The center of my cheeks flared hotly. “I wasn’t thinking that at all. I just don’t want to be in your way.”
“You won’t be. When do you leave for the States?” He picked up half of his sandwich and took a quick bite before licking at the side of his mouth.
“Two weeks,” I replied, and the pit of my stomach churned at the thought. I ignored the tiny flicker of heat that rolled through my stomach at the sight of his tongue. It was silly. Childish, but God, he was so sexy and sure of himself. Why couldn’t I have fallen for a man like him instead of Harry? Fucking dumb luck.
My apartment had already been sold. I didn’t own a place back home anymore. Shit, I didn’t own anything really. The few things I did have back in New York were already on their way to the flat I lived in with Harry in London. Who knew what he was going to do with them when they showed up at his door. I’d not have been surprised to be walking down the city streets of London to find my stuff scattered about as if I were the one who cheated.
I had nothing left in the city besides Peyton. She would let me stay with her for as long as I needed, but being a burden to anyone was something I couldn’t stomach very well.
“Just two weeks?” He took another bite of his sandwich and watched me in a way that left me wondering what was going through that brilliant head of his. Some part of me wished I’d gotten to know him better. Meeting once before the wedding and having him as Harry’s best man just seemed odd. Had they had a falling out? I didn’t know the whole story, but something told me that I might have a chance to learn more by staying with Al
fie over the next two weeks.
I shrugged and stifled a smile at my wayward thoughts. “Possibly longer. I sold my apartment back in New York. I also handed in my resignation too, so I have no job to go back to. I really have all the time in the world, I guess. Well, at least until my savings account runs out.”
Alfie frowned as he picked up the kettle carefully with an oven mitt when it whistled on the stove. He set his sandwich down and turned to pour two cups. He dropped black tea bags into each and glanced back at me. “Do you usually drink tea, or are you more of a coffee girl?”
“Both? I love either one, as long as they’re fancied up to resemble a dessert.” I let the smile loose and was rewarded with a warm one from him. It was nice to know that there were still good people in the world. He had stepped up to save me when the world moved back and let me hang.
“Excellent.” He winked and shifted the subject on me. “I might be mistaken, but I honestly thought that Harry was going to ask you to come onto his marketing team,” he said and slid the cup carefully across the counter.
The aroma of black tea filled my lungs pleasantly. I wrapped my fingers around the thick ceramic that was warm from the hot water to fight the chill out of my bones. He placed cream and sugar in front of me as well, but turned his nose up playfully as if adding anything to the tea would ruin it completely.
“I was supposed to be,” I said and exhaled a soft laugh at his playfulness. It was welcomed. More than he could know. “Something tells me that I won’t have a place on his marketing team anymore.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised to find that’s the case. He’s not the man I knew in University. That’s for damn sure.” Alfie’s lips curved up as if he’d sucked on a lemon. “Well, two weeks is plenty of time to tour Devon, and if you stay longer, even better. I could show you a couple of places if you’d like, unless you want some time to yourself?”
“No, I’d love the company. I think I’ll get plenty of time to myself with you working some.” I shrugged and glanced down as I stirred the cream and sugar into my tea. “I don’t want to take away from your life, though. I know you probably have plenty to do at work. You don’t have to entertain me. You’ve done more than enough.”
“Is that a no?” He chuckled. “I’ll always have more to do, but I do enjoy showing beautiful women around my favorite town. And perhaps, just perhaps, I’m looking for a bit of rest myself out of this most peculiar situation.”
I loved the antiquated way he spoke. It left my broken heart fluttering just a little bit. “Do you like sightseeing?”
“Yes. Unless you plan on staying locked up in my guest room the entire time you’re here.” His eyebrow lifted, and his eyes filled with merriment. “The neighbors would certainly begin to whisper then, no?”
I laughed. “They might already. I’m not quite sure I fit in at all around here.”
“You fit in just fine.” He lifted his tea to his lips and blew on the hot liquid carefully. “The scenery is beautiful.” His eyes bore into me a little, and my heart fluttered again. “All the way around.”
Chapter Seven
Alfie
The rest of the evening was spent with small talk until Molly retired to bed early. I couldn’t blame her. The poor thing needed time to pull herself together and work through all that had happened over the last few days.
Hell, the last few years. From the sound of things, Harry hadn’t been the most giving or honest chap since the beginning. The thought left my stomach sick and kept me up late into the night.
I rose early the next morning before I knew Molly would be up, but also before the rest of my house staff would be coming in. The mornings were my time to think before heading into work, so they respected my need for space by coming in later after I was already at work. It was nice to know that my place would be cared for and kept while I toiled at the office.
My conversation with Molly played out in the back of my mind. For two weeks, Molly would be around my estate. I didn’t know how I necessarily felt about it. I was normally protective over my personal space and privacy, but this was Molly. She had no intentions of getting close to me. She had her own complicated mess of a life to figure out given everything that had happened with Harry over the past three days.
The rest of the house was dark and still when I left my bedroom to head downstairs. I rolled up my sleeves, expecting a kitchen full of dishes, but found a spotless sink and counter. A smile tugged at my lips. I knew without a doubt that Molly must’ve cleaned up the dishes after I had gone to bed. She was still on New York time, and maybe she hadn’t gone right to bed. Obviously not. It seemed that she stayed up a good portion of the night cleaning up from our meal the night before.
I needed to tell her that the staff would take care of things like that, but maybe it was cathartic for her. Something about picturing her in a t-shirt and panties, cleaning up the kitchen had my cock twitching in my slacks. The woman was a beauty, no doubt. She deserved better than Harry, but that didn’t mean she deserved me. It was too sticky of a situation, and I felt a bit like a narcissist thinking that a few of her sideways glances from the night before actually meant anything.
“Get over yourself,” I whispered roughly.
The entire kitchen looked clean when I flipped the lights on to navigate my way to the coffee maker. While that brewed, I gathered everything I needed in my office for another long day. My marketing team needed some extra guidance when it came to pushing out this new phone plan I had drawn up to the investors. I wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but they seemed confused by my notes from last week before Harry and Molly’s wedding.