by Magan Vernon
He didn’t bother grabbing for it. “I’ll take them all.”
I gasped, all of the hairs on the back of my neck and arms standing in shock. The woman’s eyes widened before she sputtered.
“We, uh, well, we do have an adoption process we go through with a home visit and interview.”
He didn’t even blink. “I’m sure you’ll find Webley Manor accommodating.”
The woman stared at the other woman with her, gaping open-mouthed.
Then she leaned over, not so subtly whispering, “I believe that’s Lord Gavin.”
He pulled a small business card out of his wallet and handed it to the two stunned women.
“My property manager’s information is all on there. He can give you a tour of the dogs’ manor and answer any other questions you may have.”
A tear sprung to the woman’s eyes as she shook her head. “I don’t know what to say.”
He nodded, his face still, but I think there was a hint of a smile as he turned toward me. The first one he’d really given since I arrived at the manor.
And that damn smile melted everything inside me. I was surprised my legs didn’t turn to jelly and I became a puddle of goo right there.
“I have to head back soon, but you can stay as long as you need to. I’ll have a car pick you up.”
In my moment of pure wonder, I forgot I was in town for a purpose and it wasn’t to pet dogs. Or find my teensy-weensy little crush on my boss grow. Something that I definitely needed to tamp down.
“Okay,” I squeaked.
Shit.
I had to bring myself back to reality.
So I shook the hands of the two women, thanking them for the information.
“Your boyfriend is quite a generous man,” one of the ladies said.
“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend,” I stammered.
The woman tilted her chin down as if she was asking “really?”
I could have gone into an explanation but couldn’t hide my smile. So I just said my goodbyes before walking back out to the street.
Gavin was an enigma. One minute he was ignoring me, the next he was adopting a bunch of new pets because I paid attention to them.
I looked for the familiar men in blue that followed him and quickly spotted the pair. They weren’t far from Gavin as he walked out of a small boutique holding a large white bag.
“New clothes, too?” I asked casually, trying not to peek inside.
“Scarves for your mum. Wasn’t sure what you were looking for, so I bought one of each.”
My mouth opened and closed like a fish as a chill set over me. “You…wha…? You didn’t need to do that.”
No smile. No quirk of his lips. “I know.”
As if I didn’t think this guy and this job could get any more complicated. He had to go and do something nice for my mom.
Holy hell. If things were confusing before, now my entire body filled with an excited warmth just from his little kindness. How was I going to tamp that down for the rest of the summer?
Looking at the bag, I took in a deep breath, reminding myself that my mom was the reason I was here. Not for a summer romance with my boss.
“Thank you,” I said quietly, not sure what else to say to this man who had given me so much. More than I could have ever imagined. It may have been just a few scarves for my mom and a job, but to me, it was everything. It was securing a future for my family. And those two little words wouldn’t ever be enough.
Chapter Six
Lord Gavin
Oh, balls.
Why did Natalie have to look at me like that? The wide eyes, the small smile with just the tiniest hint of teeth biting into her bottom lip.
I wasn’t trying to impress her by getting the scarves or adopting the dogs.
She should have known by now that I had the means to do what I wanted but didn’t throw it around.
She wanted a scarf for her mum, so I didn’t want her to spend her own money when I could afford it.
The dogs?
Well, maybe hearing her fuss over the little fur balls did have me speaking before I thought about the fact I was adding another set of animals to the estate.
I had more than I could ever want, so why not provide for those who didn’t have it?
Deep down, I had to admit that something had changed between us that night in her bedroom. Something that I had been trying to avoid since then, and now that we were in this moment, I had to get out of it as quickly as possible. Before I stopped focusing on those lips and leaned in to kiss them. In front of the guards who would definitely spread that bit of gossip around the manor. It would be only a matter of time before it got back to Mother, who would have a lot of questions about the new curator.
If something was going to happen between Natalie and me, it just couldn’t be now.
No, not just not now. Not ever.
She was my employee.
That was that.
No matter that the damn pounding in my chest was saying otherwise.
“I have to head back now, but you’re welcome to stay.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets, not inviting any contact with her body.
Her eyes darted around as if she was searching for her segue out.
I was giving her that, wasn’t I?
What more could I do?
I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the uptick in my breathing.
Her brow quirked and she hurried over to the side of a building, running her hands over an engraving in the brick.
I gave Sully and Hitchcock a quick nod to let them know it was okay before I followed Natalie to the building.
“Something interesting?”
I crouched down next to her as she tapped at her phone screen then looked at the wall again.
“The thistle and rose intertwined. I know this symbol was used in the attempt in Edinburgh to unite Scotland and England with the marriage of King Edward and Mary Queen of Scots, which didn’t turn out that great. So why is it here underneath your family’s crest?”
