one foot to the other, still not turning to look at Nate.
She inhaled deeply, trying to summon that part of her that was still able to be vulnerable.
Nate had always brought that side out of her.
“You were the only person who stood by me when everyone else turned their backs. I figured it was time I returned the favor. Especially considering my parents had you arrested for beating the shit out of Charlie.”
“Yeah, well, he deserved it after the vile shit he was saying about you. Funny how a large sum of money made that all disappear.” A sad silence settled between them.
She knew exactly where Nate’s mind had drifted—to the same place hers did.
To the memories of the years they had spent as children, their families and lives so intertwined.
So many plans had been made for them without a single consideration for what she or Nate may have wanted.
“You were always too good for them, Nell,” Nate said.
“I was, wasn’t I?” she mused sadly, her eyes drifting to Nate, studying him.
He’d always been handsome—no doubt his father’s strong genetics—but the resemblance ended there.
They’d grown up together, weathering the expectations that came with wealth and status while both plotting their escape from it all. He had always been by her side.
“You sure you’re ready for whatever’s happening with Sarah?” he asked.
She didn’t answer him. Not right away, at least. Looking back out the window, she considered his question: Am I ready for whatever is happening with her? She brushed absentmindedly over her ring finger, always purposefully bare. Was she ready?
“I don’t know,” she said honestly. Because she really didn’t know how she felt. Not yet, at least. “But I do know that I like spending time with her, and I care about her.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that you say about caring about people? What’s the return-on-investment on caring these days?”
“Hard to quantify,” she said dryly, examining her nails, a smirk already tugging at the corner of her mouth. “But some of my best investments have been the riskiest. Just look at you,” she shot back quickly, with an unbothered shrug.
Nate smiled as he stretched, standing up.
“You know best.” He crossed the room in a few strides, grabbing his jacket from the back of the door.
“I’ll go do a final sweep, make sure the drive’s clear, the kitchen staff are squared away, and your girl doesn’t get mobbed by your silly murder-peacocks when she gets here. ”
“They’re runner ducks, Nate. I’ve told you a hundred times. And they aren’t silly!” she called after him. “They help with the snails!”
“They sound like demons, whatever they are. They have no business waking me up so early in the morning,” he said, giving her one last look from the end of the hall before disappearing through the door.
Alone again in the quiet of Nate’s office, she lingered by the window, eyes sweeping over the trees. Sarah was on her way there right at that very moment, and Nell was finding it impossible to focus on anything else.
Mortimer trotted in with a high-pitched meow, his tail twitching as he jumped onto the arm of the chair next to her. “I know,” she murmured, stroking his fur. “I’m excited, too.”
The security alert pinged from her phone. The front gate had opened.
By the time the car rolled to a stop in the circular drive, Nell had made her way outside to wait. She approached, opening the rear passenger door with a smile she was unable to contain.
Sarah stepped out, adjusting her coat, but her focus was on the house, taking it in.
“Beautiful,” Sarah said, more to herself, but Nell felt it immediately—that familiar warmth that spread through her whenever she was in Sarah’s presence, like a part of her was coming alive. Right on cue.
“I know I am, thank you.” She couldn’t help the gentle tease in her tone or the way she leaned toward Sarah. “It’s good to see you again.”
She toyed with the idea of wrapping Sarah in a hug, but immediately second-guessed herself as she stood frozen, watching Sarah step just far enough away to decide for her.
“It’s good to see you, too.”
She watched as Sarah’s fingers flexed, tightening briefly around the strap of her bag. The movement she recognized from when Sarah had first arrived at the Hamptons, months before. Was she nervous being here?
“I’m glad you came.”
“I’m glad you invited me.”
Nell registered the quietness in her voice, the care behind her words. She had been so pleased when Sarah had told her she was going to come after all.
She closed the car door with a thud and led Sarah into the house. “Welcome to Greystone Hollow.”
“Greystone Hollow,” Sarah repeated. “What is it with affluent families naming their estates?”
“It makes us feel important,” Nell joked with her. “Something about building family legacy gets our rocks off.”
That earned her a flash of Sarah’s brilliant smile as they stepped inside. “You would know. You are, after all, one of my more interesting acquaintances.”
Nell froze as Sarah’s hand brushed lightly against her arm as she passed through the open door. But it wasn’t her own voice in her head registering her reaction to the touch. No, it was Nate’s question from earlier, asking if she was ready for whatever this was with Sarah. She still didn’t know.