Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
W illow nibbled on her toast. Kinda burnt, but she wasn’t about to complain. Then she took a sip of her coffee and sighed with relief.
Coffee was exactly what she’d needed.
Well, that and the large glass of water and the aspirin Eric had insisted she take.
Eric sat across from her in the small but ridiculously neat kitchen. He took a sip of his own coffee as he studied her. “Better?”
She nodded. “Much. Thank you.”
He tilted his head to the side with a sigh. “What did we say?”
She couldn’t help a giggle at his teacherly tone. “No more thanks .”
“And?” He arched his brows.
She laughed again. “No more apologies.”
He nodded, satisfied. “Now you’re getting it.” He sounded so serious, but his eyes glinted with amusement as he took another sip of coffee.
Willow drank hers, too, and the silence between them was oddly comfortable—especially considering the circumstances.
But Willow was feeling markedly less panicked now that she’d shot off texts to her family. Bailey answered quickly to let her know that they’d assumed she’d be sleeping it off, and that April could handle lunch.
Giselle and Brandon followed up with touchingly sweet remarks about how it was about time she’d let loose and that she should take the whole day off.
She wouldn’t. But it was really nice to hear. She’d gotten a little teary over it, which had seemed to amuse Eric.
Dallas was the only one who hadn’t responded yet, but she knew he was off snowboarding today, so there was every chance he didn’t even know she hadn’t come home.
She bit her lip as she toyed with her toast. Man, she hoped Dallas didn’t know. There was no way he wouldn’t grill her when she got back if he even suspected she’d gotten into trouble.
But she hadn’t gotten into trouble. She took a bite of the toast in an attempt to hide her smile. Thanks to Eric.
His lips curved up in a wry smile as he watched her. “I would love to know what’s going on in that head of yours.”
Willow grinned at the unexpected comment.
“You have the most expressive face, and your eyes…” He trailed off, seeming to think better of it.
She tipped her head. “What about my eyes?”
He leaned forward until he rested on his elbows on the table, his expression so serious that she knew whatever he said next would be in jest. “Has anyone ever told you that there’s a good chance you’re part wood sprite?”
She burst out laughing. “No. But…” She tapped a finger on her lips. “But my family does call me Tinkerbell. So…there’s that.”
“Hmph.” He nodded. “So we’re all agreed, then. You’re at least part pixie.”
She tipped her head back with a laugh, surprised by how comfortable she was in Eric’s home. She was in the enemy’s lair. And she felt so alive and…and happy.
Lord, help me.
Biting her lips together, she tried and failed to suppress her grin. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
Eric sat back with a smirk, and she suddenly wished she hadn’t said anything.
“ Why? ” He shot her a look, like maybe he was offended. “Is there some rule I don’t know about? Am I not allowed to be nice to you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Uh, yes. The unwritten rules that have been in place between our families for more than a century. You are cavorting with the enemy right now. It’s a dangerous game, Darth. Very dangerous.”
His lips twitched with amusement, and he didn’t say anything as he finished off his coffee, draining the mug before placing it back down on the table.
“I guess you have a point there, Luke.” He was quiet for a moment, like he might say more, but then he pushed the kitchen chair back and got to his feet. “Shall we?”
She stood, too, a little sad to be leaving. Which…was ridiculous, obviously. “I still don’t know how you’re going to get me out of here without anyone knowing.”
“Leave it to me, Tink.” He winked at her, following the move with a smile that could knock her clean off her feet.
Seriously, this man was…
Biting her bottom lip, she watched him walk away from her, skimming her eyes down his lithe body and being taken out by a rush of butterflies so strong and ticklish she had to swallow down a giddy giggle.
He was so many things.
So many unexpected, wonderful things.
Which was why she had to leave.
Crossing her arms, she looked around his neat little house, tidy and color coordinated.
She liked his style. This place had the kind of vibe she could get used to.
Staring at the sofa that faced the big pane of glass, she pictured herself curled up in the corner of it, the rays of sun splashing through the window warming up her face while she read a book, her toes tucked under Eric’s thigh while he absentmindedly traced patterns on her leg, reading his own book and?—
Okay, stop it. That will never happen.
That reality was a harsh slap to her conscience, and maybe that was why, when Eric ushered her out the door, she couldn’t deny the deep sense of sadness that settled inside her, squashing all those lovely butterflies in one fell swoop.
They tried to revive themselves again when Eric opened the door for her and handed her the pair of heels she’d forgotten.
“Thank y—” She bit her lips together and could feel the blush heating her cheeks.
“You’re welcome, little one,” he murmured playfully before walking around the front of his truck.
Oh boy, he was handsome.
She’d known that all along, but there was something so different about him, like a new day had dawned and she was seeing him clearly for the first time.
His Vader mask was slipping away to reveal something soft and gentle, playful and fun. And she intrinsically knew that not everyone got to see this side of him.
But he was showing her.
That felt so huge, and she didn’t know what to do with it.
“Okay.” Eric slipped behind the wheel and started the engine. “Let Operation Not Get Busted commence.” He winked at her again, and all she could give him was a wonky smile.
