Page 31 of Her Counterfeit Christmas
I’m haunted by the way Owen looked in that black shirtand hate how I preferred it to the sweater vest and sports jacket Spencer wore. Or maybe I just preferred the man inside.
Ahh! Shut up, brain.
I just have to get through this week. It seems Spencer and Owen dislike each other, so I won’t see Owen at family events. I’ll take care to avoid Brock Pine when he’s usually there, so I won’t run into him. A prospect that should bring me peace but makes me more agitated. I enjoy spying on him.
I toss and turn but can’t find relief from my thoughts.
According to the schedule I found on the dresser, breakfast is at nine every morning. Tomorrow I’d like to go for a run before breakfast, which means I need to sleep now. But the shock and dismay on Owen’s face when he first noticed me won’t vacate my head.
I sit up and flick on the bedside lamp. Is there any cheesecake leftover from dinner? Maybe it has magical properties and a small slice will help me forget about the guy I can never think about again.
There’s only one way to find out.
I grab the teal sweater Nana knit and I planned to sell. Now that I have Spencer, I can keep it for myself. I bring it up to my nose and make out the faint scent of Nana’s lavender soap.
The hallway is empty and dark but for a light over the staircase. No light shines under any of the other bedroom doors. At the bottom of the stairs, I begin my search for the kitchen. Through the dining room seems like a logical place to start. I tiptoe across the room to the door opposite where the servers came through at dinner. On the other side of thedoor is a small room with counters. No cupboard or anything useful. I wonder if this is some sort of anteroom used as a staging area for service and a buffer from the kitchen noise. Once again, I’m amazed at the way the wealthy live.
There are three doors besides the one I walked through. I feel like I’m on a game show. Which one holds the prize I’m looking for? I pick the one closest to me. I must be lucky, because here is the kitchen.
I flip on the light over the oven, which gives the room a glow and makes me feel extra sneaky. I go to the industrial sized refrigerator and look inside. There are dozens of clear containers filled with food, many of them seem to be prepared for tomorrow’s meals. It takes me a few minutes, but I finally locate the container that holds the cheesecake.
I have to open a dozen cupboards before I find plates. The silverware is easier to locate. Before I cut myself a slice, I hear voices from the anteroom I just came through.
It could be anyone, but that means it could be Owen.
Panic engulfs me. I don’t want to get caught stealing food, especially not by him. How am I supposed to explain to him how it is I gained a boyfriend since yesterday? I stuff everything back in the fridge, plate and spoon included, and run to the glass doors that lead outside onto a deck. When the door shuts behind me, I move out of sight just as the kitchen light turns on.
I’m not prepared for the cold. I’m wearing pajama pants, the cardigan over a tank top, and socks. Winter air attacks every millimeter of skin left uncovered. I cold breeze blows through my pants like they aren’t there. I wrap my armsaround myself and bounce in place, hoping to conserve body heat. It’s little help.
A peek through the door shows Marianne and Brady interrupted my midnight scavenging, and not the person I feared. Now that I’m outside, I don’t feel comfortable enough to go back in and admit my idiocy. I’ll wait until they leave.
The sound of waves makes me move closer to the edge of the deck. The moon is almost full and gives me light to see. The ground slopes down, with the ocean maybe a third of a mile away. The tops of the trees are a little taller than the deck, and I can make out the rocky beach. I’m sure it’s beautiful in the sunlight, but it’s too cold to be in the wind, and I move back to the side of the house where it’s mostly blocked.
I peek inside. Marianne and Brady are eating my cheesecake! It’s hard to watch, not only because my stomach grumbles, but because it reminds me of nights I spent with my mom in the kitchen as we shared a midnight snack. I move out of their view and wait for them to finish. The longer I stand with my back against the house, the worse my body shivers.
Finally, the lights turn off. I immediately grab for the knob.
It’s locked.
I rattle the door, but it doesn’t magically open. My teeth chatter. My toes are in danger of frostbite. All the dignity I possessed fifteen minutes ago has fled. I knock, hoping Marianne might be close enough to hear me. I’d rather be humiliated than dead. They don’t come back.
I waste precious seconds banging my fist against thedoor, then pull myself together. I need to find another way inside.
The deck disappears around the corner of the house. Maybe there’s an unlocked window or another set of doors. I’d call Spencer, but I left my phone in my room.
Once around the corner, light spills out from a door cracked open further along the deck. I head toward the hope the light offers.
OWEN
I can’t sleep. The images of Layla with Spencer at dinner won’t leave me alone. The two of them don’t make sense together. Maybe it’s because I’m jealous, but them as a couple is a burr in my brain. I can’t let it go. I need to know how this happened and maybe then I’ll be able to sleep.
I knock on Spencer’s bedroom door. The fact that he’s not sharing a room with Layla is another reason I question their relationship.
Spencer’s always been a light sleeper, so if he were in his room, he would answer. He doesn’t, which means he must be working. I head downstairs to Grandfather’s old study on the main floor. It’s at the back of the house, next to Grandfather’s room. Grandmother’s bedroom is further down the hall.
I push open the door. Spencer sits at Grandfather’s desk, and for a moment it feels as if I’ve traveled back in time. He looks a lot like Grandfather, but without the wrinkles and gray hair.
The room hasn’t changed since the last time I was here. Bookshelves filled with legal books line the walls. An enormous desk sits in the center on the right of the room, opposite a couch and loveseat. Double doors open onto the deck that runs along the back of the house and overlooks the ocean. This room has always felt stuffy, but the view is amazing.
