“Hello, Mallory Blackstone,” Master Fletcher said as he slid his hold down her arm.
She raised her gaze to his as he embraced her hand and shook it twice. He was gorgeous but appeared to be in his thirties. Way too young for her to be involved with, even though her body was reacting to his touch and voice in a way it had never responded to anyone before. Not even her husband had evoked such a strong, instant reaction.
But Master Fletcher was too young for her and, therefore, off limits.
After swallowing, she whispered, “Hello, Sir. Um, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go.”
Easing her hand from his, she slipped past him and into the store. She needed to do her shopping for essentials, but after the past few minutes, decided she would indeed get the biggest chocolate bar they had in stock. It would be a reward for not melting to a puddle on the floor and begging Master Fletcher to order her to do anything.
“Mallory? Mallory!” Sadie caught up with her in front of the toiletries trying to decide which shampoo most matched the one she used at home. “Are you okay?”
Mallory didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she grabbed a bottle of every sample-size shampoo on the shelf before moving to the toothpaste to grab three of them as well.
“Mallory?” Sadie followed her as Mallory consulted the shopping list on her phone. “I’m sorry. I got a little excited. I didn’t mean to run into you. Or for us both to run into Master Fletcher. But that’s a good thing.”
Though Mallory wanted to ignore the other woman, Sadie’s excitement had her stopping to study her. “What are you talking about?”
“Daddy wanted me to invite you for lunch at the Big House.”
“Why?”
“Why? What do you mean why?”
“Why would Master Derek invite me? I haven’t done anything remarkable to earn his attention. Or have I missed something and he’s going to yell at me?”
Sadie’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “No, no, no, no, no. Nothing bad. Tomorrow’s your birthday.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Well, um, he wanted to invite you to see if you had a special wish for your birthday tomorrow. Yeah, that’s it,” Sadie said as she shifted from one foot to another.
She looked so nervous that Mallory had a feeling being invited for lunch at the Big House meant more than a simple meal with the boss.
But she was feeling a bit down at not having anyone to celebrate her birthday with, so maybe this would be a good thing. With a sigh, she relented. “What time?”
“Noon. Do you want me to send someone to walk you over?” Sadie began to bounce in place, obviously excited about something that she wasn’t willing to share with her.
“No, thank you. I think I can find my way,” Mallory said as she fought to suppress a grin at the Little girl’s excitement.
“Okay, we’ll see you at noon,” Sadie said before bouncing out of the store.
Oh, to be young and excited about everything. Maybe that should be her birthday wish, though she couldn’t remember a single time over the years when any of her birthday wishes actually came true.
“Don’t eat too much of that at one time or you’ll give yourself a stomachache,” Becky, the cashier, pointed to the half-pound bar of dark chocolate as she rang up Mallory’s purchases.
“I won’t,” Mallory said as she accepted the bag and walked out of the store.
On her way back to her shared suite on the second floor, her thoughts moved ahead to what she should wear to have lunch at the Big House with her boss and his wife.
Chapter Four
Fletcher took his time walking the path that led to Master Derek’s home, fondly referred to as The Big House. As he walked, he breathed deep, enjoying the fresh air and the peace of the surroundings and the beautiful day.
He was halfway there when he noticed a figure walking ahead of him. He frowned as the woman appeared to be limping. She wore a navy-blue tank dress that draped over her, hinting at a curvy frame. The dress ended at mid-calf, but from where he stood, it didn’t seem warm enough for the day, even though it was springtime. Where was her sweater?
Montana was not a place to run around with no coat and no sleeves even in May. If she was headed for The Big House and lunch extended to late afternoon, she would freeze on the walk back to the resort. Was she headed to the Big House? Or just out for a midday walk?
When his smart phone buzzed, he glanced at it and silenced the timer before picking up his pace. He didn’t want to be late. He hated being late for anything. As he grew older, he was coming to not like a lot of things but being late had always topped the list.
