Page 60 of Scandal
“Hey,” I greet her, walking over to take the seat next to her.
“Hi.” She smiles as her gaze sweeps over me. I like her eyes on me. “How has your day been?”
“Long,” I admit. My days aren’t much different from Merc’s. I’ve been away for so long that my mother is also having me brush up on etiquette lessons and decorum. But I also am shadowing my father when he visits local businesses, and I stand in on important meetings.
Today, I argued with my mother about an interview she scheduled. She wants Mercury and me to sit down with a reporter and do a tell-all. I told her no. She reminded me that I promised to be cooperative. So I caved. But Mercury doesn’t need to know about any of that right now. “You?”
“Same. Did you know your great-great-great-grandfather was the Lord Chancellor to Queen Victoria?”
“I did know that,” I reply with an amused smirk. She’s been sharing fun facts like this since she started her “history lessons” with the tutor my mother hired. Most of them I already know, but some are new to me, and I enjoy seeing how animated she gets when she shares what she’s learned. “My father loves to bring that up as often as he can and to as many people as he can.”
“Why does that not surprise me?”
Because that’s what our family is good at. Remembering the achievements and forgetting the failures…
I clear my throat. “So I have something different planned for today.”
Her gaze turns mischievous. “You’re going…” she says, her palm falling dramatically onto her chest. “Off schedule?”
“No.” I offer her my hand. “We are.”
She slowly looks from one side of the room to the other, as if checking to make sure the coast is clear, then slides her hand into mine. “Where are we going?”
“Someplace fun,” is all I tell her.
“Wait.” Her eyes go wide. “Is this—are we?”
“Having a little lesson of our own?” I shrug. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“Well, it entirely depends on whether I can get you to leave this room,” I say with a grin. Her cheeks turn red. “Come on! No one is going to miss us for a few hours. Not even your assistant, I promise.”
They will absolutely notice, especially her assistant, but I don’t care.
I pull her toward the front door, her laughter warming my spirit with each step. When we step outside, I walk her to the Land Rover and stop. “I wanted this to be spontaneous, so I came up with something on the fly. That’s why we’re staying on the grounds. It’s safer.”
“Okay.” She smiles, not appearing to be disappointed in the least that we’re not doing something more extravagant.
“But part of being spontaneous is making choices, and if I make them, I think we’re missing the point. So I’m giving you a couple of options, and you’re going to decide what we do today.”
Her eyes are bright and full of excitement. “What are they?”
“First option is driving lessons. I’ll teach you how to drive on therightside of the road in a car of your choosing. My family has several, including an Aston Martin.”
“Fancy.”
“Very,” I agree. I don’t think she’ll pick that one, but I threw it together just in case because the next one is slightly more…risky.
“What else?”
I feel heat start to rise up the back of my collar. “We drive to the small loch on the other side of the estate and have a picnic.” I point to the small backpack filled with cheese, fruit, and wine the chef prepared for me. “And we go swimming.”
“It’s not exactly summer weather today.”
I shrug. “It’s warm enough, and I brought plenty of towels.”
“Did you happen to bring a swimsuit for me? Because I didn’t pack one,” she asks.
