The heavy silence Brodie left behind was almost as loud as his chaotic exit.
Eleanor Finch, the housekeeper, moved with silent efficiency, dispatching staff to deal with the carnage on the lawn as if manicured acts of destruction were a daily occurrence.
Avery took a shaky breath, forcing the adrenaline back down. She had to regain control.
She turned to face Joshua, pasting a smirk on her face. "Your brother's temper..." she said, her voice a little too bright. "Not great."
She was trying to deflect, to gauge his reaction.
He wasn't smiling. His ice-blue eyes were narrowed, studying her with a new, calculating intensity. The polite restraint was gone, replaced by cold suspicion.
"Explain the kiss, Ms. Hopkins," he said, his voice low and dangerous.
Avery's stomach clenched. She knew this was coming.
She shrugged, leaning back into her role. "Improvisation. You said to provoke him. I couldn't think of anything more effective."
"That was not the way I told you to do it." His voice was colder now. "I told you not to touch me."
He took a step closer, crowding her against the door. "Are you enjoying this a little too much? Or is there something else going on here?"
His proximity, the sheer force of his suspicion, was suffocating. She couldn't let him dig any deeper. She had to get out.
She decided to fold. A strategic retreat.
"Fine. I overstepped," she said, holding up her hands in surrender. "You're clearly unhappy. The deal's off."
She turned, making a move for the door. "I'll wire the deposit back to you. Goodbye, Mr. Stanley."
She had to leave. Now. Before Brodie came back.
Joshua's hand shot out, his fingers wrapping around her arm like a manacle. He yanked her back from the door.
"You want to leave?" he snarled, a flicker of something-anger, confusion-in his eyes.
Her reaction made no sense. One minute, she was bold enough to kiss him in front of his brother. The next, she was a terrified animal bolting for the exit.
Why? Because he'd questioned her about a kiss? Or was it because of... Brodie?
The thought was absurd. He dismissed it instantly. They couldn't possibly know each other.
"Let go of me!" Avery tried to wrench her arm free. "This is what you want, isn't it? Your 'unsuitable' girlfriend is leaving on her own."
A humorless laugh escaped him. "The agreement has commenced. You don't get to decide when it ends. Do you think you can just walk in and out of the Stanley family as you please?"
He couldn't let her go. Not now. Not after introducing her as his fiancée. If she vanished now, he would be the family's new laughingstock. His plan was just beginning. He wouldn't let this woman derail it.
"I quit!" Avery hissed, her voice tight with a panic she could no longer hide.
Her desperation only fueled his suspicion.
He narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over her pale, strained face. "What are you so afraid of, Avery?"
He used her first name for the first time. The sound of it, spoken in that low, questioning tone, sent a fresh wave of fear through her.
