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“Maybe. If not, she must be Saint John’s alumni.”
“It’s Lainey Davenport,” Alexander supplies, coming up to join us, having heard the tail end of our conversation. “You don’t recognize her?”
I shake my head.
He shrugs. “Yeah, she’s too young for you two to have overlapped at school. She’s closer to Emelia’s age.”
I look over at my date, and she winks. Our age difference suits us. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Emmett’s in love with her,” Alexander adds, like it’s information anyone would know.
Emelia’s eyes widen with intrigue. “So they’re dating? I didn’t realize.”
He laughs. “God no.”
Interesting.
“Are they friends?” Emelia wonders, clearly intrigued by the pair.
“You’ll have to ask Emmett. Now, where did they place you two for dinner?”
“Table eleven,” Emelia says. “I found my place card earlier.”
He frowns. “Damn. I’m at seven. Let me go see if I can switch. I’m not enduring this dinner solo. I’ll be back.”
He disappears into the crowd just as the bartender finishes making my drink, then I ask Emelia if she wants to continue looking over the auction items before dinner.
“Yes,” she says, sounding giddy. “I was only halfway through. It’s so interesting to see what rich people spend their money on.”
There are jewelry and spa days and designer bags up for grabs. Nothing catches my eye, but to be fair, I’m not paying much attention. It’s been a long day, and while this event is important and I’m glad to be supporting it, I would also like to be upstairs, alone in the hotel room with Emelia. I want to reacquaint myself with her tonight, sleep in tomorrow morning, and then take our time leaving the city. Emelia got us tickets to a matinee show on Broadway when she heard I hadn’t seenHamiltonyet. Before that, we’ll meet Sonya and Wesley for a late brunch and then, if there’s time, take a walk around the city. There’s so much historical architecture here. Emelia wants to show me a brownstone she used to walk past every day en route to her graduate courses at NYU. She knows I’ll love it.
When we walk past an auction listing for a vacation rental, it reminds me of what I was researching on my flight earlier, something I’ve had in the works for the last few weeks, actually.
“I’ve been planning a trip for us for late spring,” I tell her. “My travel agent has it all squared away.”
I pay careful attention to her reaction, but my revelation didn’t fully peel her away from the task at hand. She’s still perusing the items, and her “Oh?” is half-hearted at best.
“I’m expected in Paris at the end of April for work. From there, it’s easy enough to get to Scotland. I’d like to see Dunlany, to see what work needs to be done.”
Suddenly, she turns to look up at me, taken aback.
“Dunlany…” she repeats slowly.
I nod, having a hard time suppressing my smile. “Yes. It’s time we paid it a visit, I think.”
She merely blinks, trying to keep up as I continue, “You’ve expressed your desire to see the castle fixed up. I don’t see the point in delaying the project any further since it will take quite a while to complete. Though to that end, I’ve already started to formulate a construction schedule that would allow us to occupy a portion of the house sooner rather than later while we continue work elsewhere. I know quite a few good conservation teams in England that would be willing to take on the project. Banks and Barclay would consult from the States, of course, but I think it makes sense to have a—”
She presses up onto her toes and kisses me before I can finish my thought. It’s so passionate and sweet, like she’s gifting me a part of her soul.
As she pulls back, her hand squeezes mine tightly. I understand the significance for her. We’ve talked so much about her past, and though I can’t rectify it, I’d like to give Emelia this small piece of her childhood back. I’d like to help heal the wounds inflicted on a young girl who assumed all sorts of things about a father who was never there, a young girl who mourned the loss of a mother all too soon. Kathleen factors into this as well. She’s the person who protected and cherished Emelia above all else. To her, I owe a debt of gratitude. Dunlany is a start.
The work will be daunting and endless, but I’m excited to get underway, especially knowing Dunlany will be a place we’ll visit as a couple, and in a few years, as a family.
“I’ve been in contact with Mr. Parmer. I’ve reinstated him as the groundskeeper, and he’ll also serve as a liaison during the build, someone who’ll have eyes on the project at all times.”
Her bottom lip wobbles.
For a moment, she almost looks troubled.
