“Beautiful?”IthoughtImust have heard him wrong.Noone had ever called me beautiful before—not sinceIgot married toCarter, anyway.Hehad only looked at me to find fault.
“Well, yes.Imean, look at you—you’re fucking gorgeous.”
He actually sounded serious and the look on his face, whenIdared to glance up at him, said he wasn’t joking around.
My face flooded with heat, andItried to laugh.
“You must be mistaken—I’mpast forty—over the hill.Idon’t even haveHeatCyclesanymore.”
“You certainly don’tlookover the hill,” was his answer.Then, seeingIwas blushing, he looked abruptly abashed.
“Look,I’mso sorry—Ishouldn’t have said that.Ididn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
“Oh, you didn’t!”Isaid quickly, although to be honest,Iwasn’t surewhatIwas feeling.“I…Ijust…no one’s ever said that to me before.”
“They haven’t?”Helooked genuinely surprised.“Idon’t understand that.Didn’tUncleCarterever compliment you?”
This time my cheeks heated with shame.HowcouldIexplain that my late husband had looked at me only to find fault?HowcouldItell him thatCarterconstantly told me what was wrong with me…but never anything that was right.Evenon our wedding day he only looked me over and said, “She’lldo,Isuppose.”Andthat was pretty much the nicest thing he ever said.
“I…um…”Ishook my head, at a loss for words as the bad memories overwhelmed me.
“NowIwent and made you uncomfortable again.I’msorry,”Korapologized.“IpromiseI’mnot always such a jerk.It’sjust been a long day, and you surprised me when you took off that veil.”
“Oh, well…”Icleared my throat.“It’sall right.It’sbeen a long day for me too.”
“Of course it has!”Heraked a hand through his hair.“Ijust keep making things worse, don’tI?Look, tell me if you want me to leave.”
“No, no,”Isaid quickly, surprising myself with my certainty.“No,Iinvited you to stay—please don’t leave.”
“Well, thank you.”Hegave an embarrassed sounding chuckle.“IpromiseIcan do better.”
“You’re fine,”Iassured him.“Look, would you like a tour of the house?Thenwe can get you settled in one of the guest rooms.”
“That would be great,Vivienne.Thankyou.”Henodded and smiled at me.Itwas a charming, slightly crooked smile where one side of his mouth went up higher than the other.
I didn’t know why butIreally liked it—Ilikedhim.Iliked looking at him—his bare chest and torso still dripping with rainwater and his big brown eyes, fringed thickly with lashes several shades darker than his golden-brown hair.
I liked talking to him too—there was something so warm and natural in the way he talked and his deep voice was calm and soothing.Therewas something unaffected about him—something genuine that drew me after years of awkward, stilted conversation with my late husband, where all he did was pick at me and complain about the waysIwasn’t good enough.
I took him through theManor, showing off all the placesCarterhad been most proud of.Thelibrary, filled with rare books my late husband had never bothered to read, the solarium filled with tropical plants that blossomed year-round, the gymnasium, furnished with all the latest fitness equipment and a full set of weights, the billiards room, and of course, the indoor swimming pool where the water was kept at a constant 75 degrees.
“ButI’mafraid you won’t be able to swim in it,”Iapologized toKoras we looked at the vast expanse of water.“Ilet most of the servants go afterCarterdied andI’mnot very good at adding the chemicals myself.IthinkIdidn’t add enough last time and nowIhave some algae growing on the deep end.”
“Oh, you probably just need to shock it,”Korsaid, frowning at the water.
“Shock it?”Iasked, raising my eyebrows in confusion.
“Sure—you need to add extra chlorine.Ican do it if you want me to,” he added.“MyDadandIlived inFloridafor a while after my mom died andIhad a job as a pool boy.Imean,Iwent around to people’s houses and checked the pH balance of their pools and regulated the chemicals.”
“Oh, could you?”Iasked hopefully.“I’dlove that.I’mnot a very strong swimmer myself butIdo like to paddle around in the shallow end from time to time.”
“I’d love to—just show me where you keep the chemicals,” he told me.“Andplease let me know if there’s anything elseIcan do around here to help.Ilike to earn my keep.”
I almost said that just his company was compensation enough—that it was nice to knowIwasn’t going to be so lonely, knocking around in the big old house by myself anymore.ButIthought that might sound too forward, soIjust smiled and showed him the small closet where the pool chemicals were kept.
I gave him one of the spare towels too, and took one for myself.Iprobably should have gotten changed out of my wet clothing before we started this tour, but for some reason,Ihadn’t bothered.MaybeIwas just too distracted by my new houseguest’s charming smile and warm personality.
Or maybe you just liked the way he looks all wet and half naked,a scandalous voice whispered in my head.