"The third one."
But I lost track of which ones were passing by me, and then I looped around the entire circle. "Which one IS IT?"
By now, Will had dissolved into laughter. He reached over and patted my shoulder soothingly.
"Get off here."
I breathed a sigh of relief as I pulled left down a country road. The GPS lead us deep into the country, until the roads narrowed so severely that I didn't understand how two cars could fit alongside each other.
It was like something out of a Tolkien novel. There were endless, deep green fields, sheep, unpaved roads, and footpaths that led from village to village. We drove through Ebrington, following tiny, crude signposts. The small, brick cottages, each with a lush garden, looked like something out of a fairytale book. Finally, I pulled onto the street where we would be staying.
The bed and breakfast was a flat-faced, beige cottage with a kissing gate bordered by rose bushes. A wonderful pasture bordered the cottage, where I could make out white dots of sheep and hear the occasional baa. There were footpaths leading towards the pasture that begged to be explored.
I grinned as I turned back to the car to see William extracting an irate Tom from the car. He let the cat out at once, who immediately dashed into the bushes.
"He'll be fine," he said, noticing my concern.
As we passed through the kissing gate, I became aware of how desperate my body was for a nap. It was a struggle just to go up the small steps. I knocked on the blue door with William right behind me.
It opened to reveal a slight blonde woman wearing an apron.
"You must be Mr. and Mrs. Pardini."
My cheeks bloomed.
"Yes, yes we are," he boomed from behind me.
"I'm Mary. Please come in!"
Mary could hardly contain her excitement over being considered as a potential affiliate of the prestigious Pardini hotel chain.
The cottage was immaculate. There were a living room whose floors looked like they had been polished, a giant solarium with a breakfast table and plush, comfortable looking couches, and a tiny, cramped kitchen. The upstairs led to the rooms. It was the cutest place I had ever seen. Tom the cat darted inside from between my legs.
"I brought my cat with me, I hope that's all right with you?" he asked in an innocent tone.
From the look on Mary's face, it was pretty certain that it wasn't all right, but she was too terrified to say otherwise. I turned around to glare at my husband.
He shouldn't use his status to bully people like this.
Mary's face fell but she quickly recovered. "No, no sir. It's no trouble at all." She bit her lip as the cat jumped on one of the couches in the solarium.
"Wonderful. My wife and I want to take a nap, then we'll probably want dinner. Do you have any recommendations?"
"Y-yes! The Ebrington Arms is right down the street. I shall make an arrangement for you for seven."
"Lovely. Come, darling."
My face burned, partly in anger, and partly flattered that Mary thought that I was his wife. He carried both suitcases up the extremely narrow stairs, refusing all offers from Mary for help.
"Your room is just to the right. It has a lovely view of the garden. The Wi-Fi password is within the book inside your room."
"W-wait we're sharing a room?" My face burned even brighter, completely forgetting that Mary was behind us.
He gave a good-natured chuckle. "Of course, silly!"
William's laying it on pretty thick.
It reminded me of his antics at the restaurant when he crashed my date with that boring guy; I already forgot his name. Suddenly, I wondered if his pills were wearing off.
"We're newlyweds," he explained to Mary. "She comes from a very conservative background, so she was always a bit shy."
I clenched my fists. Newlyweds who don't wear wedding rings?
Mary looked perplexed by all of this information. "I had no idea. Well, I'll go back downstairs to call the restaurant."
Will's face crinkled into a smile. "Thank you." He pushed the door open and wheeled the suitcases inside.
It was a small, neat room. A small, old TV stood on top of a desk in the corner. The bed was small-probably a double, and the tiled bathroom was spotless and the towels were fresh. On the nightstand were a few snacks and a small pot for making tea. Will sat on the bed, his head a few feet underneath the triangular roof. I could see his mind whirring, analyzing every detail. The billionaire looked unimpressed.
