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PAIGE
I wake in a pool of sunlight, my body singing with the pleasant soreness that follows a night of incredibly good sex.
I sit up, arms lifting over my head in a stretch. A cashmere blanket I don’t remember covering up with falls to the floor, reminding me that I’m still naked.
Still stretched out over the hammock.
Still in the very exposed, very-much-made-of-glass greenhouse.
The moment reality collides with the fantasy, I snatch the blanket off the floor and tuck it against my bare chest even though there is no one around to see me.
Someone has been here, though. There are fresh clothes folded over the footstool next to the sofa. Gray sweats and a white t-shirt.
I push off the cashmere blanket and dress quickly. There’s enough foliage that I can’t see out of the greenhouse. I’m hoping that means no one else can see in. Then again, I’m pretty sure Misha wouldn’t have left me out here naked if he thought someone might see me.
Something tells me my new husband isn’t the sharing type.
Once I’m dressed, I notice a crisp white envelope on the table where Misha and I signed our marriage license and then consummated our marriage.
My face flushes as I tear open the envelope. I expect a letter from Misha. Maybe explaining why I’m waking up alone. Instead, it is a shiny black Amex card and a stodgy bank letter letting me know that the card is linked to an account in my name.
After everything that happened between us last night, the gesture feels breathtakingly cold.
I shove the card back into the envelope and head towards the main house. The moment I walk out of the greenhouse doors, I almost run into Rada. I yelp and jump backward, ramming into the glass and smacking my head against the iron frame.
“Ow!”
Rada is more controlled. She presses an apologetic hand to her chest and bows. “Sorry, ma’am. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
I look around to see how good—or, hopefully, how bad—her view into the greenhouse was from here. “How long have you been waiting?”
“Only an hour.”
“Rada!”
She smiles. “It wasn’t an inconvenience. I love being out in the gardens.”
“Are you the one who cleared up the dinner dishes last night?”
She nods. “Mr. Orlov helped, too.”
I frown, wondering if that’s true or if she’s just trying to make him look good for reasons I can’t quite explain.
Before I can ask, Rada’s eyes light up at the sight of my ring. “That ring is amazing.”
“It is certainly something.” I give her a tight smile. “Hey, Rada, do you know where Mr. Orlov is right now?”
“In his study, I believe.”
“Thanks.” I start moving past her down the stone path to the house.
“Miss Paige,” she calls after me, “what about breakfast?”
“Later,” I tell her. “I’ll come to the kitchen.”
There’s a gnawing in my stomach that I need to settle first if I have any hope of keeping my breakfast down.
* * *
