1

BRONWYN

My hands gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles turned white. The Rhiggs estate sat in front of me like the beautiful castle it was. I could see Christmas lights blinking from every window. It looked welcoming but I was terrified at the same time.

I hadn't seen Trenton Rhiggs in a year. The last time I saw him was the last Christmas gala in town where I attended with his daughter, Eudora, who was my best friend. I caught him looking at me across the room; it was not a random look, I could still vividly feel the sexual heat that transpired us. The look lasted maybe three seconds but it was burned  into my memory. I told myself I imagined it.

I was here for Eudora. My best friend since we were kids and not her father.

I grabbed my overnight bag from the passenger seat and stepped out into the cold. Eudora would open the door for me, and we'll both jump into each other's arms excitedly. I might so casually ask if her father is spending Christmas with us.

The front door was intimidating like everything else in the house. I rang the doorbell and then after some seconds, I heard footsteps approaching the door, I straightened up and fixed my smile.

The door opened. Trenton stood there instead of Eudora. Time stopped.

I've never seen him in anything that wasn't a savile row suit. So I was caught off guard by his smoldering sexiness in his dark jeans and a gray sweater that hugged his broad shoulders. I swallowed involuntarily as I trained my eyes to look directly into his face, instead of trailing down the rest of his sinful-looking body as it wanted to. His hair was slightly messy like he'd run his hands through it.  Those gray eyes locked onto mine and I had problems breathing.

"Bronwyn." His voice was deeper than I remembered.

"Mr. Rhiggs." The words came out too quiet. "I mean, Trenton. Is Eudora here?"

 He stepped back to let me in. "There's been a change of plans. Come in out of the cold."

I walked past him into the entrance hall. The house smelled like the pine and chocolate of his oud musk that always characterized his presence. I inhaled briefly, It made my stomach flip. His presence behind me felt like heat on my back.

"Eudora had an emergency at the hospital," he said. "It was a pediatric case and a complex surgery. She won't make it home for a few days."

My heart sank. "Oh no. Is the patient okay?"

"She thinks so. The surgery went well but she needs to monitor the recovery." He closed the door."She called me this afternoon and asked me to tell you she's sorry. She's been trying to reach you all day."

"Yeah," I sighed. "My phone's been down. I should get a hotel then." I turned toward the door. "I don't want to impose."

"Your parents already left for their cruise."

I stopped. He was right. Mom and Dad were somewhere over the Atlantic by now. They were headed to the Mediterranean for three weeks for their anniversary. I'd planned to stay here the whole time.

"There are hotels in town," I said.

"The Christmas rush has them booked solid." Trenton moved closer and I'm sure he could hear my heart beating erratically in my chest. "The house has six bedrooms. You're welcome to stay. Eudora would want you to, she would be angry at me if she learned that you stayed at a hotel.."

"I don't know if that's appropriate." I blurted before I could stop myself.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

Because I've had inappropriate thoughts about you since I was nineteen. Because anytime I look at you, I'm always undressing you with my eyes, I'm always tempted to look downwards instead of your face. I'm the danger.

"I just don't want to be a burden," I said instead.

"You're not." He reached for my bag. His fingers brushed mine as he took it. The contact lasted half a second but I felt my core clench. "Let me show you to your room."

I followed him through the house. The entrance hall opened into a massive living space with vaulted ceilings and floor to ceiling windows. Everything was decorated for Christmas. A huge Christmas tree stood in the corner sparkling with Christmas ornaments.

"The house is beautiful," I said.

"Isolde decorated most of it before she got sick." I could hear the pain in his voice. "I keep it the same every year."

Guilt twisted in my chest. His wife had been gone three years but the grief was still there. And here I was, sexualizing the man. He still loved her, and I saw it in the set of his shoulders.

We climbed the stairs. He led me to a room at the end. He opened the door and gestured for me to go in first.

The guest room was bigger than my apartment. Everything from the King sized bed to the floor to ceiling windows and marble bathroom screamed luxury.

"This is too much," I said.

"It's just a room." He set my bag on the bench at the foot of the bed. " If you need anything, my room is down the hall. Third door on the left."

Why did I need to know where his room was? Why did that information make my face feel hot?

"Thank you." I forced myself to look at him. Big mistake. He was watching me with a smoldering look in his eyes that made my knees buckle. Heat tingled my nipples. "Really. I appreciate it."

"Have you eaten?"

"I grabbed something on the drive."

"I was about to make dinner. Join me?"

I should say no. I needed to unpack and stay in this room and avoid him as much as possible, before I jumped on him like an animal on heat. Instead I heard myself say, "Okay."

