“Are there any neighbors close by?” I asked, trying to make casual conversation that didn’t revolve around my fiancé.
Brenda stepped out of the landry room and dropped a basket by the door. “There’s Magnolia Lightfoot. She lives in the house down about a mile, has for as long as I’ve worked for Viktor. I’m sure she’d appreciate an introductory visit when you get a chance. She’s an absolute dear, a very sweet girl.”
“Does she live there alone?”
“She does. The house was willed to her when her husband passed away, but it’s been in her family for a while. Everyone knows the Lightfoots around here. They used to be a prominent family in the area. It’s a little…sad that it’s just Miss Magnolia out there, rattling around in that house by herself.”
Maybe tomorrow morning I would make a pie and walk it down to my new neighbor’s house. It sounded like a wonderfully normal thing to do amid all of the chaos and heartache of the last two days.
“Is she the only neighbor?”
“For at least ten miles,” said Brenda.
“I suppose that’s on purpose.”
“Viktor does like his quiet.”
“Well,” I said, pushing back from the table and hopping to the ground. “He won’t like me very well as I’m not very quiet. Maybe he’ll get tired of me and send me home.”
Brenda laughed. “Honestly, we could use someone to liven things up a bit. It’s always so quiet out here by the marsh. Anyway, I need to get dinner prepped for you because I have a doctor’s appointment later and I need to leave by twelve.”
She began rattling pots and pans and humming to herself as she cooked. I took my coffee and went out onto the porch. There was a Carolina Chickadee sitting on the railing, leveling its beady gaze at me. The sight sent a ripple of calm through me. At least, in the midst of the unfamiliar, the bird provided an oasis of familiarity. I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth, making sharp kissing sounds, and the chickadee replied with an angry torrent. It fluttered its wings once and was gone, flitting away into the trees.
I’d lived in New York since birth and I was used to the bitterly cold winters, but I didn’t like them. Standing outside in a sweater on the first of January blew my mind. There was a little edge to the faint breeze, but compared to what I was used to, it felt downright balmy. I lifted my face and basked in the warmth, glad for at least one thing in my new life.
The rest of the day passed more quickly than I would have liked and my impending first night with my husband drew near. I knew that eventually Viktor would return and I would have to face him alone in our room. The thought made my stomach flip and, although I hated to admit it, awoke a pulse between my thighs.
Goddamn it, if only he wasn’t so stupidly attractive. If only he wasn’t exactly the type I always went for things would be a lot simpler.
Brenda had left a casserole in the oven and I heated it up and ate out on the porch. There was a wine rack in the kitchen with dozens of bottles and after dinner I selected a dry white wine and took it out to the porch. The sun was setting over the marsh and everything was bathed in a fiery orange glow. Sitting there, wrapped in a blanket, a little buzzed from the wine, I wondered if I could get used to my life here. So far, I was feeling very different than I had when I woke and the pit in my stomach had eased.
“It’s a hell of a lot better than being back home,” I murmured to myself, finally admitting an uncomfortable truth aloud.
Overhead, a Blue Jay screamed in agreement.
The door behind me slide open and I froze as a prickle went down my spine. Dress shoes clipped on the ground and I felt Viktor’s presence looming behind my chair. I heard the faint flick of a lighter and I turned, ready to berate him for smoking.
He had his lighter in one hand, glowing orange, but he hadn’t lit the cigarette. Instead, he was gazing at the horizon, his graven face contemplative.
“I bought this house over a decade ago,” he said slowly, his deep voice a soothing rumble. “It’s one of my favorite places in the world.”
There was a touch of vulnerability to him that threw me off guard. A big part of me was still infuriated with him, angry that he’d agreed to marry me for his stupid alliance. However, seeing him with Brenda, how gently he’d treated her, and now witnessing the softness on his face as he looked out over the marsh shifted my perception of him. Just a little.
He turned his gaze down, his pale eyes glinting as they fell on me.
“You hate me, don’t you?” he said.
I hesitated for a moment. “I don’t want to be here and I’m not happy with you for bringing me. I don’t know you well enough to hate you yet…but give me time.”
He smiled. “Hate I can take. Apathy is a different ballgame.”
“So if I really wanted to get under your skin, I wouldn’t care about you one way or the other.”
His smile deepened. There were light creases around his eyes and mouth and for some reason, I unwillingly found them incredibly sexy. Dragging my eyes from him, I shifted in my chair and pulled the blanket closer around my body even though I wasn’t cold.
“Come to bed,” he said.
“Can I sleep on the couch instead?”