Clara is sitting on the antique iron bench I found at the last minute to complete the garden area. She’s talking with Kenneth and his wife, looking relaxed and not at all like the last person I expected to see here.
“What are you doing here?” Surprise laces my voice, any trace of manners flying out into the lake.
Clara chuckles. “Glad to see you too.”
“Sorry,” I mumble. “I mean, do you know the people who bought the house?”
Kenneth chokes on his drink, his eyes turning red.
His wife pats him on the back, rolling her eyes. “Hi, sweetheart,” Linda greets me with a warm smile.
Carter’s mom ignores my question and rises to take my hands in hers, a look in her eyes I’ve never seen before. “I’m so proud of what you’ve done here,” Clara says, beaming at me with a motherly pride that robs the air from my lungs.
All my questions about her being here are forgotten. “But…you were so harsh.”
“I only wanted to help you. I was once a simple girl who had to make my way up and there was no one to guide me.” A sad little smile curves her lips. “Those people used to look down on me, but they had to tolerate me after my husband became one of the richest men in the world.”
It dawns on me that she’s been training me. What I learned in the last few months is partly thanks to her. Every dig was a push in the right direction so I could improve myself. Those events felt less daunting, I made some connections and caught on to the way their world works. She made it happen.
“Why? I—”
The words die on my lips when I spot him. Handsome and confident, his energy blurs everything around him, bringing the man I’m afraid to love into sharper focus.
Carter’s walking over to the patio, champagne glass in hand, smiling at me. And I just know—the truth landing with a final thud at my feet.
This is his house.
Chapter Forty-Four
CARTER
It wasn’t my plan to linger in the shadows for so long, but I’m in awe of Eliza. Some might consider this light stalking. What can I say? I enjoy seeing her getting praised for the house. She looks so good walking around our home. Eliza made it ours without even knowing it and she belongs here. Next to me.
My fierce kitten thinks she’s invisible. But she shines brighter than anybody. I’d spot her in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. And I’d pick her out of every woman there.
“Are you done being creepy yet?” Jackie snickers.
“I don’t want to scare her.”
“Oh, no. God forbid. You just bought a ten-million-dollar house, tricked her into decorating it, and are planning on asking her to move in.”
“Accurate. If marrying someone means moving in, for you.”
Jackie’s eyes go wide as saucers.
“I’ll suggest a pretty peach for the bridesmaids. Youdolove it.” I wink at her. Jackie will put me six feet under if anything resembling that color comes near her.
“Quit stalling.” She shoves me lightly toward the deck. “Lucky for me, Eliza has better taste than you.”
She’s in my line of vision as soon as I step outside. Our gazes clash and realization blossoms on her face. She’s still, then turns on her heel and leaves.
Oh no you don’t. I catch up to her when she reaches the tree line hugging the lake.
“Why did you give me the project?” She whips around, close enough to the shore that a wrong step would land her in the clear October water. Her chest is heaving, her eyes a blaze of fury.
“Because I trust you. I wanted you to create the house of your dreams. For us.”
She’s pacing and muttering. It’s better if I let her go through the process.
