Page 17 of An Inconvenient Marriage
Once inside, my breath caught again. In stark contrast with the light walls and darker floors of the rest of the house, this room was all dark. Dark mahogany walls, the same dark hardwood floors, and a dark four-poster bed, covered in black silk sheets.
The far side of the room housed a desk and a plum-colored settee, as well as a set of double doors that led to a balcony overlooking the Olympic-sized pool and vast estate. Green stretched far and wide with the occasional pops of color from the grapes.
I was excited to explore. To smell the flowers along the walkway. To dip my toes into the pool. To simply sit on the lush green grass and give my mind the freedom to design. My fingers and feet itched with the need to do it right away.
With a way too huge smile on my face, I spun on my heel. I didn’t get very far when I realized I wasn’t alone. Renata and Martina were happily chatting away while they unpacked both my and Zach’s clothing.
My stomach folded over on itself for so many reasons. The first one being that I really didn’t want them attending to my every need. It was something my father always insisted on. “Let them do it,” he’d snap. “It’s what they get paid for.”
The second and probably the worst was that I had to share a room with Zach. At the hotel it had turned out to be a minor inconvenience because I’d ended up using the couch. Sure, it’d been uncomfortable, but it was a far better option than sleeping next to a half-naked Zach.
The plum settee was more for aesthetics than comfort, there was no way anyone could sit on it for longer than a few minutes let alone sleep on it for an entire night.
It didn’t take too long to realize I couldn’t do anything about our one-bed situation, but I could do something about these women doing what was supposed to be my work.
Putting a smile on my face—I hoped it looked friendly and not as awkward as it felt—I walked to them. Renata had just grabbed another armful of my clothes. I placed my hand on her wrist, and when I had her attention, I shook my head.
I’d hoped she’d understand it meant I didn’t want her to do it, but she just stared at me with a confused expression. I tried something different.
Waving my hands in a manner I presumed to be descriptive, I said, “You don’t have to do that. I’ll unpack myself.”
The frown grew deeper. She turned her head toward Martina and said something in Spanish to which Martina responded with a simple shrug.
Great. I was making no sense, and I probably looked like an idiot, too.
It was time to throw in the towel for the day. I was tired and stressed out and I needed desperately to hear a friendly voice. That was why I grabbed my phone from my purse. Swiping the screen to unlock it, I immediately saw a message from my father.
Dad:Don’t disappoint me like you always do.
Yeah, I seriously needed a friend. Pulling up my contacts, I didn’t even have to scroll to get to her number. And as if she could feel my turmoil thousands of miles away, Everlee answered on the first ring.
A familiar Esteban Alvarez melody filtered through the line a moment before her voice sounded. “Hey, sweetie. You okay?”
Biting back the sudden urge to bawl my eyes out, I shook my head and then realized she couldn’t see me. “I honestly don’t know. I’m finally far away from my father and somehow I’m even more afraid than I am when I’m under his roof.”
The music died. “Oh, Nat, that’s normal. You’re doing something huge, of course you’re scared. But just think…” She paused in the middle of her sentence to switch gears. “Unless Zach did something to scare you? If he hurts you, so help me—” Her voice had gone from caring to murderous within the space of a breath.
I couldn’t help it, my heart doubled in size. “You’re amazing, and I love you.”
“Of course I am, and you’d better.”
Laughter fell from my lips, and oh my goodness, it felt good. Almost like a soothing balm for aching limbs. Or maybe it was a remedy for an aching heart.
“Is he still being a douche canoe?”
I snorted. “Oh yeah. But get this… he isn’t like that with anyone else. And when we got to his estate, his housekeeper hugged him like a mother would hug her son.”
“No way!”
“Yes way,” I fired back. “But I honestly think his coldness is because of the rumors… It’s difficult to have respect for someone who doesn’t respect themselves.”
It was Everlee’s turn to snort. “Oh, please. If he’s the type of person who judges someone by what he reads in gossip magazines, then he can kindly go screw himself… But if it bothers you, you can always tell him—”
“No!” I said a little too quickly. “Let him believe what he wants to. It doesn’t matter.” I heard myself say the words and yet I didn’t hear any conviction in my tone.
Everlee said something else, but I couldn’t make out a word. Zach chose that exact moment to stride through the door, shirt halfway unbuttoned with his fingers already poised at the next one. He gave me a quick once-over, then disappeared into the en suite.
Huh? When did Martina and Renata leave? And why is he just undressing like that?
