Page 17 of Fake Dark Vows
I’m only half-listening. I don’t want him to bore me with the practical details—it’s like gazing at Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’ and having someone point out the brushstrokes on the canvas. I literally cannot imagine sitting down with a bunch of architects and giving them the brief for a house like this. I can’t even begin to imagine how many guest rooms there are.
“Most of the guest rooms are in a separate building,” Brandon adds as if reading my mind. I guess that’s where I’ll be staying then. “To allow the guests the freedom to explore the island at their leisure.”
“You’ll have your work cut out keeping them all in check,” Jennifer says, with a grin my way. “Let’s hope Ruby Weiss has warned them of the punishment they’ll receive should they fail to follow the itinerary.”
“Going to bed without supper?” I suggest before I can stop myself.
Damon laughs again. “You clearly don’t know my mother at all. It will be fifty points deducted from their treasure hunt score … at the very least.”
We all chuckle at this—all apart from Brandon who keeps his eyes on the impressive façade which is slowly growing closer.
I stare at the swing seats on the wraparound porch, the fairy-lit canopy overhead, and the adult-sized potted plants in pristine white containers. There’s a tire swing attached to a huge tree on the lawn, a wooden playhouse the size of a trailer for the kids, a tennis court, and a winding path leading to landscaped gardens that appear to have different themes looking at the Japanese pagoda and the mini-Taj Mahal.
When the buggy stops, Brandon is the first to jump down. He offers Jennifer a hand, which she accepts, and then leads her toward the porch where Ruby Weiss is waiting for us.
“You’ll have to excuse my brother,” Damon says, climbing down next. Rather than offering me his hand, he grabs my waist and lifts me off the buggy, setting me down in front of him, his warm hands lingering on me a beat too long.
“Thank you,” I say, extricating myself and stepping away.
The driver puts my suitcase on the ground, and I go to pick it up, but Damon shakes his head. “Graham will bring your luggage. Come with me, and I’ll show you around before my mom gets her claws into you.”
I feel uneasy about Damon showing me around the house, but I don’t want to sound ungrateful, or make an enemy of both Ruby’s sons before I’ve even begun, so I follow him toward the house, walking in Brandon and Jennifer’s shadows. Brandon doesn’t even glance backward. So much for trying to be pleasant while we’re both under the same roof.
I take a deep breath and puff up my cheeks.
Damon must notice because he says, “Don’t take it personally. My brother is the unsociable one unless you have a business proposition for him.”
“That obvious, huh?” I give him a half-smile and keep my distance.
Damon might be the more sociable one of the two Weiss sons, but there’s something about him that raises my hackles like a cat sensing danger. I might be overreacting—something else Jess claims I’m guilty of—but I didn’t imagine the feel of his hands around my waist. Three hours in, and I’ve already been too close to both brothers. Thank God there are only two of them.
“Mom.” Damon steps onto the porch and kisses his mom’s cheeks, then stands aside. “I’ve offered to show Rose around, help her get her bearings before cocktails.”
Ruby’s smile barely reaches her eyes. “Your father wants to see you in the study. Kelly can look after Rose—I’ve a little assignment for them to complete before the guests arrive.”
“See what I mean,” Damon says to me. “You’ve barely set foot on the porch, and you’ve been enlisted for one of Mom’s projects. Make sure she gives you the breaks you’re entitled to.” He turns around and heads inside the house without another word to his mom.
Brandon and Jennifer have already disappeared, and I find myself wondering if they’ll go straight to their rooms—room, singular? —or if Jennifer will be given a sightseeing tour of the island too before the celebrations get underway.
Business associates Jennifer said on the plane, but Damon didn’t believe her. Why? What did he know that neither of them was saying out loud? My cheeks burn when I think of them in bed together, all naked limbs and writhing bodies, and I chew my bottom lip to quash the feel of his lips on mine.
“Rose!” Ruby greets me with an outstretched arm as if I was the one she’d been waiting for. “I trust you enjoyed the flight.”
“It was…”—I shrug and smile at her— “probably the most comfortable flight I’ve ever experienced.”
Ruby’s smile is genuine. “I would show you around myself, but I still have so much to do, and my husband’s gift has been delayed in transit. Our closest friends will be arriving later today, and everyone else will be here tomorrow. I hope it’s enough time for you to get acquainted with the itinerary and the layout of the island.”
“I’m sure it will be,” I say, warning myself to pay attention. I get the impression that Ruby Weiss will only explain something once.
“Ah, let me introduce you to Kelly, my daughter-in-law.”
Ruby turns to face the woman who is walking out of the house as her husband enters, exchanging tight-lipped smiles and fleeting glances. It’s only when Damon realizes that his mom and I are both watching that he bends slightly to kiss his wife’s cheek, and she accepts it with her eyes averted. I don’t know when Kelly arrived on the island, or how long the couple has been apart, but I can feel the frost in the air between them from here.
“Hello.” Kelly shakes my hand in a formal greeting. She has a lovely smile and perfect teeth, but it’s staged, like a wedding guest whose cheeks are aching from hours of saying ‘Cheese’ on demand. “I’m sure Ruby has already thanked you, but we don’t know how we’d have managed without you stepping in at the last minute.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” I blurt out. “I’m sure Brandon will tell you all about his suit I ruined.” I cringe inwardly at the unintended innuendo and wonder what it is about Ruby Weiss’s eldest son that always seems to bring out the clumsy fifteen-year-old in me. “Red wine,” I quickly add when I see Ruby’s bemused expression.
“And if I know my son, he allowed you to take all the blame.”