“If you’d all like to join me over here, I have a surprise for you,” he said, gesturing to the table.
On top of it were five huge wicker baskets, each with a different colored bow and a label attached. Alison and Everly glanced at each other, neither of them willing to be the first to the table even though they were both closest. Rory took the lead and leant over the chair nearest him to look at the gifts. He found his name tag and moved over so he could pull out the chair and sit, finding the basket too heavy to pick up. James and Jennifer were next to find theirs. Edward watched as James moved Jennifer’s basket so she didn’t have to walk around the table. He lifted his own basket and took a seat next to her.
Everly handed a pair of heavy gloves to Rory and slipped the heavy coat from her shoulders. She walked around the table to where Edward stood watching. Her proximity took him by surprise.
“It looks like I’ll need my arms free for this,” she said, handing it to him, her eyes not leaving his. “I really appreciate it.”
He felt his face heat again, and this time it had nothing to do with the underfloor heating in the kitchen or the wood burner blazing in the living room.
“Thank you,” he said, taking his coat and grazing her ice-cold fingers. He couldn’t help himself. Despite the little voice in his head yelling at him not to, he dropped his coat over the nearest chair and grabbed Everly’s hands, rubbing them to warm them up. “You’re still freezing. Please, let me make you a hot tea or get you a blanket.”
Everly’s eyes still hadn’t left his. They gazed at him, and her lips parted ever so slightly, as though she wanted to speak but daren’t.
A puff of air escaped Edward as he held himself back. Everly pulled her hands free, suddenly seeming to remember where they were. She shook her head at him and turned quickly to the table and the other winners. Luckily, Edward realized, none of them had noticed the moment they had shared. He needed to be careful. He felt as if he’d scared Everly off, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel uncomfortable. It was just that he had never felt so aware of himself around a woman before, not since…
Not since Lacey. And that was a long time ago.
He scolded himself and vowed to try even harder to focus on the task at hand. Which by now was well underway on the table.
Edward trudged over to the sink and filled the kettle. He loaded the teapot with fresh Earl Grey leaves and headed back while he waited for the kettle to boil. Pulling out the dark navy chair at the head of the table, he sat and watched with muted delight the faces of those around him. He’d personally picked the items to fill the wicker baskets and he’d not scrimped on the cost either, not that he needed to. Edward’s bank account had too many digits to keep up with, he knew, and he also knew that it was as a result of the family he was born into, rather than the amount of hard work he’d put in.
This was the reason that, secretly, Edward had been working hard to fill his own bank account—one that had nothing to do with the Harrington name or his Duke of Caudwell title. The charity work was really important to him, especially in the form it was taking today, as patron and mentor to these wonderful new artists. But it was the artwork that really got Edward’s blood pumping. Under the guise of a pen name—or a brush name in his case—Edward spent his free time painting landscapes. And he was good at it, too. People bought his work, even though they had no idea who painted it. His private bank account was almost as bulging as his family one.
James and Jennifer both looked awkward as they pulled out a pair of pajamas and a bath robe from their wicker baskets. Hidden underneath was a wash bag, full of what Edward believed were essentials—moisturizers, cleansers, oils, and lotions, all sourced from Carroll’s famous London department store—plus a spare toothbrush and some toothpaste which Edward thought tasted like mint humbugs. He watched as Everly unzipped her bag carefully and took the lid from her paste, sniffing it with delight. He could just imagine how her lips would tingle after using it.
The kettle whistled impatiently, just in time to rouse Edward from his daydream. He rose to make his guests a hot drink, and when he returned with a tray of teas and coffees only moments later the buzz of excitement around the table was palpable. Alison and Rory were both diving into their wash bags, strewing their contents on the dark wood. James had reached the bottom of the basket and had fished out some books and magazines, and the little bottle of scent Edward had hidden away for last.
Jennifer lifted out her wash bag and Edward watched as her nose wrinkled in distaste.
“I think I’d rather use my own,” she whispered to James, loud enough to be heard over the noise of excitement.
A knot twisted itself in Edward’s middle, but he bit his tongue and poured the tea.
“This is all so awesomely generous,” Everly said. “I wasn’t expecting anything like this at all. Thank you, Edward, I feel like it’s my birthday—only better.”
She dabbed a small amount of the miniature perfume Edward had gifted on her wrists and neck. He’d picked a different scent for each person, and wondered how he was ever going to be able to smell that perfume again without it bringing Everly to mind.
“It’s just a few bits to make you feel at home tonight,” he said. “We can bring all of your stuff over tomorrow. I’m going to be making a move soon, I just wanted to see you all settled in safely.”
He stood.
“I’ve left my contact details taped to the fridge. Please do get in touch over the weekend if there’s anything you need to discuss. There are emergency numbers there too, in case of… well, an emergency. It’s been an amazing evening, well done again to you all.”
The group turned away from their gifts to smile and offer thanks, their words all blurring into one happy noise—well, all aside from a shrill voice that rose above it.
“Is it a requirement for the winners to stay here?” said Jennifer. “Only, my own house is just down the street. It’s a little bigger, and more comfortable, and I work better in my own surroundings.”
