Page 137 of Perfect Liar
“Thomas, you find me in a couple hours.”
“Are you two joining us for lunch, Ellie?” Mary asked.
Will and I said “no” at the exact same time, and relief washed over me. I needed time alone with him. Only he could settle the nervousness thrumming inside me.
Will winked at his mother, then kissed her cheek.
Totally disarmed by her son’s charm, Mary blushed.
“I’ll have something sent up for you,” she whispered to him.
I stared at Will, admiring how he made his mother feel special, and I fell even more in love with him.
On our way out, we stopped in the billiard room, so he could again question Ben about security, and I could take a minute to wrap my mind around everything.
There was so much I didn’t know how to process. What dinner? But a few things came to me clearly. Will would always take care of Lissie and me. I would follow him anywhere, give up everything to be with him. And it made no difference to me whether he kept his family title or let it go.
“Elle,” he said.
“Sorry…what?”
He eased me back against the bar and kissed my neck.
“Come on, baby. I’m mad for you.”
His mouth roamed over my skin in a playful frenzy.
I squealed and then laughed.
“I’m getting a shower first. You’re supposed to join.”
He shook his head.
“You have fifteen minutes while I ring the security tech company. When I’m done with that call, you’re all mine. And Elle, don’t play games with me. You know what I want…”
CHAPTER 38
Mrs. Bates had filled my room with English garden roses again.
Lily came in after me, carrying a tray from the kitchen.
“The roses are just amazing. Most people are afraid of him, you know, but not me. I see how lovely he is with you. Oh! To be so lucky in love!”
She bubbled with excitement when Mrs. Bates wasn’t around, and it made me smile.
“You’ll find love too, Lily, but first you have to get out of this house more often,” I teased.
She grinned. Me too.
“Do you mind taking that down to his room? Better go now before he comes up.”
In a little dance, Lily floated out the door, and I raced into the bathroom to quickly shower. Afterward, as I plucked out the pins from my upswept hair, Will’s voice boomed out in the corridor. His presence was as large as the estate, and neither one thrived without the other.
God, I’d missed him.
I grinned and opened the door.
The kids had intercepted him. Lissie clung to her superhero’s back with her arms hugging his neck while John made his case for an afternoon out with his friends.