Ferdinand gave Mary a gentlemanly smile. “I studied abroad for a while. When the right opportunity came along, I took out a loan and started my own business. Just got backst week."
Mary nodded and asked, "Are you nning on going abroad again?"
Ferdinand nced at Briony. "No, I''m staying here for good. Northborough is home now."
Briony finished thest bite of her cake, set the empty te aside, and stood up. "You two carry on. I''ve got to get going."
As soon as Mary heard Briony was leaving, she sprang up to follow. "Briony, wait for me-ah!"
Briony paused at the sound, but Mary, rushing too fast, couldn''t stop in time. She collided right into Briony, let out a shriek, and tumbled straight toward Ferdinand, who was still sitting at the table.
Briony managed to steady herself by grabbing the table just in time.
"Bryn!"
"Ms. Kensington!"
Ferdinand and Maynard both called out in rm.
Maynard was the first to reach her. He bent down, concern in his eyes. "Are you all right? Did you hurt yourself?"
Briony had twisted her ankle.
And it was bad-when she tried to put weight on her right foot, a sharp pain shot through her.
Before she could protest, Maynard simply swept her up in his arms. "I''m taking you to the hospital."
"Maynard, put me down-"
"Rx. I''ll leave as soon as a doctor says you''re fine."
He carried her out of the hall, not giving Briony a chance to argue.
Ferdinand pushed Mary aside, his gaze fixed coldly on Maynard''s retreating figure as he carried Briony away.
Somewhere in the crowd, a paparazzo caught the whole scene-Maynard carrying Briony out of the ballroom.
Before Briony even made it to the hospital, rumors about her and Maynard had already flooded the inte.
Ste called just as Briony finished her check-up.
Her ankle was badly sprained. She''d need at least a week to recover.
Maynard borrowed a wheelchair and gently lifted Briony into it.
He studied her for a moment. "You know, I can''t help but think Mr. Ellsworth is interested in you, too."
Briony didn''t answer. Her phone rang again-Ste.
"Bryn, the inte''s blowing up with news that you and Mr. Maynard are a thing! What''s going on?"
Briony blinked, then quickly pulled up the news feed.
Sure enough, there was a photo of Maynard carrying her.
"I twisted my ankle. Mr. Maynard just gave me a ride to the hospital. The press is making things up."
"Oh, I see. Which hospital are you at?"
"Your family''s hospital."
"I''ll send Cedric rke to pick you up. Hold tight."
Briony started to protest, but Ste cut her off, reminding her that Cedric was on call tonight. Briony figured it
Wetter to trouble Cedric than
Maynard any further.
When Cedric arrived, Maynard had just returned from paying the hospital bills.
"Mr. Maynard," Briony said, "my friend''s going to take me home. Thank you for tonight. I''ll have my assistant deliver a proper thank-you gift."
I.ne
Maynard saw right through her attempt to create distance. He grinned styly. "If you really want to thank me, Ms. Kensington, how about a home-cooked dinner when you''re back on your feet? That would be much more sincere, don''t you think?"
Briony knew exactly what game he was ying, but a favor was a favor-she couldn''t just ignore it.
"All right. I''ll get in touch when I''m better."
"Then I wish you a speedy recovery, Ms. Kensington." Maynard gave her a wave and strode off.
On the drive back to Skybreeze Retreat, Cedric nced over. "So, what''s going
on between you and this Mr. Maynard?"
"Nothing. Strictly business partners."
"He doesn''t look at you like it''s just business."
"That''s his problem." Briony''s expression didn''t change. "These days, adot of guys see dor signs when they look at me-they''re all hoping to leech off my sess. I''ve learned to tune it out."
Cedric gave a softugh. "You''re a lot more straightforward than you used to be."
Briony let a faint, cool smile touch her lips and said nothing more.
Cedric eyed her, a pang of sadness in his chest. She really had grown stronger... but somewhere along the way, she''d built a wall around her heart.