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‘Really?’ James said. ‘Then why did she suggest it?’
‘And it wasn’t even remotely a relationship,’ Henry continued. ‘It was a few hours of fakery for my sister to endure for the greater good.’
‘Henry!’ Libby hissed. ‘Why don’t we go and help clear up?’
‘Wasn’t it, Estelle?’ Henry asked.
The spotlight was suddenly on her. Her father looked hopeful, her twin worried, her family interested, and James? She glanced at him. His face was expressionless as he gazed at her. This felt like a test she was destined to fail no matter what response she gave.
‘I, er…’ she began, panic rising. Staring at James, she willed him to say something to deflect the attention away from her.
He raised an eyebrow. Was he mocking her? Calling her a coward? Had he been faking when he’d kissed her? His body may have been into it, but was his heart and mind?
She smiled. ‘We just did what we needed to do to make this evening work.’ She shrugged. ‘And if they all fell for it, then it means I must have inherited Mom’s acting genes.’
Silence.
James’s chin lifted slightly and he let out a little huff, as if she’d done exactly what he’d expected.
Estelle’s stomach clenched with shame.
‘See, Dad?’ Henry said. ‘Fake.’
‘James, babe,’ his mother said. ‘Can we go now? I want to ring your dad before it gets too late.’
‘Sure.’ He crossed the room and took her arm. ‘Is it alright if we leave you to handle the clear up?’ he asked everyone except for Estelle and Henry.
‘Of course,’ Jack replied. ‘You go. We’ve got it in hand.’
‘Thank you,’ James said. ‘And thank you to everyone for all your amazing work tonight.’
‘It was our pleasure.’ Vivienne came forward to kiss him. ‘You both must come for dinner again this week. Promise?’
James nodded.
‘Thanks, babe,’ Bev said to Vivienne. ‘That would be nice. Maybe we could watch The Real Housewives of Chelsea together?’
‘Ooh, yes!’ Dervla said. ‘I’d love that!’
As her parents saw James and his mother towards the door, Estelle crept away. She wanted to leave without further interrogation from anyone, process what the hell had just happened, and figure out how on earth she was going to act the next time she saw James.
23
Duke trotted along the archery track and Estelle let arrow after arrow fly. Her ankle wasn’t fully healed, but it was good enough to get back in the saddle, even if at one third of the normal speed. At the end of the run she brought Duke to a stop and pulled out her phone.
Still nothing from James.
Her gaze went to the fence at the far edge of the field and the direction of Shoscombe Manor. Could she ride over there? She checked the time. Ten a.m. Surely even on a Sunday they were up by now?
We kissed. Her eyelids fluttered closed and heat flared through her, every cell in her body reliving the experience. Those super-charged minutes had been replayed for hours, even in her fitful dreams. Sure, she’d initiated the kiss, but James had responded with such passion that she’d lost her mind.
Since that moment, she couldn’t get him out of her head, and her body had hummed at a higher frequency. James had activated something inside her that was impossible to turn off, and now, no matter how hard she tried, her sexual sonar was locked onto his torpedo.
Get a grip!
Turning Duke for home, she made a mental list of chores for the day that would take her attention away from James.
You’re delaying the inevitable. You still have to see him tomorrow.
