“You really do only have one eye done,” she finally says, visibly deflating.
“I know.” Leah smiles. “Let’s all go get ready and pretend this never happened.”
“I’m still standing right here,” Judith snaps, but the tension has already dissipated.
“Fine,” Delaney concedes, ignoring Judith.
Leah leads the way out of the kitchen, and Delaney follows in step behind her. As I bring up the rear, I look to Cameron to mouth a silent thank you, just as he does the same thing to me. We both grin at our accidental jinx, and my stomach does a full somersault. I speed up to get out from under his gaze and remind myself for the tenth time that getting close to Cameron is a terrible idea, just as the doorbell rings.
Delaney and Leah stop and look at each other, puzzled.
“Are you expecting any other guests?” Leah asks.
“No. Everyone is here.”
Val reappears from around a corner and heads straight for the door to open it. A hulking man who is drenched from head to toe from the storm steps inside, shaking his hair side to side like a wet dog.
“Hi, I’m Ollie,” he says, and holds out a dripping hand to Val.
She recoils as she shakes it, but Ollie doesn’t seem to notice. He continues smiling as he removes his dark-rimmed glasses that are splattered with raindrops. He searches for a dry bit of his shirt to wipe them on, vaguely reminding me of a bumbling Clark Kent, especially with the dark, wet curls that fall on his forehead. Val holds out her hand for his glasses, and he gives them to her with a crooked smile.
“What are you doing here, Ollie?” Delaney demands, the frustration from arguing with Judith still clear in her voice. “We were planning to come to you.”
“Cam called me. He said you guys wanted to do the tasting here because of the storm. Can’t blame you, it’s raining cats and dogs out there.” He pauses when Val hands him back his glasses after wiping them as best she can on her black silk shirt. He thanks her with another lopsided smile and puts them back on before continuing. “Where is he anyway? I need him to open the garage door so I can unload.”
I follow Leah’s eyes down to Delaney’s hands that are clenched into fists so tightly that they are practically shaking. Anxiety creeps up the back of my neck at the sheer speed at which this night has gone from bad to worse, and I wish more than anything that I could just go to my room and hide until the dust settles.
“Excuse me for a moment. I need to remind Cameron, again, about what our roles are this weekend,” Delaney says, charging down the hallway towards his office.
Leah and I exchange a panicked look as Ollie follows after her, his shoes squeaking with each step on the marble floor. Val closes the front door, muting the sounds of the storm pounding the roof outside, plunging the three of us into stunned silence.
“I’m going to go make a phone call,” Leah declares after a few seconds. “I’ll be up in my room if anyone needs me.”
She walks past Val and starts up the floating staircase, and after weighing the pros and cons, I decide to follow suit. I’ve only known him for a few hours, but Cameron seems more than capable of handling himself, and I really, really, want to get out of these clothes. I walk past Val with a nod, noting that she is not wearing a stitch of makeup but still looks flawless. She nods politely back but murmurs something under her breath as I pass by.
“What’s that?” I ask, turning back.
“Insane, all of them,” she repeats.
“I think you’re probably right with that assessment.” I chuckle and continue up the stairs. When I am about halfway up, I turn back around to ask, “What about me?”
She gives a quick appraisal and purses her lips. “Still undecided.”
I laugh again. “Fair enough.” Then, I continue up to find my bedroom.
Chapter nineteen
I’M DEALING WITH IT
Atthetopofthe stairs is a wide landing with a couple more of the oversized marshmallow chairs, like the one I fell into during introductions in the living room. They face the view through the glass that surrounds the front door, which, on a clear day, would be a beautiful sight. But right now, there’s only gloomy, dark woods, and the patter of rain through the thick glass. To the left, past the landing, is a short hallway to a single room with double doors, so I head right down the longer hallway in search of my guest room.
After I reach the end without any indication of which room is mine, or anyone else’s for that matter, I head back towards the start. You’d think there would be signs with our names on them, but Delaney must have thought that our names printed out on computer paper and taped to the doors would take away from the luxurious feel of the retreat.
With my window of time to get ready slowly dwindling, I take a deep breath and decide to knock on each door and then peekinside until I find my luggage. The first two are empty but clearly assigned to other women based on the clothes and personal items that lie on the bed and dressers. I raise my hand to knock on the third door and hear a muffled voice inside. It has to belong to Leah, since everyone else is still downstairs, so I knock once and peek my head in.
“Leah, are you there?”
The guestroom is beautiful, decorated in blush pinks and creams, with thick layers of pillows and blankets on the bed. A vase of white tulips sits on the bedside table, with a few of the bulbs weeping a little too close to a lit vanilla-scented candle.
