Page 12 of King of Wands

Show me off?“But why?”

Marcy leaned closer. “Because you’re awesome. Just enjoy all the connections you have and make the most of them.”

It was hard to enjoy connections I didn’t know I had. Now to be fair, Marcy flew back and forth from the states almost weekly and Luis was just as busy. I’d only seen them together once during this last month.

King cleared his throat.

“Hi King.” Marcy enveloped him in a fierce hug. The kind a mother gives a son. I knew because they were the kind she gave me. So...their relationship was not one of colleagues. Not even friends, really. It was closer than that.

She patted his back a few times then took his face in her hands. “You’re tired. Are you sleeping? Is he sleeping Adam?” She kept her hands on King but started talking to the strategist as if King couldn’t speak for himself.

Adam shook his head. “You know how he is.”

King cocked an eyebrow, taking Marcy’s hands in his. “I’m fine. I promise.”

“You’re not fine. Don’t lie to me. You know you’re a terrible liar.”

He turned her around and started guiding her toward the table that I now realized was indeed set for six. And here I thought they just enjoyed seeing the whole table decked out.

King caught my eye as he spoke. “Besides, that’s what Isabel is here for. She’ll right the ship.”

He said that with such confidence. Confidence I didn’t deserve or understand.

“I’m excited about everything I heard today,” Adam said as he followed us to the table.

“What did you hear?” That was Luis.

Adam helped Elizabeth into her chair then took his own. Wine was passed around followed by bread and cheese. “I heard that Isa finally got Halifax fired.”

“I didn’t get him fired. He got himself fired.” Which was absolutely true. All I did was point out his incompetence.”

“True,” Adam conceded. “But he’s been a problem for a long, long time. He’s so entrenched in the company that we needed a real strong case to get him out.” Adam looked pointedly at Luis. “We still have a long way to go.”

I tuned out their banter. Not because I didn’t care. I did. It was just that the day had already been exhausting. The last thing I wanted was for it to last any longer. The more they talked the tenser I became until a headache started to come on. I knew if I didn’t get some space and relax I’d be in real pain soon.

So I excused myself, saying I needed the restroom. Instead I went right past the guesthouse and into the rose garden. I loved the rose garden. It was a proper English beauty. A lovely green lawn that felt magical under bare feet, hedges and rambling vines, old stone columns, and then the crown jewels, the roses themselves. I wandered over to a wood swing.

Out here the sounds of the dinner party disappeared. The long summer days meant that the sky was still quite bright. I pushed off the ground with my toes and set the swing in motion, closing my eyes and willing my muscles to relax as I breathed in the sweet scent of the roses. I don’t know how long I was out there—definitely long enough to be missed. I knew this because someone sat down beside me. I caught a whiff of familiar cologne just as a large, warm hand closed around mine.

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