by Claire Adams
Still, this was Harry’s ex-fiancée. I couldn’t cross that line even if Harry had crossed a different line on his own accord. I also had a feeling that Molly wouldn’t want to fully trust me either. I wasn’t sure what Harry had told her about me, but none of that mattered anymore. I had changed over the years while Harry also changed into something different.
I couldn’t cross that line even if I wanted to. It was a complicated situation—a painful one for Molly in particular. I had that much respect for Molly, but it was going to be hard. I could feel myself already gravitating toward her beauty.
I had to be careful, lest we end up lovers.
Chapter Six
Molly
I rushed into the bathroom a few minutes later. Heart pounding, I listened to the sound of Alfie moving about the kitchen as he prepared lunch. Of all the damn times I decided to sleep in, it was the one time that Alfie showed up when he said that he would. That was very much unlike Harry who always showed up at least two hours late to everything.
Alfie apparently kept his word. Fancy that.
I looked up in the mirror with a grimace. My hair was a tangled mess while the remaining makeup from yesterday had smudged itself underneath my eyes. Combing my fingers through the tangles in my hair, I worked the knots out as best as I could before pulling it up into a bun. I turned the cold water to splash it across my cheeks in hope that it would wash away the sleep lingering there.
Pillow marks covered my right cheek from when I had gotten out of bed quickly at the sound of someone knocking and ringing the doorbell. I rubbed at the creases in my skin with a scowl. Great look, Molly. You look like a hung over rag doll tossed in the gutter.
“This is the best as it is going to get,” I said, shaking my head at the reflection of myself in the mirror. Creased right cheek, pink tinge to my skin from splashing myself with icy water, and red eyes from scrubbing at the makeup underneath of them. I looked like a mess, but given the situation I was in with Harry cheating on me, I doubted that Alfie would judge my appearance too horribly. He knew I’d been through hell.
I didn’t even know what brought me to take Alfie’s keys to his estate and car. It was sheer impulse to get away from Harry as quickly as I possibly could. I had to get away from him. I would’ve taken anyone’s keys if offered.
It had nothing to do with the fact that I found Alfie rather attractive. He was tall, handsome, clean cut, and in shape. His dark brown hair framed his strong features and accentuated the warmth in his eyes. His life was in order too. He had built up his own phone business in London before branching out to the United States with little help from anyone.
I found a pair of leggings and a sweater in my suitcase. I didn’t have time to shower with Alfie waiting for me downstairs with lunch, so I changed quickly, a ball of nerves growing in my stomach.
Alfie looked up from one of the sandwiches he was cutting neatly when I walked in a few minutes later. His eyes flicked over me before focusing back on the sandwich on the cutting board.
“You look good,” he said. “I know you’re probably still dealing with the emotions of everything that’s been going on, but I figured some food could do you good.”
“More like alcohol,” I said, tiredly, and smiled gratefully at him when he pushed a sandwich over to me. My stomach did grumble for the first time since landing in England. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Alfie gave a nod.
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Any word from Harry?”
The question nearly squashed my appetite as I took a bite of the cilantro and chicken sandwich. I took in Alfie’s expression as he stared across the kitchen counter at me with unchecked curiosity. I swallowed hard, taking down more than just my bite of sandwich.
“He texted me,” I said, slowly. “That’s about it. Why?”
“You didn’t mention that you were staying here with me, did you?”
“No. I never replied to him.”
“Good,” Alfie said, sighing in visible relief. “I told him back at the church that you were boarding a plane with Peyton to go back to America. I figured you could use the quiet to think without him bombarding you with excuses and false promises.”
Touched by the sincerity of that, I offered him a small smile. “Thank you. I appreciate that, and everything else too.”
“You’re welcome. Tea?”
“Sure,” I said. I watched Alfie as he moved about the kitchen with familiarity and grace. “I promise that I’ll be out of your hair though as soon as I can find a hotel to stay in. Do you have any suggestions?”
“None that Harry isn’t checking,” he replied, coolly. He turned around to give me a long look before setting the black kettle on the stove. “Don’t think I’m kicking you out here. You can stay here for free until you figure out what you want to do.”
I hesitated in accepting the offer. Spending any more time in Alfie’s company after what happened with Harry didn’t sit well in my morals. Something felt dirty or maybe wrong about it. I would have come unglued if Harry stayed a few weeks with Peyton after we parted ways, right? I thought I might, but who knew. I was in no place to figure anything out other than what my next move might be.
The issue of staying with Alfie left one more very real problem… I would never hear the end of it if Harry found out somehow. Knowing my luck, he would.
“If you’re sure—” I started.
“I’m sure; trust me,” he cut in, wryly. “I wouldn’t have let you borrow my car, or house, if I wasn’t sure about it. You can just tell with some people. I’ve been in business for quite some time. It’s part of the job, you know?”
“I guess.” I smiled. “I thought I knew Harry, but I was completely off there.”