I looked out of the window and saw a cute, small garden and even more of the English countryside. How wonderful it must be to live here, I thought.
"I don't know about this place. It's a bit-minimalistic."
"I think it's great. She was so excited to see you."
He grinned. "Lots of women are excited to see me."
I guess I had that one coming. I tried to bury my smile. "Do you have to be such an ass?"
My heart jumped as he pushed himself off the bed and walked towards me. I was suddenly aware of how alone we were, and how tall and imposing he was. My heart thudded painfully. I wondered what it would be like to be married to him. Probably hellish. But waking up to his face like his every morning would be a dream. Overwhelmed with that vision, my hand flew to my necklace and yanked on the chain.
His lips smiled. "You always do that when you're nervous."
"What?" I said defensively. "Do what?"
He just gave me a satisfied grin. "It's flattering, but you don't need to be nervous around me."
His words sent a flash of heat up my spine. The air felt entirely too hot as his hand ever so slightly gripped mine. His thumb stroked the palm of my hand and I felt a wave of dizziness so strong that I stumbled back. Will's eyes seared through me.
"You're tired. You need sleep," he said firmly.
I looked at the one bed. "So much for keeping it professional."
"Well, I pre-booked everything back when I thought we were going to be fucking."
"Jesus, Will!"
He shrugged. "Relax, Natalie. I won't touch you."
Why not? Was he really going to deny the chemistry we had? I was embarrassed by what he said, but at the same time I felt insulted. Why am I not good enough for that? But I knew why. I turned him off by agonizing over Ben or because I was too uptight.
Still holding my hand, his head bent down to give me a chaste kiss on my cheek. He pulled back, looking a bit pink in the face. "Thank you. For helping me."
I felt the burn mark of his lips on my face as if he ironed it on. "No problem," I said faintly.
"Now go to sleep."
"What about you?"
He shook his head. "I don't want to sleep right now."
He didn't want to return to the nightmares he knew would haunt him. I let go of his hand reluctantly, but my body was screaming for sleep. I threw back the covers and slid inside as Will sat down on a comfortable chair near the windows. I tried not to stare at him too much and I denied the desire coursing through my veins like really good whiskey. More than anything in my life, I wanted to crawl into his lap and lace my fingers around his neck. I wanted his arms wrapped around me, whispering sweet nothings in my ear.
Chapter 6
I woke up to brilliant sunshine pouring into my room and propped myself up on my elbows. Will was gone. Poor Will had spent the night in the chair while I slept on the bed. It was his fault for not booking separate rooms, but I still felt bad about it.
I slipped out of bed and padded to the bathroom. The shower door was sprinkled with droplets. Will took a shower while I was asleep. As I turned the water on and removed my clothes, I imagined him bursting into the bathroom while I was in the shower. A delicious shiver ran up my leg. How hot would that be?
Stop thinking about that. You're here to do a job.
Right. I was supposed to be thinking about designs, not lusting after a man who, no matter how attractive he was, had emotional problems. I also didn't forget how cruelly he had shut me down back on the airplane. Stop pining over him!
Dressing quickly after my shower, I left the room and descended the rickety staircase.
"Good morning!" said Mary when I reached the first floor. "Sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Breakfast is in the solarium along with your husband."
Husband? Oh, right. William. I followed the sunshine into the next room, which poured through the glass windows. There, I found an extremely tired looking Will surrounded by a banquet of food. He looked dead on his feet.
On the left was a table with plates and I grabbed one, loading it with food: figs stewed in tea, some sort of concoction with grapefruit, fresh rolls, and homemade jam.
"Would you like coffee or tea? Traditional English breakfast or would you like the American version?"
I might as well go all the way. "Tea and English breakfast, thank you."
She left the room and I nodded at Will from across the table. His eyes were bloodshot.
He sipped his coffee. "This British coffee is weak shit," he hissed.
"Will, you should really go for a nap. I can walk around by myself."