Page 85 of Temporary Vows

My breath catches, but I push to my feet, closing the album.

Shit, me and my damn curiosity.

I meet his gaze and try to come up with the best excuse for my obvious snooping.

“I’m sorry. The box was open, and I was just looking.”Great excuse, Elodie. And you call yourself a school teacher.“I didn’t mean to pry.”

“I’m sure you didn’t.”

Okay. I can’t tell if that means he’s mad. His face has that same bland expression he uses with everything. It gives nothing away.

His gaze flicks briefly to the album in my hands. I quickly set it back in the box.

“Settle in okay?” he asks, his eyes finding mine again.

“Yeah. I’m unpacked. I was just putting a box up here of things I don’t need.”

“That’s fine.”

At least that’s something positive.

“Things will be different starting tomorrow,” he says, straight to business.

“Oh, what’s happening?”

“The wedding planner will be here. She’ll liaise with you, but if you like, she can handle all the planning, and Albert will take it from there.”

I can’t imagine handing something like that over to a stranger. I want to be involved. It’s my wedding, whether it’s a real marriage or not. “I’ll work with her.”

“Great.”

I take it he won’t be involved.

“There’s a yacht party on Friday. We’ll make our first public appearance then.”

My stomach squeezes. “A party? That sounds great.”

“It’s the first step in making usvisible. I don’t think we’ll need to do any more public appearances after that. So, we can just focus on the wedding.”

I nod. “Sounds good.”

“Great. I’m going to be busy for a few days, then I’m away, but Albert will sort everything out.”

“Where are you going?”

He gives me a clipped smile. “L.A. on business.”

Business. That sounds legit, but I suppose I’ll never know if it’s the truth. For all I know, he could be seeing Grace, or someone else.

Geez, listen to me. Day one, and I’m already failing with the whole living separate lives thing.

Before I can say anything else, he reaches into his pocket and tosses something toward me. “This is yours.”

I catch it. It’s keys. Car keys. I stare down at them, confused. “These aren’t mine.”

“They are now.” He grins. “Your new car will be outside in the morning.”

I gasp. “You got me a new car?”