She gave no quarter. He kind of liked that. For a woman who knew exactly what he was, she certainly wasn’t intimidated. Maybe Didi knew what sort of woman worked for him after all. He grinned. “Good enough. I’ll see you downstairs then.”
She nodded. “Maybe you can give me a tour of the house then. Except for the basement, of course.”
He blinked at her mention of his lab. Stanhill must have said something. He recovered quickly, and smiled. “My pleasure.”
He headed back downstairs with the shocking realization that he actually meant what he’d said. Getting to know the curious Miss Givens might not be the worst thing that had ever happened to him.
Delaney shut the door, then leaned against it, closed her eyes and exhaled the nervousness she’d been tamping down since Hugh had knocked on her door. She was so thankful she’d showered and put on a little makeup before going downstairs. Looking presentable had given her the courage to act exactly the way she thought Annabelle would in this situation, although some of the hurt had been real.
What if Annabelle had found out this guy never really wanted her? Kinda funny to think that here she, Delaney, had been so worried that he was going to send her away, when come to find out, he wasn’t even responsible for bringing her here.
Which maybe explained why the man was kind of an ass. Built like a superhero, stupidly beautiful and, okay, willing to apologize, which was more than she could say for Russell, but still an ass. Speaking of, she hadn’t gotten a good look at Hugh’s backside, but it was probably just as gorgeous as the rest of him. Dark hair, stare-right-through-you ice blue eyes with the body of an Olympic swimmer and a dash of dangerous thrown in on top of his bone-melting English accent. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something about the guy…something dark and a little feral.
And undeniably sexy.
Her eyes widened. She’d just moved in with James Bond. That was about as close as anyone could hope to get to a real-life superhero.
It wouldn’t be difficult spending time with a guy like that, but the best part was he didn’t plan on marrying her.
The relief of that coupled with the idea that he wasn’t being completely honest with her about something—maybe whatever was going on in the basement—made her feel slightly better for using his house as a hideout. Not that he owed her any kind of honesty. They’d known each other all of five minutes.
Still, it was a strange way for him to start a relationship with someone who could end up being his wife. If that was even what he was thinking. But he probably wasn’t. He hadn’t invited Annabelle Givens here, after all. If not for his desire to appease his grandmother, he might already have escorted her out the door. To avoid that happening before she was ready to leave, she needed to embrace her role as his prospective fiancée. The best course of action was to be sweet and nice and make him the focus of her attention. Basically, pretend he was a customer she was waiting on at the restaurant. She could do that. All. Day. Long.
Since she’d passed out as soon as she’d gotten into the room, she took a few minutes to fire up her laptop and log on. Captain was busy disemboweling his catnip mouse. She quickly scanned the New York news sites for mention of the shooting. Nothing. Frustrating. She was dying to know what was happening. Okay, bad choice of words.
She closed her laptop. She’d think about it later. Right now it was time to play the potential fiancée. She trotted downstairs, deliberately making her steps heard so there’d be no accidental eavesdropping again. Stanhill was alone in the kitchen, busy with dinner.
He smiled at her. “Master Ellingham is out on the back patio. Just through the foyer and out the French doors in the great room. You’ll see him.”
“Thank you.” She followed his directions, taking her time as she wandered through the house. The decorating was heavily masculine, but reserved and classy. Kind of British hunting lodge meets the Deep South. Each room was more impressive than the next. If Hugh had done the decorating, it said a lot about him. Like maybe she’d misjudged his being an ass based on one comment. Which, considering he hadn’t been the one behind bringing her here, was pretty excusable.
Sheers muted the view through the French doors. She opened them and took a breath. The garden beyond was charming. Very…English in that slightly constrained-but-overgrown-enough-to-look-lived-in sort of way. A few last rays of sun broke through the trees, giving everything a golden glow.
Except the man of the house.