“People change, and sometimes it’s for the worst.” He shook his head, looking a little bewildered. “I’m just honestly taken aback by everything that’s happened. I wish I could make it up to you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered softly as the air suddenly felt so hard to breathe. I refused to break down. Harry was an asshole, and I was an idiot. I had to keep those type of thoughts at arm’s length, or I would spend a week crying over the shitty decisions I’d made that led me up to that point.
Maybe staying with Alfie wasn’t the smartest choice. It was better than having to check into a hotel for the next two weeks while hiding out from Harry or anyone who knew them. Still, a part of me cautioned that Alfie had been Harry’s best man in the wedding. Even if he seemed appalled by Harry’s recent behavior, they were still friends to a certain degree.
“I don’t have any motives out of this,” Alfie stated then, as if he could read my mind. “If you’re thinking I have some sort of idea in the back of my head, I can promise you that I don’t.”
The center of my cheeks flared hotly. “I wasn’t thinking that at all. I just don’t want to be in your way.”
“You won’t be. When do you leave for the States?” He picked up half of his sandwich and took a quick bite before licking at the side of his mouth.
“Two weeks,” I replied, and the pit of my stomach churned at the thought. I ignored the tiny flicker of heat that rolled through my stomach at the sight of his tongue. It was silly. Childish, but God, he was so sexy and sure of himself. Why couldn’t I have fallen for a man like him instead of Harry? Fucking dumb luck.
My apartment had already been sold. I didn’t own a place back home anymore. Shit, I didn’t own anything really. The few things I did have back in New York were already on their way to the flat I lived in with Harry in London. Who knew what he was going to do with them when they showed up at his door. I’d not have been surprised to be walking down the city streets of London to find my stuff scattered about as if I were the one who cheated.
I had nothing left in the city besides Peyton. She would let me stay with her for as long as I needed, but being a burden to anyone was something I couldn’t stomach very well.
“Just two weeks?” He took another bite of his san
dwich and watched me in a way that left me wondering what was going through that brilliant head of his. Some part of me wished I’d gotten to know him better. Meeting once before the wedding and having him as Harry’s best man just seemed odd. Had they had a falling out? I didn’t know the whole story, but something told me that I might have a chance to learn more by staying with Alfie over the next two weeks.
I shrugged and stifled a smile at my wayward thoughts. “Possibly longer. I sold my apartment back in New York. I also handed in my resignation too, so I have no job to go back to. I really have all the time in the world, I guess. Well, at least until my savings account runs out.”
Alfie frowned as he picked up the kettle carefully with an oven mitt when it whistled on the stove. He set his sandwich down and turned to pour two cups. He dropped black tea bags into each and glanced back at me. “Do you usually drink tea, or are you more of a coffee girl?”
“Both? I love either one, as long as they’re fancied up to resemble a dessert.” I let the smile loose and was rewarded with a warm one from him. It was nice to know that there were still good people in the world. He had stepped up to save me when the world moved back and let me hang.
“Excellent.” He winked and shifted the subject on me. “I might be mistaken, but I honestly thought that Harry was going to ask you to come onto his marketing team,” he said and slid the cup carefully across the counter.
The aroma of black tea filled my lungs pleasantly. I wrapped my fingers around the thick ceramic that was warm from the hot water to fight the chill out of my bones. He placed cream and sugar in front of me as well, but turned his nose up playfully as if adding anything to the tea would ruin it completely.
“I was supposed to be,” I said and exhaled a soft laugh at his playfulness. It was welcomed. More than he could know. “Something tells me that I won’t have a place on his marketing team anymore.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised to find that’s the case. He’s not the man I knew in University. That’s for damn sure.” Alfie’s lips curved up as if he’d sucked on a lemon. “Well, two weeks is plenty of time to tour Devon, and if you stay longer, even better. I could show you a couple of places if you’d like, unless you want some time to yourself?”
“No, I’d love the company. I think I’ll get plenty of time to myself with you working some.” I shrugged and glanced down as I stirred the cream and sugar into my tea. “I don’t want to take away from your life, though. I know you probably have plenty to do at work. You don’t have to entertain me. You’ve done more than enough.”
“Is that a no?” He chuckled. “I’ll always have more to do, but I do enjoy showing beautiful women around my favorite town. And perhaps, just perhaps, I’m looking for a bit of rest myself out of this most peculiar situation.”
I loved the antiquated way he spoke. It left my broken heart fluttering just a little bit. “Do you like sightseeing?”
“Yes. Unless you plan on staying locked up in my guest room the entire time you’re here.” His eyebrow lifted, and his eyes filled with merriment. “The neighbors would certainly begin to whisper then, no?”
I laughed. “They might already. I’m not quite sure I fit in at all around here.”
“You fit in just fine.” He lifted his tea to his lips and blew on the hot liquid carefully. “The scenery is beautiful.” His eyes bore into me a little, and my heart fluttered again. “All the way around.”
Chapter Seven
Alfie
The rest of the evening was spent with small talk until Molly retired to bed early. I couldn’t blame her. The poor thing needed time to pull herself together and work through all that had happened over the last few days.
Hell, the last few years. From the sound of things, Harry hadn’t been the most giving or honest chap since the beginning. The thought left my stomach sick and kept me up late into the night.
