by Susan Meier
“Thank you.”
As soon as she’d disconnected the call, her phone rang again. Expecting it to be the concierge, she said, “Yes?”
“It’s me. Trent. I take it you got the call about the extra suitcase?” Trent sounded like he’d been up and about for hours.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I bought a case big enough that you can store the gown and all the rest of your clothes and ditch the smaller case if you want, so you’re just handling one bag, not dragging two. That was the good news. Here comes the bad. My new assistant only arranged for the rental car through last night. Apparently, an agent for the company picked it up this morning. My longtime assistant, Ashley, got us another one, but it won’t be here until noon.”
She sat up, coming to full alert. “Noon?”
“We should have left at seven.”
“Seven?” She glanced at the clock. It was after nine. No wonder he sounded awake.
“I thought you’d want to get an early start.”
“Then why’d you let me sleep in?”
“I was waiting for you to call me.”
The wistfulness in his voice reminded her that he’d wanted to kiss her the night before, but she’d decided that anything, even something temporary between them, wasn’t right, and she’d left him in the hall outside her door.
“I slept in.” She licked her suddenly dry lips. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you in the lobby. We can eat breakfast in the hotel restaurant.”
“I’ve had breakfast.”
Oh. She almost said it but recognized that refusing a kiss the night before had set things in motion on his end, too. She’d drawn the line in the sand and he wouldn’t argue, wouldn’t even intrude on her day. He’d simply do what he’d set out to do: help his friend’s sister. They’d found Pierre, she’d said her peace and now Trent would take her home.
“Why don’t you have breakfast in your room and then a leisurely walk while we wait for the replacement rental?”
He didn’t want to have breakfast with her or even hang out while they waited for their new rental car. Because she’d walked away from a kiss.
Or maybe after she’d walked away, he’d thought it through, the way she had, and realized even a one-night stand wouldn’t work?
She didn’t think that she’d hurt him or insulted him. He was too strong and too smart to get offended.
Unless he thought she hadn’t liked their kiss...
That couldn’t be true. She hadn’t let him end it. She’d kept him where he was. Took what she wanted. Absorbed every wonderful sensation.
She suddenly wanted to tell him that. She wanted to put all her cards on the table and set things right. She didn’t want him angry with her. She didn’t want him distanced from her—
But wouldn’t that just dredge up everything she’d settled when she walked away?
She swallowed down the need to set things right in favor of the hope that there was a woman out there who could help heal his wounds, the kind of woman her brothers had found.
“Okay. I’ll call room service. Just let me know when the rental car gets here.”
“Will do.”
She didn’t hear one iota of regret in his voice—
Of course not. Would he want her to know that she’d disappointed him? Big, strong, genius that he was, he wouldn’t fail publicly. He would save his pride.
She disconnected the call and tossed the covers off the bed. She was done thinking about this.
The guy was sweet, kind, considerate, handsome...
He deserved a woman who could appreciate all that.
* * *
Trent disconnected the call and threw his cell phone to the sofa. He wasn’t about to get angry with a new assistant who’d made a mistake, but he’d mapped all this out the night before. Get up at six, order breakfast from room service to eat while he read his usual newspapers, shower and dress and call Sabrina just before seven. That way she’d have time to get dressed while room service delivered her breakfast, but nothing else.
He’d planned topics for the drive to the airstrip.
Then he had a ton of things to read and evaluate on the plane.
Nothing about their time together would slip out of his control.
Because he’d finally figured out that he was the wild card. Sabrina was perfect Sabrina McCallan all the time. He was the one who kept losing hold of his emotions and doing things like kissing her or telling her he wanted to kiss her. He couldn’t believe he’d done it. But when he’d made that backhanded comment about wondering how things could be different if just one thing had changed or if they’d met at a different time, her eyes had shifted, gone soft with yearning as if she’d applied the possibility to them and she wanted to know.
His mind started rolling through potential outcomes, and their odds weren’t good for anything long-term, but for one totally inappropriate minute he’d believed they could have one night.
One night.
One blissful, perfect night that could live in their memories forever. As surely as he knew his first, middle and last names, he knew one night with her would stay with him for the rest of his life. And he wanted it.
He’d asked for the kiss, hadn’t taken, knowing this had to be a mutual decision but she’d kept her cool and walked into her room.
After a restless night, he’d recognized she’d been correct. So he planned the rest of their time together down to the last minute.
Then his assistant had made a mistake—
He refused to let the late arrival of a rental throw him. He still had the conversation topics, still had the work that needed to be done. He would be a rock. He would not fall victim to the curiosity that constantly flitted through Sabrina’s eyes. He would not see her as someone who’d never experienced real romance. He would hold his heart in check, refusing to let it soften over the longing that sometimes quivered through her voice. Most of all, he would resist the temptation to be the guy who showed her the difference between making love and being someone’s lover.
