Page 33 of Isle of Seduction

“Yes ‘oh’.” The corner of his lips lifts to reveal an amused grin I’m starting to be slightly obsessed with. I look around me, at the sheets of paper strewn around without care. It would be normal that he would have questions, but he’s just letting me do what I want.

“How are you going to call it?” he asks, his tone curious.

“Rouge.”

“Rouge.” His smiles widen. “I like it.”

“It’s on brand for me.”

He tilts his head to the side, the question clear on his handsome face. I offer him a little piece of me.

“Lana and I own a fashion brand called ‘Rouge’. It only sells white clothes splashed with red, to resemble blood and invoke the idea of murder.” I snicker. “It makes us a shit ton of legal cash, and covers for all the actual blood-stained jackets, pants and dresses Lana ends up with. No one ever knows if she’s wearing our brand, or actual blood.”

Andrea’s booming laughs could rattle the house and it certainly does something to the organ in my chest, my own cheeks hurting from smiling as I contemplate licking the column of his throat. I shake my head out of the thought.

“You two are a menace.”

“That we are,” I say but my tone turns sad. I start to put the papers together in a neat pile and I’m about to get up and get ready for bed when Andrea lays a hand on my knee. “Do you miss her?”

“Yes. I miss her.” I miss home stays lodged in my throat, refusing to come out because it’d be a lie and I don’t lie.

Clouds settle behind the whiskey colour of his eyes. Without another word, he gets up and kisses my brow before walking out and closing the door behind him. I watch, frozen.

That night, my husband doesn’t come to watch me sleep. I know because I wait for him until the early hours of the morning.

FOURTEEN

GOSSIP & JEALOUSY

The heating of the restaurant on Mulberry Street warms my skin when I enter, and blocks away the cold of the settling autumn temperature. Jane chose the place, in the poshest part of town. The clean cobblestone street where I went shopping on my first day feels a little too clean and perfect for my taste, but the lush green decor of the restaurant, with herringbone wooden floor and soft white fluffy plaids all over the banquettes and black velvet fauteuils make it look like a mix between a chalet in the Alps and a trendy modern cafe. I love it.

I went for a semi-frivolous look with a pink cashmere sweater that accentuates my curves and navy wide-legged pants falling on my white sneakers. Everything about me screams “I fit the aesthetics of West Hill high society”. My brother Dom has been coined “the wolf in sheep’s clothing” but really, it should be said about me. When I enter and look around at all the people dressed in various shades of navy and beige, I know I chose right.

“Darling, I’m so happy you could join us.” Jane air kisses my cheeks and guides me through the restaurant like she owns the place.

At the table made of reclaimed wood in the corner, two other women sit and look eager for introductions. I put on my brightest smile, ready to turn on the charm and listen to these women like I want them to become my best friends. And maybe a part of me does. The life of a politician’s wife can be lonely.

“This is Michelle Wright. She’s Councillor Miranda Lenning’s long-time partner,” Jane says, gesturing to a petite blonde woman with round tortoise glasses.

There isn’t a hint of condescension in her voice. Councillor Lenning is a strong woman in the Council, and I know that she wasn’t keen on Lewis becoming mayor. The fact that Michelle isn’t married to Councillor Lenning doesn’t matter to Jane, nor that her partner is her husband’s opponent. She might be married to a crook and a cheater, but she’s a good person. Almost fifteen years younger than him, I wonder what she sees in him.

“And this is Piper Evans, Councillor Cameron Evans’s wife. They recently got married and she can’t stop talking about her honeymoon. Don’t fault her for it.”

I smile warmly at the black woman with short cropped hair who’s holding her hand to shake mine. She dismisses Jane with humour. “Don’t listen to this shrew. She’s jealous because her last trip that remotely looked like a honeymoon was a decade ago.”

The atmosphere between the three women is one of pure friendship and I find myself laughing along, and enjoying both the meal and the company. Michelle isn’t involved in politics, but as a board member at one of the elementary schools of the city, she stays informed. Jane and Piper, on the other hand, cannot stop talking about it. From the conversations, I’d think they’re the ones running the show and their husbands are the puppet presenting ideas to the general public.

“I have to ask, Giulia. Tell us more about you and Andrea. You said you knew each other for a long time and finally reciprocated his deep feelings, but it was so sudden. Andrea had quite the reputation before you came along. He was one of the well sought after bachelors of West Hill. And then one day, poof, he was married, and to someone no one knew. We can’t help but be curious.” Piper’s hazel brown eyes flicker with excitement.

The comment on Andrea’s previous conquests makes my blood boil. “Are you calling my husband a womaniser, Piper?”

I know I’m being a hypocrite here, but rational thoughts seem to leave my brain where Andrea is concerned. Venom spills out of my lips unbidden and I wince.

I’ve done my research on Andrea’s reputation. He intentionally stayed far away from anyone that gravitates in the same circle as he does and never slept with the same person twice. We are similar in that regard. I hate that people judge him for it. Besides, he belongs to me now.

I mean, for now.

“Of course not, Giulia. I’m sorry if it came out this way. I just mean that he was never seen with the same woman twice, so we all thought he’d never settled.” Piper wrings her hands together before placing them on her knees so I don’t see her anxious energy spilling out of her in waves. Shit. This jealousy isn’t like me.

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