Edward held his annoyance behind his sealed lips. She was really starting to get under his skin, and not in the same way Everly was. He took a deep breath before replying.
“No, of course, you are all welcome to stay at your own homes. This was really just to offer you all a safe working space for the duration of the program. Over the years we have found the house to be a happy and productive environment, as most other winners have chosen to stay.”
He left the words hanging in the air, picking his jacket up from where he’d thrown it over the sofa. A wonderful scent hit him as he pulled his arms into the sleeves—the delicate scent he’d smelt earlier—and his eyes wandered to where Everly sat. The wicker basket in front of her was now empty and she had wrapped the soft cashmere bath robe around herself. Edward felt happy, light, and jittery all at once.
“Goodnight, my friends,” he said, leaving them all yawning. They looked like they were ready for bed, and he couldn’t blame them. It had been a long, and emotional day. “See you Monday.”
It could not come around soon enough.
7
“Right then, fellow winners. Let’s introduce ourselves. We’ll need to get friendly if we’re going to be living together.”
Rory had poured himself another cup of tea and was busy packing his goodies back into his basket. Obviously, Tetris wasn’t a favorite game of his.
“Quickly then, I’m beat,” said the older woman in cat’s eye glasses.
“Okay, you go first,” Rory said between sips. “Name, where you’re studying, and the piece of work that won you your place here.”
“Okay, hi everyone,” she offered a small wave around the table. “I’m Alison, currently studying at the University of York, originally from the other end of the country in Cornwall. I’m a writer by trade, a journalist, and my piece was the paper sculpture of the world. I work mostly with paper.” She shrugged. “I guess that’s me.”
She turned to look at Rory, who was sat next
to her.
“Hi,” he said, putting his cup down. “I’m Rory, currently studying at the University of Cambridge. My piece was the sculpture of the baby.”
He looked to his other side where Everly sat. She was feeling excited and nervous all rolled into one. The day had gone from extreme to extreme and actually all she really wanted to do was head to bed and have lovely dreams about painting and celebrating—and Edward. A blush spread across her cheeks and she hoped that people would think it was because she was about to talk about herself.
“Hi,” she said, trying to breathe deeply to calm her wayward mind. “I’m Everly, I’m from a little town called Colby in Kansas. I go to the local college there. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed actually, and feeling like I’d really like to speak to my mom. Oh, and yeah, my piece was the self-portrait. It’s nice to meet you all.”
Everly smiled at the blonde woman who sat across the table from her.
“Don’t need a life story,” she said, scoffing. “I’m Jennifer, don’t call me Jenny. I’m from London, studying in the city at a different college. I did the storyboard illustration. Storyboarding is my thing. You might have heard of my family, the Huntingdon-Smiths?”
Everly noted the other banks stares, glad she wasn’t the only one who had never heard of Jennifer’s family.
“The Huntingdon-Smiths, film producers. Anyway, I am often hired as the story-board artist for the productions. You’ll know my work, even if you think you don’t.”
She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked to her left where the last of the winners sat.
“Hi, I’m James,” he said, his voice gentler than Everly had been expecting, with an amazing Scottish accent. “I’m from sunny Scotland, studying in Edinburgh. My work, although I’m sure you’ve all worked it out by the process of elimination, was the watercolor landscape.”
He looked around the table, smiling.
“I guess that’s us all introduced now,” Rory said. “I’m looking forward to working with you all. But I’m having difficulty in keeping my eyes open, so I shall have to bid you all goodnight.”
Murmurs of agreement rippled around the table. Everly was glad that she wasn’t the only one struggling.
Jennifer threw back her chair and picked up her re-filled hamper with difficulty.
“I guess I’ll stay here too,” she said. “At least tonight. But I need a good room.”
She left the room, and Everly heard a number of words that made the air turn blue as she struggled through the corridor with the hamper and up the stairs.
Rory raised an eyebrow and Everly giggled. The pajamas, the bath robe, and the wash bag seemed like all Everly needed to see her through until the morning. She scooped them up in her arms and went to check out the bedrooms, joining the back of the queue as the others trudged wearily up the stairs.
There were five doors leading from the landing, and they were all quickly claimed. Furthest down the corridor, to the back of the house, Alison was busily shutting her drapes and putting her bag on the bed. The men had chosen the two bedrooms on either side of the bathroom. The light reflecting off the shiny silver sink taps glinted in Everly’s eye’s as she peered in to see. The roll top bath in the center of the room looked big enough to house all five of them, and Everly shuddered at the thought.
She walked back toward the front of the house and the one remaining door. Opening it a crack, she found herself looking at a huge bedroom, bigger than her parents’ room back home. There was an open door at the side of the large room, through which Everly could see a small adjoining bathroom.
“Hey, some people could use some manners around here,” a voice yelled from behind the door.
Jennifer’s head shot through the bathroom door and glared at Everly, her make-up removed and what could only be described as under-eye masks stuck to her face. Everly stifled a chuckle.
“Sorry,” she said. “Didn’t realize this room had been taken.”
“Yes, well,” Jennifer sniffed. “I’m not sure if I’ll be staying all the time but I wanted to make sure I had my own bathroom. I don’t like sharing with people I don’t know.”