He nodded. I watched as the muscles in his toned back fought each other as he walked away. I swallowed again, for some reason I was salivating.

I sat on the edge of the bed once he was gone. My hands were shaking. This was bad. This was so bad.

I pulled out my phone and texted Eudora. "Your dad told me about the surgery. Hope the patient recovers quickly. Miss you already."

She replied immediately. "Miss you too! Dad will take good care of you. Sorry to leave you with the old man lol."

Old man. Right. Except there was nothing old about the way Trenton looked or moved or made me feel.

I changed out of my travel clothes into jeans and a soft sweater. I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to fix my hair. I put on lip gloss then wiped it off just because...Then after a second I put it back on because I decided not to give a damn of what he thought.

I scoffed internally , I was being ridiculous.

When I went downstairs, I followed the sound of movement to the kitchen. Trenton stood at the counter chopping vegetables. He'd rolled up his sleeves and I could see his forearms. I had to breathe deeply a few times because just looking at him, all sweaty and hot despite the cold water, was twisting my insides. t

"Can I help?" I asked.

He looked up. His gaze dropped to my outfit then back to my face. "You can keep me company."

I sat on one of the bar stools across the counter from him. He moved with confidence around the kitchen. It was not what I expected from a CEO who probably had people to cook for him. I assumed the rest of his staff was on holiday.

"I didn't know you cooked," I said.

"Isolde taught me. She said a man should know his way around a kitchen." He scraped vegetables into a pan. The sizzle filled the silence. "After she died, cooking was one of the only things that helped. Something to focus on."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up painful memories."

"You didn't." He glanced at me. "It's getting easier to talk about her. That's progress, I think."

"Three years is still fresh."

"Some days it feels like yesterday. Other days it feels like a lifetime ago." He added seasoning to the pan. "How's Boston treating you?"

"Good and busy. The marketing firm keeps me running."

"Eudora says you're being promoted soon."

"Hopefully. If I can land the Sherry contract."

"You'll land it." He said it with a killer smile radiating off his whole face. I had no choice but to believe it too.

"You're brilliant at what you do. Eudora showed me some of your campaigns last time she was home." He met my eyes. "Impressive work."

Heat crept up my neck. "Thank you."

We fell into an easier conversation while he cooked. We were both contented with me just watching him as he worked.

Dinner was ready. He set it up on the small kitchen island instead of the massive dining hall. That way I was seated closer to him, and be wrapped up in his masculinity more.

The food was amazing. I told him so.

"One of Isolde's recipes," he said. "She had dozens of them written down. I work through them sometimes."

"That's a beautiful way to remember her."

He studied me across the table. "You've grown up a lot since the last time I really looked at you."

My fork stopped halfway to my mouth. "What do you mean?"

"At the gala last year. I saw you differently." He set down his wine glass. "You weren't just Eudora's friend anymore. You were someone I noticed."

The air between us suddenly became charged with sexual tension. I couldn't look away from him.

"I thought I imagined that," I whispered.

"You didn't."

My pulse hammered in my ears.

"We should probably not talk about this," I said.

"You're right." But he didn't look away. And I couldn't force my eyes away from his rugged face.

Somehow, the rest of the dinner became that; us exchanging 'harmless' looks with a lot of sexual tension underneath. After we cleaned up, he walked me to the stairs.

"I have some work to finish up," he said. "But if you need anything, don't hesitate to knock."

"I'll be fine. Thank you for dinner."

"Goodnight, Bronwyn."

His husky voice pronouncing my name made my nipples tingle again. I climbed the stairs without looking back, feeling the heat of his stare on my back. If I looked back, I might do something stupid.

In the guest room, I got ready for bed. But I couldn't sleep.

The house was quiet except for distant sounds of Trenton moving around downstairs. After an hour, those sounds stopped. I heard his footsteps on the stairs. I heard him walk down the hallway.

The footsteps stopped outside my door.

I held my breath as I stared at the strip of light under the door. I could see his shadow there.

My heart pounded so hard I thought he might hear it through the door. The thoughts of him opening the door and coming to wrap me in his masculine scent overrode me, no matter how much I tried to expel those thoughts.

Then his footsteps moved away. I heard his door open and close down the hall.

I released a shaky breath.

"This is going to be a problem," I whispered to the empty room.

"He's Eudora's father," I told myself. "Don't be that woman."

But that warning was gone with the wind as soon as I uttered it. I already wanted to be that woman, ever since I was a young teen.

And the way Trenton looked at me tonight? He wanted it too.

 Eudora would be here in a few days. I just had to keep myself together until then. I had to keep my distance.

Three days. I could do that.

Even as I thought it, I knew I was lying to myself.