Cause For Scandal (Dynasties: The Elliotts #3)(24)
Author: Anna DePalo

She was pleased he’d liked the write-up that she’d done of their interview. She’d walk on hot coals before she’d admit it to anyone, but she’d played back the tape of their interview repeatedly, just to hear the sound of his voice.

She watched as Zeke opened his eyes and smiled, rolling on his side toward her and stroking her with his hand. “Hi.”

She smiled back at him. “Hi.”

He pulled her toward him and nuzzled her neck. She laughed and squirmed, and soon there was no more talking.

Much later, he asked, “Any plans for the weekend?” He waggled his eyebrows. “Spending it in bed, I’m hoping.”

She laughed. “Actually, I usually go to The Tides.”

At his confused look, she added, “My grandparents’ estate in the Hamptons. It’s where Scarlet and I were raised after my parents died.”

His hand caressed her thigh. “Take me along.”

“I couldn’t!”

The words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to think. Yet, of course she couldn’t bring him to The Tides! Last night Une Nuit, and now The Tides? She’d be flaunting him right after her breakup with John.

He cocked his head and gave her a look of mock offense. “What’s the matter? I’m good enough to sleep with but not good enough to be seen with?”

“Isn’t that my line?” she responded. At the moment she still had to figure out how to sneak him out of the townhouse without alerting any of the servants. Fortunately, there was a secondary entrance from the outside directly to the living quarters that she shared with Scarlet. She just had to get downstairs to retrieve his jacket and cap, which they’d left in the foyer last night, and sneak back up.

Zeke just continued to look at her in amusement, and she wondered for a second whether he’d read her mind.

“Anyway,” she asked, “aren’t you busy? Don’t you have things that you need to be doing this weekend?”

He smiled. “Nope. I’m all yours.”

“We’ll have to take separate bedrooms,” she warned, weakening despite herself. “My grandparents are traditional.” She didn’t add that, of course, she wouldn’t give him the room that John used to stay in. That would be a little much all around.

He gave her an intimate smile. “I can be fun out of bed, too.”

She heated. “You’re incorrigible.”

So it was that, later that day, they pulled into The Tides’ parking garage. Because they’d gotten a late start and had had to swing by the Waldorf, it was already after lunchtime when they arrived.

As they walked along the breezeway that connected the garage with the rest of the mansion, she watched Zeke look around, then arch a brow. “Even more impressive than the townhouse.”

She shrugged half-apologetically. “To me, The Tides has always been just home.”

“Some home,” he said as they walked into the house.

They dumped their overnight bags in their rooms, and Summer was relieved when she was told by Olive that her grandparents were out and would not be back until dinner. At least she didn’t have to deal with those introductions just yet.

“How is Aunt Karen?” she asked Olive.

“Michael brought her into the city to see her doctors. The both of them are not expected back until Monday.”

Uh-oh. She’d been hoping her aunt and uncle would be around to act as a buffer between Zeke and her grandparents.

Olive served them a quick late lunch, and afterward Summer said to Zeke, “Come on, I’ll show you around the estate.”

They went back to their rooms for jackets to guard against the blustery March weather. On the way out Summer grabbed her camera and slipped it into her pocket. She always left one of her digital cameras in her room at The Tides. She liked to amuse herself on weekends by taking pictures of the surrounding landscape, playing with light and shadows and capturing the changing seasons.

Outside, they toured the grounds together, taking in the pool house, the helicopter landing pad that her grandfather used when commuting to work in Manhattan, and the site of the English rose garden that Maeve lovingly tended and that bloomed in warmer weather.

Finally, they stopped at the top of hand-carved stone stairs that led down from a bluff to a private beach and boat dock.

Summer drew the camera from her pocket.

She saw Zeke grin as he spotted it.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“You. I still think you’re more suited to be in front of the camera than behind it.”

“Oh.” She flushed. “I thought that was just a line you were giving me when we were in your dressing room after the concert.”

He arched a brow. “Distrustful sort, huh?” He shook his head. “No, I really meant it. With your coloring, you’re model material.”

“Will you pose for me?” she asked, skirting a subject she wanted to avoid.

“I thought you’d want to capture the landscape.”

She shrugged. “I often do, but today I want to photograph you. You have an interesting face.” A compelling face. She didn’t want to admit just how fascinated she was by it. By him.

He gave her a wicked grin. “Okay, I’ll pose for you. I like where this led last time.”

She remembered, too. It had led to kissing and would probably have led to much more if she hadn’t fled after their interview. Careful, Summer.

Soon, though, she was snapping photos of him from different angles, first as he looked out at the water, and then as he stood on the stone steps.

“Did you ever do photo sessions with John?” he asked when she was done.

“No,” she answered, then realized how that sounded. She lowered her camera and busied herself with shutting it off and putting it away.

“Hey,” Zeke said as he came back up the steps to join her, “I want to see how those pictures turned out.”

“I’ll e-mail them to you.”

She was troubled by what she’d admitted to Zeke—and to herself. She’d never been fascinated by John’s face, had never had a compulsive urge to snap his picture.

Good grief, what was wrong with her? She’d nearly convinced herself to marry a man who’d really been not much more than a good friend. On the other hand, maybe it was her current fascination with Zeke that was abnormal.

When she looked up, she caught Zeke gazing at her thoughtfully.

“It’s okay if you find me more fascinating than you do other men,” he teased.