Larkin was in lust with her. She was fairly certain his obsession would fade when they got amid his family. He would be too busy to pursue her. “When was the last time you were home?”
“Christmas, for a long visit. And a two-night stay right after my little nephew was born. I had to see him in the flesh to actually believe my rowdy sister could grow up to be a mom.”
“She sounds like quite a woman.”
“So are you.” He stared at her, his gaze intent. “Outwardly, you and Annalise are nothing alike. But you both have a take-no-prisoners attitude when it comes to causes you care about. I think you’ll like her.”
After a winding journey that must have covered at least two miles, the car pulled up into a flagstone portico and stopped. It was markedly cooler on the mountaintop than down in the valley, and Winnie shivered briefly as the wind danced around them when they stepped out of the car.
The house where Larkin had grown up was monstrous in size and yet somehow appealing. It did indeed appear castlelike. Nestled in a clearing amid a forest of mixed hardwoods and evergreens, the behemoth of a structure looked as if it had been part of the mountain for centuries. But she knew the tragedy that drove the elder Wolff brothers to hide their children from society had occurred only a few decades ago. “C’mon,” Larkin said. “I’ll introduce you to the clan if anyone is around.”
As it turned out, only the head housekeeper was there to greet them. Larkin’s three cousins had houses of their own on the mountain, as did Annalise. And Devlyn and his wife, Gillian, weren’t arriving from Atlanta for another couple of hours.
In the magnificent foyer, Winnie surveyed her surroundings with interest while the housekeeper pulled Larkin aside for a private word. Moments later the older woman led the way upstairs, leaving Larkin and Winnie to follow in her wake.
Winnie tugged on his hand, making him bend to hear her whisper. “What did she say to you?”
Larkin paused on a step, mischief lighting his eyes and taking years from his face. “She asked me if you would be sleeping in my bedroom.”
Nine
It was all Larkin could do not to laugh out loud at Winnie’s mortified expression. “Relax,” he said quietly, sliding an arm around her waist. “I’m a grown man. She’s just doing her job.”
Winnie didn’t look in the least reassured. “What did you tell her?”
For a moment, he thought about teasing. The temptation was almost irresistible. Especially when he imagined what it would be like if he and Winnie were actually lovers sharing a bed. The image made him hard. But Winnie was going to have a tough enough time assimilating into the large Wolff clan. No point in torturing her.
He sighed. “I said you were a good friend and that you would prefer your own room.”
His answer appeared to mollify Winnie’s misgivings, especially when the housekeeper stopped at the doorway of one of the larger guest suites. As the driver followed them in with luggage, Winnie’s soft exclamation encompassed admiration and astonishment. “This is amazing,” she said softly, walking forward to set her purse on the bed and turning in a circle. “I’ll feel like a princess.”
Larkin knew that Winifred Bellamy was accustomed to the finer things in life. But he had requested this room for his guest because it contained a touch of whimsy. And he wanted to spoil her. The enormous bed was covered in celadon-and-ivory brocade. Matching fabric hung from the canopy and flanked the large windows. Underfoot, sinfully soft carpet in a deep moss-green spread from wall to wall, broken up by a collection of feminine antiques that ran the gamut from chests to chairs to a chaise covered in ivory silk.