Hugh stood in the shadows on the flagstone patio, a glass of red wine in his hand, looking very regal. And utterly handsome in black trousers and a crisp white shirt. If Delaney wasn’t careful, she might get her heart broken. He turned, a subtle smile erasing his serious resting face. “Hello again.”
“Hi.” She moved closer but not enough to invade his space. “This place…the house, the garden…it’s incredible.”
“Thank you. I’ve worked hard on it. My home is my sanctuary. But then I guess that’s true for most people.” He took a sip of his wine. “What’s your house like?”
She froze. Did Annabelle live in a house? An apartment? She had no idea. He’s just a guest at the restaurant, keep him happy. She laughed. “Nothing like this. Did you pick out everything yourself?”
He glanced toward the great room. “It’s really more of a collection than a deliberate act of decorating.”
If that was his idea of a collection, then her random assortment of candy molds was more like a flea market accident.
His gaze shifted to her in a very purposeful way. “I just like what I like.”
The little hairs on the back of her neck lifted the way they did when someone flirted with her. Was that where they were now? Flirting? She looked toward the garden and bit her tongue before her nerves caused her to blurt out a random chocolate fact.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m a terrible host. I haven’t offered you a glass of wine. Red all right? It’s very good. Local, actually.”
Anything but Chianti was fine with her. “Great.” So long as she didn’t drink too much and forget who she was pretending to be.
“I’ll just be a moment.” He slipped inside.
Before she went to sleep tonight, she was going to Google Annabelle Givens and study that woman until she knew everything about her. Maybe that would help with her nerves.
Hugh returned and handed her a glass, then raised his in a toast. “To new beginnings?”
So much for keeping a safe distance from him. He was so close she could smell his cologne. It was spicy and complex, like good dark chocolate. Her mouth watered. Down, girl. “New beginnings.”
They clinked, then drank, and for a moment, she could picture herself in this place being the woman she was pretending to be. Sophisticated, cultured and assuredly beautiful Annabelle Givens. Annabelle had to be that kind of woman, or Adelaide Poirot never would have matched her with a man like Hugh.
The sun dropped a little farther, turning the sky the most vibrant shades of orange and pink. “It’s really beautiful here. Lots of trees and nature.”
Nothing like Brooklyn. She took another sip of her wine.
He gave her an odd look. “Doesn’t upstate New York have a lot of trees and nature?”
She drank some more wine, buying herself a little time to cover her slip. “Oh, sure, but it just seems greener here. More quiet and peaceful too.”
He laughed. “If you like quiet and peaceful, don’t go into town.”
“Gets rowdy, huh?”
“After dark, things really start up. Plus, this weekend is the Panic Parade.” He sighed and shook his head like he thought the whole thing was a little nuts.
“The Panic Parade?”
“I believe it grew out of the traditional May Day celebration. Except May Day has been reinterpreted as a cry for help as opposed to a celebration of spring.”
“I get it.” She canted her head and laughed softly. “Although, I have to admit, the whole every day is Halloween thing threw
me. What’s up with that?” Ugh. Annabelle had probably never said what’s up with that a day in her life.
His grin didn’t fade. “It’s how the town makes money.”
“Halloween?”
“Tourists.” He took a deep breath. “When my family bought this town—”
“You own this town?” Oh boy. She was in deep. No wonder he was filthy rich and didn’t need to get out of bed until the day was nearly over. He owned everything! All right, slow down on the wine. And no wonder Annabelle had been so bummed her match had been canceled.
“We only own parts of it now.” He made a small face like it was nothing. “But when my family bought the town, it was floundering and on the verge of bankruptcy. The winery was closed, as were most of the other local businesses. The whole idea of every day is Halloween turned things around.”
He raised one eyebrow. “It’s America’s third-favorite holiday, you know.”
She almost laughed at how official sounding his voice was. He must tell people that a lot. “Halloween candy sales topped two billion dollars last year.” Crap. The random candy fact had just slipped out. At least it was relevant.
