Day, Xondra - Our Dirty Little Secret (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (19 page)

Listing things in her head, she made sure to remember to take her laptop to work a bit while she was there. Even on a semi vacation, she couldn
’
t afford to take a few days off from writing, especially when Marlene was starting to hound her to turn this one in early if possible.

They wouldn
’
t have to pick up supplies until they reached the small town located just a short distance from the cottage. She remembered passing through there once before when they headed up there.

Back in front of the laptop, she decided to write. No more could she afford to waste time. Yet, her mind wasn
’
t on her work. For some silly reason, one which she couldn
’
t decipher, she was thinking about Mike and what he might be up to next door.

* * * *

Jeff wasn
’
t looking forward to heading up to the cottage. It wasn
’
t that he didn
’
t like it up there. Hell, he loved nature and that whole scene, but being around Mike for three whole days, even with Ann around, wasn
’
t going to be easy with the mixture of feelings and hormones flowing through him.

Grabbing his things, he left the work site and headed for his truck. This was going to be one hell of an interesting weekend. Since that kiss, he couldn
’
t even focus on anything but that and wondered what it would be like to do everything with Mike. Looking at Ann just made him feel guilty, like he had already cheated on her.

But he hadn
’
t cheated, and he kept reminding himself that. It was one kiss, and feelings or no feelings, it had yet to go any further than that. It wouldn
’
t go any further than that. He took his marriage vows extremely seriously, and that
’
s just the way it was and would be.

Shifting the truck into gear, he started towards home.
Relax
, he told himself.
Everything
’
s cool. Mike
’
s cool. If anything else happens, you just make it clear it can
’
t.

* * * *

“
I called Mike. He
’
s ready and will be over in a moment,
”
said Ann, standing in the driveway, placing her bags into the trunk of their car.

“
Great, I want to get on the road as soon as possible. The faster we leave, the faster we get there.

“
How
’
s Gwenn?
”

Ann shrugged.
“
As good as can be expected. She
’
s not bad, considering the pressure that
’
s on her now. She
’
s getting a lawyer, and I guess the rest will end up played out in court. Kevin
’
s gone. He
’
s with some other woman. The bastard!
”
It angered her to think about it. How Kevin could be so deceptive and sleazy was beyond her. If the man was unhappy in his marriage, he should have ended it well before it came to having to cheat.

“
Yup, I agree with you. I hope Gwenn comes out on top. I
’
m sure she will because she
’
s a strong woman. Much like you, my lady.
”
Jeff put one arm around her shoulders. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
“
I love you. Just in case I haven
’
t told you lately. I do.
”

“
I love you too, sweetie,
”
she replied.
“
Now, where the heck is Mike? I expected to be out of here by now.
”
She glanced across the driveway to his house.

“
I
’
m here.
”
Mike tossed his bag over the side of the fence separating their property and then hopped it.
“
Sorry I
’
m late. I had a phone call that I couldn
’
t put off. Work related.
”

“
Nothing serious, I hope,
”
said Ann. She noted that Jeff looked extra handsome today dressed in a snappy, dark navy polo shirt and khaki shorts.

“
Nothing serious at all. We were just working out my return-to-work date.
”

“
Great,
”
interjected Jeff.
“
Let
’
s get a move on. If we get there early, it
’
d be a bonus. I bet the sunset up there is spectacular.
”
He grabbed Mike
’
s bag and tucked it into the trunk next to hers. With that done, they were finally on the road to one heck of a relaxing weekend. She hoped.

Chapter Nine

“
This isn
’
t a cottage,
”
said Mike.
“
This place is a freaking minimansion. You said your sister owns this place, right?
”

Ann nodded.
“
Yeah. She, along with her soon-to-be ex-husband, bought it about five years ago.
”

“
Wild, they must be loaded. It makes my house look like a shack.
”
This was how the rich people lived. He couldn
’
t wait to see the interior. If the exterior looked like this, it would have be a freaking dream inside.

“
Ann
’
s sister’s idea of what a cottage is isn
’
t what the rest of us think.
”
Jeff opened the truck of the car to fetch the bags.
“
I like Gwenn, but she lives in a dreamworld, like most of the rich. I suppose that
’
s easy to do when everything is literally within reach
.
This place has a pool and tennis courts. Inside there is also a sauna, and, well
…
you can see it all for yourself.
”

Inside, he stifled a gasp, thinking it would be just tacky and cliché to do so.
“
This is
…
beyond anything I could ever have imagined. I love open concept!
”

“
It
’
s rather nice.
”
Ann smirked as she walked past him.
“
This is what Gwenn considers roughing it. Aren
’
t you glad you decided to come with us? It
’
s like having a spa weekend.
”

“
I
’
ll put the bags in our respective rooms.
”
Jeff brushed past his shoulder.
“
They
’
re on the upper level.
”
Good to know.

“
Follow me,
”
said Ann.
“
I
’
ll give you a tour so you
’
ll know where everything is. Then we
’
ll get started on dinner. Do you cook?
”

“
I do on occasion, when the mood strikes. I can
’
t say that I enjoy it. Jackson was the chef in our relationship.
”

“
You wouldn
’
t get Jeff near the stove, but the grill is another story.
”

“
Typical man,
”
he scoffed, rolling his eyes as they walked into what could only be described as the biggest living area he
’
d ever seen.

“
This would be the common area. That
’
s what Gwenn always calls it. And back through here is the kitchen.
”

“
This kitchen makes me want to cook.
”
He marveled at the appliances alone. Stainless steel and marble everywhere.
“
This puts some professional kitchens to shame. How much money did you say your sister had again?
”
He arched one brow.

“
I didn
’
t.
”
Ann laughed.
“
But who knows, after the divorce.
”

“
I
’
m sure she
’
ll come away with more than enough. What happened? That
’
s if you don
’
t mind me asking.
”

“
Her husband, good old Kevin, cheated on her. I never liked him. There was always something about him that rubbed me the wrong way. I hate cheaters. If Jeff ever did that to me
…
I
’
d go straight out of my mind.
”

“
It happens.
”
Jackson cheated on him once. It was the one dark moment in their relationship. Even when alone, he avoided thinking about it. “Jackson cheated on me one time.”