That was what kept throwing him. She could say one thing with her mouth while her eyes told a totally different story. Which meant he had to be so strong, she wouldn’t even notice how hard he had to work at ignoring the curiosity, the yearning, she telegraphed with her eyes.
His personal assistant, Ashley, called an hour later. “I got confirmation that you’ll have an SUV at noon.”
“Thanks. And don’t be too hard on Makenzie for getting the rental car information wrong. People make mistakes.”
Ashley laughed. “She didn’t have her head in the game. She needs to learn to take things to their logical conclusion. If you needed a car to get from the airstrip to the hotel, you’ll need it to get back to the airstrip. This wasn’t one of those times she should have arranged to have your car picked up at the hotel.”
“My schedule and my needs fluctuate so much when I travel that the person making the arrangements really has to pay attention. Think she’s going to catch on?”
“She’s smart. This mistake embarrassed her enough that she’ll never do it again. Plus, we don’t fire people. We give them a chance to grow into the job.”
He chuckled. Ashley didn’t miss a trick. Not even when he tested her. “Exactly. I’ll see you next week.”
“Going to the lake?”
“Maybe.” Retreating to the lake wasn’t a bad idea. He needed some time to himself, some time to get his priorities in line and his emotions in check. “The trip was a little jarring. I don’t usually fly to three countries in four days. I may need to sit in one place an entire week to feel normal.”
She laughed again. “Okay. See you next Monday.”
He disconnected the call and shook his head. “A little jarring?” He should change his impression of Sabrina McCallan from class in C
hanel to temptation in Chanel. But this wasn’t about sex or his need. This was about her eyes. Her longing. Her curiosity. A curiosity she didn’t want to satisfy. At least not with him.
He called her and told her their rental would arrive at noon and she said she’d be ready. Her formal, no-nonsense tone continued while they loaded their things into the SUV and for the first fifteen minutes of the drive.
That should have pleased him. As long as she was standoffish, he wouldn’t make any slipups. But all he saw was a woman so curious about love and romance that she had to hide behind an overly polite facade.
Fine. Whatever.
He still refused to give in to temptation.
He internally screamed that at his hormones, which were absolutely positive he could lure her to him. Or at least show her a good time. Show her the way a woman should be treated. They’d both gotten sidetracked over everything that had happened the night before, and he’d forgotten that the last man she’d dated hadn’t been kind to her. And he wouldn’t fix that by ravaging her.
Sabrina’s voice brought him out of his reverie. “Sky’s getting dark.”
They were far away from Dublin now, taking a country road that would lead to another country road and then another, which would ultimately get them to the super private airstrip where his jet sat.
“What’s the weather supposed to be?”
“I don’t know.” She pulled out her phone. “I haven’t looked at the weather in days. But I can check.”
Using her thumbs, she hit apps and typed things and after a few seconds she cursed.
He stole a glance at her. “What?”
“I found something with radar and there’s a band of thunderstorms coming our way.”
He brushed it off. “Some rain.”
“Lots of rain.”
“We’ll be fine.”
CHAPTER NINE
SABRINA DIDN’T THINK SO.
“There are red bands in the streaks of yellow.”
His brow puckered. “Red?”
“The guide says red means heavy rain. Like inches.”
Three huge drops hit the windshield, then ten or twenty that turned into hundreds. Within minutes the rain was an onslaught so strong and so fast the sound of it drumming on the roof of the SUV was like thunder.
She scrambled to swipe down on the screen to read the rest of the information on the weather page. She gasped. “It’s the tail end of a hurricane.”
He gaped at her. “A hurricane?”
“More like a tropical storm now. They thought it was going to hit much farther north.” She showed him her phone just as the wind whipped their rented SUV. The rain fell in thick sheets that prevented her from seeing the road. “This isn’t good.”
He drove the vehicle to the berm. “Let me have a look at that.”
He took the phone, read the weather page and whistled. “Did you see the part about this being a slow-moving storm? This rain will last at least a day.”
He tossed her phone back to her and pulled out his. He pressed two buttons then said, “We’re in a huge storm here, Ashley. Something that was supposed to hit north of us but must have shifted. Look it up and tell us what we’re dealing with.”
“Give me a sec.” A young woman’s voice entered the interior of the SUV through the speaker. The click, click, click of computer keys followed it. “Ireland is getting the end of a hurricane.” Another few clicks. “Wow. The predicted rainfall is not good. A couple of inches an hour. I hope you’re still at the hotel.”
The concern in Ashley’s voice gave Sabrina a weird feeling. Not exactly jealousy. More like a recognition of how much Trent’s assistant liked and respected him. The warmth flowing through her was pleasure that he’d found an employee who appreciated him. Then she realized an easygoing guy like Trent would surround himself with people with his same values. Picturing it, his personality and life came into sharp focus for her. He genuinely liked people. He really did want everyone to enjoy life.
“Actually, Ashley, we’re in the middle of nowhere.”
“Find shelter,” Ashley said, the sound of the keys clicking punctuating her words. “Does Sabrina have an international phone?”