He nodded. “The candy shop in town is one of the most popular stores, so that seems about right.”
The news that Nocturne Falls already had a sweet shop inexplicably took her mood down a notch. “I love candy. It’s kind of…” She’d been about to say, It’s kind of my dream job, but that was Delaney’s thing, not Annabelle’s. “Everyone’s favorite, I guess.” Wow, she sucked at being someone else.
She changed the subject before he asked her more about sweets. “Is there really a falls, or is that just part of the name?”
“There’s a waterfall. A few of them, but the largest is Nocturne Falls, the town’s namesake. It’s in the hills. Bit of a hike, but a popular destination.”
“Why Nocturne?”
“When the moon is especially bright, when it’s full mostly, you can see a moonbow in the mist.”
Her brows lifted. “A moonbow? Is that like a nighttime rainbow?”
“That’s exactly what it is.” His eyes sparked with amusement. “There will be a full moon while you’re here. We’ll go see it.”
“Awesome! I’ve never seen anything like that.” This place was already getting better.
He sipped his wine, still studying her. “Would you like to take a walk through town after dinner?”
“Sure.” Talking about the town would give her a topic that was less likely to cause her to blow her cover.
As if on cue, Stanhill opened one of the French doors. “Dinner is served.”
Dinner, it turned out, was served in the formal dining room on fancy china with three sets of heavy silver utensils and lots of sparkly crystal stemware. If she got through the meal without breaking something, it would be a Halloween miracle. “Do you eat like this all the time?”
Hugh looked at her, clearly unsure how to answer.
She backtracked. “I mean, it’s beautiful, but I feel a little underdressed for this much crystal and silver.”
He nodded. “It’s not often I have company. If you’d prefer something else—”
“No, it’s really nice.” And she just needed to shut up and play her part.
Stanhill brought out two covered plates. He smiled as he set hers in front of her and lifted the lid. Steak, whipped potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts. Her stomach growled its approval, but the blood pooling on the china was a little off putting. She bit her lip.
“Something wrong, miss?” he asked as he delivered Hugh’s plate.
“I hate to say anything—” She really did. “But I think my steak might be a little underdone for my taste.” Pink was one thing, mooing when she cut into it was another.
“I’d be happy to put it back under the broiler for you.” He took her plate and disappeared with it.
Which meant Hugh was now waiting for her food to return, even though he had a full plate in front of him. He poured more wine for them, seemingly unfazed by the waiting.
“Eat, please,” she urged. “Your food will get cold otherwise.”
“That wouldn’t be very gentlemanly.”
She shrugged. “You can open a door for me later.”
He smiled. “You’re different than what I’d thought you’d be. Not that I had any real idea having only just found out about you.”
Music to her ears. “What did you think I was going to be like?”
He stared at his wine glass for a moment before answering. “If I’m honest, desperate. You don’t strike me as desperate at all. And certainly not a woman whose only thoughts are finding a husband.”
“So not a bridezilla?”
He laughed. “Not at all.”
What he didn’t know was that she really was desperate—desperate to stay alive. Desperate to get married? Not so much. “That wouldn’t be a very healthy existence, would it?”
“No.” He lifted his glass. “I like you, Annabelle Givens. After Didi told me what she’d done, I was furious.”
“Didi is your grandmother?”
He nodded. “It’s her nickname. Her real name is Elenora.”
She lifted her glass to return his toast, and they both drank. The crystal was paper thin and glistened like a prism. She set it back down carefully. “I can understand being upset with someone else making life decisions for you. Why did she do it? Because she wants you to get married and have grandbabies?”
He nodded “Exactly.”
“So why did you agree to it? You’re a grown man. You could have said no.”
His mouth thinned almost like he was embarrassed. He covered it by drinking his wine.
