Maria arrived, wearing sneakers and an oversized sun hat, and Luke happily hugged her. “I won the splash contest! And Rory’s going to teach me to dive tomorrow!”
“That’s wonderful.” Maria rocked him back and forth. “You’re such a great swimmer, Lukey. You’re going to be an excellent diver.”
“I know.”
“Can you be a big boy and go get changed and wash your hands? We have to do our lessons.”
“Nooo,” he groaned.
“Yesss,” she teased, and he ran off like a good sport.
Maria turned to me as I dried off. “Thank you for playing with him like that. I can’t keep up with him in the pool.”
“Aw, I’m sure he loves swimming with you no matter what. But I’m happy to do it. I love swimming—I’ve never seen a pool like this before. It’s gorgeous, huh?”
“It’s very nice. They don’t use it much, but Mr. William made sure that Luke got swim lessons.” She tilted her head and inspected me. “I don’t think I asked you, Rory. Where are you from originally?”
“Upstate New York. That’s where I grew up, but I met Rhodes in the city.” Suddenly, I was desperate to flee. I hated lying. And I didn’t want to slip up again. Yammering about how nice the pool was wasn’t helping anything.
“I was surprised to hear that your family is traveling in Paris,” Maria said, not unkindly. “If they want any restaurant or museum tips, my daughter knows all the locals’ favorite places.”
“Oh. Thanks.” My cheeks heated. “That’s really nice of you. Okay, I have to go now. Rhodes and I are wedding planning.”
“Of course, Dear,” Maria said as I rushed away, water still dripping down my back. Why had I said my family was in Paris? Maria must know I was lying. I could’ve said anywhere in theworld, but oh no, Paris was the first thing to pop out of my mouth?—
“What the hell happened to you?” Miranda broke my reverie. She was standing right inside the door as I entered.
Gah.“I was just s-swimming.” I tightened the towel around me, wishing I’d taken another minute to dry off.
“You look like you got dragged out by the undertow.” Miranda was completely pulled together in a cream silk blouse, wide-leg cream trousers, designer sandals, and freshwater pearl jewelry.
“Well… You look nice,” I said.
She arched an eyebrow. “I am not seeking your approval.”
“Oh, I know.” I shivered—the air conditioning was blasting. “I have to go. I’m meeting Rhodes.”
“Why are you doing this?” She stepped in front of me, blocking my path. “That’s a stupid question, ignore it. Iknowwhy you’re doing this—money.”
“That’s not true,” I lied. “We’re getting married because we love each other.”
When she scowled, I jutted my chin out. “We love each other, and we want to get married soon so we can start a family. So that Luke has cousins to grow up with.”
“Howdareyou use that little boy as a pawn?” Miranda’s nostrils flared. “You are playing with fire, young lady. Your own greed is one matter. Using my grandchild to steal my family’s fortune? That’s quite another.”
She stalked off, scary as hell in her wide-leg pants, auburn hair flying in her wake. I stood there, reeling.Fuck.But I didn’t wait around in case she decided to come back—I hustled to my room and dried off, putting on warm clothes. As I dried my hair, Miranda’s words rattled around in my brain.Your greed. My grandchild. Playing with fire.
The only information I had about Miranda was what Rhodes had told me, along with my own limited observations. I believed, based on what I’d seen, that she was cold, calculating, and had no natural affection for Luke.
But that didn’t make what she’d said wrong.
By telling everyone we wanted to start a family for Luke’s benefit, we were absolutely using the child. He didn’t know. He would be shielded from what we were saying. But still. We were rationalizing our decision to be married quickly based on a lie, one that predicated its existence on the vulnerability of a sad little boy.
It was wrong, and I knew it.
And once you knew something, it was impossible to un-know it.
Plus, I’d lied to Maria about my family being in Paris. I’d lied to the board member, too, but I didn’t know her, so it didn’t make me feel as bad. But lying to the nanny rankled. Not only was I bad at it, I knew it was wrong.
