“Good morning,” he mouthed, still listening to the person on the other end of the phone. “Edward, I’m going to need to continue this discussion another time. Something just came up.”

My gaze lowered to his shorts.

When I looked back up, he winked. “Resolve it. Goodbye.”

I took a step toward him as Nox did the same.

“Not one of your bosses?”

Nox’s eyes widened. “That call? No. Nobody really. I could tell you all about it, but that would break our no-information rule, and then I’d have to…” He pursed his lips.

“You’d have to what?”

“I was thinking about that.” He reached for my waist and pulled me close. “I’m sure I can think of something.” After a quick kiss he asked, “How are you this morning?”

I tilted my head against his chest. “Good.”

Lifting my chin, he asked, “Good? Is that all?”

“No, I’m better than good.”

WHEN THE LIGHT of day finally leaked around the edge of the heavy draperies and the sound of staff passed my locked door, I let myself drift off to sleep. I couldn’t do it while the darkness gave cover. I couldn’t do it as I stared at the glass doorknob and willed it not to turn. I wouldn’t do it knowing that the old silver key that was supposed to keep my door closed could be pushed out with the right tool.

It was almost noon by the time I woke to the knock.

“Who is it?” I asked through the wood after I groggily made my way across the room.

“Me, child. Are you going to sleep the day away?”

I opened the door to Jane’s smiling face. “Maybe,” I replied with as much cockiness as I could muster.

She walked past me and looked around my room. Shaking her head, she opened my drapes.

The bed was disheveled from my sleepless night, but other than that, everything seemed ordinary. “Why are you shaking your head?”

“I was just wondering if you was alone.”

I forced my squinted eyes to open in the now too-bright room. “What? Of course, I’m alone.”

“Well,” Jane said, in a tone that meant she was letting me in on some big secret. “Word around the kitchen is that Mr. Spencer be here until late. Nobody sure when he left.”

My hands went to my hips. “Mr. Spencer and I walked to the lake after the party. Then he left. End of story.”

“Uh-huh.”

“No, uh-huh, Jane. Last night was the first time I’ve spoken to him in four years.”

She tilted her head. “Then why I hear you two stayed close.”

“Where? Who told you that?”

“You know how it is? Bethany, in the kitchen, she’s friends with one of the Ashmores’ girls. She said she heard Miss Millie talking to Mr. Peterson ‘bout you. Said she wasn’t surprised. She knew you two were just keeping it on the down low.”

Oh my God!

“Down low? Are you serious?”

It made sense. That was how stories and rumors got going in Savannah. It was the system long before Facebook or Twitter and now with the help of cell phones, it was probably faster. The house staff didn’t repeat what they didn’t see or hear, but give them a rumor and it not only made its way around Montague Manor, but to every other house in town with help.

I reached for my phone on the nightstand. I needed to talk to Bryce again. If this weren’t corralled, the people of Savannah would have us engaged before I left town tomorrow. The icons flashed. I’d missed two calls from Chelsea. We’d been texting halfway through the night. It wasn’t so bad for her—she was three hours behind. For me it was after three when we stopped chatting. I’d played a few mean games of whatever the latest game app was for a little while before I’d gotten lost in the book I’d recently downloaded.

Once law school started I anticipated my time for fun reading would be severely diminished.

I scrolled down my contacts, and while I let the screen linger on one name, I forced myself to scroll back up to the B’s. “I don’t even have his number.” Exasperated, I looked at Jane. “You can see how close we are.”

Her face scrunched together. “So you two’s not…”

“No. We’re not.”

“That’s my girl. Don’t let no man stop you from your dreams. You’re going to be a famous judge!”

I love her so much.

“I don’t know about judge or famous,” I responded, “but lawyer is the plan.”

“You get cleaned up and dressed, and I’ll bring your lunch.” She shook her head with attitude. “You done missed breakfast.”

“Thanks, Jane. You don’t need to do that. What time is lunch? I can eat with Mother.”

A shadow passed over Jane’s gaze, the same one that spent the night lurking the hallways and doorways, and then just as quickly it was gone. “Your momma’s not feeling well today. She’s resting. You know how those headaches of hers can be. And I don’t mind bringing you some food. I’m so happy you’re here.”

My appetite disappeared again. If I stayed here too long, I’d waste away. “All right. But after I eat, I’ll go see her.”

“Let me see if she’s awake.”

Awake? That wasn’t what Jane needed to check and we both knew it. We just didn’t say it.

Smoke and mirrors.

I started to walk to the bathroom and remembered my door. “Jane, when you go get that food…”

She nodded and patted the pocket of her slacks. “Of course.”

Jane had said Mother was sleeping, and since I had nothing else to do while I waited for the mystery meeting tomorrow, after my shower and lunch, I spent some time on my laptop scheduling the movers. They were supposed to pick things up on Thursday. That didn’t give me much time. Chelsea and I had already started packing a few things, but the big stuff needed to get across the country, and fast. I wasn’t sure where the summer had gone, but it had. It was crunch time. Even though the company promised coast-to-coast service in under two weeks, I figured I’d be sleeping on a sofa in New York for awhile, waiting for my bedroom suite to arrive.

I wasn’t taking all the furniture. First, I doubted it would fit. My new apartment was nice looking from the pictures, but I knew New York well enough to know nothing was large. The other reason I wouldn’t take it all was my best friend. We still had two months left on the lease in Palo Alto, and I promised her I’d pay my part while she figured out exactly what she was going to do.

I also looked at flights to get me back to California. I wished I could take one of the early ones, but I didn’t know for sure what time our meeting was. As I let the cursor float over the different flights, I decided to wait until I had more information.

Living in a huge house was like going to the local supermarket. The analogy had nothing to do with food, but made sense anyway. When you went to the supermarket in sweatpants, ponytail, and barefaced, not wanting to see anyone, you ran into everyone you knew. It was the way it worked. If you’re freshly showered or had just come from work or class, and you had time to run into people, you wouldn’t. Living in Montague Manor was like that. The corridors could be quiet and empty, or I could run into people at every turn.

I’d made an effort with my hair, but as much as my mother complained about the ponytail, the humidity in Savannah wasn’t my friend. I settled for a messy bun, but went to the trouble of putting on another of the casual sundresses she’d bought. It was the one Jane had pulled from the closet the first night. I couldn’t believe after all this time, Adelaide still thought I liked pink. Red heads don’t wear pink. Yes, usually the brown dominated the auburn, but my stay in Del Mar had brought out the reds and a few streaks of blonde.

My stay in Del Mar had done more than that, but I wouldn’t let myself think about it—about him. We’d said one week. It may have been the best week of my entire life, but that was all we had. Besides, if we ever did find each other again, it wouldn’t be the same. Del Mar was special because it was fantasy, not real life. I didn’t think my heart could take Nox in my real life. He was too… too… Nox. That didn’t mean I couldn’t daydream about him. Real life can’t ruin daydreams.