A second later, Delaney figured it out. He was a wealthy man who didn’t seem to have an actual job and whose family had rebuilt the town of Nocturne Falls. The picture was as clear as the goblet she was drinking from. “She threatened to take away your inheritance, didn’t she?”
Hugh choked on his wine. “Something like that.”
“So what’s the deal? You agreed to put up with me for a month and make a good show of it in exchange for what? Keeping your name in the will?” It was Anthony Rastinelli and Little Tony all over again, except Anthony had only ever threatened to take away Little Tony’s Cadillac Escalade if he didn’t “fall in line.” She had a much better idea of what that line was now.
Hugh set the glass down and stared at her. “Are you psychic?”
She laughed. “No, I just work for a big family, and I know how those kinds of things play out sometimes.” Then her humor faded. Once again, she’d said something that might not be true of Annabelle.
Fortunately, Stanhill returned with her food at that moment. She kind of wanted to kiss him for it. “Thank you!” The words came out with a little more enthusiasm than she’d intended.
His brows lifted slightly. “You must be hungry.”
Sure, let’s go with that. “Starved.” The steak did smell incredible. She picked up her knife and fork and looked at Hugh. “Shall we?”
“Absolutely.”
Around bites of food, she kept the conversation directed at him, asking him questions about the town, his family, the house—anything she could think of to keep herself out of trouble. She learned he had two brothers, a little more about the history of the town and that apparently he wasn’t a lover of vegetables because, while he devoured his steak, the Brussels sprouts and potatoes remained largely untouched.
The meal flew by, and before she knew it, Stanhill was clearing their plates. “Dessert now or later?”
“None at all.” Hugh set his napkin on the table. “We’re going to go into town.”
Stanhill nodded. “Would you like me to drive you?”
“Yes, but we can walk home.” Hugh looked at her. “It’s only a fifteen-minute walk. Is that all right with you?”
“Totally. I walk a lot at home so—” She shut up before she said too much again. Oversharing was now her thing apparently—and her pote
ntial downfall. “Walking would be great. I’ll just run upstairs and grab a jacket.” She stood.
Hugh got up at the same time she did, and she realized it was out of politeness, not because he was as eager to leave as she was. “I’ll meet you in the foyer then.”
“Great.” She held her smile until she hit the stairs.
She was never going to manage pretending to be another woman for an entire month.
There were no true weekends in a resort town like Nocturne Falls. A Monday night could be just as busy as a Friday night. That was one of the reasons Hugh rarely went into town, unless Didi or one of his brothers requested he put in an appearance.
Being the Vampire On Duty was really Julian’s job, but every once in a while, Hugh filled in as VOD. Sebastian never did. Sebastian rarely left his house. Hugh was okay with that. Sebastian did enough keeping the family’s finances in order.
“What do you think?” Hugh asked Annabelle as they strolled Main Street along with the rest of the visitors.
Her gaze ricocheted from one thing to the next. “It’s amazing.”
It kind of was if he imagined it through her eyes. At night, the town was lit up like a jack-o-lantern. All the buildings were outlined with fairy lights. Shifts of character performers, every one of them a genuine supernatural (although the tourists didn’t know that), walked the streets taking pictures with tourists who wanted to show their friends on social media how they’d howled with the wolfman or the witch had almost turned them into a frog. And then, of course, there was the ever-present threat of being bitten by a vampire.
“Speak of the devil,” Hugh muttered.
Julian was a block ahead of them, posing with a group of college girls. Hugh pointed to one of the touristy shops that sold souvenirs. “Let’s go in here.”
“Where?” She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked at him.
Hugh pointed again, taking her elbow and trying to aim her toward the store.
Too late. Julian’s voice rang out over the pseudo-scary soundtrack piped in through hidden speakers. “Well, well, well. Look who’s decided to grace the streets of Nocturne Falls this evening.” He parked himself in front of them, hands on his hips, cape billowing out behind him. To say that Julian embraced his role as VOD was a substantial understatement.
The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride Page 4