Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“He has, actually,” Char said, not bothering to look behind her at Matthew. “Which is exactly why I needed to come here to see for myself what you’re really like.”
Matthew gave a subtle shake of his head. He never should have spoken with Char. She trusted people far too easily.
“I can only imagine what he’s said,” Winnie returned.
She looked different today. Carefree, maybe? No, that wasn’t the right word. “Slightly relaxed” was closer to it. Maybe the jetlag had finally left, taking with it the sleepy circles beneath her eyes.
“Oh, don’t take it personally,” Char said. “He’s always been judgmental.”
“I gathered.”
Matthew frowned. “You two are aware that I’m standing right here, aren’t you?”
Char waved a dismissive hand over her shoulder. At least Winnie had the decency to look at him, though neither of them still said a word to him.
He folded his arms. He’d come here to steer the conversation in the right direction, not to be subjected to his sister’s teasing in front of Winnie, making him look even worse in front of her. Although, how that was possible, he wasn’t sure. She probably blamed him for the whole state of the festival. Not that it wasn’t his fault…
“Mummy! Lilly won’t share the ball with me!”
Thankfully, the attention shifted to Matthew’s nieces, who ran toward them to stand beside their mum.
“Lilly, Ava wants a turn, love,” Char said as the three-year-old gripped tightly to the ball.
“No, my turn!” Lilly shouted with a scowl.
“And who are these beautiful girls?” Winnie asked, smiling down at his nieces.
Instantly, Lilly and Ava stared up at Winnie with curious eyes, the argument over the ball apparently forgotten.
“Oh, aren’t you kind?” Char said, falling at once for Winnie’s compliments. Was Matthew the only one who wasn’t a sucker for the consultant?
“These are my little girls, Ava and Lilly,” Char continued. She leaned down to her daughters. “This is Winnie. She’ll be staying at the house and working as Matthew’s boss for a bit.”
Matthew pulled a face. His boss. He knew Char was trying to annoy him on purpose, but blimey, he didn’t think it’d be working so well.
At least Winnie didn’t react. Instead, she bent her knees and lowered herself to be at the girls’ levels.
How did she manage that, then? Those heels would have toppled anyone.
“Hi, girls,” she said with a warm smile. “Do you live at Foxwood, too?”
Ava, who had just turned five, nodded with a shy smile. Lilly, the three-year-old, had hidden herself entirely behind her mummy, clinging her little arm around Char’s leg.
“Wow, so you get to live with your grandparents?” Winnie continued with a bright smile.
Char was smiling now, too, peering down at her girls, who had also started to grin .
But Matthew’s frown had only grown. Sneaky woman, trying to get in with the kids. She was good. He’d give her that.
“Yeh,” Ava said with a nod.
“That is so fun,” Winnie said. “I bet you love that.”
“Yeh,” Ava repeated. She drew a deep breath, clearly trying to gather her courage. “And we get to live with my uncle, too.”
Winnie glanced up to Matthew, then back down to the girls. “Well, that makes you even luckier! Do you joust on those big horses like he does, too?”
Ava gave another smile and shook her head, clearly losing her shyness by the second. “No, I don’t joust. But I do ride!”
“You do?” Winnie looked more than amazed. How did she do that? Act so genuine when she was so…fake? “I bet you are the best rider.”
“I am,” Ava said with no shame.
“Yeh, me too!” Lilly piped in finally, drawing on her sister’s strength.
“You, too?” Winnie said with excitement, shifting her attention to the little girl. “That’s amazing!”
“And I have my own horse!” Ava said with bright eyes.
“Yeh, me too!” Lilly repeated.
Winnie pulled on a look of surprise. “You both have your own horses?”
Ava continued. “No, I do, but Lilly has to share with Mummy ’til she’s old enough like me.”
“Yeh, me too!” Lilly said with all the excitement a three-year-old could muster.
Winnie laughed. Matthew had never seen such a genuine look on her face, and curse his inability to deny it, but the woman was gorgeous. Her gray eyes squinted playfully at the edges as she grinned, and her nose did this cute little scrunching up thing as she laughed.
