“Call me anytime. I want to hear about your trip to Hawaii,” she says before we wave goodbye and she closes the door. I wonder which one she has in there, but I’m sure I’ll be able to get the juicy details from her later. She’s never been shy about sharing in the past.
Moving back toward the elevator, I head downstairs in search of the included breakfast, shooting Declan a text on the way. I need coffee before I’m fit to go anywhere.
Excitement prickles in my stomach as well as no small amount of amazement that Declan arranged for me to get a tour of the castle. I can’t wait to see what it looks like on the inside, and I won’t say no to being a little closer to the horses once more before we leave. I know it's Max’s responsibility now, but I still need to reassure myself that they’re doing okay.
Feeling relaxed for the first time in days, I quietly enjoy my liquid energy and the delicious food I grabbed from the buffet. I know I shouldn't be on my own, but what are the chances that the stalker followed us? Would they really do anything to me in a crowded restaurant? I can’t help but argue with myself that Declan wouldn’t have let me wander off if there was any reason to think I was unsafe, and it feels nice to be normal for just a moment.
It’s about twenty minutes later when Declan finally joins me. His hair is damp, and he smells good even though he’s dressed in yesterday's clothes. There’s a smile on his face as he takes the long way over, stopping at the buffet before settling across from me.
“What are you smiling about?” I ask him, and it just gets wider.
“Do I need a reason to smile?” he teases, not answering the question.
“Um, yes. From my experience so far, you do.” He looks a little sheepish that I pegged him correctly with that one.
“Touché. But I’m happy because I just spoke to Jacinta and the kitten has improved a bit overnight, so I’m feeling a lot more hopeful than I had been. Also, the company is pretty good too.” He takes a bite of his danish and sips at his coffee before sighing. “God, that's good. I needed that.”
We eat in a comfortable silence, and it’s Declan's phone beeping that interrupts the tranquility. “That’s our ride. Ready to go?”
Draining the last bit of my coffee, I stand and gesture for him to lead the way. Once again, he puts his hand in the small of my back and guides me where I need to go. I know a lot of women would hate that, but I like it. Makes me feel special.
“So... all that carb loading last night and we didn't put it to good use,” Declan whispers in my ear, and I stumble. He catches my arm and helps steady me, a cheeky grin on his face.Damn him.
“Oh well, there’s always next time.” I pat him on the cheek. “I'm sure I'll do plenty of carb loading when Kai takes me to Hawaii over the weekend.” Declan's mouth drops open in surprise while I turn and walk away, high fiving myself internally. Yup, that's right, gotta keep him on his toes.
Out in the front, there’s a van full of people waiting, and we take the last two seats. Someone slides the door shut once we’re in, and we head out to the vineyard. Everyone is fairly quiet, but I don’t think that's because the boss is in the car; more likely, it’s because of the early hour. Everyone still looks a little blurry eyed, and one or two look seriously hungover.
When we arrive, Declan and I are the first to climb out. He grabs me by the hand and tows me toward the entrance of the castle. For the next two hours, Delcan and I tour the marvel that is Castello Di Amorosa. We see the armory, torture chamber, the great hall, and the royal apartment. The beautiful furnishings and authentic decor makes me feel like we could be anywhere in the world.
But eventually, we have to stop, parting ways for each of us to take care of our last item of business. I head toward the stables while Declan ventures out to find Sean. Smiling at a few familiar faces, I snatch up a few carrots out of the feed shed and find where my babies are being kept, my heart warming with the way they whinny and peek over the stall doors when they hear me coming. Samson throws his beautiful black head up and down, his mane flying like he's in some kind of shampoo commercial. Silly creature, he is.
I’m just dividing the carrots between the four of them when Maxine shuffles into the stable. Her eyes don't quite meet mine, and I feel a frown cross my face.
“Are you okay?” I ask, and she shrugs a little.
“Yeah, but can we not talk about it right now?” She cuts off my questions before I’ve even asked. When she looks up, she's got dark circles under her eyes, and I can tell she's been nibbling on her lip too. She only really does that when she's thinking about something, and I rack my brain, trying to come up with what could be the matter.
“Fine, but don’t think I’m going to let this go. You've been there through all my shit, and I can tell something is bothering you. When you're ready to talk about it, I want you to call me.” I grab her and give her another hug. Her arms come up around my body, and she squeezes back, so I’m hoping it can’t bethatbad. Max tends to turn off when something really throws her off, so if she’s hugging me back, that’s a good sign.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“Alright, we need to be going,” I tell her, pulling away. “I’ll give you a call in a couple of days to see how these guys, and you, are getting on.”
“Harlow,” she calls as I walk away, so I turn back to look at her. “You need to call Mom and Dad and tell them everything. I’ve avoided it ‘til now, but keeping this secret isn’t fair to me, and they deserve to know what’s going on. You don’t want it to cause a rift between Dad and Brad if they find out from someone else.”
“Yeah, I wanted to call Melinda anyway. I miss her, and I need some motherly advice. Well, actually, I just want to hear her voice, but I’ll make it seem like I want her advice too. You know how she loves that shit.”
Max grins, probably thinking back to the many awkward teenage years where we both suffered through Melinda’s well-meaning but highly embarrassing life talks. “Yeah, poor Mom. How did she end up with two kids who are so damn independent? She loves to feel needed.”
“I just hope she doesn't judge me when I tell her about the boy situation.”
Max scoffs, “Please! She’s going to eat that shit up. And you know she and Dad never became snobby like a lot of their rich friends. It’s Mom’s down to earth poor person influence.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re a fucking snob. What are you talking about?”
She laughs, finally showing a little more of that regular feistiness in her eyes. “Yeah, but I could be a lot worse.”
“Too true!” I throw up a hand in salute and actually leave this time, the sound of Max cooing to Delilah making me smile again.
