The Cinderella Arrangement (19 page)

After we shot through security, we were ushered through a series of corridors while I wondered what the hell was going on.

Why weren’t we going to one of the airport terminals? Delta, US Airways, whatever?

It was only when we were walking across the tarmac and I saw the white jet, stamped in bold, gold letters with his name I realized Will had been joking about flying me in coach.

He smiled at my wide-eyed expression. “Ladies first.” He swept his arm toward the staircase leading to the airplane.

My hair whipped around my head as I bounded up the steps. I felt like a little kid with a shiny, new toy. There were rows of plush, white leather seats and flat screen TVs.

“YOW!”

A tabby cat sat on the table in his blue cage, his yellow eyes extremely round.

“What the hell? What’s a cat doing here?”

“Kitty!” he exclaimed.

I almost laughed at the delight transporting William’s face. He rushed past me to unlock the cage and a handsome cat with dark tiger stripes walked out, stretching his back legs.

The stewardess pursed her lips. I had a feeling that animals were required to stay inside their cages at all times, but she would not argue with the man giving her paychecks.

“This is Tom,” Will said with his hand on the cat’s back.

Tom head-butted his fist, purring.

“You brought a cat to Europe,” I deadpanned. “Do these bed and breakfasts even take pets?”

“They’ll do as I ask.” He glowered at me as if to add: Or else.

He sat down on one chair and Tom the cat jumped on his lap, settling in for a nice, long nap. Will talked to the cat in a baby, singsong voice. My head was ringing with the strangeness of it.

“Tom follows me everywhere. Isn’t that right, baby boy?”

The cat closed his eyes and lifted his white chin as Will scratched his fur. His black lips rounded in a soft
mow
.

He’s crazy.
I opened my phone and texted to Jessica:
He brought a cat on the plane. He’s singing to it now. I’m scared.

She replied.
Get out while you still can.

I stifled laughter from her text and was distracted by Will’s high-pitched voice. Now, he was kissing the top of the cat’s head.

“What’s the deal with the cat?”

I had nothing against cats. I even liked them, but I couldn’t imagine how he would take care of him for three weeks.

He stood, holding the cat over his shoulder, almost as if he was burping a baby. The cat licked his lips and stared at me through yellow slits as Will rubbed his back. He stopped in front of me and I yelped as he deposited him in my lap.

“Tom is my therapy. He goes wherever I go. Think of him as a service animal.”

Tom stood and faced me, his whiskers fanning out and his tail curled in the air like a question mark. Then he head-butted my face, rubbing his cheeks hard against my nose as a line of cat drool smeared my skin.

“Urgh.” I spat out the cat hair.

“He likes you. That’s good,” he said, as if the animal was a good judge of character. He sat down and looked at us with his head in his hand, smiling with sadness in his eyes.

“You seem different. A lot more mellow.”

I held Tom against me, feeling his little heartbeat hammer against mine. Petting him over and over with his reassuring, motor-like purr vibrating in my stomach made me feel lighter. Happier. Maybe he was right about the cat.

“Should we talk about what happened? In the conference room?”

It was really the last thing I wanted to talk about, but if would spend the next few weeks together…

“What’s there to say? You couldn't resist my charms.”

“You were the one hitting on me!”

He sent me a smile full of regret. “Look, it can’t continue.”

Why
?

“Okay, I get it. You want to keep it professional.”

“Right.”

“Then why did you—”

“—Because I’m an impulsive ass who doesn’t think things through. If I want to get anywhere in this company, I’ve got to pull my head out of my dick.”

“Thanks. It’s nice to know that your
dick
was basically the only reason I was hired.”

“Can we please stop talking about my private parts? It’s making me uncomfortable.”

God, I’m so close to telling him to shut up
.

He grinned at the outrage on my face.

W
ill kept
a civil attitude the entire flight without a single sarcastic comment. I suspected that guilt was eating through his insides, but if this was how the rest of our trip would be; I was in for a lot of boredom.

Ironic, really
.

I was determined to get along with Will. This would not ruin the trip. I would have a fantastic time.

I followed Will through the confusing maze that was Heathrow International, Tom the cat occasionally let out the smallest of meows in his cage propped on our luggage. We were getting a lot of weird looks.

“Where are we going first?”

He glanced back at me. “We need to get to Paddington station.”

The train in Paddington would take us to Cheltenham, and afterwards we needed to rent a car for the first location of our British tour: the Cotswolds.

I was sad to leave London. After months of listening to Jessica rave about the city, it was hard leaving it behind.

William had been here before. Within minutes, we were speeding away on the Heathrow Express and arrived at Paddington station. We disembarked to find ourselves under a massive dome. I caught my first glimpse of the London Underground. Hundreds of people milled around the ground floor, buying coffee and pastries from the stalls and relaxing in chairs. On a glass table, a flock of pigeons attacked an abandoned muffin. I was surprised to see a shopping mall within the station, but I followed Will across the platform to the train that would take us to Cheltenham.

