* * *
He woke her to shower at noon. Not alone. Showering together was one of her recently discovered perks to sharing physical intimacy with Vik.
They came out of the bathroom to find clothing lying across the freshly made bed.
A familiar black-and-white polka-dot set of hard-sided luggage was sitting against the wall beside a black fold over garment bag and matching leather duffel as well.
“How long are we staying here?” she asked as she donned her bra and then tugged on a black silk shell over it.
Vik flicked the suitcases a glance and then met her eyes. “We are checking out in an hour.”
“Where are we going?” Not home.
Both their personal possessions had been moved to Parean Hall the day before the wedding. So, there would be no need for luggage.
He pulled on his briefs and then a pair of dark indigo designer jeans. “Palm Springs.”
“Why?”
“Our honeymoon.”
She stilled in her own efforts to get dressed. “But I thought we weren’t going on a honeymoon.”
“I do not recall agreeing to that.”
“We never talked about it,” she pointed out.
He pulled on a black-and-white Armani X polo. “It is traditional.”
“Our marriage isn’t exactly.” The jeans she stepped into were a pair of her favorites.
“I disagree.”
She shook her head, knowing he wouldn’t budge on his outlook. Vik saw nothing odd in marrying a woman he didn’t love so he could build a legacy for the children he most certainly would.
“So, Palm Springs.”
His grin was knowing. “I saw little point in an exotic location when we are likely to spend most of our time in the bedroom.”
Blushing, she ignored his assertion and shrugged into the burgundy-and-black color-blocked jacket someone had left out for her to wear. “I like Palm Springs.”
In fact, the small resort city nestled in the California desert was one of Maddie’s all-time favorite places. She used to visit with her mother every winter. There were enough celebrities that vacationed there, the Archers of the world were barely a blip on the media’s radar.
Maddie had continued to travel to the desert when she needed to get away from being Madison Archer, notorious heiress.
Somehow, she thought Vik knew that.
He smiled. “It is a good thing you are as intelligent as you are, or the amount of school you missed traveling with your mother would have been a real problem.”
“She always brought a tutor along and got my assignments.”
Vik’s expression turned heated. “I’ll be the only tutor you’ll need this week.”
“After the last five weeks, and particularly last night, I’m pretty sure there isn’t much for you to teach me.”
“You’ll be surprised.”
Not “you could be” or “you might be,” but “you will be” surprised. The man had no shortage of confidence.
And the following eight days proved how justified he was in that regard.
True to his word, they spent a lot of time in the bedroom of their suite at an oasis-style resort outside of the city. However, Vik also insisted on visiting Maddie’s favorite spots, taking her to dine at some of the best restaurants in and around the city as well as shopping in the exclusive boutiques of top designers.
Maddie, who had always considered her socialite side something of a necessary evil, enjoyed herself in ways she hadn’t in Palm Springs since Helene’s death.
Vik was flatteringly enthusiastic about almost every article of clothing Maddie tried on, and even the growls that particularly revealing pieces elicited were flattering in their own way.
They returned to San Francisco to a list of possible properties for the charter school that Vik had his real estate agent compile.
Vik had too many things on his desk no one else could handle after a week’s absence to accompany Maddie and Romi when they toured the properties. But he asked detailed questions each evening about what Maddie had seen, proving the sincerity of his interest in the project.
* * *
Friday morning, Maddie got a text from her father’s assistant requesting she come to a meeting in his office that afternoon.
She was supposed to do another tour of the property she and Romi had pretty much decided was the one for the school. Feeling magnanimous toward the world in general, even her father, Maddie called and rescheduled the tour before texting the PA that she would be at the meeting.
Maddie was shown into her father’s office by his secretary, who surprisingly did not stay to take notes. So, it was a personal meeting?
Only, why at his office?
Her dad stood and came around from behind his desk. “Madison. I would like you to meet Dr. Wilson, the director for...” Jeremy named a well-known institution that specialized in psychiatric studies.