“No, nothing. Let me call the car for you.”
Kate was about to refuse but then closed her mouth. After all, it would give her a chance to say goodbye to Roger and ride through New York in luxury one last time. “Thank you. That would be very kind.”
Chapter Six
Chris did the best he could to restrain himself from commanding Kate to tell him where they were going. The jet had landed in a small municipal airport near Ashville, North Carolina, and now Kate was driving them down some meandering roads with so many switchback curves that Chris’s knuckles were white. Not that Kate wasn’t a competent driver. It was as if she’d grown up driving on roads like this. Then he remembered what Mindy had said about her growing up in a small town in North Carolina. She probably had been driving like this all her life.
A suspicion flooded his mind. “Wait. Are we going to your parents’ house?”
Kate laughed. “That’s the last place I’d take you.”
Offended, Chris asked, “Why not?”
“Because how on earth would I explain it? My mom would think something was going on.”
“Something like what?”
Kate kept her eyes on the road, but it didn’t escape Chris’ notice that her cheeks were pinker than before. “You know. Something romantic. No, I’m taking you to a secluded cabin not far from here. You’re going to love it.”
Chris laughed.
“What?”
“That sounds a lot more romantic than your mom’s house.”
“Well, it won’t be. You know that.”
“How do I know you didn’t plan this all just to have your way with me?”
Kate gasped. “You know I didn’t. Besides, Shaun is with us.”
Shuan made a snorting sound from the back seat of the SUV. “I wasn’t supposed to be.”
Chris grinned and nodded. “Yes, it’s mighty suspicious.”
“Oh, stop it,” Kate snapped. “I brought you here because I knew you’d hate being somewhere that was actually restful. And the owners say that service is glitchy because it’s so remote.”
Chris nodded. This made a lot more sense. “Well-played.”
“Well-played?” Shaun asked from the back seat. “How am I supposed to work?”
“I can drop you off in the town at the base of the mountain.” Kate said.
“No,” Chris said. “He’s staying with us.” Ever since Gemma’s hint had opened his eyes, he’d been seeing her in a different light. Having a third person around the cabin was probably a good idea. He needed something to keep him from considering possibilities.
A few minutes later, Kate turned off onto a long gravel drive that sloped up sharply and curved around the right. A large cabin appeared in front of them, tucked away behind the trees and facing a large, forested valley. She parked the SUV and smiled brightly at him. “Welcome to your home away from home for the next five days.”
“This is definitely not Antigua.”
“Nope,” she said, heading for cedar steps leading up to a wide, covered deck at the front of the cabin. Chris followed behind, grudgingly. He couldn’t refuse to go along with her now since he’d coerced her into this in the first place.
Kate pulled out her phone and entered a code into the electronic lock on the door. A beep broke the silence around them and the locking mechanism slid open. She opened the door and stepped inside. Chris followed, craning his neck to look up at the soaring heights of the cedar-paneled ceiling. The whole room smelled like wood polish and cinnamon.
Even though this was definitely a cabin and undoubtedly in the middle of nowhere, he wouldn’t have described it as rustic. Someone must have dropped a fortune on the woodwork alone, and the windows and slate floors hadn’t been cheap either. The ground floor was a good-sized space and it looked even bigger since it was built on an open concept.
The kitchen was off to his left. He took note of the professional-grade stainless-steel appliances and white-marble counter tops, but immediately followed Kate when she went upstairs instead of checking out any more of the ground floor.
On the second floor, she opened a door on the right. As they stepped inside, Christopher had to admit that he really liked this room. The four-poster bed was designed so that each post looked as if it were made of living trees with twisted roots and spreading branches. A red and black flannel duvet covered the bed and there were no decorations beyond a few landscape photographs printed on metal hung on the wall. With a gas fireplace in the corner, a soft, leather sofa in front of it, and a huge en-suite bathroom to the side, it was the epitome of masculine comfort.
“Well?” Kate asked.
“It’s nice,” Chris admitted. “But what do you do here?”
“Do?” Kate grinned. “That’s the best part! Absolutely nothing. Although I do intend to spend tomorrow decorating for Christmas.”
Chris clenched his teeth and then forced himself to relax. “You know I hate Christmas, Ms. Ryan.”
She nodded. “I know. But I love it, and I don’t intend to be deprived of having some decorations around me just because you’re a grump. Don’t worry though. I won’t put any of them up in your bedroom.”
“You’re going to spend the next five days revenging yourself on me, aren’t you?”
“You’ll have to wait and see.” She flashed a saucy smile at him and sashayed out of the room.
Chris sighed and went to look out the floor-to-ceiling window at the incredible view outside. Stark branches of the bare deciduous trees lined the sloping sides of the hills down to the valley, but evergreens mixed throughout kept it from being too drab. Even in its sleepy, winter state, the scenery was breath taking. If staying here only meant looking at this view and taking things at a slower pace than usual, he’d be all about it. But it was dawning on him that Kate was going to be a much harder quarry than he had anticipated.
