by Jenny Hale
He stood still, clearly processing this. “You collect teacups but don’t drink tea?” While it was a question, he said it in the form of a statement, a twinge of confusion showing before he ironed it out. He took in a deep breath, and she wondered if the conversation were frustrating him in some way. Was she using up his valuable time? What did a multi-millionaire do, actually? He must be really busy making all that money—or hiking up rents… She really didn’t need his pleasantries regarding her choice of collectibles, even if they did seem a little odd. This small talk wasn’t going to make her like him any more than she already did, which wasn’t very much, given his complete lack of regard for her family and the shop they’d poured their hearts into. She didn’t want to engage in this conversation—it wouldn’t change anything—so she stayed quiet. He could think whatever he wanted about her. It had nothing to do with how well she’d take care of his grandfather, so why did it matter why she collected the things she did?
She finally nodded, expecting a huff of disbelief or some other outward expression of disdain for her precious teacup collection, but he didn’t make a move. Instead, he said softly, “I’ll show you around first and then we can go out together and get them.” His voice sounded almost caring, surprising her, her opinion of him wobbling just a bit. Maybe she’d misread him just then; his response wasn’t at all what she’d expected.
Lucas hadn’t said a thing as he stood beside them both, and Noelle noticed that he was looking at Alex in the same way she’d been looking at the chandelier. With his pressed shirt, tailored trousers, and leather belt and shoes that matched, he looked smart as well as incredibly fashionable; he was probably very different from any other man Lucas had ever encountered. Alex seemed to notice too, a smile showing more in his eyes than on his lips as he observed Lucas.
“Follow me,” he said, resuming their walking.
They made their way down a long, open corridor, the entire second floor suspended above them on a balcony with more chandeliers and enormous windows. A woman wearing a housekeeper’s uniform was in one of the rooms, fluffing pillows on a sofa. She didn’t look up. The only sound was the clicking of their shoes on the wooden floor until they rapidly came to a halt and Noelle saw why. Lucas had stopped in the doorway of a colossal room, filled with wood paneling and bookshelves, a domed ceiling of stained glass at the top and a single piece of furniture—a desk—centered on the circular rug beneath it.
“My office,” Alex stated.
Lucas didn’t react. He was still gazing into the room.
“Do you like this room?” Alex asked. His tone reminded her a bit of the way he’d asked about her teacups, but it seemed even softer for Lucas’s benefit and she was grateful for his kindness, although she wasn’t sure if it was entirely genuine. But nonetheless, she was glad for it, as it seemed to put Lucas at ease. He turned his attention to Alex, wonderstruck.
“We should follow Mr. Harrington,” Noelle said, trying to hurry Lucas along.
“No, it’s fine,” he said. “And please, call me Alex.”
She was wary of him, wondering why he’d asked her to call him by his first name when Melinda certainly hadn’t. He’d hit the volume button on friendly ever since they’d arrived, but she had his number—he couldn’t fool her.
He bent down next to Lucas. “What is it that you like about this room?”
Lucas’s stare fell down to his feet without a reply. Feeling protective, Noelle wanted to explain his shyness so Alex wouldn’t think he was rude in not looking directly at him. But Alex didn’t seem fazed by it. He stood up, walked into the office, and beckoned for Lucas to join him.
Hesitantly, her son followed, uncertainty on his face. Noelle wondered if he was worried he’d break something. He walked over to the desk where there was a small glass case with a dinosaur skeleton replica inside.
“Know what that is?” Alex asked.
Lucas finally met his eyes. “Coelophysis,” he said, without even a pause.
“Ha!” Alex was clearly surprised and delighted by his response. “You’re right,” he said, with a chuckle and an astonished glance at Noelle.
She was floored that Lucas had known the name of the dinosaur. She certainly didn’t. How had he known? She peered over to see if the name was written on the case, but there wasn’t anything there.
“We were breaking ground for a property I was building in New Mexico and we stumbled upon some rock in a quarry. Little did we know, we’d unearthed fossils. The paleontology department at the University of New Mexico, who studied the findings, presented this to me just recently as a thank you for my cooperation. I haven’t found a place for it yet.”