Her fingers trailed the crest. The dragon wrapped in a bearded iris had been a symbol for so long that I never paid much attention to it anymore.
I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to ignore the feeling that I had just dipped on a roller coaster.
Of course, she’d be the one to notice the little bit of family history that Mother and Father liked to ignore.
“I’m sure you’ll find out more about that as you do your research. Possibly just something left over from those days when England and Scotland were always fighting and trying to reunite.”
I stood up, ignoring the aching in my neck.
“I wonder if there are any other symbols like this around here,” she whispered, not even responding to me.
She flitted off toward the large fountain in the middle of the square.
The thing used to scare the hell out of me when I was younger. It was a big stone structure with three tiers. Each tier had a carved dragon with a roaring face, shooting water out of its snout.
Nightmares. Instant nightmares.
“There, there’s another one.” Natalie hopped on the balls of her feet, pointing toward the carved roses that circled the basin.
I leaned closer, really noticing the piece. I guess I never paid attention to each detail until now. And there it was, the thistle and the rose, intertwined, in a chain that circled the entire length of the bowl.
My pulse shot through my arms, beating onto my fingertips as I ran my fingers along the stone.
“Fifteenth, sixteenth century was around the time of Mary Queen of Scots, but I wouldn’t think it would affect anything this far out. I read this was only in Edinburgh and not into England…hmmmm.”
She finally turned toward me, her hands on her hips. “Is there a library
around here? Or even a bookstore?”
Did I just come out and tell her the history of the family and why there would be both symbols—or let her figure it out for herself?
I swallowed hard, finally letting out a breath that lessened the rapid beating in my ears.
“There’s a small shop down around the bend here I can show you.”
“I thought you had to head home,” she said, already darting in the direction I veered my head.
I cleared my throat before following in step with her.
“I do, but that doesn’t mean I can’t at least show you the bookstore. Or answer some of your questions that I’m surprised you haven’t already figured out.”
She stopped then slowly turned toward me, raising an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
A small smile quirked on my lips. Damn, she was cute. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop staring at her mouth. Thinking how soft her lips would feel against mine.
Bollocks, I needed to get a damn grip.
But, hey, at least the thumping in my hands stopped. Maybe it was better just to get this all out.
“I thought you would have already figured out the entire Webley family history by now.”
She blinked once, then twice before swallowing so her neck bobbed. “Um, well, I’ve been here only a week and in going through the items, I haven’t had time for any independent research.”
I shook my head and then glanced at the clouds that were now playing a game of hide-and-seek with the sun. Anything to stop gazing at her beautiful face.
Rain would probably be arriving soon, as usual during the summer days. So, if we were going to talk about this, better to get it over with now, before we got stuck in a downpour.
I swallowed hard and focused on my words that I imagined would come much easier.
“Webley comes from the name McWebley,” I said, turning toward the bookstore, Natalie quickly falling in step with me.
“McWebley?”
I nodded, focusing on the words and not the airiness to her voice as she hung on my words.
She’d figure this all out eventually, no matter what my parents tried to hide. Might as well just get it out there.
And a welcome distraction that I definitely needed.
“Originally, Webley Manor was built as an English getaway house for the family. The town around it served the people and their families working to take care of the manor.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d talked about the family history. Mother and Father liked to ignore that we descended from the Scots. I knew about it only because of Great Aunt Sarah and her stories. Some that I thought were just more of the crazy mutterings she made as she got older and dementia seeped in. But when Mother and Father got miffed when I asked more about it, I did my own family research, almost out of spite.
“I guess Webley does sound like more of an English name.”
“Well, it wasn’t our name until about three generations back when Great-Great-Grandma and Grandpa went their separate ways. Divorce was frowned upon back then, so Great-Grandpa Dom went with his mother to Webley. With manorial law, and the title deed transferring to Great-Great-Grandmother, she became the Lady of the Webley Manor and Grandpa Dom a lord. The rest, I guess you could say, is history.”
Finally saying the words out loud, my shoulders relaxed as if a huge weight had been lifted off them. My entire body felt lighter.
For the first time, Natalie went quiet, and it took me almost a full minute before I turned toward her, her head down, brow slightly furrowed.
What was going through her mind?
The hairs on the back of my neck prickled as I waited for her answer.
“Guess you can say that’s the Webley family scandal,” I muttered.
She shook her head, looking up toward me. The look in her dark brown eyes. It wasn’t pity or shame. It was still that sense of wonder that she’d had from the first moment she arrived. The one that had my once-deflated chest now rising, my heartbeat picking up.
