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Greer
The parlor phone rang and rang.
Jace and I had spent the past few hours in a scorching reunion, alternating between bouts of rough, animalistic sex that left me sore and wondering who I was and intense, soulful lovemaking when I swear his lips passed over every inch of my skin, soothing the whisker burns on my neck, chest, and between my legs. We’d finally fallen asleep in my bed, cover kicked to the footboard, our sweat-damp skin cooling in the misty river breeze coming through the window we’d opened.
But from below, the ringing phone pierced through to my consciousness. It rang three, four times. Careful not to wake Jace, who’d clearly been suffering some sleepless nights because he didn’t move an inch, I left the bed. I couldn’t find the costume I’d been wearing when Jace and Oren arrived, so I settled for yesterday’s outfit—a cream-colored, two-piece sweatsuit and flip-flops.
Then the phone stopped. Debating between taking all my clothes off again, showering, or going downstairs to make food, I chose the latter. We’d missed dinnertime, but not by long, and we needed some sustenance if we were going to make it through the night.
As I stepped onto the stairs, the phone started ringing again, and this time, I hurried to the parlor to answer. Someone wanted to speak with me. Or Eugenia, I suppose. I had no idea if she’d even come home.
“Hello? I mean, Richmond House, Greer speaking.”
“Oh, hello, darling. What a delightful way of answering the phone. Did I teach you that?”
It was Eugenia.
“I…I think so. You or my mother.”
She laughed.
“Where are you? Are you coming back?”
“I don’t think so, darling. As you know, I’ve been in and out, looking for a new—perhaps temporary— home. A woman on the move. And I think I’ve found just the place.”
“I still don’t understand why you won’t just stay here.”
“I told you, darling, you needed some time alone in your house.”
“You know Anna has challenged Sterling’s will? She’s planning to take the house from me.”
“Honestly, Greer, it surprises me that you’d even want that house. You’ve made a life for yourself, and now that you’re back together with Jace Blackwell, you two can live wherever you want.”
“How did you know Jace and I were back together?”
“I just assumed, darling. Is he there now?
“No,” I lied. Why, I didn’t know.
“Darling, maybe we should meet and talk. Ever since you returned, it’s been one thing after another, and we’ve barely gotten a chance to say ‘boo’ to each other.”
“I’d…I’d like that. There’s some…things…I’ve noticed around the house that I have some questions about.”
Eugenia was silent on the other end of the line. “Oh, darling,” she finally said, silkily. “I hope you haven’t been poking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Now it was me with nothing to say. “I’d love to meet with you,” I finally squeaked out. “How about tomorrow afternoon? We could do coffee downtown, or—”
“I’m afraid my only window of availability is tonight, darling.”
“Tonight? Now? It’s Halloween night.”
“Is it? I’d forgotten. The older one gets, the less Halloween is an important holiday. But if you’re celebrating…”
“No. If tonight’s the only time you can get together for the foreseeable future, I’ll come.”
If I was gone for just an hour or two, I might even be able to get back before Jace woke up.
“Where should I meet you?”