“I like dinosaurs,” Lucas said, and the biggest smile spread across his face, both the look and his comment surprising Noelle. Lucas turned his gaze upward to view the towering bookshelves. “Do you have any dinosaur books in here?”
“Ah, probably not. I’m sorry. These books are original to the house. They were the private library of my sixth great-grandfather, Henry, who built this house in seventeen eighty-eight.”
Noelle was transfixed as she considered the affluence of this family. Alex knew the line of his family, seven generations before his father. That was impressive. Walking along that brick wall outside every day as a child, she’d never imagined the history of the property, or the amount of money it took to build something like this house, that many years ago. It was clear the structure had been upgraded over the years, but to think that someone would have that kind of wealth for generations was astounding.
“That’s only five years after the American Revolution ended in seventeen eighty-three,” Lucas said, a glimmer of excitement in his eye, another comment catching Noelle off guard.
Alex laughed, an affection showing on his face that took Noelle aback. He was clearly enjoying this. “Yes, that’s right. How old are you?”
“Six.”
Alex shook his head. His shoulders had relaxed, his expression more open and for an instant Noelle got a glimpse of what it would be like to know him, to see him talking as though he were with his friends.
She took in the two of them. She hadn’t seen Lucas respond this way with other people before: Lucas was in his element. Noelle had never witnessed him being this talkative with a stranger, nor was she aware that he had this wealth of knowledge. Certainly, they’d read together and had talks about things, but he had never divulged little factoids like he was now.
“His name was Henry, and his son was Edward?” Lucas asked.
Alex squatted down again, putting himself at eye level. “Yep. And Edward’s son was Alexander, like me.”
“And his son?”
“Charles, then Phillip, then Thomas.”
“And Thomas’s son is the William we’re taking care of?”
“That’s right.” He stood up, acknowledging Noelle, a kind look in his eyes, before tipping his head downward toward Lucas again. “You’re a very smart boy, you know that?”
Lucas shrugged, his eyes going back to the books.
Noticing his returned interest, Alex walked over to a large brass-and-wood ladder that moved along a track on the bookshelves, and pulled it, on its rollers, down the wall toward them. “Shall we have your mom climb this and read some of the titles of those books to us?” Alex spun around and for just an instant, the sight took her breath away: both Alex and Lucas were smiling, their eyes dancing in the moment, their eyebrows raised, their faces inquisitive. There was something so perfect about it that she looked toward the books to avoid her cheeks flushing and giving away her feeling. What on earth was going on here? She wanted to keep her poker face with Alex until she could feel out his motives a bit more.
Noelle felt the emotion coming through in her features anyway. She blinked to return her face to a more normal expression. The scene with Alex and Lucas had made her all jittery. She took a mental step back, keeping herself in check. What could possibly be his reason for charming her son like he was? Suddenly, she felt p
rotective of Lucas again, praying that Alex didn’t have some sort of ulterior motive, some sort of business strategy regarding the bakery. Did he know it was her family’s?
He scooted the ladder toward them a little more.
The last thing she needed was to climb a ladder that shot straight up nearly three floors when she was this jumpy. She’d probably fall off. “You want me to climb that?”
“Yes,” Alex said, with a discreet look of challenge. “It’s an old ladder, but it’s been well maintained.”
“If it’s old then I shouldn’t climb it. It might break.”
“Not under your weight. You’re light enough.”
“Do it, Mom!” Lucas said with a loud giggle, and she was so stunned by his laughter that she couldn’t say no. There was no way she’d let Alex look like the good guy in this scenario. She would show Lucas that she was able to have fun too.
Amazed Alex would even want her on the ladder, she gingerly placed her foot on the bottom rung and hoisted herself up, grabbing the sides to keep herself secure. With steady hands, she climbed.
