“No, but she does own a suite at the Langham,” Fran said, returning the decanter to the compartment. “And I wouldn’t put it past her to stay there tonight.”

“She owns a suite at the Langham?”

“Well, technically she doesn’t own it, but she does pay for it by the year.”

“Christ, she must be loaded,” Robert said somewhat louder than intended.

“Dad!” Joanna said, playfully slapping her father on the arm.

Fran’s enjoyment of the exchange showed on her face, and after taking a sip of her scotch, she leaned forward. “David, take us home please.”

“Yes, Miss Neary,” the chauffeur replied, raising the glass privacy panel as he started the car.

“Exactly where is home?” Joanna said as she eyeballed the empty glasses under the open picnic tray.

Fran jerked back her head. “You don’t know?”

Like separation, anxiety comes in varying degrees. Waking up to a grumbling stomach, Joanna attributed it to the light dinner she had had the night before. When the Rolls-Royce parked in front of her house that morning and butterflies began to flutter in her belly, she had convinced herself it was because of the prestigious automobile. And walking into the registry office, when she tripped on a small carpet, Joanna had blamed it on being unnerved by the unbelievably fake smile Addison Kane flashed her as she met her at the door. However, sitting in the back of a vintage automobile with the smell of wealth wafting from the wool carpeting, leather upholstery, and highly polished details, wearing a ring worth thousands of pounds, Joanna knew she was either about to have a heart attack…or she was nervous.

Joanna reached for a glass and filled it with scotch, and after taking a sip, she relaxed back against the seat. “I have no idea where we’re going. I just figured it was going to be nicer than where we lived before.”

Fran took a sip of her drink and shrugged. “I guess that all depends on your definition of nice.”

***

They hadn’t yet made it out of the city before Robert Sheppard rested his head on the seat and fell asleep. With Fran on her mobile, chattering away about contracts and deadlines, Joanna was left to sip her drink as they left the noise of London behind them. One town blended into the next as they drove down streets lined with homes and businesses, but it wasn’t until they turned onto a two-lane country road when Joanna began paying attention. It had been years since she had been in the country and with her vision no longer filled with tall buildings, double-decker buses, or billboards, a smile grew on her face. She had forgotten how much she loved the changing seasons.