Page 16 of Her Holiday Arrangement
“You’re doing fine,” Elizabeth murmured as they paused near the fireplace.
Riley glanced at her. “I feel like I just walked into a Tom Ford catalog run by jackals.”
Elizabeth bit back a smirk. “That’s not inaccurate.”
A member of the household staff approached. “Miss Hale, your rooms are ready.”
Elizabeth gave a small nod. “Thank you.”
As they followed the housekeeper up the stairs, Riley leaned close, voice hushed. “Did she say rooms, plural?”
Elizabeth exhaled softly. “It’s a suite, one bedroom and a sitting room. Technically two.”
She caught the flicker in Riley’s expression, the brief flash of hope chased almost instantly by disappointment. Riley covered it with a neutral “Oh,” but Elizabeth felt the weight of it anyway.
When the housekeeper finally withdrew, Riley stood in the doorway between the two spaces, arms folded. “This all feels very…not real.Like I’m in someone else’s holiday fantasy and I missed the casting call.”
Elizabeth moved past her, opening the wardrobe. “You’re doing better than most actresses I’ve hired to present quarterly reports.”
“That’s… comforting?”
Elizabeth turned. Riley’s coat was half-undone now, revealing a deep green sweater that hugged a little too well. Her cheeks were still flushed from the cold, and her hair looks a little windblown.
Elizabeth’s gaze lingered.
Dangerous.
She looked away.
“You’ll need to change for dinner,” she said, stepping back. “It’s semi-formal.”
“Of course it is.”
Elizabeth crossed to the window, arms folding as she stared out over the snow-covered lawn, the twinkling trees, the rolling hills beyond. This was supposed to be control. A performance she could choreograph.
And yet, her heart thudded too loudly. She could still feel Riley’s warmth under her palm. The way Riley had leaned into her ever so slightly in the hallway when Annette had narrowed her eyes.
Riley wasn’t just playing the role.
She wasinhabitingit.
And Elizabeth was beginning to lose track of where the lie ended.
“You okay?” Riley’s voice was quiet.
Elizabeth turned her head, surprised.
Riley stood in the center of the room, eyes searching hers. Not intrusively, just gently. Genuinely.
It was the first time someone had asked her that in a long time.
Elizabeth’s walls snapped up like reflex. “Fine.”
“Okay,” Riley said, though she clearly didn’t believe her. She glanced toward the bedroom. “I’ll, uh… get changed.”
Elizabeth nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She waited until Riley disappeared behind the door before releasing a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
The show had begun.