Carefully, she slid one of the books out a little, not discounting for a moment the value of what she had between her fingers. She could only imagine what one of these books would cost at an estate auction. “Kirby’s Perspective of Architecture,” she said, tilting her head so she could read the spine. “Sound interesting?” she called down to Lucas, twisting just slightly to view his reaction as she slid it back onto the shelf.
He wrinkled his nose and looked at Alex, the two of them speaking some secret silent language as they both grinned. Oh, now they’re best friends?
“Probably not your subject,” Alex said. “Hold tight,” he called up before pushing Noelle down the shelves. With a start, she took hold of the ladder, her heart pounding. By the amusement on his lips, he must have noticed her surprise, and when he moved her again, he did it more slowly.
She pulled out another book. “Manuel du Muséum Français,” she read.
“I don’t speak French yet,” Lucas said, causing another chuckle from Alex.
“Yet,” he repeated quietly. Alex paused this time, to let Noelle know he was moving her again, pushing her along to the next set of books.
“Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding.”
“See, I have a whole library of ‘nothing much,’” he said lightly to Lucas, and then winked up at Noelle.
Those books together were probably worth thousands, and Noelle knew that Alex was being kind again to her son, which gave her a little flutter, despite her misgivings about him. She came down the ladder to join them.
“What kind of books do you like to read?” He was crouched down again, always at eye level. Noelle liked how he did that. She bit her lip, forcing her focus to move from Alex to Lucas.
“Chapter books about mysteries, mostly,” Lucas said. “And books about science.”
“Did you bring any with you?”
“I brought the one I have. The rest I get at the library.”
The sting of embarrassment rose from her neck, down her limbs and up to her face. She wished Lucas hadn’t disclosed that he only owned one book. His whole life, she’d brought him up to believe that success wasn’t about possessions, and she knew that was the right thing to do, but in this instance, it made her feel ashamed that she couldn’t give him more. She wondered if Alex, who had an entire room of books, would understand, or if he’d pity her.
Alex stood up. “You’ll have to show it to me.”
Why was this happening? Lucas was more relaxed than he’d ever been with a stranger before today—she couldn’t get this idea out of her head. He was smiling, happy, laughing. Fear pelted her with the force of a thousand needles as she suddenly wondered if he’d been so quiet because no one had been able to reach him before, but Alex was, somehow. Memories started to filter into her mind: baking with Lucas, making snowmen, filling up coloring-in books. He’d politely done all those things with her and many more, but he’d never shown the kind of excitement she saw right now. This was even better than their trips to the library.
“Let me take you to your suite,” Alex said, disrupting her thoughts.
After a short walk from the office, they entered the guest quarters where Noelle and Lucas would be living for the foreseeable future. It consisted of two bedrooms, a sitting room, and a bathroom—in all cases the use of “room” was a colossal understatement. If she knocked all the walls out downstairs in her mother’s house, it still might not be as big as the space she was standing in.
In the corner of the sitting room, next to a picture window with at least forty rectangular panes of glass separated by wooden slats, was a real Christmas tree that had to be at least eight feet tall. It had an angel at the top, and from under the angel ribbons cascaded down the tree almost to the bottom in large waves. The tree itself was full of ornaments—all silver and snowy—icicles, snowflakes, baubles, and glass ornaments that shimmered in the white lights. Noelle had never seen anything so breathtaking.
The wall opposite had a curling marble fireplace, the mantle big enough to dwarf the four-tiered candelabra and vases that were the size of potting urns. They were also silver, with white accents—candles and simple flowers. Cream-colored, beaded stockings hung from gleaming, weighted hooks. The grate in front of the fireplace was thick iron with ornamental points on the top of each section.
“If you get cold, the staff will start a fire for you,” Alex said, following her line of sight. “Just let them know what you need.” He went over to a stack of hinged silver boxes next to the fireplace and lifted the lid on the largest one. “There’s wood in here if you don’t want to wait for them to do it for you.” He lifted the lid on the next box. “And in here, I’ve put a few blankets for you.” Then, he beckoned Lucas over to the smallest box. It was full of bags of marshmallows. “You’ve got skewers just inside the closet,” he whispered with a grin.
