Jacob put his hand over his wife’s mouth. “I’m sure Winnie appreciates the compliment. Now…can we change the subject?”
Ariel grumbled good-naturedly, and soon the conversation shifted to less personal topics. Winnie lapsed into silence. Larkin leaned over and whispered in her ear. “If you’re finished eating, let’s blow this joint and go for another walk. This time you’ll actually be able to see things.”
“Sounds good to me,” she said fervently, her expression hunted. For a woman who lived alone, all this togetherness was probably a bit much.
Larkin made their excuses, and while Winnie changed clothes, he checked his email. Everything in Nashville was going well, but it was a good thing he was going to be back in the office come Monday. Work was piling up, and though his staff was top-notch, the boss was the boss for a reason. On the other hand, the thought of leaving Winnie on Wolff Mountain made his chest hurt. So he had a problem.
Using an anonymous tip line, he’d leaked info to a couple of the more outrageous tabloids that the heiress Winifred Bellamy was vacationing on St. Barts. His deliberate deception must have worked, because his man in charge of Winnie’s case reported no sightings of paparazzi either in the air or on the ground.
When Winnie rejoined him, he grinned. “I like a woman who doesn’t spend a lot of time primping.” Winnie rolled her eyes at him and didn’t comment. She had changed into neat navy shorts and a yellow tank top. And her sparkly white tennis shoes looked suspiciously new.
Larkin took her in a direction opposite the way they had walked the night before. “Kieran and Olivia have a house out in the woods.”
Winnie balked. “I don’t want to drop in unannounced.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not them we’re going to see.”
* * *
Winnie followed him along a meandering path, enjoying the warm spring day and the peace and solitude. She was, by nature and experience, a person who was happy with quiet. It gave her time to think…to reflect. And with Larkin Wolff in her life, the opportunity to take stock of each day was important.
He was leading her into something they both wanted, but she was sure the consequences for her would be painful. This interlude had a definite end. Once Larkin was back on his home turf, Winnie would revert to being his client and nothing more. She watched him as he walked in front of her, his stride easy, his broad shoulders straining the seams of a blue knit shirt that matched his eyes. Inexplicable as it was, she had no choice but to believe him when he said he wanted her. Not forever. She knew that. But it was still pretty amazing to contemplate the idea that Larkin Wolff enjoyed making love to her.
Clearly, she was weak. This morning she had been 100 percent sure that she was never going to let it happen again. But all he had to do was touch her and she was seduced. She couldn’t even blame it on Larkin, not really. She wanted to be persuaded. And that was the most sobering realization of all.
Moments later, a house came into view. It was tucked back into the woods in such a way that it resembled a storybook dwelling. Larkin pointed to the right of the clearing where an enormous oak reached toward the sky. “My cousin Kieran spent much of his career building things all over the globe. Now that he’s a family man, he still needs to get his creative kicks somehow. So Cammie has the world’s coolest tree house. She won’t mind us taking a look.”
They clambered up a narrow ladder, and Winnie’s eyes widened as she took it all in. “This is incredible.” Cammie’s dad had built the tree house on four levels, each connected by ladders or walkways. A child’s touch was evident in the small furnishings and the assortment of toys and clothing tossed about.