It was infuriating.
As was how genuine she seemed with his nieces. How was she so good with children ?
“Well,” Winnie continued, “you girls are so lucky to have so many family members to live with and so many horses to ride.”
Ava pumped her head up and down. “Do you have your own horse?”
Winnie’s smile faltered. It was only for a brief moment, but Matthew was sure of what he saw. What he couldn’t figure out was why she’d had that reaction to such a simple question.
“No,” Winnie said, her smile returning. “I once…” She seemed to think better of what she’d been about to say, shaking her head and beginning again. “Anyway, I’ll have to see you two ride sometime before I leave Foxwood, just so I can see how good you are.”
The girls nodded, the excitement in their eyes pushing Matthew to the edge. Why did they care about Winnie watching them? She was no one to them. Just a woman who’d managed to trick them, too.
His frustration mounted like a child throwing a tantrum until he spoke without thinking. “Yeah, we’ll see if you don’t leave too early for that.”
Char turned to look at him with a frown. Winnie merely rose from the girls with ease and faced him with an unreadable expression.
All right, maybe that had been a little too harsh. He just couldn’t help it. This woman had taken over every aspect of his life, and now, even his nieces liked her.
Granted, she was charming. She’d been charming sitting in her ridiculous Aston Martin stuck in the mud asking him to avoid scratching the green paint with his gauntlets.
“I hope you don’t mind my brother,” Char said, breaking through the silence his unkind comment had caused. “He’s not always a grump. Hopefully you get the chance to see a nicer side of him. He comes out every few weeks. You have to coax him from his cave, though. Like a yeti.”
Winnie laughed. “Thanks for the advice.”
Matthew’s irritation only grew.
Lilly tugged on Ava’s arm. “Ava, come pyay? ”
Ava nodded. “May we play again, Mummy?”
“Yes, love,” Char said, and the three of them watched the girls run toward the football on the grass nearby.
“They are beautiful girls, Char,” Winnie said with a sincere smile. “You must consider yourself very lucky to have them.”
“Oh, I do, even if they’re a handful.” Char stared off at them for a moment. “If only their dad knew how great they were.” She glanced back to Winnie. “He gave up all his rights to move in with a…less-than-desirable in London a few years back.”
Matthew nearly pressed a hand to his brow. Char had always been an over-sharer, which was definitely not a typical British trait, but she hardly cared.
Would Winnie? He scrutinized the consultant, wondering how she’d react, but she nodded in measure, not hesitating a moment before responding.
“His loss, though, isn’t it?” she said with more understanding than Matthew could comprehend. “Missing out on the girls and you.”
Char smiled, clearly touched by this near-stranger’s words. “I knew I’d like you, Winnie.”
They shared a smile, and Matthew stared between them again, wondering at the swiftness with which their relationship had formed.
“So how are you finding Foxwood?” Char asked next.
“I’m loving it,” Winnie said with a nod. “It’s a gorgeous house in the most stunning location.”
“That’s not what you said when you first arrived,” Matthew murmured.
Char looked back at him with a look that said, “You’re embarrassing yourself, Matthew.”
But he merely looked at Winnie, challenging her to disagree with the truth.
Winnie merely smiled. “I never made a complaint about Foxwood. I only mentioned the spotty cell service and the mud on the side of the road. ”
“Oh my gosh, yes,” Char said with a shake of her head. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve complained to our dad about the cell service. And the mud? It’s entirely out of hand. I’m glad you’re here to fix it.” Then she looked back to Matthew. “ And the festival. It’s seen better days.”
Matthew pulled back. Char was being brutal today.
It was a good job he was a kind brother, or he’d be at her, too.
“Well, I hope I can help,” Winnie said.
She was showing far more humility than she had the day before.
Winnie-Freakin’-Knox. He was never going to be able to forget that. The level of confidence she’d shown, the spark of pride in her eye that had somehow made her look all the more attractive. Honestly, if it wasn’t for their current circumstances, he could almost admit to admiring her for her courage.
