“Uh, you ain’t worried about them just looking up and catching us here?”
Winter rapped the softest knuckle against the window. “Reflective glass. Soundproof, too.”
“Then why were you shushing me?”
“Shh,” she said. “I’m spying here.”
He chuckled at her nonsense, liking how it looked on her. He never thought he’d be attracted to that, being that he was enough nonsense himself. It was why he tended to flirt with the shy, quiet women, liking how they blushed and bit their lips, how quiet their voices were and how timid they seemed at first, then shocked at themselves when they did something bold.
Winter was just… bold. She spoke loud and with authority. She called him out and teased, and, heck, she was pretty darn funny. Will found it frustrating… almost as much as he liked it.
“We should go down there.”
He jolted back. “What… down there?” He pointed at his sister, who was now standing so close to Garreth he was surprised he couldn’t see the sparks between them.
“Mmhmm. We could hear what they’re saying.”
“Y’all outta yer mind.”
A slow smile spread across her face, eyes gleaming in the dim light of the room. She wrapped a hand around his wrist and confidently strutted toward the stairs, pulling him with much force.
“Come on,” she said when Will dug his feet into the carpet just enough that she nearly sprung right back into his chest. She let go of his wrist just to cross her arms and jut her hip out, giving him a look that made him fall right off his feet. “This is part of my process. I swear we’ll be quiet.”
“What’s wrong with observing from a safe distance?”
“I can’t hear them.” She sighed and slapped a hand back on his arm. “Looks can be deceiving. Like right now… if someone were watching us, they may think we like each other.”
A thrum went through his chest cavity, and he lifted an eyebrow. “How’s that, exactly?”
She titled her head. “My hand is on your arm. You’re constantly smiling. We keep leaning in to talk to each other even though no one is around.” Her hands flew outward in a circle, and Will started to laugh only to catch himself and force his lips straight. Had he been smilin’ tonight? He hadn’t noticed.
“A’right, you got a point.”
A victorious grin fell onto her face, and he’d be darned if it wasn’t the cutest thing he’d ever seen. “Perfect. Then let’s go.”
She didn’t need to pull him this time to get him to follow. Will found his feet falling into step next to hers almost naturally. Her pace was probably fast for her, normal for him with their height difference, and he stopped his smile yet again before he let it crawl back onto his face at just the small, unimportant things he kept getting amused by with her.
“There’s a light sensor out the back door, so we’re going to have to take a side—” Winter’s voice was cut off with a guttural oof! She’d run straight into a wall, making Will bolt out a laugh he felt deep in his gut.
“Even you don’t know your way around your own house.”
She frowned and rubbed her nose. “There’s usually not someone standing in my way.”
Will’s brow furrowed and on closer look, apparently Winter hadn’t just face-plowed into a wall, but a wall of a person.
“Sorry, Princess,” Michael said, stepping out of the shadows. There was a slight grin on his lips, but his eyes looked defeated, sadness etched into every line of his face.
“My fault,” Winter said, her head tilting to the side. “You okay?”
His sad smile grew to something forced and, if possible, more upset. “Yep. Just enjoying the gardens.” Then something changed entirely in the air, Michael shaking off whatever was going on and looking up at Will. “Hope you’re treating her well,” he said with a nod toward Winter. “I never should have let her go.”
Winter snorted. “Stop it.”
Will’s shoulders relaxed. For a good while there, he’d forgotten he was surrounded by actors. This little improvisation here was only that—an act. He silently laughed at himself for almost getting jealous over an ex-boyfriend of someone he barely knew.
Michael plucked Winter’s hand up and kissed her knuckles. “Have a lovely night, Princess.” Then he strolled past and up the stairwell, his shoulders back to slumping when he was nearly out of sight.
“So…” Will said, eyes turning toward Winter again, “was that all part of the act, or you guys really got somethin’ goin’ on there?”
She bobbled her head back and forth. “I don’t know what you mean,” she lilted, and then kept moving out toward the gardens. Will only chuckled, deciding not to push it.
Winter slid open the sliding glass door slowly and carefully, only leaving enough room for her body to slither through. Will gave her a look and pushed it all the way open so he could fit. A tinkle-like sound came from her nose, and it took him a minute to realize that her laugh had transformed from cathedral bells to hungry mice. That must be her stealth mode, which was better than he could’ve done, for sure.
“Okay,” she whispered, “they are on the other side through the hedges here. Stay on the path until you hear her, then jump behind something like your life depends on it!”
He gave her a thumbs up, not trusting his voice to come out at a low enough volume. Getting caught spying on his sister while she flirted with some guy was not high on his wish list.
Winter crouched as she walked under an archway that led to a giant fountain of a mermaid and fish singing or something. Will pursed his lips together, begging his comment to stay inside his throat though it nearly pained him not to be sarcastic right then.
“You are so loud,” she said over her shoulder. Will put his hands up.
“I haven’t said anythin’.”
“Your feet are talking enough.”
He looked down at his shoes thunking against the ground and tried to make himself lighter footed. After a couple of different tries, Winter’s laugh brought his attention back to her.
