Saving Forever - Part 2 (9 page)

In the meantime, Elijah got out of the car and had pulled their bags out of the trunk. He came around to her side and opened the door. Crouching down
, he kissed her cheek. “Ready?”

“Why didn’t you tell me my hair had turned into a bird’s nest?” She pulled the bun out and redid it, feeling wisps escape as she tried to brush them tight with her fingers.

“It’s windswept and wonderful.” He laughed. “You look great! What’s the worry?”

“You
r mother.”

“I wouldn’t worry about her.” He straightened and held his hand out.
“I don’t.”

She took his outstretched hand and got out. Each grabbed their own bags and she followed him around the house to what she thought was the back of it – except the house had been built so the front faced the bay.
As they had pulled up to the back entrance she’d been impressed by the house, but the front was more spectacular than she had been anticipating.

Two pillars stood near the center entrance and four pillars on each side held up balconies. Glass covered
almost everything and reflected off the white of the building and blue roof perfectly. The house was beyond movie-star appeal. Charity felt her jaw drop and stopped walking.

Elijah continued a few feet
, and then turned around. “You okay?” He laughed when he saw her face. “I forgot you haven’t seen the place before. Just remember: all that glitters isn’t gold.”

She blinked, made a conscious effort to close her mouth
, and quickened her pace to catch up to him. Her parents had built an English-Tudor style house that was quite big by her standards but this… this was beyond anyone’s standards. This place had modernist design but still held a sense of Victorian era.

Elijah stood by the front doors. They were made of a dark wood with large panes of glass on each side and above the doors as well – like a wall of glass. It reflected the beautiful view of the palm trees and water in front of the house
, which looked like a painted mural.

“Coming?” Elijah smiled and held the door open for her.

“I’m working on it,” she joked and elbowed him in his hard abs as she walked by.

“O
uch!” He pretended to grab his stomach but couldn’t hold back the laughter. “I thought nothing fazed you.”

“I’m not my father
.” She turned to face him, still leaning against the door, with her back to the grand room she’d just walked into. “And come on, we’ve hung out, what, maybe eight times? So you’ve got no idea how I react.” She crossed her arms, her nervousness making her feel a bit edgy. “We barely know each other.”

A woman’s voice interrupted their conversation.
“Barely know each other?” The accent was thicker than Elijah’s, but the disgust in it was unmistakeable. “Why in the world would you bring someone you hardly know to your father’s funeral?”

Charity froze. She was too scared to turn around to see who
the voice belonged to.

“Gd’day, Mum,” Elijah said
, but he didn’t move.

Elijah’s mother
.

“Seriously, Elijah? You can screw anyone. Why bring someone no one here knows and who is apparently a complete stranger to you as well?”

Holy Cahona’s! Did she seriously just refer to Charity as a slut? Charity had no idea what to do. She was staying in this woman’s home. She glanced at Elijah, whose face hardened. His lips pressed into a thin line as his jaw twitched. His nostrils flared as he slowly exhaled. “Thanks, Mum. That’s a great way to make Charity feel welcome.” He grabbed Charity’s hand and turned her around. “
I asked her to come.
” The anger in his voice was unmistakeable. “Please don’t make me regret coming.”

The petite woman who stood in the massive foyer was impeccable. Her designer clothing even matched the décor of the room. She may not have been tall
, but the woman had stature. Charity saw little resemblance between Elijah and his mother. Her brown eyes glared at Charity and showed little friendliness, which Elijah’s face always carried.

The woman had just lost her husband and, in her view, her son had just brought some blonde bimbo to their personal home from the other side of the world. Charity wiped her hands on her skirt. “Can we maybe try this again?” She held out her hand, determined to smooth this over, whatever the cost. “I’m Charity Thompson. Elijah is the chief of surgery at my father’s hospital. Elijah and I are currently working together on
a project for the hospital. We’re just friends. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Bennet.” She glanced at Elijah, begging him to stay silent.

