Page 172 of Enthrall Shadows
“Nice. You still don’t have a butler?” I joked. “Want mine?”
“Cameron would never go for that.” She embraced me. “How are you settling in?”
“Just about there.” Working late at the office had helped keep my mind off the house.
Visiting this manor always calmed me. Maybe because they’d made this big house a home.
“Come have tea.” She led me onward into their vast kitchen. “It’s Typhoo. Don’t tell Cameron.”
“What!” I stopped in my tracks.
“I’m joking!” She laughed hysterically.
I chuckled at her shamelessness, which helped remove much of my tension.
She set about making us hot drinks. “I can guess why you’re here.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise.
She flicked on the kettle and turned to face me. “The trip is too risky.”
“I’m not going back.”
She paused for a second. “What?”
“You didn’t mean Florida?”
“Oh, no.”
She thought I was here to talk about Cameron.
“What did he tell you?” I asked, not wanting to give anything away.
“He wants me to support his trip abroad.”
He’d finally confessed his yearning for adventure.
“He’ll respect your concerns,” I said.
“He has a baby now.”
“After my rogue trip to Florida, I won’t wield much sway, I’m afraid.”
“Right, how did that go?”
“As well as expected.”
Mia poured hot water into two mugs. “You hiked in a preserve?”
“Yes. I had a friend with me.”
“That’s right, Lotte.” Mia mulled that over. “She’d have made it fun.” Mia smiled, like she’d guessed my secret.
“You heard why I went?” I watched her reaction.
Her expression turned serious. “I didn’t like the way Reese arranged the reunion.”
I leaned on the central countertop. “It wasn’t boring.”