“What?”
“You look like you just got off a horse.”
He stopped in his tracks. “I’m gonna just head back, then, Princess. You can fill me in on this escapade tomor—”
Her hand flew to his mouth, her body instantly a breath away. Will tried to figure out what she was listening for, but his mind was suddenly a mud pit, his thoughts slogging through to try to make their way out. Her face was so close to his, but how? She was so short… Maybe she was on her tiptoes? A cinnamon and vanilla scent wafted through the air—a perfume that was making thought process that much harder. The icy gray swirls in her eyes was so captivating, it took him too long to realize that it was panic.
Sound finally made its way back to his ears—the sound of a laugh he was all-too-familiar with. He snapped a hand around Winter’s wrist and pulled her deep into one of the hedges, losing his footing and falling rear-end first to the ground, taking Winter with him.
A high-pitched squeak escaped her, and this time, Will put a hand over her mouth just as Bells’ voice got much closer.
“… he must’ve been a giant if he was taller than you,” she said, and a deep, throaty voice chuckled right after. Something was digging into Will’s right butt cheek, but he wasn’t gonna move. Winter’s normally perfect hair was caught up in the canopy of branches surrounding them, but she held stone still as well, the cover from the hedge only enough for the both of them if they held perfectly still.
“I am tall,” Garreth said, and Will tried with all his might to concentrate on their conversation and not the way Winter’s body pressed into his and how he wasn’t cold anymore. Heck, he didn’t even remember what cold felt like. Her eyes locked on his, but he wasn’t sure if she was thinking about him or listening in to Bells and Garreth. He wondered what her parents’ eye colors were; he’d never seen such a diamond-looking set of eyes in his life.
He swallowed hard, and those eyes widened at the sound he’d made.
She dropped a finger to his lips, and it was only then he realized his hand was no longer on her mouth, but stuck between their chests.
His heart beat kicked up, and he shot his gaze somewhere just above Winter’s head into the green leaves and thin branches of the hedge. He was not going to think about where his hand was and what it might or might not be touching. He wasn’t going to think about how warm she felt or the cinnamon perfume that still hung in the air or how he hadn’t given a second thought about that branch digging into his butt.
Concentrate on Bells, Will.
But he couldn’t. His thoughts were still swimming in mud, and he had no idea how to make sense of things until there was a lot more distance between Winter’s body and his.
A second or a year later, Bells and Garreth’s voices faded into the distance, and Winter’s tense body relaxed atop him as her stomach shook with silent laughter.
“Oh my… I’m so glad we came out here.”
Will jerked beneath her, half-wanting her to explain exactly what she meant by that and half-wishing she’d laugh against him again.
“Huh?”
She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. “Garreth… he’s not the brightest crayon in the box, wouldn’t you say?”
Will must’ve given her the most dumb-founded look because she let out another laugh and said, “Oh come on, don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”
“Uh…”
She rolled her eyes and settled her hands on his chest. His heart tripled in speed as she pushed off him and squirmed her way out into the open. As soon as her body left his, Will’s mind finally decided to show up.
“Well,” she said when he’d climbed from the hedge as well, “you talk to him tomorrow and tell me I’m wrong. We’re running short on time here.”
He muttered some kind of unintelligible word that made her laugh and turned back to the mansion.
“I think you need some sleep,” she said.
Will nodded, even though she wasn’t lookin’ at him anymore. Sleep and food were definitely what he needed, because for a second there, he really had believed the place was haunted.
Winter pulled at the silky way-too-long nightdress she was wearing for her role, the morning sun shining brightly through the east facing window and making her sweat like she’d just done a 5k. She quickly started waving the material underneath her chest so obvious sweat lines wouldn’t appear before the first guest was awake.
Stacey tapped her foot next to her, looking perfectly comfortable in her wardrobe, though Winter had no clue how. The form-fitting pant suit had to have been three times thicker than the flimsy pajamas Winter would never wear to bed herself. No, she preferred the fluffy warmth of flannel when tucked underneath her duvet. She might sweat in that, too, but the evidence wasn’t so obvious.
“You have a lot of night owls, I’m guessing,” Stacey said, eyes going briefly to the Fitbit on her wrist that displayed the time. “Usually we get at least one person wandering downstairs by now.”
Winter nodded, still waving the material and finally getting a breeze up her skirt. It was a miracle she was awake; last night was a late one, what with wandering around the gardens and hiding in a bush. A giggle floated from her lips, echoing around the empty foyer. The memory of Will’s face when he’d tripped his way into hiding, dragging her with him, had to have been the funniest thing she’d ever seen. His mouth had popped open beneath his scraggly beard, a crimson blush ran through his entire face, and his blue eyes said he was completely flabbergasted to how they’d gotten in the position. How she managed to stay quiet, she’d never know. But even now, a few hours later, Winter felt joy rippling through her entire being. Spying on her matches had never been more fun.
A flutter played her ribcage like a drum. Before Will went back to his room for some much needed sleep—his brain seemed to have checked out at some point while hiding—he’d mumbled something about getting Maybelle and Garreth on a one-on-one with him and Winter. It was a great idea, but the more Winter thought about it, the more it sounded like a double date.
