“Are you a gardener, too?” Margaret asks.
“Well, I’m a chef,” Jessa explains.
“You don’t say,” Thomas says, looking impressed. “How wonderful.”
Their accents are thick and posh. Upper crust Brits if I ever heard them. Still, they’re simple people, instantly likable and trustworthy. Another reason I picked this place. After everything that’s happened, after all the lies and deceptions and hidden secrets, Jessa needs to see that some people and some places are exactly what they appear to be.
“Well, the pressure is on then! I hope we impress you at dinner tonight,” Margaret says. “We’re having a special meal prepared in your honor.”
“You are?”
“As requested by your husband,” she says, throwing me a fond smile.
Jessa gives a little start when Margaret refers to me as her husband. She seems to be waiting for me to dispute it, but I decide not to. It’s more interesting this way.
And to be completely honest, I like the way it sounds. That I’m Jessa’s husband. That she’s my wife.
After Marina, I didn’t think I cared about that type of thing anymore. But everything is different with Jessa.
Me most of all.
“Come on,” Thomas says, gesturing for us to follow him. “We can walk by the gardens on our way to the house. We’ll take the long route so you can really see everything.”
Jessa falls into step beside Margaret, but she keeps throwing little glances back my way while Thomas and I trail behind them.
As Margaret and Jessa walk a little bit ahead of us, Thomas gives me an approving smile. “She is wonderful. A real beauty.”
“I’m inclined to agree.”
“Reminds me of my Margaret when we were first married. She had the same enthusiasm for new adventures. Of course, our adventure was building up this farm and turning it into a business. I’m sure yours will be just as rewarding.”
I refrain from saying that our adventure will probably be the child that Jessa’s carrying. That’s need-to-know information.
When we arrive at the garden, Jessa’s jaw drops.
“This is a farm,” she gasps. “A proper farm. I pictured raised beds and watering cans. But you have the whole spread. It’s… incredible.”
“Feel free to wander and see what we have to offer,” Margaret says, still grinning proudly at Jessa’s effusive praise.
Jessa wanders up and down the rows, pointing out different things and running her fingers over the greenery like it’s fine silk.
The whole time, I’m content to simply watch her rejoice in beauty.
We spend almost an entire hour walking around the garden before Margaret suggests we head up to the house for some tea and biscuits. Jessa’s face actually falls.
“Don’t worry,” Margaret tells her, noticing the same thing. “We can come out here again later. But I think your handsome husband is bored.”
Jessa rolls her eyes. “Attention span of a gnat, that one.”
The women titter with sneaky glances back at us. Thomas and Margaret link arms and set off for the manor.
I walk up beside Jessa and loop my arm around her waist. Her warmth and her smell hit me simultaneously. My chest throbs and my dick hardens.
“You okay?” I ask, ignoring the fact that she stiffens self-consciously under my touch.
“Of course. This place is amazing. And Margaret and Thomas are the sweetest. But… did you tell them we’re married?” she asks, lowering her voice.
“No.”