Which told me a few important things, all of which I could exploit.
“Sorry for the jumpscare,” I said with a wink.
She looked me over, taking in my expensive clothes and realizing I wasn’t part of the help. A blush stole over her face. “Not that Georgianna showing up in her own kitchen would be a bad thing, I just—”
I held up my hands. “Don’t worry. You don’t need to explain yourself.” I glanced over my shoulder. “If it helps, I think she’s still outside terrifying one of the caterers.”
The woman gave me a watery smile. “Do you... need something?”
Ah. Because why else would one of these rich assholes be in the butler’s kitchen?
I dropped my voice into a conspiratorial tone. “I’m hiding. All anyone wants to talk to me about is golf, and I don’t play.”
Her eyes widened. “An egregious sin.”
I chuckled, motioning toward the three-tiered, heavily decorated dessert. “Did you create this?”
She nodded, starting to soften up, a hint of pride in her expression. “I did.”
“It’s stunning.” I sent her a questioning look. “Is it people food or dog food?”
“People food,” she answered. “Poor Tippi’s stomach isn’t what it used to be.”
I nodded like I already knew this. “Have you worked for the McCormicks for long?”
She laughed. “Sometimes it feels like forever.”
“Any tips for a newcomer?” I asked. “I’m Stella’s boyfriend.”
“Oh, really?” she said, eyeing me like she couldn’t picture the two of us together.
“We’re the opposites-attract kind of couple.”
She grinned. “That’s me and my Hamid.”
I spent the next ten minutes pleasantly engaged with Mrs. Tori Ahmadi, being my most charming self, asking seemingly innocuous questions about Stella’s parents under the guise of using the information to make a good impression, when the truth was, I had ulterior motives with much darker intentions.
“Has Stella passed by here lately?” I said during a natural pause in the conversation.
Tori nodded toward the front of the house. “I think she’s out front. Probably letting the air out of Cordelia’s tires.”
I frowned. “Who?”
“Short, toadlike woman. Deeply unpleasant.”
“Ah,” I said. I knew exactly who Tori meant. Earlier, a woman matching that description had shaken her head at Stella’s tattoos and mutteredSuch a shamein the loudest stage whisper I had ever heard. “I should probably go help her then. Many hands make quick work and all that.”
Tori wished me luck, I thanked her for the insider tips, and left the kitchen, passing Blake in the hall.
No one else was around. This was the first time we’d been alone-ish since our “bonding time” in the study. I braced myself for another ugly scene, but I must have driven my point home earlier because he took one look at me and dropped his gaze, striding by in complete silence. Despite the fact that he seemed cowed now, I didn’t trust him not to try and be brave again at a later date, and I made a mental note to keep an eye out for him.
I pushed open the front door and emerged onto the steps. Night was closer here, more apparent in the thickening shadows of the woodland. The only sources of light came from the house itself and the lamp posts, set at intervals along the driveway, illuminating the way back to civilization. The sounds of the party were distant enough that those of a summer twilight reasserted their dominance. I heard crickets. The last calls of a pair of mourning doves.
One day, this could all be yours,I told myself. Or maybe something a bit nicer. Smaller. Less ostentatious and more secluded, with a better view. Here, all you had to stare at were tree trunks and the sky.
I lifted my gaze heavenward, searching for the first light of the stars. Now that I’d successfully infiltrated my way into Richard’s life, I didn’t have long—a few months, maybe a year—before my goal would be complete, and I’d be free to move on. Free to finally start living for myself instead of being driven by this constant, lashing need to avenge my mother.
This was the life sheshouldhave led. Spoiled, pampered, happy, and safe. Instead of...no. I’d told myself I wouldn’t think about that tonight. Wouldn’t let myself dwell on her final, awful, lonely years.
