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“The man in the gray suit. Harvey Marston.” I speak confidently to get the confirmation I need.
“Yes, Ma’am.” The waiter smiles at me tentatively.
“I’d like you to take whatever he’s drinking over to him and put it on my tab. I’ll take another wine too.” I glance at the empty glass he’s just put on his tray before settling back in my seat and waiting for the waiter to do as I requested. When he places the drink on the table in front of Marston, he looks confused, but he raises the glass to me gratefully regardless. I smile back flirtatiously, all while pushing to the back of my mind how bad all this would be if Cole found out I was here. The view from uphere really is spectacular and I pretend to take it in while I enjoy my wine and wait for curiosity to get the better of him. There’s no way a man like Marston would allow a woman to buy him a drink for no given reason, and my theory is proven correct when I hear the clearing of a throat and look up to see him standing over me.
“May I join you?” He rests his hand on the chair beside me.
“You may.” Placing down my glass I sit up a little straighter and give the man my full attention.
“I haven’t seen you here before.” He studies me intently once he’s taken his seat.
“That’s because I haven’t been here before,” I inform him.
“Thank you for the drink. I’m curious as to what I did to deserve it but grateful for it all the same.”
“You looked lonely, and I can relate to that.” I lean a little closer to him.
“So you're here alone.” He takes the bait.
“I was supposed to be spending some time with my father but he got called back to work. So yes, I’m here alone. And this isn’t exactly the most happening place in the world.” I whisper that last part playfully.
“You're right there. Fork River is quiet,” he agrees, sipping back on what I’m sure is a very expensive scotch.
“So what brings you here?” I ask.
“Me? You wouldn’t be interested in that.” He shakes his head.
“I was interested enough to buy you a drink,” I point out, keeping my eyes on his despite the nerves stirring in my stomach.
“Doesn’t that view speak for itself.” He gives nothing away as he breaks our eye contact to look out the window.
“It’s pretty, but I’ve seen better.”
“Well traveled I assume.” He laughs at me and holds his hand up to call over the waiter.
“I’m afraid all the views I’ve seen have been on pictures or documentaries. There was a time when I thought traveling was what I wanted to do, but then I found the place I wanted to call home.” I can feel myself gettin’ drawn away from the reason I’m here, so I take the time Harvey spends ordering us another drink to focus.
“How long are you here for?” I ask, keeping my tone casual.
“As long as I need to be.” Again he gives nothing away and I can feel myself losing hope already. I knock back what’s left from my second glass of wine when the waiter puts a third on the table, and Harvey raises his glass to mine.
“Here’s to finding home.” He smiles at me before downing his drink in one swallow and getting up from the table.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“I’m a busy man, and as much as I’d love to spend the afternoon drinking with you and looking at the view. I do have business to take care of… Matthew, please put this young lady’s drinks on my account.”
“You don’t have to do that.” I shake my head wondering if there's anything I could say to make him stay a little longer. If I had a little more time maybe I could get more information.
“No I don’t, but if I was your father I’d like to know you were being taken care of.”
I watch him walk away feeling deflated and a little lightheaded. Then when I’ve finally admitted defeat, I stand up on the uncomfortable heels I’m wearing and make my way outside. I pass the doorman, and this time I smile as I flick to the taxi app on my phone and request a pick-up. It’s pointless hanging around by the doors so I decide to walk down the track to the entrance gates and wait for it there. My heels crunch into the gravel and my head is a little giddy. Three large glasses ofwine may have been good for my act, but I’m regretting them now. I hear an engine rev behind me and when I look over my shoulder and see a black van I don’t pay it much attention as it passes.
Once it gets a few meters in front of me it pulls to a stop, intuition makes my feet freeze. Something feels off and my intuition is proved correct when the driver’s door opens and a man dressed all in black and wearing a mask comes at me with a gun. My feet remain rooted to the ground and the scream I want to make gets stuck in my throat as he grabs me and holds the barrel to my head. I don’t hear a loud bang like I expect to, but when everything goes black I know for sure I fucked up by coming here.
“She should be home by now.” I stare at the plate Josie’s just put in front of me and shake my head. The seat next to me where Savannah should be sitting is empty, and I got a real bad feeling in my gut.
“Will you relax? She's working at the guesthouse,” Leia tells me. “Fiona’s rushed off her feet at the moment, she was telling me all about it at our birthing class.” Leia tries to put me at ease but it doesn’t work.