She was sure it wasn’t, that it was only business, of course, but her mind kept turning over with possible things to wear and topics that would give her more insight on Will and not the couple she should be focusing on.
“Oh,” Stacey said, breaking her from her reverie, “show time.”
Winter glanced up to see the elevator doors open, and she turned to Stacey quick and got into character. Stacey positioned her badge so the guests would know who she was.
The tears started in the backs of her eyes, and she sniffed. “We had a late tennis lesson last night,” she said much to the interest of the few guests who’d exited the elevator. She could sense them walking over. “He left around nine-thirty and headed to his room, as far as I know.”
Stacey nodded, her demeanor as a detective so believable Winter wondered if she ever was one before going into acting.
“And where were you around eleven?”
Winter gulped and let her eyes dart to the guests before going back to Stacey. “I-in the gardens.”
“And did you see Edward there?”
“Just… just his body.”
“Wait a second!” a shocked voice came from the crowd of guests. Winter tried not to smile at Alexis’ enthusiasm as she pulled her trusty pen and notepad out and started scribbling. “Is someone else dead?”
Winter nodded sullenly, and Stacey turned to them. “Someone else? This isn’t the first death?”
Alexis’ mouth dropped open, and her eyes went to Winter. This happened a lot—Stacey was so great at acting like a cop that the guests would sometimes have a flicker of doubt in their heads that maybe an actual murder had happened.
Winter’s brows pulled upward in an innocent pout. “We… we lost someone two days ago.”
“I have suspects,” Alexis piped in. “Theories.”
An excited flutter flew through Winter’s stomach as Alexis turned out her pad that was already halfway filled.
Stacey nodded and gestured to the formal living room. “Let’s discuss this privately.” She turned back to Winter. “Let me know if you remember anything else.”
As soon as the girls left the room, Winter turned to the remaining guests. “Breakfast will be served in the parlor at eight-thirty. Please come. There will be… an announcement.” Then she left with a frown, drooping her shoulders as she made her way back upstairs. As soon as she hit her suite, the princess slipped away, and she was back to bouncing around like usual. She had a busy day ahead of her.
“Okay, who doesn’t have the revisions?” Mel asked, holding up a handful of papers and waving them around the rambunctious room. The enthusiasm from the actors was so palpable Winter could actually put a taste to it—chocolate and raspberries. It was a good group of guests this time around, and everyone could feel it.
“Hello?” Mel called out when no one answered her. “I know not all of you look at your emails at five in the morning, so I’ll ask again. Who doesn’t have the revisions?”
Everyone looked around and slowly raised their hands. Rounds of laughter then went through the room as Mel handed the pages out.
“So… wait. We’re going to swim tonight?” Velvet wrinkled her nose and slumped into her seat. “But it’s supposed to rain.”
“We’ll use the indoor pool.” Mel handed the last packet to Winter, who was perched on her spot on the side table. “We had to move the pool party up because of the early demise of Eddie.”
“How is he doing?” James asked from the couch, arm draped over Velvet. The husband-wife combo, and newest members of the cast, reminded Winter so much of her own parents. Only her mom was a politician, her father an actor, but still… both very talented.
“He’s resting. Stay away from his room.” Mel started handing out thin sets of what looked like rolled quarters, but when she dropped it in the palm of Winter’s hand, Winter noticed it was a tube of Airborne. “I want everyone drinking this. We can’t lose anyone e
lse, or the murderer will be the only one left.”
Her eyes fell to Michael, and he dropped the sucker into his water bottle and shook it up. Winter’s brows rose; Michael was never one to follow the rules, especially when it came to Mel. He preferred to annoy the heck out of her.
“Now that our detective is here a day earlier than expected,” Mel continued, gesturing half-heartedly to Stacey, “she’s going to have to stay low-key until tomorrow. That way we don’t have anyone solving the mystery before it’s over.”
Winter raised her hand like a child, the first time she’d done so to speak during one of their meetings. But Mel seemed particularly moody. “I really don’t think anyone has a clue.”
Mel raised an eyebrow and turned, arms crossed. “Even William Monroe.”
“Even him.”
Mel stood there staring at her long enough that it made Winter laugh. What was she so worried about? Will didn’t give two hoots and a holler about who the murderer was. And if he did, he was a better actor than all the people in this room.
After a few long seconds, Mel slowly swiveled back to the room. “We’ll announce the pool party at lunch. Say we’re commemorating Edward.”
“Our people sure like to party after a death,” Michael said, and the joke eased the tension in the room. Mel sighed, her way of covering a laugh, and then continued to drone on about the rest of the week. Winter was suddenly preoccupied with imagining Will in a bathing suit.
“Um, I hate to interrupt this very interesting meeting,” Ms. Vancouver said, standing from her lounge chair, “but it’s nearly lunchtime, and I have a date with a handsome southern man.” Her eyes met Winter’s for a moment, sparkling with an inside joke Winter wasn’t sure she understood, but she smiled anyway.