My nose wrinkled. Those rooms would need to be scrubbed. I was halfway down the list when my fingers paused on a name I knew. Violet.
Instantly, my heart was in my throat, pounding away so hard and fast that it felt like I was going to faint. It had to be a coincidence, right? It couldn’t be that Violet? The love of my husband’s life.
Why would she be here? Unless she was with Alexei.
And there was no way for me to find out. I couldn’t leave the desk unmanned. All I could do was wait and hope that it wasn’t her and that Alexei hadn’t found me.
Four hours later,my replacement finally arrived, and I could go to bed. Only this place after eleven p.m. was a hive of activity of the sexual kind, and the walls were paper-thin. I’d barely fallen into bed when the people in the room next to me started going at it again, and I had to curl the thin pillow around my head to muffle the sound.
“Oh, Kristoff.” An instantly recognizable voice screamed her release so loudly that I was sure half the motel had heard her. “More baby, please.”
Sitting bolt upright in bed, I clutched the pillow to my chest. That had been Violet’s voice. I would know it anywhere, but she hadn’t called out Alexei’s name. She had called out Kristoff. Who the hell was Kristoff, and why did his name sound so familiar to me?
“Not so loud, Violet.” A man’s voice grumbled out five minutes later. “You never know who is watching or listening. We don’t want anyone to know about us.”
“Oh, I don’t care who knows,” Violet cooed in a voice too loud to be seductive but somehow managed it. “It’s so hard being away from you.”
“Oh yeah, cos living in that mansion and being waited on hand and foot is such a chore. Come on now, Violet, this is me you are talking to. I know you. And you are loving being the lady of the manor.” His voice dropped into a sarcastic growl.
“None of the staff listen to me. Alexei says I’m too difficult and demanding.” I could almost hear her roll her eyes.
“Well, you have always known what you wanted. I find that incredibly attractive.”
There was silence that I knew was full of kissing and maybe something more. I tried not to listen, but it was impossible.
“Yes, I know what I want,” she said finally. “But he won’t set the date for our engagement. Alexei won’t even touch me.”
My head snapped up. What? Was she still with Alexei but here with another man? That didn’t make any sense. Violet and Alexei were meant to be together, weren’t they?
So, who was she here with? Who was this mysterious Kristoff? I ignored the next lot of moans and grunts. I didn’t need to hear themto know she was a giant ho, but I did listen out to the sound of them leaving, which came thirty minutes later.
The door slammed. Slowly, because I didn’t want them to hear me, I tiptoed over to the window and flicked the curtains back just enough to see them. The man was tall, and he had Violet pressed up against the trunk of his car, kissing her wildly.
“I hate having to go back to him,” Violet whispered, her head back so he could kiss her throat.
“It won’t be for too much longer. You just need him to marry you and then—” more kissing. “Then all of this will be over.”
“He won’t even divorce Amy. He barely looks at me.”
The man moved in a flash and grabbed her chin painfully. I winced back. “Then it’s your job to make him forget her. Wasn’t she some little mouse of a girl? Surely a woman of your,” he kissed her lips hard, “overwhelming talents should find it easy to seduce him.”
“I’ve tried.”
“Try harder then, otherwise this will all be for nothing. And I’ve worked too hard to let him win now. Leave now. I don’t want anyone to see us leave together. I love you, Violet.” He called out to her. “This will all be over soon.”
She moved away, blowing a kiss over her shoulder. But I didn’t move.
I couldn’t because I could finally see the man’s face, and I did know him.
I’d met him once before at a dinner party. He’d given me a diamond necklace and then cornered me in the garden and asked me to spy on Alexei. I’d refused, but clearly, he had found someone who would, and it was someone Alexei would never suspect.
I felt a pang of sympathy for my estranged husband. He was being used. He loved Violet, and she was here with someone he thought was his friend. Alexei deserved to know.
Kristoff lifted his head, and for one second, it felt like he was staring straight at me. I saw a crooked smile spread across his face before I dropped the curtain and stepped back, breathing heavily.
Had he seen me? Oh, God, had he seen me? Holding my breath, Iwaited for the knock on the door, but there was no sound except for the throaty roar of a car engine as he pulled away.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I rubbed my hands over my swollen belly. “That was close, wasn’t it?” I whispered to my baby, who I was sure was a girl. “We are going to have to be more careful if we want to stay here, hey Alessia.”
