She looked up. Opened her mouth to make an excuse.
“Don’t say no,” he warned. “Change your shoes. Something flat. Closed-toe.”
“Why?”
“The ground’s uneven.”
She didn’t argue, just rose and disappeared inside.
When she returned, he was waiting by the lattice. She’d changed: wide-legged pants, a sleeveless cream top, white sneakers. He led her down the side path, past a row of stone columns. A bird shrieked somewhere in the vines.
Bea didn’t know where they were going. Gage walked beside her, hands in his pockets, sunglasses on, every inch the picture of relaxed control. But she could feel it—that coil of purpose underneath.
“You left the cellar.”
She nodded once.
“Georgina followed.”
Another nod.
He waited. Let her open. Leaves rustled overhead, flashes of orange foliage caught in the branches.
She looked at her shoes. “I needed air.” Tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s not a big deal.”
Bea counted five steps before he spoke.
“It is to me.”
It was starting. She could feel it unspooling. And once it started, she wouldn’t be able to stop it. “I didn’t want to ruin the day.”
For a while, the only sound was the crunch of leaves beneath their feet.
“You know what Catherine’s like.”
“No, I don’t,” he said, reaching out and taking her hand. His palm swallowed hers, broad and warm, and something inside her lurched. “You’ve never told me.”
She exhaled slowly, because what would she even say? How could she begin? When there was that much history, it felt almost vindictive to say it all out loud at once.
As if he sensed he wasn’t going to get the information that way, he tried another. “For how long?”
A reply rose…then crashed into second thoughts.
She knew he wouldn’t fill the silence. That was the worst part. He’d just wait. And wait. And wait. Until she cracked open.
“A while.”
His thumb rubbed the back of hers once. “Be specific.”
Her eyes went to the gravel path.
“Bea.” His voice was patient. Endlessly patient.
“The Regatta. Imperium. The beach.”
“Anything else?”
She wanted to say no. Leave it there. But it was impossible to lie to him when he was asking so directly.