If only she wasn’t so attractive. And he didn’t just mean her stunning eyes and soft, rosy lips—which he’d caught himself staring at much too frequently over the last week. No, it was her personality and incredible intelligence. She crossed swords with him like a pro. After all this time of only seeing her perfect, proper facade, it was intriguing in the most dangerous way.
But ever since the painful dinner date where he’d broken up with Gemma, he had determined not to hurt another woman by getting involved. Something inside him was broken. He was just incapable of the kind of love women needed. Even though he couldn’t help but secretly hope Gemma had been right about Kate being attracted to him, he couldn’t let his interest turn in that direction. She was the last person he wanted to hurt.
Maybe he should just let her go.
But at the thought, his blood ran cold and an ache grew in his chest at the mental image of not having her around any longer. It was irrational and unwise, but he needed her close. He knew, somehow, that she’d take with her what little comfort and warmth he had in his life. Surely they could somehow continue to have the same professional relationship they’d built over the last two years. He just needed a little time to convince her to stay.
The sound of footsteps and suitcase wheels came through the door, breaking his abstraction.
“No one’s going to carry your luggage in for you,” Kate said as she passed his room on the way to hers.
Chris allowed himself to smile, since she wouldn’t see it, and then went down to carry up his bags. If she thought he was incapable of doing work, she’d quickly learn just how wrong she was.
Chapter Seven
Kate hummed Christmas songs under her breath as she worked on dinner in the kitchen that was bigger than her whole New York apartment. Chris and Shaun had settled in to work at the kitchen table since the internet signal was stronger there. Every once in a while, she’d turn and catch Chris watching her with his brows lowered in annoyance and his lips pressed together. She really did need to figure out what his hang-ups with Christmas were about.
It had been too long since she’d been able to cook,
and she’d never worked in a kitchen like this. Chris’s kitchen didn’t count because she only made his fancy coffee there. Wait, why was she thinking about him as Chris now?
Well, like it even mattered anymore. She was only working for him for four and a half more days, and they weren’t in the office.
Relaxing again, Kate added the diced onion she’d chopped into a big pot where the bacon she’d chopped earlier was already browning. She gave it a stir and the aromatic combination of scents rose up around her in a cloud of steam. She’d planned meals for their whole stay and arranged for everything to be delivered and waiting for her at the cabin. Having Chris’s credit card at her disposal sure made life easy.
“Okay, what are you cooking?” Shaun asked, as if he couldn’t stand not knowing a second longer.
“Black bean soup. I thought it would be great on a cold winter day.”
“If it tastes half as good as it smells,” Shaun said, “I’m going to dive into the pot.”
Kate began searching through drawers for a can opener and glanced up to look at Chris. She could feel his eyes on her, and sure enough, he was staring at her instead of his screen. “What?”
“I didn’t know you cooked.”
Kate shrugged. “You never asked.”
Finding the can opener, she went to work opening cans of black beans and diced tomatoes. After draining the bacon and onions, she added the beans, tomatoes, and chicken stock to the pot then left it to simmer.
“Anything you need me to do for you?” she asked Chris.
“I’m good,” he muttered, not looking at her this time.
“Great. I’m going to go read while the soup simmers. Will one of you give it a stir every once in a while?”
“Sure,” Shaun said.
“Be sure to stir all the way to the bottom or it will scorch,” she called over her shoulder.
Kate lit the fire in the living room, not because it was cold in the room but just because she loved the atmosphere. Even though she tried to read, Chris’s deep voice behind her in the kitchen kept distracting her—as did the sight of the sun sinking slowly behind the mountains. As it went down, it painted the clouds in brilliant pinks and oranges. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to just sit and watch the sun set.
“Somebody stir the soup,” she called across the great room.
The sound of a kitchen chair scooting back from the table met her ears. “You sure are bossy on vacation,” Chris muttered.
Kate chuckled and snuggled back down into her nest of throw pillows and blankets. If he thought she was bossy now, he’d be shocked when she made him help her get a Christmas tree. The corner next to the fireplace would be the perfect place to put it. The rental company had offered to put one up for a small fee, but Kate told them she’d prefer to put one up herself. So, instead, they’d left a tree stand, lights, and some colorful glass ball ornaments in the garage for her to use. She’d already checked and made sure they were there. Somehow though, she needed to convince Chris, and maybe Shaun, to go get a tree with her.
With plots for a merry Christmas floating through her head, it took her a minute to realize that the sounds coming from the kitchen were highly suspicious. Throwing off her blankets, she ran across the huge space and found Chris and Shaun sitting down at the table with big bowls of soup.
“It wasn’t done yet,” she insisted, seriously put out.
“Tastes good to me,” Shaun said.
Kate rolled her eyes and went to get the bowl of chopped cilantro she’d gotten ready. “Oh yeah? Try it now.” She dropped a spoonful of cilantro into each of their bowls and motioned for them to stir it in. Then she went over to the pot on the stove and stirred the rest into what was left in the pot.
“Okay, this is even better,” Chris said. “It just needs a little…”
“Heat?” she asked, putting a bottle of hot sauce in front of him. “I know you well.”
“Apparently. Clearly, I need to get to know you better.”
