From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 341

She gave a shy little smile.

The four of them headed out, joking and chatting as they went. In the car, Laurinda glanced at her phone. Adolphus had sent a message, letting her know he was handling the people they’d picked up last night and reminding her to eat properly.

She texted back a simple “okay.” She trusted him to handle everything, so she didn’t plan on stepping in. Adolphus always said she just needed to live her life and let him handle the rest.

Carla brought them to a cozy, upscale restaurant that specialized in Nexus-style home cooking, totally different from Kendrick’s place.

“I wasn’t sure what kind of food you liked, Laurinda, but I think this place is pretty great, so I went ahead and made a reservation,” Carla said.

“I’m easy. Really, anything works for me,” Laurinda replied with a soft laugh. She liked Carla’s way of doing things, it just felt easy to be around her. Carla was leaving a great impression, and Laurinda could see herself becoming real friends with her.

A server led them to their reserved table. As soon as Laurinda sat down, she spotted someone she recognized. The other woman saw her too, and immediately looked like she’d seen a ghost.

Laurinda stayed where she was, quietly watching as Laura hurried away, her lips curving up in a slight smile. So Laura was scared after all. Was she afraid her secret would come out in front of Laurinda?

She didn’t need to worry. Laurinda would let her go to Stonehaven and play at being Lord, just like she wanted. Soon enough, Baily would learn what a real nightmare looked like.

“Laurinda, take a look and see what you want to eat,” Carla said, handing her the tablet menu.

“It’s nothing... When are we leaving?” she asked, her voice small.

She didn’t dare mention she’d just seen Laurinda. She was terrified Laurinda would blow her cover. Laura knew exactly who she was and who her family was. Now that she had a shot at becoming Stonehaven’s First Daughter, she couldn’t let Laurinda ruin it.

Gus looked her up and down, picking up on her nervousness. She only acted like this when something was really wrong.

“Your approval still isn’t through. Probably another week. Did you get into trouble out there? Or did you run into someone you know?”

His words landed right on target. Laura froze for a split second before forcing herself to act normal.