Chapter 8
EMILY
“Sorry! I forgot about the time difference,” I lie, unable to resist telling Anna the whole story.
“Okay. Okay. In your last text, you wrote you were wedded and not yet bedded. Are congratulations in order?”
“Very funny. I told you that wasn’t part of the contract,” I say, struggling to unzip my suitcase.
“And I’ve taken steps to make sure he won’t take advantage of me in the middle of the night.”
“He’s not with you now?”
“No. I stayed up late, waiting for him to come home from the nightclub. I wanted to speak to him. I need to understand more about this ridiculous deal my uncle made.“
I hesitate.
“And even though he said I didn’t need to worry about him taking advantage of me, I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t even try. So I’ll show you what I have planned.”
On my phone screen, I see Anna prop herself against the headboard, looking like she’s settling in to hear a good story.
I fish a floor-length flannel nightgown from my suitcase and show it to her via my phone.
“What’s that?”
“The nightgown my great aunt’s been saving for my marriage.“
I shake the nightie out with satisfaction, then I slip it on.
“Not quite Victoria’s Secret,” I say.
She laughs, seeing the old-fashioned gown with its high neckline and sack-like construction.
“You can say that again,” Anna says. “That nightie’s more like something a Victorian ghost might wear while haunting an attic.”
“And I bought these on sale at Kmart to complement the look. Like them?”
I rip the plastic off the three-pack of utilitarian underwear. Then I wiggle into one of them until the elastic band hits my waist.
“Granny pants!” shrieks Anna.
Just then, I hear Lorenzo’s heavy footsteps enter the apartment. I can’t let him catch me like this.
“Gotta go,” I tell Anna, rushing into my bathroom.
I keep silent as I hear Lorenzo open our bedroom door, then head into his own bathroom and turn on his shower.
Hmmmm. Could he have forgotten that he has a ‘wife’ at home waiting for him?
Possibly. But I’m not going to take any chances.
I hear him crank up the water pressure of his shower until it’s going full force.
Good. Seems like he’s a long-shower kind of guy. I’ll have more than enough time to smear a thick coat of cold cream on my face.
Then I put one of those old-fashioned nightcaps on my head to cover my hair as the final deterrent.
As I walk toward the bed, I hear his shower still pounding full blast.
I’m about to pop under the covers when I notice more than a dozen decorative pillows artfully arranged against the headboard of the enormous bed.
Excellent. That’s exactly what I need. Grabbing the pillows, I make a pillow wall cleanly dividing the two sides of the bed.
Lorenzo’s bathroom door opens, and he steps out.
Broad-shouldered and packed with muscle, he’s naked except for a small white towel around his waist.
Lorenzo’s gaze lands on the wall of decorative pillows dividing the bed.
“What exactly am I looking at?”
“A wall.”
His eyes narrow as they shift to my face.
“And what’s that crap?”
“Beauty cream,” I say, unable to resist a small, smug smile. “I let it sink in when I read in bed.”
“No to that. The light will keep me up. I have a big day tomorrow.”
I wave my slim white device at him. “You don’t need a light to read. My e-reader is self-illuminating.”
I pull down the covers and slip inside, pulling the blanket up to my chin.
Of all the books on my e-reader, Pride and Prejudice appears first.
Interesting timing, since Darcy’s modern-day counterpart is just a few feet away.
The mattress dips as Lorenzo enters the bed from his side. He turns off his lamp, plunging the room into darkness.
I remain still. Yet I can’t help but wonder if he’s wearing boxers.
Is he wearing anything at all?
Minutes pass as I brace myself for what is expected to happen when a red-blooded man finds himself in bed with a woman.
I fake-read the same paragraph until Lorenzo’s breathing deepens into a steady rhythm.
He’s asleep.
No danger of losing my virtue tonight. The great-aunt’s armor, pillow wall, and face cream have done their job.
I am prepared for an assault that never comes.
Restless, I continue Elizabeth’s adventures with Mr. Darcy and let their world carry me away.