We head back to the castle, and pulling up to Cloud Rift, I realize the heat wave has broken. There’s a cool breeze coming from the valley as the sun sets. The three of us stop outside of the door and watch silently as it sinks below the horizon. On the way up to my room, I have to pinch myself. I’m more than living the dream.
The new cabinets are stunning. I’m floating around the collection. It’s hard to categorize when you don’t know what you have. I’ve managed to get most of the larger pieces into their new homes in the massive pull-out racks. It feels like I haven’t done much, but when I scroll back through the photos of what the room looked like on the first day, it’s like I’ve been at it for months, not two weeks.
I’m sitting at my computer and finishing up the notes for the day when my phone buzzes.
Wren: Can’t wait to see you.
Me: Same. I’ve got you a really cute room at the inn. I’ll stay with you.
Wren: Fun. Do I get to see the castle?
Me: I’ll show you around the castle when you pick me up. But I got us a room to share in the village.
Wren: Okay! Gotta work, taxiing.
Me: Turn your phone off.
Wren: tongue out emoji. I just did the announcement. It’s just to make Brian in 4b finish his conference call for everyone to hear how important he is. But yes. See you soon.
I’m so excited. She’ll be in Zurich tomorrow morning, and then she’s renting a car and driving into the village. I’ve mulled it over and over whether she should stay with me in my suite. There’s plenty of space. I know Leo would makeup a room for her if I asked. But with Evander and Kieren, I didn’t see much other than the cheese shop and bakery.
And I’ve got this weird sense of urgency in my gut that I need to get as much of the project done as possible. If the guys don’t want me around after the ceremony, I want to have enough done for my resumé. Because that’s what always happens: no matter how good a job I do, it’s not good enough.
39
RAINE
The gravel of the driveway crunches under my feet. I should have stayed inside and worked on getting another row of paintings photographed, cleaned, and put away, but I’m so excited, I can’t think. You would think I’d been away from Wren for months or years. Heck, she’s been on trips that kept her away longer than I’ve been here. But that’s her leaving me, not me leaving her.
Somehow, college was different when she was at school and I was still at home. And then when I was at college and she was living in New York... or maybe it’s this place. There’s a lot I want to tell her, and I can’t do it over the phone. I’m not sure how she’s going to take it. This job isn’t... I wasn’t chosen for it because I’m the best. I push the thought out. It doesn’t matter. The fact is, I’m getting experience that there’s no other way I would have gotten.
I move from the bench near the side of the driveway with the view of the hill to one under a pagoda that leads to the backyard. It’s still warm but not as warm as two weeksago when I got here.Five months, two weeksticks at the base of my skull.
I’m on and off my phone until I push it into my lightweight pants’ pocket. It’s weird—I never thought I would wear the other clothes in the closet, but more and more are sneaking into what I put on in the morning, the pants being my favorite. They’re lightweight and soft, with huge pockets.
I’m too worked up to even scroll on my phone. And then I hear it: tires on the gravel. It’s odd how few cars come all the way up to the castle. The front end of a white, mid-sized, definitely-not-luxury car pulls into the circle, and I race for it. I tackle Wren the second she opens the car door.
“Hey!” I wrap her in my arms.
“Hey yourself.” She hugs me back and then holds me out by my shoulders. “Look at you. You’ve got style.”
“I had style before.”
“Yes, the style of shit left behind. It’s more than the European clothes, though. You look good. Like... Are you seeing someone?”
I silently gulp. “No . . .”
“That’s a complicated yes if I ever heard one.” Wren grabs the smaller of her two beaten-up black bags. “Is there somewhere I can get changed before we go off to the inn?” She smiles at me.
“You’ve never cared about going anywhere in your flight attendant uniform before. I know I said I want us to hang out in the village, but I’m notnotgoing to show you Cloud Rift.”
“Cloud Rift—that’s quite the name.”
I nod.
“Is it okay to just leave the car here?”
“Yes. I asked Leo, and he said leaving your car here is noproblem but that you should leave the keys in it in case Percy needs to move it.”
