The Summer of Sunshine and Margot(73)

He took the rabbit from her and put it on a shelf, then handed her a carving of a dragon. “There were famous netsuke craftsmen who signed their work. Those are the most valuable.”

The dragon was coiled in a circle and maybe two inches across, but the details were exquisite. She could see the individual scales and tiny claws. There were even little dragon teeth.

“I love him,” she said with a smile, handing him back to Alec. She looked at the cabinet. “You have a wonderful collection.”

She examined the different shelves. There were more dragons and rabbits, a few monkeys, even a couple of carved men. She was about to pick up a gourd when she realized there was something off about the cabinet. The depth of the shelves didn’t match the depth of the side.

A false front, she thought, immediately looking for the release mechanism. It had to be something accessible. A cabinet this large couldn’t be moved easily to reach in from behind.

She studied the construction, especially on the sides, and immediately caught sight of two corner pieces that looked out of place.

“Is this it?” she asked eagerly, pushing first one corner, then the other.

“Wait!”

Alec sounded insistent, but it was too late. The entire front of the cabinet swung forward. Behind it were more shelves, just like the ones in front, and there were more netsuke on display. Carved people who... People who...

Margot stared, not sure she could believe what she was seeing. She reached out and picked up what looked like a couple kissing. But as she studied the carving, she realized they weren’t just kissing. And there weren’t just two of them. There were in fact four people, um, doing each other in very interesting ways. In fact all the hidden netsuke were people indulging in various erotic exploits.

“Oh,” she said, putting the piece back where she’d found it. “It’s a different style, isn’t it?”

Alec stared at her without speaking. Not that she could blame him. What was there to say that wouldn’t make things more awkward?

She started to tell him she wasn’t offended. That she got this was art, too, and it was as beautifully carved as the other pieces. She realized that, in a way, he was like the cabinet—all formal and forbidding but with wonderful secrets on the inside.

The longer they stood there, the more stupid she felt until she realized she had no choice but to make her escape.

“They’re lovely,” she told him. “Very original. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get something in my room.”

A ludicrous excuse but the best one she could come up with in the moment. She offered him a tight smile, turned and ran from his office. When she reached her room, she closed the door and leaned against it.

Disaster, she thought grimly. That had been a total disaster. For someone who was supposed to be an expert at handling embarrassing or difficult situations, she’d just screwed up that one. Instead of being amused or casual or the least bit sophisticated, she’d taken off like a teenage girl who had accidentally walked into the boys’ locker room.

How was she supposed to face him after that? How was she supposed to face herself? She groaned, then sank to the floor and pulled her legs to her chest. She rested her head on her knees and told herself that one day she would be smooth, classy and cultured, but until then, she was only herself and for the most part, that really sucked.



Chapter Eighteen


Sunshine finished applying a top coat to her toenails. She didn’t usually bother to paint them but she’d been in the mood. She walked out of her bathroom, balancing on her heels, the toe spacers making her walk funny. After checking on Connor, who was both watching his ant farm and reading a book, she made her way to the kitchen. She would do a little veggie chopping for dinner while her toes dried.

She rounded the corner and nearly collided with Declan. She was off balance already, and coming to a stop so quickly had her stumbling to maintain her balance. Declan grabbed her upper arms to steady her, then quickly let her go. He smiled and started to speak, then dropped his gaze to her feet.

In an instant his expression shifted from happy to stricken. The transformation was so abrupt, Sunshine felt as if she’d been sideswiped by something cold and dark.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He did his best to recover, shaking his head and giving her the worst fake smile ever. “Nothing. Are you all right? You nearly fell.”

“Declan, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s obviously not nothing.”

He looked away. “Just Iris.”

“Oh.” She couldn’t quite put the pieces—“I did my toes and it’s such a girl thing. Of course. I’m sorry.”

He studied her for a second. “Sure. That’s it.”

With that, he walked past her and went into his office. She stared after him. What was going on? It was like he’d totally blown her off.

She went after him, closing his office door behind her.

“Declan, what’s wrong?”

He sat behind his desk, avoiding her gaze. “Iris painted her toes, too. Just not at first. In fact, not until the end. She was a sensible kind of person.” He looked at her. “That all changed when Iris had an affair.”

Sunshine sank onto the chair in front of his desk. An affair? How could she? “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”