Surprised, Sabrina looked at him. He shrugged and said, “Yes.”
“Use it to bring up General Maps. It will pick up your location on a satellite and find the nearest town.”
Even as Trent said, “Great. Thanks,” Sabrina brought up General Maps. Their location appeared on the screen, in the center of a map of the area.
“There’s nothing for miles.”
Trent said, “That’s okay. I’ll call you when we’re settled, Ashley.”
“Hey, I don’t get to see how this turns out?”
“It’s rain,” Trent said, reassuring her. “We’ll be fine.”
The odd feeling hit Sabrina again. The connection between Trent and his assistant didn’t sound romantic, but there was clearly affection there. And why not? Trent was a great guy. But hearing the concern in his assistant’s voice was another proof of what she’d been learning about Trent in the past few days.
He wasn’t just good-looking and rich. He was unique, wonderful.
Trent disconnected the call and turned to Sabrina. “We’re going to have to continue moving until we find shelter.”
“Okay.” She nodded at her phone. “I can keep the maps program on-screen. If it comes up with something like a town or a farm or something, we’ll know in time to look through the sheets of rain for it.”
“That’s the spirit.” He blew his breath out on a sigh and pulled the gearshift into Drive.
“Let’s go.”
Ten nerve-racking minutes later, shelter appeared in the form of a castle at the top of a small hill.
Sabrina shook her head. “A castle? You’ve got to be kidding.”
He peeked at her. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
As if to reinforce his statement, the wind knocked at the big SUV again. Rain pummeled the windshield.
She pressed her hand to her stuttering heart. The castle hadn’t come up on the maps app. But nothing had, and the rain had created rivers and ponds along the road and in the grass beside it. He was right. They had no choice but to check this out.
He turned to go up the hill. “Here’s the plan. When I stop, you jump out and run for the door.”
She nodded.
Trent drove to the top of the hill and stopped the vehicle. She punched her shoulder against her door. It popped open and she leaped out into the driving rain.
The castle’s big wooden double doors were protected by a small overhang, but not enough to shelter her completely. Wind butted against her. Rain drenched her back.
She frantically searched for a doorbell. When she didn’t find one, she grabbed the knocker and banged it against the wood.
No answer.
Trent raced up beside her, rolling their luggage behind him. She frowned, puzzled by his priorities.
“If we’re going to be at the mercy of the owner of this castle, the least we can do is wear dry clothes.”
Everything in their bags had been worn. That morning they’d put on the last of the outfits purchased for them by his personal shopper.
“All our clothes are dirty.”
“Maybe the castle will have a washer?”
When no one answered after Sabrina’s second knock, Trent set the suitcases on the stoop and banged the knocker against the door several times.
No one came.
He sucked in a breath. “Did you see a light when we drove up?”
Rain had soaked his shirt and dripped from his now-short hair. She couldn’t help thinking of his assistant. What would it be like to work with this gorgeous man every day and not get a crush on him? She couldn’t imagine it, until she realized Trent wouldn’t flirt or m
ake sexy talk with an employee. He’d create a safe environment for his workers.
Which meant every flirty word he’d said to her had been honest, genuine. He felt things for her that he didn’t feel for other women. The thought filled her with equal parts of joy and confusion.
And an odd feeling of being special. But not in the way her mom and dad thought her special or the world thought her special. In a way that was more intimate. More real. She didn’t have to jump through hoops for this man or be perfect. Lord knows she hadn’t been anywhere near perfect. She’d been nervous about her pregnancy at the wedding, gotten angry about Pierre’s ranch, told Pierre off, then walked out like queen of the world. A little too proud of herself.
And still he’d kissed her.
He’d said he couldn’t help kissing her.
“If there’s a light on, then we know someone’s home but if there isn’t, we’re going to have to think outside the box.”
She swallowed hard as the importance of Trent’s feelings overwhelmed her. No pretense. No funny stuff. He just liked her.
Her. Exactly as she was.
She shook her head. “No. No light.”
He leaned out of the small shelter and surveyed the castle, then popped back in. “I’m going to assume no one is home.”
“Really? Just because of no light being on?”
“No. Because we can’t stand out here forever. Besides—” He took a credit card from his wallet. “I’ve heard a lot of these castles are abandoned.”
Breaking into a house wasn’t what her brothers would do. It certainly wasn’t what her mom would want her to do. Yet, there was something so elemental about it that her heart skipped a beat. The man was just so damned male.
She looked at the driving rain then back at him. “So we’re about to take refuge in a stone monstrosity that might be full of cobwebs?”
“You have a better idea?”
She considered telling him they should get back on the road, away from all the temptations that would dog them if they were alone in a house for God knew how long. But common sense and the pelting rain told her they’d never make it to the airstrip. Already the castle’s grassy hill was shiny with water and puddles. The back roads they would take to the airstrip could get washed out, and if they did make it, they probably wouldn’t be able to take off. They’d spend the next twenty-four hours in a cold, dark, dank hangar.