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The second level had two bedrooms, two baths, his home office, and a room with some gym equipment. He led her up the stairs to the third level, and she looked around in amazement; the master suite occupied the entire space. As on the bottom level, the floors were hardwood, and the furnishings up here were minimal. There was a large bed with a nightstand on either side, and across from the bed, over a beautiful stone fireplace, was a television. There was an en suite bathroom and a huge walk-in closet, even bigger than the one in New Seabury. In front of the large bay windows that overlooked the busy city street below were two very comfortable-looking overstuffed chairs. Elizabeth could imagine how nice it would be to curl up there on a Sunday morning with a cup of coffee—and Will.
But right now, she was still a little annoyed. He was more subdued than usual, and she knew he’d been biding his time until they could talk privately. She was about to say something to break the ice when Georgiana came upstairs.
“Can I come in?” she called out.
“Sure,” Will said on a sigh.
“What's the plan for tonight? Is Richard coming over?” she asked, looking from Will to Elizabeth curiously.
Will shrugged. “I told Jane and Charles to come over whenever they wanted to, and Richard's going to text me when they check in. I thought we could just get some takeout. Is that okay with the two of you?”
Elizabeth nodded. “Fine.”
“Sounds good to me,” Georgiana said. “I can't wait to see him. Is he bringing his girlfriend?”
“I would think so.”
“Is he bringing Anne and Catherine too?” Elizabeth asked quietly, her eyes on Will.
His eyebrows rose, and he cleared his throat. “No. They weren't invited. Um, we'll see them tomorrow night.”
Elizabeth nodded but remained silent.
Georgiana’s cell phone rang, and her eyes widened when she looked at the screen. “I have to take this.”
She nearly ran from the room, and the moment she was gone, Will walked to Elizabeth and pulled her into his embrace. Her arms hung loosely around his waist, and she laid her head against his chest.
“Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?” he asked.
She leaned back to look up at him. “Why didn’t you tell me Anne and Catherine will be at the benefit?”
His eyebrows rose. “Um…I don’t know. I guess I didn't think it mattered. Does it?”
She closed her eyes, wondering if he was being deliberately obtuse. “Even though nothing happened between you and Anne when you were in California, I still feel like she's someone I need to be careful of. Caroline told me she has the hots for you—”
“Caroline told you? Can we please not go back to that again?”
“I'm not going back to it. But Georgie said the same thing today, more or less—that Anne might not mind hooking up with you, and her mother is pushing for it. So tomorrow night, I'll be facing these two women, and I wouldn't have even known they were going to be there if Georgie hadn’t mentioned it.”
“But I don't understand. You know nothing happened with Anne, so why are you worried about meeting her? I'm withyou, I loveyou.”
She sighed, trying to be patient.Am I truly being ridiculous? Is it really just as simple as that?
“I just feel like I need a little mental preparation, that's all.” She paused and looked at him. “Caroline is going to be there too, right?”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “Possibly.”
“Is there going to be anyone else there I should know about?”
“Meaning what?” he asked, his voice rising slightly.
“Just…anyone. Ex-girlfriends?”
He stepped out of her arms and walked over to the windows. “This is ridiculous.”
“It’snotridiculous! I’ve never been to any kind of event like this with you. It's a part of your life that's entirely new to me, so you’ll have to excuse me if I'm a little anxious.”
“But you have no reason to be.” He turned to her. “I am withyou, right where I want to be. No one else matters.”
