I turn and run out the door. I am light. I am weightless. I am finally, actually, the main character in my own love story.
The main house is quiet. The staff has left for the evening. The only light comes from the sconces in the hallway.
I hurry toward the library. My purse is still in there, abandoned on the desk where I dropped it before dinner. I need to grab my phone, call Maddy, tell her the war is over, and then run back to the cottage and kiss Brooks until Monday.
I push open the library doors, my heart hammering. My bag isn’t there. I know exactly where I left it. I set it down on the desk when I was looking for that gardening book for Betty before dinner.
"Looking for this?"
I stop dead.
The library isn't empty.
Penelope Vanderbilt is leaning against the mahogany desk. She isn't hiding in the shadows; she looks at ease, holding a heavy, leather-bound photo album in one arm.
In her other hand, she is holding my phone.
"Penelope," I say, breathless. "What are you doing here?"
"Helping," she says lightly. "Betty wanted to show me some photos of Brooks from his prep school days. She sent me down to grab the album from the shelf."
She taps her fingernail against the screen of my phone.
"Imagine my surprise when I heard this buzzing," she says. "Right inside your purse. I thought I'd bring it to you, save you the trip."
She tilts her head, her expression shifting from helpful guest to cold predator.
"But then I saw the message."
She turns the screen toward me. The notification is still there, glowing bright and damning in the dim light.
Savvy
Hang in there! Two more days until the term is up. Then you're free. No more blackmail, just the payout!
My blood turns to ice.
"I have to say, Ivy," Penelope purrs, "I was confused at first. 'Term is up.' 'Payout.'"
She pulls her own phone out of her clutch and snaps a photo of my screen.
"It sounds less like a wedding countdown and more like... a contract expiration."
"Give it to me," I say, stepping forward. "That's private. It's an inside joke."
"Is it?" Penelope asks. She sets my phone back on the desk, just out of my reach. "Because it confirms exactly what I've suspected since the moment I saw you two together. The awkward body language. The lack of history. You aren't in love with him. You're an employee."
"That's not true," I say, though my voice trembles.
"Oh, please. Do you think Betty will believe it's an 'inside joke' when I show her this picture?" She waves her own phone. "She's upstairs waiting for me. We're having a lovely chat about Brooks's future. Imagine how disappointed she'll be to learn his fiancée is counting down the minutes until she can collect a check and leave."
"You can't show her that," I whisper. "The deal closes on Monday. If a scandal breaks now, the stock will tank. Brooks will lose the deal."
"I know," Penelope says calmly. "That's the point."
She smiles, a sharp, dangerous thing.
"Unless, of course, you fix it."