My energy should have been shot, but I was excited to be traveling to the first location where I would think of a concept for my first design. It would be really labor intensive. Will wanted the websites to be redesigned, so I would create banners, avatars, and logos. I also would design the newsletters and draft write-ups for each place. It was exciting. I’d never had such a huge project before.

As we approached the train, Will handed me my ticket. As promised, I would be riding coach.

“Well, see you when we get there.”

Will rolled his eyes at me as if he could hardly believe that someone could be so slow.

“I’m riding in the same car, Natalie. I didn’t buy first-class tickets for myself and not you.”

He chuckled to himself and walked down the length of the train. I sighed and followed him.

Well, at least he hasn’t lost his sense of humor
.

Inside, we took seats that had a table so that Tom could sit on top. His yellow eyes glowed through the slits of the cage. A plaintive, low meow warbled through the recycled air.

“
Quiet
, Tom.”

Desperate for a long nap, Will suddenly sank in his seat and used his arms over the table as a pillow. I leaned against the window and watched the English countryside roll beside me. There were patches of yellow fields everywhere, and small, idyllic hamlets that didn’t exist in California. I marveled at all the open space. Living in California, I was accustomed to seeing every available patch of land crammed with as many homes as possible.

I couldn't believe that I was really here. I blinked and felt my eyelids scrape over my eyes.

“Anything from the trolley?”

I shook my head and the coffee cart moved past me. The lull of sleep was too strong with the gentle rocking motion of the train.

* * *

A
fter Will prodded me awake
, I got to my feet and followed him off, thoroughly exhausted.

“Jesus, I don’t think I’ve ever done so much traveling in one day.”

I felt sorry for Tom, who had long ago given up on voicing his displeasure. Now we had to drive toward our destination. Luckily, the car rental was right next to the train station.

Outside was a wet, dreary expanse of concrete and gray skies. I wrapped my jacket around myself, shivering already as we walked to the car.

The real shock came when we went to the car, which could hardly fit our luggage. It was beyond bizarre to sit on the left side, where the driver would normally sit back home. Tom was in the backseat and Will wove the seat belt through the cage.

“It’s okay, Tommy. We’ll be there soon,” he crooned. “You can stop rolling your eyes at me,” he said with his back facing me.

“Whatever. Let’s just go.”

Will shifted into gear and our tiny car sped out of the train station. I gripped my seat as we joined roundabout after roundabout.

The English countryside was beautiful to look at. The deep green hills, the flocks of sheep, the little hamlets with their gardens and parishes reminded me of all the pastoral watercolor paintings I used to study in college. I closed my eyes and listened to the classic music playing in the radio. I drifted off.

“NATALIE!”

Screaming pierced my ears. Both a high-pitched, animal sound and a man’s yell. My eyes snapped open, and I felt the car trembling. I looked to my right and saw Will’s face rigid with fear. I jumped in my seat.

He was hunched over the steering wheel, driving at a speed that was way, way too fast. He gulped for air and one hand clutched his chest. White-hot terror seized my heart. We passed a smoking, twisted tangle of a car wreck and I realized that we could have the same fate.

“Will, stop the car!”

“I can’t breathe."

I couldn’t think. The cat kept yowling, even it knew something was wrong.

“WILL, STOP THE FUCKING CAR!”

We barreled toward slow traffic. I reached over without thinking and yanked on the parking break. The car made an ungodly screech and my seatbelt cut into my stomach. Smoke billowed around the windows and I screamed, adding my voice to the shrieking behind me. I braced myself for the impact, but by some miracle the car ground to a halt only a millimeter from the next car’s bumper.

My heart felt like it was injected with a large dose of caffeine. The fear still pounded through my body with every rush of blood. Will gripped the wheel, looking like he would faint. He unbuckled himself and opened the door. Smoke curled inside the car. He collapsed beside the window.

“Will!”

I ran around the car to see William hunched over with his head between his knees. I stooped down next to him on the concrete and rubbed his back.

What the fuck just happened
?

“Are you hurt? What happened?”

His head peeked out from his knees, glancing at the wreck half a mile down the highway. The blood drained from his face as ambulance sirens screamed. The blue and red lights flashed across his face.

I squeezed his shoulders and shook him. “Will? Snap out of it!”

His eyes slid over. My fingernails bit into his shoulder. No response.

I shot out with my hand, slapping his face a little too hard. His head whipped to the left, but he caught himself on the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut as if I had really hurt him and his shoulders shook.

“Oh my God, Will! I didn’t mean—”

“I’m sorry,” he said in a small voice.

“I’m going to get help.”

“No!” He lashed out and gripped my arm.

“Will, don’t be fucking stupid! You had a—”

“Panic attack,” he said, his face gradually returning to its normal color. “I have PTSD. It happens.”

“It happens? It happens?”

