2. Kathleen

Chapter 2

Kathleen

“ W hose car is that?” Kathleen asked, pointing across the dashboard of Ira’s Ferrari. “I thought Jem and Gwenyth weren’t going to be here this weekend.”

Ira parked the car and brushed a layer of frost off the rearview mirror. She followed Kathleen’s gesture and shrugged. “Maybe it’s a car they keep here. No big deal. We’ve got the place all to ourselves this weekend.”

She flashed Kathleen a mischievous grin. The heat lingered in the car, even though the engine had been off for a minute. With a sly smile, Ira took Kathleen’s hand and started guiding it toward her thigh.

“Patience, babe.” Kathleen swatted her hand away playfully. She checked her blonde French twist in the mirror, pretending Ira wasn’t the most attractive person she’d ever laid eyes on. “Keep our friend in your pants—for now. We can do all that later, okay?”

She opened the door, stepping into the frosty air. Although it was only three, the sky was already dimming with twilight pressing in, and the bare, skeletal trees blocked what little sunlight remained. Kathleen could imagine the villa being more picturesque in the summer, but Jem had insisted that this place was the most romantic in winter. Not that Kathleen cared—she was happy to get away and spend uninterrupted time with Ira, especially after weeks of traveling apart for work.

“My baby is going to freeze standing out here.” Ira curled an arm around Kathleen, sharing her thick jacket and scarf. Kathleen was dressed in a wool vest, jeans, and boots, but she had to admit that even without snow her bones were brittling. Best to go inside.

Ira pulled their bags from the back of the car, offering to carry both. “Do you want my hand turning blue and freezing off?” It was only a few yards to the front door. Somehow, Kathleen would live fine without Ira’s chivalry. I may be a billionaire heiress, but I know how to carry my own stupid bags. Even if hers were heavy. She had packed… a few things. Because the thought of borrowing Jem and Gwenyth’s was gross.

The butler met them at the front door. “You must be Misses Allen and Mathison.”

Ira shook the butler’s hand. “We heard you were expecting us.”

Something odd flickered across the butler’s face. “Yes. Ms. Mercier informed me that you and the others would be arriving.”

Both Ira and Kathleen stopped cold in the warmth of the foyer. “The… others?”

“Kathleen!”

She spun around to discover her best friend Eve lounging dramatically in the doorway of the study. What the hell? The last time they had seen each other was three days ago over lunch. Eve hadn’t said anything about being at the Winter Villa this weekend!

Yet there she was, draping herself across the door with a dumb grin on her striking face. Cheekbones made of razor wire cut into the air as Eve opened her mouth once more. “Fancy seeing your fair ass here. Oh, and you brought Mathison with you.”

Ira looked like she was about to stand on a landmine. The last person she wanted to see on this weekend getaway was Kathleen’s best friend, a woman constantly threatening to kill her and feed her remains to designer dogs if she did anything to hurt Kathleen. Eve is all talk, no bite. Mostly.

“This must be hell,” Ira muttered under her breath. “We must’ve skidded off the road on the way here and died.”

Kathleen shook her head in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“Should be asking you that. We were here first.”

“We?”

Two more figures appeared behind Eve – her sister Helen, who glared at the butler, and Helen’s fiancée, Monique, who looked thoroughly amused by the whole situation.

“There’s been a… scheduling mix-up,” the butler explained. “Ms. Mercier invited you all to stay, though I didn’t realize the invitations would overlap.”

Nobody mentioned the elephant in the room… that Jem had probably done this on purpose. Exactly the kind of prank she enjoys playing.

“Bernadette will take your bags to your room,” the butler added. A stout maid in a crisp uniform stepped forward to collect their luggage. “You’ll be staying at the other end of the hall. I hope that provides enough space for… everyone.”

The man’s voice dripped in apology. It would have to, working for someone like Jem. She was a trickster, an occasional womanizer, and loved playing every practical joke she got away with. Arranging for multiple friends to stay at this villa on the same weekend was right up her alley.

Monique gestured toward the study with a hearth-warmed smile. “We’ve got a fire and some brandy in here. Won’t you join us? You two look dreadfully cold.”

Probably a good thing that someone like Monique was here first. She was a natural hostess, pleaser, and so good at diffusing situations that she could probably work for the police – when they weren’t hassling her place of business, anyway.

Ira shrugged and followed Monique into the study, but Kathleen lingered in the foyer, exchanging a look with Eve. Her friend’s mischievous grin said everything . This was supposed to be a romantic getaway. Now it’s a social disaster.

“Throwing some wrenches into your plans, eh?” Eve teased.

Kathleen shot her a scheming smile. “I was hoping for a weekend-long fuckathon. So, yeah, this complicates things.” She thought back to Ira’s earlier attempts at seduction in the car. Kathleen had wanted to wait until they arrived at their room. Now, they would have to find some other time—and try to keep quiet. Where was the fun in that?

“Come on, Katie ,” Eve said, using Ira’s pet name for Kathleen. “Let’s have some drinks and make the most of this prison of ours for the weekend.”

They entered the study, where Ira was already pouring drinks. Kathleen took her glass and settled onto the couch by the fire, letting the warmth seep into her bones. Still, she couldn’t help wishing that she was warming herself with Ira’s body instead—in a bed or a closet. They were not above that.

“If it’s any consolation,” Helen said from across the room as she skimmed the bookshelves, “we’re having roast for dinner.”

Kathleen’s stomach rumbled at the thought.

“Indeed,” the butler confirmed, appearing in the doorway. “Bernadette, be sure to set eight places for dinner.”

Ira raised an eyebrow. “Eight? But there are only five of us.”

“Uh-oh,” Kathleen muttered.

As if on cue, Bernadette announced another car pulling into the driveway.