Chapter 4
He avoided my eyes, staring down at the carpet.
"It's windy out on the terrace. If she's upset, something could happen. I'll check on her, have security take her back to her room, and come straight back."
I stood two steps away, my skin still damp from the hot shower.
"Graham," I said, looking at him, "you just said you wouldn't have anything more to do with her, and tonight matters to us. I need you to stay, too."
"This is different, Natalie."
He looked up, his brow deeply furrowed.
"She's on the rooftop terrace. If something happens to her, neither of us is going to get any peace tonight. Be reasonable."
"I am being reasonable," I cut in. "If you walk out that door tonight, you'll be putting a crack in this marriage on its very first day."
He paused.
But only for a moment.
He looked at me, a flicker of guilt in his eyes, but it vanished as soon as his phone lit up again.
He reached out and touched my cheek, his palm cold.
"Twenty minutes. As soon as she's safely back in her room, I'll come straight back."
The door clicked softly shut.
The room fell completely silent.
I went to the desk, opened my laptop, and logged in to manage our airline and hotel bookings.
Our first-class flight to Santorini at nine the next morning, and the cliffside suite overlooking the Aegean that we'd booked six months ago.
Canceling meant losing fifty percent of what we'd paid, a substantial amount.
A red confirmation box popped up, asking if I was sure I wanted to cancel the nonrefundable items.
I clicked confirm without hesitation.
If one half of this marriage was already missing on our very first night, there was no point in going on a honeymoon.
By the time I'd finished, it was two in the morning.
A new email arrived from the team coordinating the wedding in the ballroom next door, with the hotel's finance manager copied in.
Julian's signature was at the top of the attached PDF bill.
The email was brief: the two weddings had shared the same floral arches, sound equipment for the lawn, and catering supplies for the cold buffet, and given the unexpected events that afternoon, both parties needed to review and split the additional charges for the last-minute teardown and extra security.
The figures were clear, every charge neatly itemized.
I replied to confirm I'd review the bill in the morning, then closed my laptop.
My phone lit up on the nightstand with a text from Graham.
[She's safely back in her room. A doctor is checking on her. I'll be back soon, once I've handed things over.]
I switched off the overhead light and climbed under the cold covers.
Outside the window, the sky slowly faded from inky black to the pale gray of dawn.
The bedside clock changed to 5:40 a.m., and after four full hours, I still hadn't heard the suite door open.