“Jackson, you know this is dangerous.”
“Dangerous how? Isaac, she’s going to spend the night in Noah’s B&B and will be leaving tomorrow, what could possibly happen?”
“We don’t know her! She could be any one; she could be helping someone who means us harm.”
I felt confused as to why Isaac was so worried about me being a danger, but then that turned in to anger at being so blatantly talked about, whilst not being included in the conversation.
“It’s one night, Isaac! I get the final say, and she stays.”
I coughed loudly, causing them both to turn around and look as me, as Jackson pulled in next to a building and turned off the engine.
“Can you please not talk about me like I’m invisible? Isaac, I’m sorry but I’ve known you for about five minutes and I’ve got to say, I don’t like you. At all. How dare you judge me so quickly, when all I’ve done is trek to the nearest place for help when I was stranded. Would you rather me have stayed in my car, freezing to death and waiting for a rescue? All I want is a few hours’ sleep, my little car back and then I promise I will be on my way. Now, if you boys don’t mind, I need to get out of these wet jeans and in to a hot bath, so I’ll hopefully not be seeing you again.” Feeling immensely satisfied with the stunned looks on their faces, I hopped out of the car and walked up to the steps of what looked like a cosy, and welcoming hotel. The outside looked like a beautiful cottage, with pink and blue flowers over the entrance and large, welcoming doors with candles to light the way. Smiling to myself as I walked in, I realised that maybe all of my prayers had been answered. I’d wanted something different. I’d wanted an adventure. I’d wanted to get away from it all. Maybe this would be the perfect place to have my fresh start?
As I approached the front desk, I looked around and noticed how homely the quaint cottage was. There was an old fashioned fireplace with a roaring fire, and a few vacant armchairs placed in front of it. A wooden, winding staircase led upstairs and there was a door heading to the back behind where the reception desk was placed. I heard the door open behind me, and rolled my eyes as I spun to see Jackson walking in, with that stern look still on his face.
“Okay, so we deserved that.” He said, walking in with a small smile appearing on his face, which I was oddly proud to have put there. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who smiled all that often.
Walking up to me, he leaned against the reception desk and hit a bell to announce our arrival. The door heading out to the back opened, and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen stepped through and smiled broadly at the two of us. With long, blonde hair flowing down her back, she was petite but with curves at her hips and brilliant blue eyes. A man was following behind her, and he was very clearly related to both Jackson and Isaac. They each had the same prominent cheek bones, and ruggedly handsome good looks with bodies that men would happily kill for. His hair was slightly longer and dark, and he too had a smile on his face as he saw us waiting at the desk.
“Jackson!” The man said. Standing behind the desk he threw his arm around the woman, whom I presumed to be his wife. “How can I help you this evening?”
“Noah, this is Laura. She needs a place to stay for the night as her car broke down.”
“Yes, thank you Jackson, I am capable of speaking for myself.” I said, slightly annoyed with how much he was treating me like a child. I looked towards the couple and smiled in relief to see no hostile looks being thrown my way, just amused glances between Jackson and me as they tried to figure out what had happened.
“Never said you couldn’t, Laura. My apologies for any offence caused.”
Sarcastic bastard. The beautiful woman laughed, and walked around the desk, holding her hand out for me to shake.
“Hey Laura! My name’s Jasmine, and that’s my husband, Noah. We’d love to have you for the evening and hope you’ll be comfortable here.” Her smile was infectious and I couldn’t help but return it.
“Thank you for having me. You really do have a beautiful place.”
“Well, we love it. Is there anything else you need, Jackson, or can I show Laura upstairs?”
“Of course.” He reached a hand in to his jeans pocket, and pulled out a card which he handed to me. “Just in case you need anything, my numbers on the card. Your car should be waiting outside for you when you wake up. It was a…well, it was interesting to meet you Laura.”
“Yeah, you too.” I said, before shoving the card in my bag without even looking at it. I know it probably seemed quite rude but to be honest, all I was thinking about right then was getting in to a warm cosy bed, and forgetting about the strange night. Jasmine smiled at me again, before leading the way up the winding staircase which definitely had a certain charm to it. As we reached the top of the stairs, I noticed beautiful windows overlooking the large woods surrounding the cottage, and a wooden hallway covered with thick, plush rugs which gave it a cosy feel. Jasmine approached a door on the right, and opened it with a large, old fashioned key. She showed me in to a gorgeous room with cream, luscious rugs on the floor, a large four poster bed, a desk with a large mirror and a door that led in to an en-suite. My heart rejoiced as I glimpsed the size of the bath tub through the door, and I could not wait to get out of my wet clothes and take a long, relaxing soak.