Mrs. Bennet’s
face broke into a smile. She returned Charity’s handshake with extra firmness. “It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Thompson. Please, call me Margaret.”

“No, sorry. I’m not a doctor. I work with hospitals but…” She blew her bangs away from her forehead.

Elijah brought their bags by one of the winding staircases. “She saves hospitals. She does fundraisers to build new hospital wards and wings, gets new equipment or whatever they need. She’s one of the best in the country.”

“In
America you mean.” Margaret didn’t hide her disappointment. “That’s nice too, I guess.”

“She knows how to throw a proper party. One that would make your yacht club and bridge club friends cringe with envy.”

A single eyebrow rose on Margaret’s pretty face. Her son definitely got that from her. “Interesting.” A phone began ringing. “I have so much to prepare and do. I really don’t have time for this. Elijah, your room is ready. Charity, your room is at the end of the hall. The last one on the left.” She turned to answer the phone. She paused at the archway. “Nice to have you home finally.” Then she left.

Elijah sighed. “And I’m back.” He shook his head. “Come on. Let’s get our stuff up to my room.”

“Pardon?”

“I could use a shower… and a drink.” He grabbed their bags and started up the stairs
, carrying everything but Charity’s travel bag. He took the stairs two at a time.

She quickly tucked her remaining bag under her arm and raced after him. She whispered loudly, “I’m not staying
in your room. I just told your mom we’re friends!”

“What?” Elijah rolled his eyes and huffed. “Whatever.” He stomped down the hall, dropping his bag off at the first door on the right and continued down the massive hall. He opened a door at the end and tossed her bag inside. “Here’s your room.” He stepped back to let her pass.

She knew he was ticked. Suddenly, spending the next five days in this massive house didn’t seem like a good idea. Hopefully a shower and some rest would make Elijah happier. Or…

She grabbed his wrists and pulled him into the large room
, at the same time leaning in and kissing him softly. She slipped her tongue into his mouth. Elijah hesitated a moment before his fingers found their way into her hair and his lips responded.

Her stomach interrupted them. It growled loud and long.

Elijah pulled away. “Alrightie then! I’ll jump in the shower and get something on the barbie.” He pointed at her stomach. “I’m kinda scared of that thing.”

She slapped his hand away. “Not as scary as your mother,” she whispered
, feeling daring.

“You didn’t grow up with her. This is nothing.” He headed down the hall to his room
, whistling, “Nee, ne, nee, ne, nee, nee,” to the tune of the witch from The Wizard of Oz.

Margaret had disappeared into some part of the house when Charity came down the stairs after her shower. With guilty thankfulness that it was just the two of them, Charity and Elijah sat at a small table outside by the barbeque overlooking the freshly cut lawn and water. They barely talked. Charity figured it was because they were both tired from the long trip. When Elijah went to pour her a second glass of wine, she declined.

“Sorry,” she said, yawning. “I’m wiped and in about a minute I’m going to need toothpicks to keep my eyelids open. Do you care if I head upstairs for a nap?”

Elijah shook his head and poured more red wine into his goblet. “I’m going to walk over to Albert and Mia’s.”

She tried to stifle back another yawn but it managed to escape. She covered it with her hand and then stared out across the water. The rolling waves and their calming, continuous sound tempted her to close her eyes. The warmth of the early evening sun seemed to be in on the temptation as well. She blinked a number of times and focused on Elijah. He seemed amused by her. “It’s good to see your smile.” 

“It might be the last time you see it for the next few days till we’re back on the plane.” He took a long drink of his wine.

She didn’t have the energy to argue. She decided to cover the basics. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He stared out across the water watching dolphins jump and swim.

Charity had the gut feeling again that coming had been a mistake. How could they have gone from such easy company to completely uncomfortable? Simply because of a five minute conversation with his mother? “Is there anything you need me to do?”

“No. Go get some rest. Text me when you wake up and I’ll come back to the house.”

“Okay.” She stacked their plates together and began clearing the table.

