Page 23 of Forbidden Lord
Sheena turned and faced him, staring at the muscles on his chest before looking into his eyes. “So, it was true. Where was this redhead from the last party exactly? On this bed?”
As they returned to the bedroom he shook his head. “We don’t have the furniture anymore to show you exactly.”
She stopped near the closet. “What do you mean, you don’t have the furniture—did you burn it or something?”
He opened the closet and selected pants to wear as he explained, “Every few months the staff refurbishes the entire house to rid the place of whatever sins my father, or later on, I, had committed.”
Her face lost all its color and she tugged a white dress with green trim over her shoulder. “And you let them change all your furniture?”
He dressed in boxer briefs and gray pants. “I liked it when I was a boy and came home to something new. My father hated it, which was part of my joy. The head housekeeper claimed to be protecting the Korbel title.”
She tossed him a white shirt. “Now that I’m here, I’ll talk to the staff. I don’t want them to move things on me when I’m planning benefits in the future and it seems a wasteful exercise. What happens to all the furniture and accessories for an entire estate?”
“The staff sells it in some charity shop I apparently run where all the money is donated to the church.” He pulled his shirt over his broad shoulders, tucked it in, and bowed to her. “Since the restoration of the crown, you’re the first Countess Golchin. You wield more power with them than I ever will.”
She smoothed the fitted dress over her hips and motioned toward the door, both of them dressed for dinner in case guests arrived. “Do you manage anything personally?”
They walked out together, and he bumped into her shoulder, his voice low. “Can you keep a secret?”
She nodded. “I’m fairly reliable.”
He massaged her lower back, wishing they were in the bedroom. “Then, yes. I’ve upgraded every household under my care to help my tenants. I’ve instituted scholarships to encourage new ideas and new businesses, and the small interest loans are mostly there to help my people prosper.”
The gleam in her eye might be pride. She seemed excited for him as she asked, “How are you ensuring the upkeep to every household?”
They walked down the steps in sync as he tucked his hands in his pockets. “Depends on the individual’s skills but I’ve made a personal call to everyone on my property to ensure they have what they need to succeed.”
She elbowed his side and winked at him. “Then you are a nice guy. I knew it.”
Sheena wasn’t as uptight as he’d feared. Her laugh echoed inside the heart he hadn’t known was there. “Let’s not call me that again. I’ll have to think of ways to punish you.”
Her smile grew wider and the gleam in her eye became a dare. “Punish? Now that sounds interesting. Let’s try that.”
He laughed and directed her down a different wing. “Sheena, you’re a treasure.”
“Glad you finally noticed.” She did a mock curtsy she’d clearly spent years practicing.
As he walked her toward the secretary and servant’s wings, his step was lighter. For once, he was the luckiest guy in the world, and all because he’d married Sheena.
Chapter 9
Sheena wore a new white dress with green trim she’d designed to make it one-of-a-kind in case she’d ended up going out with friends after Matteo’s wedding, that turned out to be her wedding too. It worked for being Lady of Villa Sogno. She was dressed appropriately for visitors or to meet the rest of the staff, which was scheduled for later this evening.
They still had a few hours to go until then.
When they’d come back from the skate park, all of her personal items from her apartment in Paris had been unpacked and put away. Having staff would take some getting used to, but it was nice. There was a note that she and Matteo had a visitor downstairs,
so she left her dressing area and found Matteo in his office. He had a walking machine desk where he consistently had to step while using his computer. No wonder his body was so fit.
“Matteo—are you ready to go down?”
“Yes.” He stepped off the machine and walked with her down a long, pale blue hall with landscapes hung on the walls to greet their early guest. With uplighting, the hall would show off the pieces in her show to advantage.
Matteo opened the door, and Sheena peered in, then blinked. Patrice sat on a couch next to a salt and pepper-haired older man with a belly. She wore a loose pale blue tunic with the neckline falling off her shoulder, a faint blush on her cheeks.
Matteo froze at the sitting room door and his hand tightened in hers as he stared like he saw a ghost. “Patrice, I hadn’t expected to see you again.”
The staff hadn’t warned them. Why not? Sheena smiled at Patrice, who blushed full-out. The entire time Sheena had planned Patrice’s wedding, she’d never seen Patrice blush. Sheena waited for her to speak. Finally Patrice said, “I was just talking to Mr. Alfonso, your secretary.”
