The Edge of Eternity

That night seemed like a dream to Elizabeth. A lovely, distant dream. What seemed more real to her was the ground-breaking ceremony the next day. The ruins had been cleared away by then and bulldozers had leveled the property. She remembered now seeing a man at the service, a tall, aristocratic stranger dressed all in black who’d stood apart from the crowd. He didn’t seem to be connected to the ceremony, but Elizabeth had the strongest feeling that he belonged there. That he had a purpose for being there. And when his gaze met hers, an odd mixture of fear and excitement had gripped her.

She’d forgotten all about that day. And about the man.

“Elizabeth?”

“I’m fine,” she said a bit tersely before Paul could ask if she was all right.

His mouth thinned and he turned his attention back to the road. Pulling to the front of the hotel, he parked the car as two valets came hurrying to open their doors and a bellman took charge of the luggage.

As they walked up the steps, Paul put his hand on Elizabeth’s elbow. The gesture was as natural as breathing to him. The slight contact didn’t mean anything, but for some reason Elizabeth had the urge to pull away from him…as if someone was willing her to pull away.

At the top of the steps she paused to glance over her shoulder. In spite of the mist, a handful of people strolled about the grounds, but no one seemed to notice her. Turning, she followed Paul into the lobby, an opulent, lofty space with marble floors, trickling fountains and sparkling chandeliers.

A clerk wearing a black blazer emblazoned with a tiny green fern leaf smiled as they approached the front desk. “Welcome to Fernhaven. May I have your names, please?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Paul Blackstone.”

The clerk typed their names into the computer. After a few moments he asked them to sign the registration form, then produced two keys. “You’ll be in guest cottage five,” he said. “It’s the farthest one from the hotel. Very cozy and private. It even has two fireplaces.”

“Guest cottage?” Elizabeth said in surprise. “We aren’t staying in the main hotel?”

The clerk seemed to be affronted by her question. “The cottages are extremely desirable, I assure you. We were swamped with requests—”

“Do you have something in the main hotel?” Paul cut in, but Elizabeth quickly put her hand on his arm.

“No, it’s okay. I was just surprised, that’s all. I didn’t realize the hotel had guest cottages,” she said to the clerk. “I’m sure they’re lovely.”

“Number five is an exact replica of the original,” he said proudly. “Right down to the linens.”

“In that case, I can’t wait to see it.” Elizabeth tried to muster up the correct amount of enthusiasm to soothe the clerk’s ruffled feathers. He appeared somewhat appeased as he finished checking them in.

Another bellman led them across the lobby and through an outside door where golf carts were lined up beneath an awning. Stowing their luggage on the back, he got behind the wheel and waited for Elizabeth and Paul to climb aboard. Then, letting out the clutch, he deftly maneuvered the cart along a narrow, twisting trail past a row of cottages. Elizabeth had to look closely to see them. They were spaced far apart for privacy and set so far back from the trail as to almost disappear in the woodsy setting.

Pulling up in front of the last one, the bellman got out to open the front door. After Elizabeth and Paul entered, he went back out to collect their luggage, which he placed in the master bedroom. Wishing them a pleasant stay, he accepted Paul’s discreet tip, then disappeared.

Alone with her husband again, Elizabeth glanced around. The clerk had been right. The cottage was very elegant and charming, furnished in autumn shades of gold, green and terra-cotta. The silk drapery and striped upholstery were luxurious almost to the point of decadence, and when she went to check out the bedroom, she discovered that no detail had been spared in that room either, including logs stacked in the fireplace.

The bed was a large four-poster queen with a soft chenille spread and lots of cloudlike pillows that were instantly inviting. The rest of the furniture was dark and heavy, but the French doors leading out to a private terrace kept the room from being too dark and oppressive.

Elizabeth walked over and opened one of the doors. “I can hear a waterfall,” she said absently.

“It’s only about a quarter of a mile or so from here,” Paul said as he came up behind her. “Just along that trail.” He nodded in the direction of the path they’d come up. “Maybe we can hike up and see it tomorrow, if you feel like it.”

Elizabeth swallowed back the panic that rose in her throat. Did he really expect her to do couple-type things with him this weekend? That wasn’t part of the deal. He’d said all she had to do was show up here so that Boyd Carter could see them together. Was he changing the rules on her now that they were here? And if so, what else might he expect of her?

As Elizabeth turned from the door, her gaze lit on the four-poster. It was the kind of bed one could sink into, nestled in the arms of a lover….

She swallowed again as she turned back to Paul. He hadn’t noticed that her attention had been caught by the bed, thank goodness. He was too busy picking up his suitcase and heading for the door. “I’ll take the small bedroom. You’ll be more comfortable in here.”

