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She did what he wanted. With enthusiasm. Because it was what she wanted, too.
Chapter Eight
They stayed in the bedroom for the rest of the afternoon. Rafe insisted that no one would fault them.
After all, they were newlyweds.
They made love; they shared a long bath. And then they made love again.
He told her he’d been to see Geoffrey.
She asked, “How’s he managing?”
“Better, I think. He says he’s on a team in Geography. They work together to do the assignments. There’s one other boy on the team he thinks he might be friends with. And he’s counting the days until the summer term is over and he can come home.”
“Brooke says she’s giving him a birthday party.”
Rafe was lying on his back, his hair crow-wing black against the white pillow. He put his arm across his eyes. “A small one, I hope.”
“Eloise suggested the same thing. Brooke seemed to agree.”
“You know how she is. You can tell her a hundred times that less is more. Not to Brooke.”
“So true. To Brooke, more is more.”
“Worse.” He put his arm down and arched a dark brow at her. “To Brooke, more is never enough.”
* * *
There were five of them at dinner: Rafe, Genny, Eloise, Brooke and Melinda. They ate in the family dining room.
“We have exciting plans.” Brooke beamed at Melinda. “We’re doing a fashion shoot. For Fresh. With Hartmore as the setting.”
Melinda said, “I think we could get some beautiful shots. I couldn’t pay a lot, but the pictures should get good exposure—in magazines and online. Fresh has a website, of course. We sell the clothes on the site as well as at the shop. I’ve been thinking of possibly doing a redesign of the website home page....”
“A home page featuring Hartmore as a backdrop for all those fabulous clothes,” Brooke finished for her. Then Brooke fluttered her long lashes in Rafe’s direction. “But of course, we’ll need to get permission from Lord Hartmore.”
He turned to Eloise. “What do you think?”
“It sounds lovely. Good for Hartmore—and for your shop, I would think, Melinda.” She told Brooke, “You would need to work with the house team.” The house team managed the public, income-producing face of Hartmore. They juggled tours, wedding parties and other events. And they handled the day-to-day running and upkeep of the State Rooms.
“No worries,” said Brooke. “We’ll clear everything with them.”
“We’ll be sure to stay out of the way,” Melinda promised. “There are so many good locations—the deer park, the castle, the gardens, as well as the house, the terrace, the lake... The possibilities go on and on. We can easily work around whatever’s already scheduled.”
Rafe turned to Genny then. “How do you feel about this?”
Melinda looked at her hopefully.
Brooke’s eyes narrowed—probably at the reminder that Genny now had a say in decisions regarding Hartmore. But then she forced a bright smile. “Genevra. Come on, now. You know it will be fabulous.”
Genny understood that the photo shoot would essentially be a favor to Melinda, who’d been careful to say that she could only pay a limited fee. That was no problem. Doing favors created goodwill. And after getting the facts from Rafe about his relationship with Melinda, she didn’t feel threatened by the other woman anymore.
As usual, Brooke wanted her answer and she wanted it now. “Well?”
Rafe said, “Don’t rush her. She’s thinking it over.”
Brooke made a sour face and gulped down some wine. “Honestly. How difficult a decision can it be?”
Genny almost stalled a little longer, just to give Brooke a taste of her own medicine. But Rafe and Eloise were looking at her expectantly. So she said, “I think it’s a terrific idea,” and it was decided.
Melinda beamed and Brooke started in about which locations on the property were the ones they absolutely must include.
* * *
“Do you really think Melinda’s photo shoot is a terrific idea?” Rafe asked much later, when they were alone in bed, after they’d made slow, tender love.
She turned toward him and wrapped her leg across his and felt very comfortable and wonderfully intimate with him. “I think it’s a nice favor to do for her, yes.”
He admitted, “I always get nervous when Brooke gets a plan.”
“I get nervous whenever she looks in my direction.”
He made a sound low in his throat. It might have been a chuckle. “I know sometimes you want to pop her one.”
“It’s true. So far, though, I’ve restrained myself.”