Will winced at the shriek in my voice.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I shoved him so hard that he fell back on his elbows, looking at me with a mixture of fear and guilt. “Why didn’t you tell me? We could have died!”

He sat upright and buried his face in his hands. “I know.”

People were getting out of their cars and walking toward us with looks of concern on their faces. “You all right?”

I grimaced. “Will, you need to go to the hospital.”

“No. There’s nothing you can do for panic attacks. It’ll be a waste of time.”

“But—”

“Let’s just go!” He stood, his back facing the wreck.

“If you think I will let you drive us, you’re out of your mind.”

Will looked at my determined face and gave me a small nod. I approached the left side of the car out of habit and swore.

“You sure you’re all right, love?”

“We’re fine!” I said in a high-pitched voice.

Yes, everything’s fine. I’m about to drive stick shift for the first time in a decade. Everything’s swell!

I sat in the driver’s seat with Will chewing his thumb next to me, looking self-conscious. Everything was on the wrong side.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

“You’ll get the hang of it. Just relax.”

“You relax!” I snapped.

I started the car and stalled it. People were honking at us from behind. I turned the key again and floored the gas, burning the clutch but finally moving forward. I relaxed as I shifted into second gear and drove down the highway, following the GPS.

“Okay,” I began. “Want to tell me what the hell that was about?”

I eyed him, but he sat there clam-like. A vision of my hands wrapped around his throat filled my mind.

“I was involved in a car accident years ago and that’s all you need to know.”

A light flickered in my head. “So when you see car wrecks, you freak out?”

Pain was etched all over his face as blatant as a Greek mask. “They can trigger episodes, yes.”

“What happened?”

He shook his dark head, his wide eyes looking everywhere but me. “Natalie, please.”

Whatever it was, it was bad. That only added fuel to the curiosity burning inside me. Though, the guilt in his voice didn’t make it too hard to guess what happened.

He killed someone.

The adrenaline rush almost made me black out and my palms suddenly felt greasy over the steering wheel. I stared straight ahead, afraid to look at him with judgment in my eyes.

That was probably what happened. He killed someone—or maimed them so badly that life would never be the same.

Stop speculating. You know nothing.

“Think you figured it out, haven’t you?”

I gave my head a little shake. “Nope.”

He snorted but said nothing more.

We kept the conversation light. I had no desire to send him into another panic attack while I was driving.

It was time to get off the highway, a moment I dreaded. I edged up behind the cars leading to the roundabout.

“Take the third exit.”

“Third exit? What does that mean?”

Will’s face contorted as he fought to keep a straight face. “It means you leave at the third exit. You can count, right?”

I gritted my teeth. How could someone be so damn annoying? I watched the cars sliding into the roundabout. There appeared to be two lanes.

“Crap. I am so stressed out.”

“Don’t be stressed out, Natalie. You’ll get used to it. I promise.”

Now it was my turn. I had to wait until there was a gap between the cars zooming from the right. We whirled around in a circle and I almost didn’t notice the first exit.

“Shit! Which one is it?”

“The third one.”

But I lost track of which ones were passing by me, and then I looped around the entire circle. “Which one IS IT?”

By now, Will had dissolved into laughter. He reached over and patted my shoulder.

“Get off here.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as I pulled left down a road. The GPS lead us deep into the country, until the roads narrowed so severely that I didn’t understand how two cars could fit alongside each other.

It was like something out of a Tolkien novel. There were endless, deep green fields, sheep, unpaved roads, and footpaths that led from village to village. We drove through Ebrington, following tiny, crude signposts. The small, brick cottages, each with a lush garden, looked like something out of a fairy-tale book. I pulled onto the street where we would be staying.

The bed and breakfast was a flat-faced, beige cottage with a kissing gate bordered by rose bushes. A wonderful pasture bordered the house, where I could make out white dots of sheep and hear the occasional baa. There were footpaths leading toward the pasture that begged to be explored.

I grinned as I turned back to see William extracting an irate Tom from the car. He let the cat out at once, which immediately dashed into the bushes.

“He’ll be fine,” he said, noticing my concern.

As we passed through the kissing gate, I realized how desperate my body was for a nap. It was a struggle just to go up the small steps. I knocked on the blue door with William right behind me.

It opened to reveal a slight blonde woman wearing an apron.

“You must be Mr. and Mrs. Pardini.”

My cheeks bloomed.

“Yes, yes we are,” he boomed from behind me.

“I’m Mary. Please come in!”

Mary could hardly contain her excitement over being considered as a potential affiliate of the prestigious Pardini hotel chain.

The cottage was immaculate. There were a living room whose floors looked like they had been polished, a giant solarium with a breakfast table and plush, comfortable looking couches, and a tiny, cramped kitchen. The upstairs led to the rooms. It was the cutest place I had ever seen. Tom the cat darted inside from between my legs.

“I brought my cat with me, I hope that’s all right with you?” he asked in an innocent tone.