Lucas’s eyes looked like they were ready to pop right out of his head, he was so surprised. “Thank you,” he said, breathlessly.
Noelle was a little breathless as well, but she forced herself to remain in reality. Alex Harrington certainly was a smooth talker, but he was not as charming as he seemed. Given his performance today, Noelle thought he could give Phoebe a run for her money in the acting department.
Chapter Six
Alex had spent a few hours with Noelle and Lucas, helping them to unpack after bringing their belongings from the trailer. He’d been kind and helpful the entire time, opening boxes for them, helping them to lift heavy objects, and he’d even unwrapped her teacups, removing the small knickknacks that were on a glass shelf in the living room and arranging the teacups in their places. Lucas was chattier than ever with him, telling him all about the real science lab he’d seen on TV and how one day he’d like to be a scientist. Finally, Alex had said he needed to head out for a quick meeting, leaving them to finish the last bit of unpacking.
Once their things were all put away, Noelle had texted Phoebe and Jo to tell them all about her new residence and the housemate she’d unexpectedly encountered. She was dying to talk to them about it, but neither of them had responded, annoyingly. It was normal, though—Jo was busy getting her house ready for the big family Christmas she hosted every year, most likely, and Phoebe was waitressing, so she probably hadn’t gotten off work yet—but it made Noelle restless.
She felt like she was swept up in a fairy tale in this house with Prince Charming just down the hall. She wanted to enjoy that fantasy with Phoebe, laughing, and then afterward talk to Jo so she could bring her back into reality.
Melinda had returned to tell them that William would be flying in tomorrow from New York, giving them this evening to settle in. She also told Noelle that dinner would be served tonight at six o’clock, and to go down to the main dining room.
Noelle wondered if all the staff ate together and if they did, why the main dining room? Wouldn’t that be for the Harringtons’ use? Unless th
ey weren’t eating with the staff. Would Alex be there? Noelle scolded herself for even thinking about it. Her dad would probably never speak to her again if he could read her thoughts right now. Not to mention, she needed to get her mind on the fact that this was a job and she needed to treat it as such.
At work, there were people who rushed up to the boss the minute he entered the room, smiling, showing off what they’d done, talking a big game—all in the name of a promotion. But Noelle would hang back and let her work speak for her instead. She’d been promoted above the others, getting her full-time job and eventually a small step-up in duties. When she looked at the collective actions of Alex Harrington, she had to tell herself that no matter what front he put on, he was still the man responsible for taking her family’s bakery away, the man who’d hiked up the rent for his own personal gain, the man who didn’t care one bit about how that might affect Pop-pop or the rest of them.
She’d showered and given Lucas a bath, and they’d put on the best clothes they had to go down to dinner. Lucas didn’t protest, but she could see his puzzlement as she held out the little red vest he wore over his Oxford shirt when they went to church. Once he had it over his head, and had poked his arms through, she used her fingers to straighten his hair again. Then she tugged on the bottom of his trousers, the legs looking a little short, Lucas having grown since she’d bought them a few months ago.
“Where are we going?” Lucas asked.
She fiddled with her earring to make sure it was clasped tightly. “To dinner.”
Lucas was quiet as he tried to tuck his shirt in, the tails coming out when he moved, making Noelle feel guilty that she didn’t have an outfit to really fit him. “Will we always have to get dressed up to eat?”
“I’m not sure,” she said. “But I figured, after seeing what Alex wears around the house, that maybe we should get our formal clothes on.”
He nodded in agreement.
When they got to the dining room, no one was there yet, and Noelle wasn’t sure if she should sit or stand. She looked around in awe. She’d never been anywhere like this. The walls were plastered in ornate panels of the Corinthian style, stark white all the way to the ceilings that were probably twenty feet in the air; the only things bringing them down into view were the two heirloom gold chandeliers draped in greenery, hanging over the classic dining table that seated twenty-two, judging by the number of chairs. It had a wine-colored runner shooting down the center.