I rose early the next morning before I knew Molly would be up, but also before the rest of my house staff would be coming in. The mornings were my time to think before heading into work, so they respected my need for space by coming in later after I was already at work. It was nice to know that my place would be cared for and kept while I toiled at the office.
My conversation with Molly played out in the back of my mind. For two weeks, Molly would be around my estate. I didn’t know how I necessarily felt about it. I was normally protective over my personal space and privacy, but this was Molly. She had no intentions of getting close to me. She had her own complicated mess of a life to figure out given everything that had happened with Harry over the past three days.
The rest of the house was dark and still when I left my bedroom to head downstairs. I rolled up my sleeves, expecting a kitchen full of dishes, but found a spotless sink and counter. A smile tugged at my lips. I knew without a doubt that Molly must’ve cleaned up the dishes after I had gone to bed. She was still on New York time, and maybe she hadn’t gone right to bed. Obviously not. It seemed that she stayed up a good portion of the night cleaning up from our meal the night before.
I needed to tell her that the staff would take care of things like that, but maybe it was cathartic for her. Something about picturing her in a t-shirt and panties, cleaning up the kitchen had my cock twitching in my slacks. The woman was a beauty, no doubt. She deserved better than Harry, but that didn’t mean she deserved me. It was too sticky of a situation, and I felt a bit like a narcissist thinking that a few of her sideways glances from the night before actually meant anything.
“Get over yourself,” I whispered roughly.
The entire kitchen looked clean when I flipped the lights on to navigate my way to the coffee maker. While that brewed, I gathered everything I needed in my office for another long day. My marketing team needed some extra guidance when it came to pushing out this new phone plan I had drawn up to the investors. I wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but they seemed confused by my notes from last week before Harry and Molly’s wedding.
I had investors in London and the United States calling to ask what the deal was with the new product. So, not only were my staff confused, but the buyers were as well. Fuck my communication skills. They were rather lacking, but I’d known that for some time. Visionaries usually had a horrible time communicating to the worker bees what they wanted to come from the big idea. I was no exception to the rule.
I was going to have a headache by the end of the day. I could feel it as I turned off various lights and walked to the front door. I paused and glanced back toward the stairs, thinking about whether I should let Molly know that I was leaving.
No. I was being too invasive. The woman was a guest, not a potential date. I smiled and walked out in the chilly morning air. If the situation were different than it was, I’d have to qualms asking out a woman like Molly. She was exactly my type, and like she had alluded to the night before, she stood out amongst the Europeans. Her dark, exotic features were something that would draw attention easily. She definitely had mine.
The soft hum of the radio drove away any lingering sleep in my eyes as I drove my favorite SUV down the sleepy streets of my town. I glanced in the rearview mirror to see the rental car I had yet to drop off. I had promised Peyton to cover the cost for however long Molly decided to stay.
She would need a car to get around Devon instead of waiting around on me all the time. So maybe it was a good thing that I was running behind on the errand. Now Molly would have the ability to get out and enjoy herself a little bit. It wasn’t healthy to sit in the house and stew on the shit Harry had done. If nothing else, I’d make sure she had a few moments of reprieve.
The road to London was dark and lonely with only a few cars on the road at this early hour. I parked in my usual parking space in the parking garage outside of the building my business was nestled in. It was at the center of London, right in the middle of it all, and while I loved coming into the city, I enjoyed the quietness when I returned home at night.
It was the best of both worlds.
I got into the office and had barely gotten settled when my secretary walked in and paused by the door. “Morning, sir.”
“Sicily.” I gave her a tight smile. “Make sure that the conference room is ready for our executive staff meeting this morning.” I lifted my arm to glance down at my watch. “It starts in—”
“Ten minutes,” she jumped in as her smile broadened. “I have everything laid out, just as you like it. We’ll have fresh coffee and a kettle of tea as well.”
“Excellent.” I pulled my laptop from my briefcase and opened it. “Anything else?”
“Not right now, sir. Let me know if you need me.”
“I always need you, Sicily,” I mumbled just loud enough for her to hear me as I dove into answering a few e-mails. Her chuckle was my reward, and I’d take it. She was a good woman and a great secretary.
A few minutes later, she was back with a two-minute warning. I stood, closed the laptop, and walked down the hall. Ten of my top executives sat quietly as I walked into the room.
“Morning. It’s come to my attention that there was some confusion over the new phone prototype that I designed and presented last week.” I pulled out my chair and lifted an eyebrow as I glanced at the faces staring at me. “Why so gloomy? Someone die?”
Bill chuckled. “No, sir. We’re just hoping that you’re going to explain the prototype in a different way. We’re trying to grasp it, but it’s like telling us that the U.S. is going to send someone to the moon. Seemed impossible, and yet they did it.”
“Maybe,” Kent said. “Who knows if it were true?”
We all gave a soft chuckle and I took my seat. “Well, going to the moon is a discussion for another day.” I leaned down and pulled the prototype from my bag. “This, however, is our main focus right now. You guys are in charge of marketing and sales. Let’s get you caught up on the science and then the benefits our customers will receive because of this newest jewel.”