Almost.
He still couldn’t believe how spot on she’d been in her assumptions about him. The Birdwhistles and a few others had once suggested adding more fantastical elements to his historically accurate event, while someone else had pushed to bring in more well-known foods, but he’d set the proposals aside without giving them a chance, just as Winnie had guessed. He couldn’t risk losing the authenticity he’d pushed for. That was the only thing they had going for them now—the only thing that was still him about the festival.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to help, Winnie,” Char continued. “Just don’t let this chap get you down.” She threw a thumb over her shoulder at Matthew.
“Oh, I’m not worried about him,” Winnie said, as the two continued once more like he wasn’t there. “I’ve been placed in charge of far more difficult individuals.”
“I’m not being difficult,” he muttered.
Winnie shrugged. “I’ve got different words if you prefer. Challenging. Impossible. Mulish.”
“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Char said, her eyes dancing as she glanced between Matthew and Winnie.
“What is?” Matthew asked gruffly.
“Just you two working together,” she replied cheerfully.
“Yeah, so much fun,” he returned.
Char glanced to Winnie, somehow sharing a knowing look with her. He knew women understood each other in ways men could never possibly comprehend, but the girls had only just met. What were they sharing? And what more would be shared?
Nothing he was willing to find out.
“Well,” he said, clapping his hands together once, “we’d love to stay and chat, but Char has her daughters to look after.”
“Yes, yes,” Char said with a wave of her hand. “Typical Matthew, always slaughtering the fun.”
“That is him, isn’t it?” Winnie gave him a look.
He took a step away, hoping to force his sister to leave, but she paused again. “Do you want to come sit with us?” she asked Winnie.
Good grief, she was trying to kill him, wasn’t she?
“Oh, thank you so much for the offer,” Winnie responded, “but I’ve got some things I need to do back at the estate. Plus, I think if I stayed with you a minute longer, Matthew might blow a gasket.”
The girls laughed, but Matthew was over it. He wrapped his hands gently but firmly around his sister’s upper arms and coaxed her back. “All right, come along, Char.”
His sister waved goodbye, taking a few steps back.
“It was so nice to meet you, Char,” Winnie said with a wave of her own. Then she looked to Matthew, her eyes taking on a different light. “And nice to see you again, Matthew.”
He grumbled a response, then turned his back on the woman, not bothering to read her expression.
“It’s official,” Char said as they walked away. “She’ s my favorite.”
Matthew shook his head. “Fantastic. She pulled the wool over your eyes, too.”
“Yep. I’m fully convinced. You need to marry her.”
Matthew nearly choked on his own spit. “You’re insane, Char. I would never marry someone like her.”
“Exactly. Which is why you should. She’d keep you in your place.”
He shook his head, though he chose not to respond. He’d come out there that afternoon to play with his nieces, and that was exactly what he was going to do.
All he needed was for that American to leave so he could stop being distracted by her runner legs, smooth hair, bright eyes, and charming smile.
A smile that he knew existed only to sugarcoat what she was going to tell him tomorrow during their meeting. Because he had a feeling that meeting was going to be the worst he’d ever have in his life.
And that was all due to Winnie Knox being his… Ugh …Boss.
Winnie walked away from the park and the Wintours, smiling as she pulled up her phone to respond to her sister.
She stole a quick glance over her shoulder, watching Matthew kick the ball to his nieces. He stole a glance at Winnie over his shoulder, then hurriedly darted his eyes away.
Winnie hid her widening smile and faced forward.
Nothing would ever happen between her and Matthew. Not only would that be entirely unprofessional, but they were far too different to make anything work between them.
But now that she knew who Char was, Winnie could stop suppressing her thoughts .
Matthew Wintour, great with kids, a good sport with his sister, and able to pull off medieval hair and a modern man bun.
She pulled up her text thread with Sarah, smiling as she responded.
Winnie
Yep. He is absolutely hot.
Then she let out an airy sigh and walked through the rest of the park, feeling lighter than she had in days.