Sophia’s Point of View.
As I watched Sally, my maid pack my luggage, I still couldn’t process the fact that I was going on a honeymoon with Mr Prescott.
I recalled the conversation we had immediately we were alone and Nana was gone.
“Why on earth did you agree to that?” I asked Mr Prescott.
He stared at me blankly like he had no idea what I was going on about.
“To what?” He asked.
“To a honeymoon.” I said hotly, barely reining in my insane urge to yell at the top of my lungs and maybe even cry a little. Okay. A lot.
Mr Prescott didn’t smile but I could hear the smirk in his voice and see it reflected in his eyes as he spoke.
“Since we have begun keeping things from each other, Miss Evergreen, I see no reason to explain myself.”
My mouth nearly dropped open in shock. Was he doing this to get back at me for refusing to accept I was shutting him out?
“Mr Prescott-” I began but he shut me down with a shake of his head as he stood.
“Our flight leaves tonight, Miss Evergreen. Get ready.”
Then he left. He just left.
Well, he didn’t just leave, a few minutes later, Sally had shown up in my room to ‘assist me’ in getting ready for the trip.
What on earth was going on?
It felt like I had taken a trip to a warped universe where there was a probability that Mr Prescott was the father of my children and we were going on a honeymoon.
“Good day, Mrs Prescott, a package has arrived for you.”
The sound of Gale’s voice brought me out of my head.
I turned away from Sally to look at our butler who was currently holding a small wrapped box.
“A package for me?” I echoed feeling slightly confused as I was certain I hadn’t ordered anything.
“Thank you.” I said then I took the box from him, dismissing him before I opened the box.
The box held a thick sealed envelope and a small car that held a very short handwritten note.
“You should know the truth about your husband.” It read.
Even if Jerry hadn’t signed off on the note, I would have recognized his handwriting.
The last I’d heard of him in this past week had been in a tabloid that had gone on a tangent on how Jerry Baxter was breaking off his engagement and abandoning his fiance and newly born child.
But no official news channel carried the news. There was no press conference either and as far as the rest of the world knew Kate was still pregnant and slated to marry Jerry Baxter with no history of attempted murder.
I didn’t know why Jerry was keeping the press under lock and key but I didn’t particularly care either. Not when Kate was currently under investigation and the court had forbidden her from leaving L. A until she was cleared or convicted.
I looked at the envelope and note, my annoyance rising. Jerry was trying to plant doubt between Mr Prescott and me. Did he think I would come running back to him if he did that?
I picked up the unopened envelope and card about to throw it in the trash when the door opened and Mr Prescott stepped in.
“Are you ready?” He asked and I nodded as I subtly shifted the envelope and card behind me.
The last thing I needed was another fight with Mr Prescott about accepting gifts from Jerry. I hadn’t fully recovered from the kiss that had resulted from our last fight.
The trip was short and uneventful, unlike my parting with Nana where she had made me promise to call every day and check in with my obgyn just as often.
“If my grandson misbehaves, I’m just a phone call away.” She’d winked at me.
But it wasn’t Mr Prescott’s behaviour I was worried about on this trip, it was mine.
Throughout the flight, I did my best to feign sleep and ignore the overwhelming presence of Mr Prescott next to me. But his every movement, every breath seemed to reverberate through me.
Get a grip, Sophia.
Hours later, we were there. At our honeymoon location.
Terra Resort was a sight to behold. I’d read about the resort in magazines and even seen photos online but it didn’t do justice to the magnificence of it in person.
From the elegant breathtaking architecture at the entrance of the mini island that made it seem like we were stepping into the ocean, to the soaring hotel building that reached for the sky and the plethora of buildings no less magnificent that surrounded the hotel, it felt like I had come into a country of its own not a resort. A country that dripped opulence.
I glanced at Mr Prescott questioningly.
“I thought we were here for business.”
Somehow when Mr Prescott had said he was coming here to do business, the thought I had was that the business would be at a company and we would be lodged in a fancy hotel nearby. Nothing this fancy.
Mr Prescott’s gait was easy and measured like he was used to seeing places like this.
“It is business,” He said. “The Terrences, our hosts, own the resort.”
“Wow.” I exclaimed, barely able to keep my jaw off the ground.
I’d always assumed Terra Resort was owned by a corporation, a group of shareholders. But to hear it was owned by a family was shocking.
But what was even more shocking was how casually Mr Prescott had said it. Oh, by the way, my friends own a resort that should be in the Guinness Book of Records for something.
Sometimes it was easy to forget how rich Mr Prescott was.
A concierge was waiting for us at the hotel and escorted us up to our room which was no doubt a master suite from its ridiculously large size, luxurious furniture and such a beautiful view of the city’s skyline that I knew I would be staring at those ceiling to floor windows for most of my time here.
Mr Prescott left the room almost as soon as we got there immediately after freshening up.
“You should get some rest,” He said. “We have a dinner to attend tonight.”
We’d landed barely an hour ago and we already had dinner plans?
“A dinner? With who?” I asked.
Mr Prescott glanced up from his briefcase he was checking and those gray eyes pinned me to the spot as he spoke.
“Our future business associates,”
He closed the suitcase but he didn’t leave the room as I expected. No, he walked towards where I stood unpacking my luggage.
I paused, my heart racing at our proximity and before I was fully aware of what I was doing, I took a step back. Away from Mr Prescott.
He paused and his jaw clenched slightly, an emotion I couldn’t recognize flashing through those gray eyes.
“Miss Evergreen throughout this trip, none of this distance business of yours will fly.”
My cheeks burned and I didn’t dare look at Mr Prescott.
“I don’t understand what you are talking about.” I said.
Mr Prescott closed the distance between us faster than I could retreat, my back pressed up against the wall faster than I could blink.
This would have been a really romantic positioning if not for the absolute sternness in Mr Prescott’s gaze.
“This deal has been in the works for years and absolutely nothing can tamper with it,” He said tightly. “The moment we step out of this room, Miss Evergreen, we are going to be a textbook perfect couple in every way possible.”
It wasn’t a suggestion or a question. It was an order plain and simple. One I might have protested if Mr Prescott wasn’t right.
I couldn’t ruin his business deal simply because of my hesitance to let him be close to me due to my suspicion that he was my one night stand.
Mr Prescott stood in front of me touching me but not touching me for a few more seconds before storming out of the room with his suitcase.
I let out a breath before crumpling to the ground, my knees wobbly. It was barely a day into our honeymoon and I was already so shaken.
A textbook perfect couple in every way possible, he’d said and now I couldn’t get the thought of our first kiss at the shareholder’s gala out of my head.
Was that the sort of textbook perfect couple he was referring to?
Because if Mr Prescott touched me like that again, I wasn’t sure I would be able to control my reaction to him. I would kiss him and beg him to never stop.
Oh Lord.