“I don’t think it was uncommon for that to happen. Lots of other royal families have had similar fallings-out. I mean, once Mary Queen of Scots’ marriage didn’t work out, she married her cousin. So it seems every member of nobility has their own story.”
“No cousin marrying, as far as I know, in the family line. Truth be told, that’s about all I know.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep from reaching out to touch her. Even just to squeeze her shoulder and share in her elation. But I couldn’t start that.
“I do know the main facts of the family history, but that’s about as far as I’ve gone,” I replied.
A small smile curled on her lips. One that had my own mouth twitching in return. Hell, my entire body was on a high from that one little look like I’d just run a marathon.
“Do you want me to keep digging or is this one of those skeletons your family wants to keep in the closet?”
“You’ve done a good job so far with your research on the items you’ve tagged, so I don’t see any point in stopping you…”
I peered over my shoulder, making sure the guards, as well as anyone else, were out of earshot. Then I turned back toward her, leaning in so my lips were close to her ear.
Bloody Hell.
Why did she still have to smell so good?
If sunshine had a smell, this was it.
Swallowing hard, I kept my voice low as I spoke. “But only when it’s about work. Digging into things about our own personal histories and staying up together in your room cannot happen.”
She shivered, her eyes closing slowly before she opened them. “I understand.”
That dropping feeling was back in my neck. I shoved it away as I stood straight again, adjusting the buttons on my coat.
There was nothing between us.
We were just employer and employee.
I would help the girl out with history and when she needed things for her family.
There was nothing happening between us.
Nothing.
No matter what my damn heart and cock were trying to convince me of otherwise.
“I do have to get back to the estate. Do you want me to call you a ride?”
“Yes. I just wanted to check out the bookstore then I should be back soon. If that’s okay?” She didn’t even glance in my direction. Her hair fell over her face so I couldn’t see her expression.
That cut to my chest harder than anything else she’d said all day.
I wanted to protest. To tell her that I’d stay and we could go back to having a moment.
But my head won over my heart.
“I’ll make sure a driver is waiting for you.”
…
By the time I got back home, the sinking feeling had gone from my neck to my shoulders and shuddered in a wave around me.
First there was, of course, the fact I let out the skeletons in my family’s closet. Then I had to go and tell Natalie that things had to stay professional between us.
Which they did. But when her whole body sagged in response, that was when a new sense of dread filled me.
Bollocks, this shite had to stop.
She was just the curator who I hired to help in the manor. I could keep it professional.
As if my mother knew I needed a distraction, as soon as I was out of the car, my cell buzzed with her number.
I shook my head before turning to Meredith. She waited just outside the lift as soon as I stepped inside.
“I have to take this call, but can you send a car for Miss Natalie in town?”
“Yes, sir,” she said with her usual curt nod.
But there was something questioning behind her eyes. What she was asking, I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t about to ask.
As soon as I walked out of the front
entryway, I put my phone to my ear.
“Hello.”
“Gavin, what on earth took you so long to answer?”
It took everything I had not to laugh. “I was just getting back from town, ordering this week’s dog food.”
She tsked. “Yes, I heard all about your little visit. The property manager called me just a few minutes ago saying you’ve adopted even more dogs. A dozen? What on earth, Gavin? You’re supposed to be getting rid of things for the historical society. Not adding a bunch of creatures. How are you going to find a wife who wants to deal with that many mutts?”
I rolled my eyes, letting out a breath of air through my nose.
Of course, it always came back to finding a wife.
I also definitely needed to have a chat with my property manager to remind him who paid his salary.
“They’re rescues, and we’re more than equipped to handle them. It’ll add some goodwill in the town, since I’m the new lord here,” I said, matter-of-factly. Though the woman would still argue with the logic.
“The town, pfft, really, Gavin? What girl is it you were talking to now? A register girl at the pet shop? These little trysts really need to stop.”
My jaw tightened. Of course, this was where her mind went. I had to clear my throat before I regretted what I said.
“I’m serious about creating goodwill in town.”
She didn’t need to know that maybe the woman helping to clear out the place may have had something to do with the adoption.
All she had to know was that this was the best for the town and the Webleys. That was something she could understand.
And I could as well.
I couldn’t keep wondering what could happen with Natalie.
“Which, by the way, Miss Reeder, the historian, found some more artifacts in town linking to our Scottish ancestry.”
The line went quiet, Mother’s heavy breathing the only sign she was still there.
Then finally she spoke, slowly, “What did she say about her findings?”
“She had a lot of questions, so I told her about Great-Great-Grandfather Arran and Great-Great-Grandmother Mairi.”
“You what?” she shrilled.
I scoffed, trying to ignore the pulsing in my neck.