Chapter 1
?
Gloriously unprepared.
Clara
Surprising zero people, I did not sleep last night. I kept thinking about thegiantman in the same tour bus with me, sleeping soundly on the couch just beyond the bedroom door, breathing deeply, occasionally moving…
After reining in my nerves, I slipped out of bed and tried to escape. I failed, of course. I failed the moment I saw Lukas’s giant body stretched out across the black couch in the main room, blocking the path between me and the exit. I stood there in the doorway for a while, staring at him while my brain oscillated between panic andwow.
I am not proud of thewow, but wow…
Lukas is…he’s just…insane.
Really, really insane.
So unbelievably insane.
Butso beautiful.
“Clara,” he murmurs, waking me when I’ve nodded off beside him, on the couch he slept on. It’s, probably, the second time he’s woken me. The first time, he was pressing a cupcake I frosted to my lips, which reminded me to text my boss and let her know that Lukas kidnapped me, and I’m very sorry that I can’t come in to work today, but I don’t know what’s going on, and also—really—it’s Ella’s fault for not saving me.
I knew the woman’s work ethic was borderline when she spent much of setting up yesterday askingmewhat we weresupposed to be doing, but not saving an underling from being kidnapped by a popstar isridiculous.
I ate the cupcake, hoping the sugar would keep me awake for the rest of the trip, but it quite entirely seems to have shoved me into a coma instead, because this time when I wake up, my head is on Lukas’s lap.
Drowsy as his fingers pull through my hair, I shiver. “Mm?”
“So sleepy,” he murmurs, calloused fingertip grazing the shell of my ear. “We’re almost there. I didn’t know if you wanted to see the manor come into view. It’s a beautiful sight.”
Pushing myself up, I yawn and direct my attention toward the front windows as the driver turns up a quiet lane framed in trees. My breath catches as the foliage breaks to reveal a sprawling palace, complete with towers and peaks. Beyond a fountain that rests in the center of the cul-de-sac, stone steps rise toward the three-story mammoth building that seems to go on eternally amid lavish unending gardens.
The Bachelors live in acastle. I knew that they did, of course. Butseeing itis something else. I am all awe. I am all amazement. I am allexhaustion.
Breathless, I whisper, “Wow…”
“See? There’s plenty of room for you, cutie pie.” Lukas tips my mouth closed with a single finger on my chin. “Three stories, a massive basement, several pools, gardens galore, storehouses, additional suites… You’ll be safe here, happy, spoiled. My little…E-clair-a.”
Yeah…I’m…seeing that.
Wait.
Did he just call meE-clair-a? That’s really cute.
That’s the cutest thing anyone has ever done with my name.
So it’s really unfortunate that my stomach hurts. But I do believe I’ll get over it.
“It’s beautiful,” I say as the driver takes us down a lane, past more high walls adorned in ivy, toward a garage large enough to fit both this huge bus and what appears to be several dozen other cars. The cool gray building melds functionality with the elegance of the rest of the palace, managing to keep from looking out of place.
Overwhelmed once we stop, I follow Lukas’s guide and only teeter slightly on the steps out of the bus, soaking in the SUVs, the sports cars, the lap of luxury itself.
Okay. Fine. I understand, Mom. Your advice was bulletproof. What’s a little invasion of my personal space if it means securing a good rep with the men who ownall this, right? By contrast, offending this kind of man would be…horrible.
Much better to be taken care of. Much catastrophic to sayno.
“Thanks, Jackson. Have a safe trip back home, man.” Lukas clasps Jackson’s hand and reels him in for a guy hug. “Until the next one.”
