“Connie’s in the washroom,” Adam burst out before Padma’s agent could open his mouth to speak.
He spun Ellie around and marched her down the hall away from both Mr.Mahjoud and the noise of the party.They turned a corner, and Adam steered her through a random door.
Ellie stopped just over the threshold, staring at an array of glassy-eyed beasts.The frozen menagerie included a rhinoceros, a tiger, an ostrich, four different types of deer, and a mongoose.Several large fish were mounted on the wall.
It would all have been quite alarming, had the animals not been stuffed.
A pair of ornate armchairs stood in the center of the display next to an elaborate standing ashtray.Both the furnishings and the taxidermy had been meticulously maintained but felt unused.Ellie was left with the impression that the space had belonged to one of Vijay’s more sportsmanlike royal ancestors.
Her impressions didn’t go any further, because the rest of her mind was still reeling with what she had just seen.“Adam, they were… Neil was…”
Adam shut the door and planted her in one of the chairs.“Sure looked like it.”
“But it was never supposed to be… They shouldn’t have been…” Ellie’s words choked off.“They were onlypretending!”
Adam collapsed into the other chair, slumping back against the seat in a posture of stunned surprise.“Don’t think they were pretending that.”
Ellie pushed to her feet, pacing compulsively between the ostrich and the tiger.“I recognize that these things do happen.I cannot even say I am entirely surprised by it.I did havesomesuspicions after our adventures in Egypt, though both of them insisted there was nothing at all untoward going on.And I recognize that forced proximity can be a powerful force for romantic entanglement.”
Adam’s gaze dropped appreciatively to the close-fitting lines of her evening gown.“You don’t say.”
“You are trying to distract me,” Ellie accused crossly.
“Now why would I go and do a thing like that?”Adam put his hands behind his head in a way that made his substantial biceps press against the fabric of his jacket.
Ellie threw up her hands.“They have known each other since they were children!”
Adam cocked an eyebrow.
She put her fingers to her temples.“That doesn’t really mean anything, does it?”
His expression grew more serious.“How are you feeling about all of it?”
“How amIfeeling?They are two grown adults.It’s hardly for me to comment about what they get up to with each other.”
“Didn’t ask you to comment.”Adam eyed her knowingly.“I asked you how youfelt.”
“How can I know that?I have no idea what’s even going on between the two of them, beyond the fact that they’re…” She forced the word out as her cheeks flushed.“Kissing.”
“That was a bit more than just a kiss, Princess.That looked like wild, unadulterated—“
“Yes, I know!”Ellie blurted out before he could go any further.
She went back to pacing.Adam snagged a handful of her skirt as she passed.He gave it a tug, and Ellie stumbled between his legs, catching herself against the back of the armchair.
Her hands were braced to either side of where Adam sprawled across the velvet cushions.His gaze roamed lazily up her body—pausing significantly on her bosom.He lifted his eyes to her face as her cheeks burned.
“Pretty sure you do,” he finished with a smirk.
“You’re incorrigible,” Ellie accused breathlessly.
Adam chuckled.
Ellie gave up on regaining her balance with any sort of dignity.She sat down on his knee instead.“But do you think it’s serious?”she asked, sobering.
“I think serious is the only way your brother knows how to do things,” he pointed out gently.
Ellie groaned.“Of course, you’re right.But Constance…”
