Even allowing an extra half hour travel time, Aidan is nearly late. The address Marley gave him is a long way up the peninsula, on the ridge with a view across the ocean. He doesn't have transport and he's trying to save money so he takes the bus and decides to walk the last part, realising too late that it's uphill and the day's already getting warmer.
The house is on the ocean side, a single-storey building architected carefully from concrete and glass, backing onto the road. It doesn't look very different to the houses around it. He checks the address again and presses the intercom on the steel gate. After a few seconds, he hears the latch click and pushes through. Before he can get to the front door, it opens.
A woman is standing there. She's a head shorter than him, wrapped in tight-fitting lycra with one hand pressed to her ear and her phone in the other.
"Tell him fuck no."
She glances up at Aidan, tapping her ear to indicate the earbud, and waves him in. Then, she turns and wanders back into the house.
"I said that. You remember? I was at the fucking table. I said that."
They're in an entrance hall, with a set of shallow steps leading down into the rest of the building. At the bottom, there is an open-plan area with a wide view of the sea. Silhouetted against it, the woman is nodding vigorously, her back turned to him.
She agitated, her hand playing absently with the blonde hair caught up in a clip behind her head. The lycra tank top reveals bare shoulders, narrowing down to a slim waist and toned legs. She's barefoot.
"Yeah, I said that. He was gonna go take care of it and I was meant to have the contract yesterday. Yeah. Assholes. Can you?"
She nods again, looking over her shoulder and holding up a finger to Aidan. He finds himself face to face with one of the most recognisable women in the world.
"Thanks, yeah. Really appreciate it. We'll get there."
She taps the phone and lets out a long breath.
"Motherfuckers," she groans.
"Uh, problems?" Aidan replies, tentatively.
The woman ignores the question. "You're Aidan."
"You're Mara Fey."
"Yeah, I know who I am. There are posters. You Aidan, yeah?"
He's looking into blue eyes, blonde hair framing a mesmerizingly beautiful face. She's wearing just a little make-up, enough to accent her soft lips and wide eyes. Mara's older than him by more than a decade, he seems to recall, but she doesn't look it. She blinks.
"Uh, Aidan, right?" she repeats.
"Yeah," Aidan stammers, "Uh, that's me. I... Marley sent me. For personal...."
"I know, I booked you."
"Uh... that's right."
Mara is watching him as he struggles, then she smiles.
"Take a breath. Let it pass."
Aidan draws a breath and nods. "I'm just... I wasn't expecting, uh, you."
Mara winks and it's adorable. "That's because I'm not here. I'm not even in the country, at least not for a few more days."
She beckons him over to a table. There's a bag. She extracts a set of papers and a pen, and holds them out to him.
"Read and sign. Let me know if you have any questions. I'll be downstairs."
Wordlessly, he takes them and she turns, slinking down the stairs. He watches the way she walks, the way her hips roll in her lycra exercise tights, then forces his attention to the document in his hand.
BẠN ĐANG ĐỌC
A Place Beyond The Horizon
Lãng mạnContains adult content, sex scenes, infidelity. Aidan's marriage has been shattered by his wife's actions. Unable to cope with the thing Rosa did, he boarded a plane and put as much distance between them as possible. Alone for the first time in year...
