Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 130255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Her response came almost immediately, making me jolt with a bit of surprise as my phone pinged.
I quickly put it on vibrate.
Ellie: Yes. Why?
ME: I’m sorry.
Ellie: For what?
ME: Answer the door in about thirty seconds.
Ellie: What? Why?
I hauled Winston up, snapped a selfie of us both, and sent it to her.
Ellie: I cannot believe you just took a selfie with my cat.
ME: He’s been catching mice.
Ellie: Better those than crows, I suppose.
ME: He’s been most helpful.
Ellie: I doubt that. I’ll come and open the door.
I tucked my phone away and carried Winston over to the lodge. Ellie opened the door right as my foot hit the bottom step, and she pursed her lips.
“Winston. We just discussed this this morning.”
“I don’t think he listened to you.” I handed him over.
“You don’t say.” She held him at arm’s length, glaring at him.
“Meerw,” Winston mewled.
“Go and get your food, you little bugger,” she muttered, putting him down.
He sauntered into the house like he was on a kitty catwalk and disappeared into the kitchen.
Ellie tucked her fiery auburn hair behind her ear and gave me a small smile. “Thank you for bringing him back. He didn’t bother you, did he?”
I shook my head. “No, he really did earn his keep today. He caught at least two mice and kept watch over the goat barn all day. If you can count sleeping as keeping watch.”
Her lips twitched into a slightly bigger smile. “Well, I suppose I’ll let him go if he’s only catching the mice. Besides, now I really do know where to find him.”
“He was perfectly behaved,” I replied, watching her. “Can we talk about yesterday?”
Ellie nodded and moved aside. “Come in.”
“Are you sure?”
“Max, I’m not terrified you’re going to jump me or anything. You can come in.” There was a cheeky sparkle in her eye that made me fight back a smile.
Shit.
Maybe Fred was right.
Maybe this woman did have me tied up in knots.
Ellie shut the door behind me. “I know you don’t really drink, but do you mind if I have a glass of wine while we talk? It’s been a long day.”
“No, of course not. Go ahead.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to ask that, you know.”
She shrugged, leading me into the kitchen. “My aunt doesn’t drink, and she hates it when other people do around her even though it’s just a lifestyle choice for her. It always causes drama at every family gathering, so if I know someone doesn’t drink, I try to be respectful of that. Unless it’s my aunt. She can sod off.”
I chuckled a little at that. “That’s nice of you.”
Another shrug as she poured a glass. “Everyone has a reason for not drinking. The least I can do is be aware of that.” She put the bottle down and smiled at me. “But I really need this, so there’s every chance I might have smuggled it into a travel mug earlier under the guise of it being tea.”
I grinned. “Wow. Your day really has been bad.”
“Don’t go there,” she muttered, sipping. “So. Let’s talk and get it over and done with.”
“Yes, indeed.” I leant against the table. “I’m sorry for yesterday. I shouldn’t have kissed you, and I certainly shouldn’t have done so without asking you first. It was a mistake.”
Her lips tugged into a tiny smile. “Okay.”
I blinked. “Okay? That’s it? Just okay?”
“It was just a kiss, Max.” She set the glass down on a coaster and met my gaze. “It’s not the end of the world.”
“You’re not annoyed?”
“Whyever would I be annoyed? As far as kisses go, it was rather nice, and being kissed by a duke and flirted with by a future earl in the space of eighteen hours is quite good for a girl’s ego, as it happens.”
Fred flirted with her?
He hadn’t mentioned that part.
“Fred flirted with you?” I asked.
She shrugged one shoulder, smiling behind her glass before she sipped again. “Threatened to take me home with him, actually.”
I swallowed, shifting my weight slightly. “Nice estate, the Coventry one.”
“Mhm. I actually researched it for a past book.” She kept the wan smile firmly on her face, never breaking eye contact with me.
“That’s nice.” I forced a smile. “As long as there’s no hard feelings between us about yesterday.”
“No.” She put her glass down again and leant against a chair. “None at all.”
Good.
Great.
Fucking great.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
ELLIE
Damn It, Kevin
Did he have any idea how annoyed he looked?
I didn’t understand it personally, and I hadn’t even mentioned Fred for any kind of back-handed reason. It’d just passed through my mind, and I’d only said it because I hadn’t replaced my brain-to-mouth filter after writing this afternoon, but it seemed to be bothering him.
I wasn’t going to ask why.
There were no hard feelings about yesterday. I wasn’t lying. I really didn’t care that he’d kissed me, but I didn’t want to start any hard feelings now by pointing out that he was clearly annoyed and why was he annoyed?