“Just leave it. I’ll do it when I finish my wine.” He poured the rest of the bottle in his glass. 

Charity stood and was slightly disappointed when Elijah remained seated. She walked behind his chair, letting her hand trail across his shoulders as she passed. He didn’t say anything and neither did she.

The house was quiet except for the sound of nature coming in through the open windows. Nearly winter in
New York and summer here. She made her way up the spiral staircase and down the long hall to her room. She’d changed into a long skirt and tank top after her shower and slid her skirt off to hang over the back of one of the gorgeous chairs by her bed. The soft, yellow sheets were cool against her freshly shaved legs and the rest of her body. She closed her eyes and fell instantly asleep.

Charity rolled over in the comfy bed and snuggled against the pillow. For the past five years she’d moved to a lot of different towns but she’d never had a problem settling in and being comfortable. At the moment, however, she couldn’t remember where she lay.
New Zealand.
The answer drifted through her head like a light breeze. Her eyes shot open. It had grown dark but from the rest she’d just had, it felt like it should be morning.

She hit the indiglo on her Iron man watch. Nearly midnight. She cocked an ear. The only noise she could detect came from the open window. Rolling over
, she debated trying to go back to sleep, but she had already slept seven hours and her body disagreed. It wasn’t used to that much sleep in one stint. Maybe a light snack would help her try to sleep.

She flipped the light beside her bed on and slipped out of the bed. Rummaging through her suitcase, she found a pair of
Capri jogging tights she’d bought from Lulu lemon and slipped them on. Tank top and tights – probably not the fanciest thing to wear in this castle but from the sounds of it, everyone was sleeping.

The dark hallway got lighter as she walked toward the staircase. Elijah’s door was closed. Someone had left the large chandelier on that lit up the grand room entrance. Even on a low setting it shone bright. At least that was what she thought until she got closer and realized the full moon shining through the sun windows was the source of the brightness.

The stairs were cool under her bare feet. She padded her way into the kitchen and checked the massive fridge. Elijah had wrapped the leftover chicken he had barbequed on a shelf. That on a bun or sandwich sounded pretty good. She grabbed mayo, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber and set to work slicing what she needed. She found a loaf of fresh French bread and cut two pieces off. All it needed was some cheese.

She rummaged through the drawers of the fridge and found some kind of cheddar. “Perfect,” she whispered. She spun around and nearly threw the cheese across the kitchen island.

Elijah sat on the side eating her sandwich, still wearing the clothes she’d seen him in earlier.

“Freakin’ ‘eh! You scared the crap out me!” She leaned back against the fridge, the stick of cheese still in hand pressed against her heart. “I thought everyone was in bed.”

Elijah finished the mouthful he’d been chewing and swallowed. “So did I.” He took another bite.

“Hey,” she said
, laughing. “That’s my sandwich!”

“It’s awesome
. Want to make me another?”

“Guess so, since I have to make a new one for myself as well.” She began cutting the vegetables up again. “Have you slept yet?”

He shook his head. “I actually just got back.” He pointed at the long row of windows. “I walked by here and saw your cute little bum wiggling as you were grabbing something near the bottom of the fridge. It’s a great view from outside.”

“I could have been your mom.”

A look of horror crossed his face and then he laughed. “No chance.”

She set his sandwich on the plate near him and took a bit of her own. “This is really good,” she mumbled between bites. “Just needs some chips.”

“There’s crisps in the cupboard below you. Crisps – chips… same thing. Sorry. A couple of beers and I’m speaking the lingo again.”

“How were Albert and Mia?” She found a basket full of small bags of chips and grabbed a ruffled flavor.

“Good.” He stole a few of her chips. “Dave showed up with the wife and kids. I stayed and caught up with them. They’re living in Auckland.” He chuckled. It must have been at something funny they had chatted about or had happened while at the caretaker’s house. He didn’t say what. He finished his sandwich and put his empty plate in the sink. “I’m ready for some Zs. Are you staying down here or heading up?”