Page 76 of The Fine Art of Faking It
She stepped out into the hallway and made a mad dash for her room before she could humiliate herself any further.
Safely ensconced in her living quarters, Eden cupped her hands to her flushed cheeks. “What the hell have I done?” she whispered.
She felt amazing. Like she’d just let go of years of pent-up frustration and anger and disappointment and banished them with a sexual rite of passage. She didn’t want to overthink this, didn’t want to wonder why one night with Davis had erased years of bad feelings.
Eden spotted her phone on her nightstand where she’d left it last night and grabbed it. No guest emergencies, thank goodness. But there was a group text conversation from Sammy and Layla.
Sammy: Rumor has it you and your parents threw down at the brewery. Do you need help disposing of the bodies?
Layla: Rumor also has it you and Davis left the brewery together and that the BC has doubled down on you two. SPILL THE BEANS!
Eden carried her phone into her bathroom and plugged in the hair dryer. She debated blowing them off and focusing on her day until she could make sense of all the crazy feelings that were careening around in her system.
Eden: Sorry. Spent the night watchingWheel of Fortunereruns. Catch up soon?
“Wheel of Fortunereruns” was their code for having a sexy story to tell.
Sammy: Holy shit. Holy freakin’ shit! I can pencil you in at 10:30 this morning barring any emergencies. Lay? What’s your deputy schedule look like?
Layla: Same. 10:30 at the inn. There’d better be coffee, some of those little sugary things, and an orgasm count.
Eden: You guys are ridiculous.
Layla: WILL THERE BE LITTLE SUGARY THINGS?
Eden served up poached eggs over avocado toast with sides of sausage—turkey and vegan—to her early risers. And she did it with a smile permanently etched on her face. After drying her hair, she’d fussed a little with her makeup and chose a pretty cranberry wrap blouse and navy skinny pants.
If she felt good, she might as well look the part, she decided.
Davis skipped breakfast to head out for an early meeting with the vintner. But not before sending her a sweet text.
Davis: I have a feeling I’ll be thinking of you and smiling all day long. Thanks for an amazing night, gorgeous.
If Eden were the swooning type, she would have let her knees buckle so she could collapse on the fainting couch in the east suite. But she was far too practical for that. Instead, she took inventory of the towels and toiletries and double checked that the linens were fresh. The room was, as usual perfection. It’s subtle gold walls showcased local artists’ oil paintings in natural themes. The windows were a perfect frame for the rising sun. The entire space smelled lightly of lemons and sage, the work of her cleaning crew. Eden placed the bottle of wine the guests had ordered next to the two glasses on the sideboard.
She heard the bark of a dog downstairs and checked her watch.
Layla: We’re here. Make your ass magically appear or we’ll start knocking on doors.
They would too. Nothing stood between her friends and sex news. She gave the room another quick once-over and skipped down the stairs to meet them.
She caught Sammy with her hand in the candy jar at the front desk and Layla snooping around the guestbook.
Vader was nudging Layla’s free hand for absent pats.
“Isn’t it a beautiful morning, ladies?” Eden sighed grandly.
“Oh, boy. There’s a lot of orgasms written on her face,” Sammy said, unwrapping a peppermint.
“I hate you a little bit right now,” Layla groaned, leaning down to bury her face in the dog’s yellow fluff.
“Come on. I’ll feed you and fill you in,” Eden promised. She led the way into the now empty dining room. Breakfast service ended at nine. Late sleepers were directed into town or to the stash of donuts, pastries, and fruit Eden refilled daily in the library.
Layla’s eyes lit up when she saw the tray of lemon blueberry scones. “Dibs on the entire tray.” She picked up one of the dainty side plates and began loading it to capacity.
At home here, Sammy helped herself to the coffee carafe while Eden made herself a cup of tea.
They sat, basking in the sunlight that poured through the wall of windows, and sipped in silence for all of four seconds.