Her insides were in chaos as she sank down in her seat and tried to stay hidden as Eric drove her off the property.
They’d only driven a few short minutes when he murmured, “Okay, you can sit up now.”
She shuffled back in her seat, rising to her full height and checking out the view. They were pulling up next to a utility shed and she frowned at him in confusion.
“What are we?—?”
“Trust me,” he murmured as he jumped out the driver’s door and scanned his surroundings.
Of course she’d never been on the Spencer property before, so the fact that she was lost was not surprising, but it seemed weird that they’d only traveled such a short distance. Was he expecting her to hike back to The King’s Inn in her heels?
He opened her door and didn’t even ask before lifting her out of his truck. Delicately placing her down, he held her arm steady while she put her heels on, then checked the coast was clear one more time.
“This way.” He tipped his head and, after a few quick strides, slowed his pace so that she would catch up.
They reached a narrow trail around the back of the shed and he led her through a thick crop of trees, stopping to help her over a log. She managed not to squeak when his hands landed on her hips and he easily lifted her over, once again placing her down and steadying her until she had her footing.
Her heart was thrumming out of time, making it impossible to think straight as she negotiated what felt like land mines in her high heels.
She was just waiting for her stiletto to get caught between two rocks.
Snap and she’d be done.
“Seriously, where are we?” she asked, narrowly avoiding an ankle breakage.
He caught her arm before she fell and moved his body to catch her. She landed against his solid chest with a soft oomph and tried not to notice how good he smelled.
“You okay?” he murmured, running his hand down her back and tucking it around her waist.
She was absolutely steady on her feet, and he could let her go, but he seemed to linger like maybe he didn’t want to.
Shaking off the thought, she did her best to cling to her flailing common sense.
Of course he wanted to let her go.
He wasn’t lingering, he was avoiding some kind of health and safety lawsuit.
Because why would he want to hold her?
He didn’t see her romantically. And even if the thought that he ever might was a possibility, she was pretty sure she’d decimated that chance with her behavior last night.
Ugh. So embarrassing.
“Here we go.” Eric slowed to a stop when they reached an old wooden garage.
“This is where we store the vehicles we use for off-roading.” He pulled the door up, wincing at the loud screeching sound.
“We hardly ever use these, but occasionally we’ll have a guest who sees themselves as some kind of Bear Grylls wannabe and asks for us to arrange a night or two away in the forest.” He rolled his eyes.
“It’s always so much effort, and the paperwork is a nightmare, but we aim to please, right? ”
Willow stopped to blink at him while he wandered to a metal box on the wall and pulled out a key.
“So, you just dump them in the middle of nowhere and wish them good luck?”
He laughed, taking a key off the hook. “That’s what they think.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Little do they know I’ve hired a professional guide to keep a secret eye on them as they navigate their way back to the lodge.”
“Wow.” She crossed her arms, trying not to be charmed by the triumphant smirk on his face.
“Here you go.” He opened the door of the old Jeep and gestured for her to jump in. “We’ll take one of the forest trails,” he explained. “It goes around the long way, so we can come out at your property from the other side.”
“So sneaky.” She smiled at him. “And if anyone spots you in the driver’s seat?”
“They won’t. We don’t let our guests do this kind of thing during the winter months. We should be in the clear. Plus…” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I’m gonna take one of the tracks that’s out-of-bounds anyway, just to be extra cautious.”
“Why is it out-of-bounds?”
He shrugged. “We like to keep certain areas of the property as people-free as possible. Gives the wildlife a chance to feel like they rule that patch of the world, you know?”
Something in her chest popped, a sweet warmth filling her senses as she studied him.
“In you get.” He lifted her up, settling her into her seat once more.
A smile lingered on her lips as she buckled up.
Unable to pull her wayward emotions into check, she kept her head down and her mouth shut.
She couldn’t figure this man out.
He wanted to keep patches of the property people-free for the sake of the wildlife, yet he also wanted to bulldoze No Man’s Land to build fancy condos that would take over the lakefront?
How did she make sense of that?
Part of her wanted to question his sanity, but it’d been such a pleasant morning, and she didn’t want to ruin it by getting into a land discussion that could turn ugly.
But would it?
Eric had been a surprisingly charming host ever since she woke up.
Before that, even.
Heat rushed into her cheeks as she belatedly realized that he must have tucked her in. That he’d been the one to take care of her last night.
She stole a glance at his chiseled profile. So hard and unforgiving, and yet…
Had she really ever thought of him as the bad guy?
She turned back to face the window, taking in the dark trail, the dense trees blocking so much of the sunlight. She let her eyes adjust and kept an eye out for animals that might be scurrying about. Although, with the noise this old Jeep was making, they’d probably run into hiding.
As she was jostled side to side on the bumpy trail, she followed a line of trees, admiring the wooden centurions, until her eyes caught on something that looked as though it didn’t fit.
Wait. Was that…?
She straightened, her eyes bulging.
It was!
“Stop!” She slapped a hand on Eric’s arm, making him jump. “Stop the car!”