“There’s another bedroom? I didn’t notice one.”

“It’s on the other side of the living room,” Paul said. “The door was closed. That’s probably why you didn’t notice.”

“But…how did you know it was there?” Elizabeth idly twisted a button at the top of her sweater. “No one said anything about two bedrooms.”

He glanced away. “I’ve been up here before. I’m familiar with the layout.”

He’d been up here before? Alone…or with a companion?

Elizabeth watched him leave the room. When she heard him moving about on the other side of the cottage, she opened the French doors wider and stepped out on the terrace.

The flagstones beneath her feet were slippery from the fog, and she took care as she walked about. The woods encroached to the very edge of the terrace, the giant, lacy firs casting a deep shadow over the space. It was colder out here, too, and the sound of the waterfall pounded an uneasy rhythm in the distance.

Elizabeth could see the trail they’d come up, and where it led back into the trees, the mist thickened and swirled. For a moment the fog appeared to take on a human form, and then with a start Elizabeth realized that she really was seeing a man. He was walking toward the woods, but just before the shadows swallowed him, he turned. Elizabeth couldn’t see his face, but she knew that he was looking at her. A chill slid over her, and she quickly went inside and locked the door.

After hanging her clothes in the roomy closet, she carried her toiletries into the bathroom, a luxurious, marble affair with a claw-foot tub large enough to accommodate two.

A bath sounded like a wonderful idea, Elizabeth decided. She sat on the edge of the tub as she turned on the taps. The hotel had supplied a generous cache of bath salts and spa treatments, and as she dumped some into the running water, the fragrance floated on the air like a dream.

She lit some candles, then quickly shed her clothing. Sinking down into the steamy bubbles, she lay her head back against the tub and let her muscles completely relax. She was only a blink away from dozing off when the room suddenly chilled. The candles flickered in the draft, and she sat up in alarm.

“Paul?” she called nervously. “Is that you?”

He didn’t answer, but Elizabeth decided he must have gone out to the terrace for a breath of fresh air. How else to explain the draft?

Still, she couldn’t shake her uneasiness, and climbing out of the tub, she quickly dried off and wrapped herself in a thick terry-cloth robe. Tying the sash, she walked into the bedroom and checked the terrace doors. They were still closed and locked, and as she moved into the living room, she could see nothing amiss there either.

Paul’s door was ajar, and she went over to knock, but then noticed that he was stretched out on his bed asleep. He looked so peaceful, she hesitated to wake him. One leg hung off the side of the bed, and an arm was thrown over his face to shield it from the grayish light that filtered through the window. He appeared to be asleep, but as Elizabeth watched, he stirred and dropped his arm to his side. Rather than rousing, he seemed to settle more deeply into his slumber.

Elizabeth wasn’t quite sure why she did it, but she crossed the room and dropped to her knees beside the bed. Resting her chin on her folded arms, she watched him sleep.

He had become a stranger to her, and yet his features were still so familiar. The thick, sweeping lashes she’d always envied. The well-shaped nose. The chiseled lips that still had the power to make her heart race.

For a moment she was overcome with the irresistible urge to lean over and press her mouth to those lips. She even moved her head toward him, and then that strange draft blew through the cottage again.

Getting to her feet, Elizabeth walked away from the bed to investigate. As she left Paul’s room, his cell phone began to ring. She paused just outside his door, knowing that she shouldn’t listen but unable to help herself.

She heard the bedsprings creak as he rolled over and reached for the phone. “Hello?” he said sleepily. He listened for a moment. “We got in a little while ago. Where are you?”

Another silence. Then he said, “No, it’s best if you stay where you are. I’ll see you in a little while.”

He hung up and Elizabeth hurried back to her own bedroom, the source of the draft all but forgotten.

She had something else on her mind now—like who had been on the other end of Paul’s phone conversation. She had a funny feeling that she already knew.

PAUL COULDN’T BELIEVE he’d slept so long. He’d only meant to lie down for a few moments to rest, and then the next thing he knew, he’d awakened to the scent of Elizabeth’s perfume. He’d been dreaming about her, he supposed. Imagining that she had come to him the way she used to, soft and warm and fragrant from her bath. Her blue eyes dark and hooded with desire as she reached for him…

Getting up, he stretched, then glanced at his watch. He had fifteen minutes to shower and dress before the welcome cocktail party got under way in one of the small ballrooms. If he was late, he doubted anyone would notice. On the other hand, Boyd Carter valued promptness almost as much as he did family.