Chapter 660

He always handled things with such effortless ease, like it was nothing at all.

‘Guess this is what it’s like when you’ve got money and power on your side,’ I thought.

We grabbed lunch at the villa, then went to catch the tennis match in the afternoon.

As soon as we stepped inside, I was surrounded by people dressed in that classic old-money style, and I even spotted a few faces I recognized from the news or magazines—it honestly caught me off guard.

Suddenly, Edward leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Oh, I forgot–there’s going to be a live stream. You might want to put on a hat or a mask.”

That’s when it hit me–I’d just walked right into another one of his set-ups.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” I blurted out, already wanting to turn around and leave. If someone saw me at his villa, maybe I could keep things under wraps, but if people saw us together on a live stream, there’s no way I could talk my way out of that.

But Edward grabbed my wrist, stopping me from bolting.

“Scaredy-cat,” he teased. “Relax, I’ve got you.” As soon as he said it, his assistant handed me a bag.

Inside were a classy hat and a pair of sunglasses.

As soon as I put them on, I instantly felt like I had that old-money vibe going on.

Honestly, it was mostly the pale blue dress that pulled the whole look together, and with the sunglasses on, I gave off that cool, untouchable, old-money vibe—like nobody could get close. Money really does give you instant confidence.

Edward kept sneaking glances at me, and it looked like he was really enjoying the view.

“You’ve got that rich-lady aura,” he whispered in my ear.

I gave a dry laugh. “Oh yeah? So you’re into rich ladies, huh?”

Edward gave my palm a gentle squeeze. “I really like you.”

His confession came out of nowhere, and my heart was beating like a drum.

If Edward keeps throwing out these confessions whenever he feels like it, I’m not sure how much longer I can keep my cool, I thought to myself.

We took our seats, and the match got underway.

I knew a bit about tennis, and watching those athletes move with such grace and power on the court, it really got my blood pumping.

Edward was focused on the game too, sitting there quietly–he’d let go of my hand for now.

After the match, Edward took me to a private vineyard, where he’d invited a few friends to join us for a wine tasting.

His friends were anything but ordinary—some were famous faces, others were the kind of power players who preferred to keep things low-key. Some brought their partners, others came with their wives.

When Edward introduced me to the group, nobody pried into what was going on between us.

Most of the conversation was about the wine or business deals, not personal stuff.

This was clearly one of Edward’s ways of building connections. Sitting quietly by his side, under his attentive care, I joined in their conversations about current events, and found my horizons expanding, seeing a much bigger world than I’d ever known.

As dusk fell, Elaine gave me a call, asking where I was and if I wanted to meet up for dinner.

I’d already heard from Edward that we’d be eating at the vineyard tonight, so my dinner plans were set.

Elaine giggled, “Ms. Murphy, you were out all night yesterday, huh? Not coming home tonight either?”

I paused for a second, then laughed. “Wait, are you going to rat me out to Jared?”

“No way, I won’t say a word. Just have fun, and enjoy yourself,” Elaine said before hanging up.

My thoughts were all over the place, and I stole a quick glance at Edward.

Edward must have noticed me too, because he walked over and asked, “Is something wrong? Do you want to leave?”

I shook my head. “No, that’s not it.”

There was a warm, playful smile in Edward’s eyes, but just then, his phone started ringing.

His smile stiffened for a moment as he glanced at me. “It’s Mariah.”