There was an edge of frustration in his voice. Kate didn’t think she liked the implications of him getting to know her better. She was just here for a bit of revenge. “Not much point now, is there?”
After getting a bowl of soup for herself, she moved over to the table to eat it, sitting across from Chris. For a while, the only sound in the kitchen was spoons clicking against bowls. Kate had to stop herself from sending annoyed glances in Shaun’s direction. How was she ever going to get Chris to open up about his feelings regarding Christmas with his secretary listening in?
“So,” she said, drawing the word out. “How are you two going to spend the rest of the evening?”
Shaun went over to the stove and got another bowl of soup. “I’m going to try out the theater room. Did you guys know there is a walk-out basement downstairs? There’s a pool table and a workout room down there too.”
Kate bit her lip to keep from laughing. She did know there was a theater room downstairs. She’d told the property managers to stock it with nothing but Christmas movies. She’d only meant to annoy Chris with the trick. Poor Shaun. But he’d find out on his own soon enough, so she didn’t want to bring it up now. She had work to do.
“What about you, Chris?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll probably work a while longer and then go to bed.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Lame. Personally, I’m going to clean up the dinner mess and then go hang out in the hot tub on the deck. Sure you don’t want to join me?”
Chris’s jaw clamped shut, hard. “No thanks. I don’t care for hot tubs.”
“You are so weird.”
Kate finished her soup and went to rinse out her bowl. Then she put it in the dishwasher, along with the cutting boards and knives she’d used in the dishwasher. “Be sure you guys put your bowls in the dishwasher when you’re done. I’m going to let the soup cool down before I put the leftovers in the fridge.”
She stopped by Chris and said, “I hope you’ll change your mind about the hot tub. It would be a great place to talk.”
As she left, she had a bubble of laughter in her throat. Both at the image of her billionaire boss putting his dishes in the dishwasher and at her deliberate and obvious maneuvers to get him alone. But then she realized how it might look to both him and Shaun, and all the blood drained from her face. What if they thought she was after something else?
But no, Chris—Mr. Warren—would know it was just the next skirmish in this little war they had going on. And besides, even on vacation, he had his head so deep in spreadsheets and numbers that he’d never notice her even if she was casting out lures to him.
Which she most definitely was not.
After unpacking her suitcase, Kate listened carefully for Chris to go to his room. When she heard his door open and close just down the hall from hers, she changed into her one-piece swim suit. It was red, with a ruched bodice and wide, halter ties. She figured it was pretty festive for a swimsuit. Both her room and Chris’s had sliding glass doors that went out onto the shared deck overlooking the valley, and the hot tub was between the doors, under the overhanging roof.
She put on the terrycloth robe from the bathroom and went outside. The deck floor was cold against her bare feet so she wished she’d slipped on some shoes. But she’d be in the hot water in no time. It took some effort, but she soon had the cover off the hot tub and folded away behind it. She flipped the timer switches on the wall that turned on the jets and the underwater lights.
By this time, she had to shuffle back and forth on her feet to keep them from turning to icicles. As she took off her robe, the sound of Chris’s door sliding open caught her attention.
He stepped outside in nothing but his swim trunks. “I thought you’d be in by now.”
Kate’s eyes widened as she took in his chiseled torso. Not like some ripped superhero or anything, just hard and lean with well-developed musculature. “Okay, how the heck do you look like that?”
“Like wha
t?” Chris looked down at himself, obviously confused.
“You don’t even exercise.”
“I do too. Look who doesn’t know everything about me after all.”
“But when…?” Kate’s toes were too cold to stand shivering in nothing but her bathing suit a second longer. She stumbled forward and almost dove into the hot tub. She gasped with relief as the hot water both shocked and soothed her chilled skin. Then her toes began to burn unbearably. “Argh!”
Chris strode forward and leaned down over the side. “What’s wrong?”
“My toes were frozen, and now it feels like I put them in lava.” She clenched her teeth and bent her legs to poke her toes out of the water because she couldn’t stand it a second longer.
Getting in with one swift, graceful movement, he sat across from her. To Kate’s everlasting surprise, he took her right foot between his hands and began to gently rub and massage her feet, concentrating on her toes.
“What are you doing?” she asked. Not that she was complaining.
“Trying to warm your toes up slowly so you can put them back in the water.” He worked a few moments longer. “There, how does that one feel?”
Kate slowly lowered her right foot under the water again, and though it still hurt a little, it was much better than before. “Ah. That helped.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the ledge around the hot tub. Chris’s hands closed around her left foot, and she relaxed even more.
She could think of worse places to be right then.
Chapter Eight
Chris looked across the bubbling, glowing water to Kate. She rested with her head tilted back and her eyes closed. Her lashes were long and spiked as the steam clung to them, and a drop of water that had splashed on her bottom lip sparkled in the light, more alluring than any diamond. For just a second, his eyes dipped lower to her rounded shoulders, delicate collar bones, and the hint of cleavage revealed by her suit. Forcing his eyes back up, he knew he had to speak to her before his mind wandered to places it shouldn’t go. But she spoke before he did.
A Tree for the Billionaire (Southern Billionaire Romance Book 4) Page 4