A shudder ran through her whole body, as though she too was imagining them all together in the bath.
“Sorry,” Everly said again to the sound of the door being closed in her face.
A heavy weight landed in her stomach as she wondered where on earth she was going to sleep. Perhaps one of the rooms had twin beds in it. She made her way back along the corridor to knock and find out, then noticed another set of stairs directly above the flight she’d just climbed. Feeling slightly more positive, she tiptoed up them, aware that the house felt silent and still now.
The sight that greeted Everly made her glad that Jennifer had taken the master room on the floor below. Through the door at the top of the stairs was a gigantic space. Roof windows showed the starry night above, and the bed was directly underneath the largest. Everly threw herself onto the soft quilts and gazed up at the sky. It was beautiful. The stars twinkled like diamonds and the moon looked as if it was bursting at the seams. The light it was throwing into the room was quite incredible. Everly hadn’t realized the sky above London could be quite so astonishing, most of the time she hadn’t been able to see it through the ever-present street lights that burned so brilliantly nothing above them was noticeable—not to mention the heavy, persistent clouds, of course. But for the first time since arriving in London she really saw the expanse above her.
She hadn’t even noticed the bathroom attached to the large bedroom until she spotted the door. Drawing herself up from the bed she peeked in and saw it was complete with jacuzzi bath, walk-in shower with nozzles pointing from every direction, and lights that made it look like a very small disco. Everly squealed inwardly, heading back to the bed where she’d dropped her gear and fishing out a pencil and paper from her evening bag. Switching off the overhead light, she laid back down on the bed and started drawing the sights.
Within minutes, her page was full of the night sky. As she was drawing, she slipped off her dress, sighing as she felt the silken sheets beneath her. The bed felt like one of the clouds she was drawing, soft and enveloping, and before she knew it, Everly’s eyes were getting heavy and her blinks were getting longer. The pencil fell from her hand with a soft thud as it hit the thick carpeted floor, the paper not far behind.
It felt as if she had been asleep for only a few moments when Everly jolted awake. An unfamiliar feeling settled in her chest and it took a few seconds to remember where she was. When she did, a huge smile spread across her face. Groaning, she got to her feet, grabbed her wash bag, and padded over to the bathroom, the floor still illuminated by the moonlight. Not bothering to turn on the light, for fear of stinging her eyes, Everly stripped her face of makeup and cleaned her teeth with the most wonderfully minty toothpaste she’d ever used. She shuffled back through to the bedroom but stopped short of the bed when she heard a noise outside the door.
A shiver ran down her spine and the hairs on her arms sprang to attention. She listened intently, trying to see if she could work out what had made the noise, but all that she could hear now was the sound of blood rushing around her head in time to her heartbeat.
Don’t be silly, she chided herself, inching closer to the bed.
But the noise came again, this time a bit louder. Everly’s heart was now pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat. She wished with all her might that she had been first up the stairs and safely on a floor surrounded by three other people, not on her own. Nobody even knew she was up here.
All of a sudden there was a tap, tap, tap at the door.
A quiet scream escaped her lips and her hands flew up to cover her mouth.
“Hello?” A whisper came from the other side of the closed door. “I’m so sorry to be a bother but I think I might have left my phone in here? Please could I come and have a quick check?”
Everly recognized the voice at once and, impossibly, her hea
rt rate quickened even further.
8
The house was dark and quiet. Edward closed the front door behind him, chastising himself for being so forgetful. He hated the idea he would have to wake whoever had managed to win themselves the master suite on the top floor, especially as he thought it likely that Jennifer had taken the best room in the house.
He’d only been gone for an hour, and he expected at least one of the finalists to be still awake. He had been especially hopeful that Everly would be there to talk to again, but his luck wasn’t in. The house was utterly silent. He climbed both sets of stairs and knocked quietly at the door of the top floor bedroom. It might have been his imagination, but he thought he heard a soft scream from inside.
“Hello?” he said. “I’m so sorry to be a bother but I think I might have left my phone in here? Please could I come and have a quick check?”
“Hold on,” said a whispered voice that was far too quiet to be Jennifer.
Edward’s pulse raced as he recognized it.
“Okay, no rush.”
He needed time to remember to breathe.
There was little hope of that though. Everly pulled the door open gingerly, her head poking through the gap.
“Oh, Edward, you scared me!” she said, her cheeks pink.
Edward held up his hands in apology.
“I’m sorry. I absolutely did not mean to scare you. I wasn’t expecting the house to be so quiet already. I did try to tiptoe.”
A moment passed, and neither of them spoke. They held each other’s eyes, their breathing synchronized. He had never known the city to be so quiet, as if it was waiting to see what might happen between them.
“I was wondering if I might be able to come in just for a moment, please?”
Everly blinked, looking down at something Edward couldn’t see beyond the partially closed door.
“Oh, right, yes of course, it’s your house.”
Her smile scrunched up her nose and Edward couldn’t help but return it.
My Dashing Billionaire: A Clean Billionaire Romance (My Billionaire A-Z Book 4) Page 4