Page 34 of The Marriage Mistake

I jumped as thunder boomed, and Jack glanced over, his hand lifting to stroke my arm. It was an automatic movement, almost unconscious. He dropped his hand after only a second, but the heat of his touch lingered a long while afterwards.

Wanting to put more distance between us, I moved back to the couch and poured myself more tea.

Jack’s phone rang. “Yeah?” he said after answering the call. He frowned, glancing at me, then looked out the window again. “Okay. Yeah.”

As he hung up, there was a light knock on the door, and Giles appeared once more. “I’ve just had news,” the older man said. “A tree is down over the main road. Access to Marswood Harbor is temporarily blocked.”

I straightened. “There’s only one road into town?”

Jack grimaced. “From here, yes, unless we go down old logging tracks. And with the weather being what it is right now…”

“That’s not safe,” Giles said.

“I just got the call from our fiber optic technician—he’s not going to make it until the weather eases up. There’s an accident over on his end of the peninsula.”

I gulped. “Okay. So…”

“I’ll get us a couple of—I’ll get us a room in Ellsworth,” Jack said, eyes flicking from me to Giles as he cleared his throat. I knew he’d only corrected himself and said he was getting one room because Giles was here. In reality, we’d get two. Jack frowned at the storm outside. “The road should still be clear in that direction, and then we can head back into town when the tree’s cleared. Probably early tomorrow.”

Inconvenient, but not the end of the world. I nodded. At least I’d get to relax in a hotel room on my own. Maybe I could order room service and try to forget about this whole ordeal.

“Nonsense,” Giles interrupted. “You’ll stay here.”

We both looked at the butler. The butler looked at us.

“That won’t be necessary,” Jack said, voice rough.

“You’re stranded here because we called you out. We have more than enough space. Our staff is already preparing your room.”

“We can get our own accommodation⁠—”

“Mr. Mars,” Giles clipped. “Please. It’s no trouble at all.”

Jack’s gaze slid over to me. His throat bobbed.

Staying here meant no separate hotel rooms. It meant pretending we were a couple for the rest of the day. For the whole night.

In one bed.

“Already one tree has fallen over the road. There could be more. The storm seems to be sitting above us,” Giles pointed out, puffing himself up to stand tall as he looked at us. “I couldn’t live with myself if you left and got hurt. You’ll stay. Please.”

“Thank you, Giles,” Jack finally responded, evidently concluding that we had no choice. Leaving now would be insulting to his most important client, and it might even be unsafe.

The older man inclined his head, clearly relieved. “This way,” he said, gesturing down the hallway. “I’ll show you to your room.”

We were led through a long hallway and around a corner. Giles opened the door to a beautifully decorated guest room which looked out onto the forest at the side of the property. The curtains were open to reveal dark skies forked with lightning and glass panes dripping with rain. It was hard to tell what time it was when the weather was like this.

“The bathroom is through here,” Giles said, opening one of the doors. “Take your time, and if you need anything, there’s a phone on the desk that will connect you with a staff member who can help. We’ll serve dinner around seven. You’ll be notified.”

“Thank you,” I said.

The older man nodded and closed the door, leaving Jack and me alone.

Alone in a room right next to a big king bed.

I looked at the piece of furniture like it was about to jump up and eat me, then tiptoed over to peek into the ensuite bathroom. It contained a luxurious soaking tub, a huge shower cubicle with a zillion showerheads, and a huge vanity. Gorgeous.

Jack nodded at the bed. “Do you care what side I take?”