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“Because I’m not my father and have no intentions of following in his footsteps.” As soon as he made the turn, I tensed.
“Where is this?”
“What’s wrong, little bird? You don’t like surprises?”
“No. I like black and white.”
“Well, you ain’t gonna get that with me.” He remained quiet as he drove up a well-lit road, fences on both sides.
“You own this.”
“Yup.”
“A working ranch?” I asked and I wasn’t certain why I was more nervous than before.
“Yup.”
“Why is talking so difficult for you?”
He slowly turned his head. “Are we back to twenty questions again?”
“Is there anything wrong with getting to know you?”
Before he bothered to answer, he turned onto another driveway. “Because you won’t like most of what you learn.”
“That’s not true. Why bring me to your house if you don’t want me to discover anything about you?”
“This was my parents’ house before they moved.”
“So you’re saying it’s not yours.”
“I’m saying it’s just a damn house,” he stated flatly.
As the headlights splashed across the front, I was shocked. I’d expected an entirely different style of house, more rustic and meant for a cowboy or even a log cabin meant for a mountain man. The beautiful farmhouse with a three-sided wraparound porch wasn’t at all what I could ever imagine him living in.
“This is lovely.”
“This is my mother,” he told me. He pulled the car near a four-car garage, parking in front. “She hated moving away, but my father insisted. Sound familiar?”
“I guess we come from similar backgrounds. Do you ever wish you could run away from your past?”
His exhale was ragged. “Almost every day of my life. Come on.”
“Let me guess. You have a staff that provides everything for you, a chef standing by.”
While he opened the door, he didn’t bother looking in my direction. However, the overhead light allowed me to see that he’d clenched his jaw. “You might be surprised, Wren. I’m not who you think I am.” He allowed me to get out of the car and I watched as he grabbed bags from the trunk, noticing he hadn’t put a single duffle or suit bag into the vehicle for other wedding events.
“You never intended on staying at my parents’ house. Did you?”
He said nothing as he headed for the porch, yanking out his keys. “I’d already planned on bringing you here.”
“That’s not fair. I was very specific in the reason I hired you.” Even as I made the statement, I felt stupid for doing so. He could only have accepted the deal for one reason.
“Yes, you were. Have I mentioned to you that I don’t follow rules?” There was such intensity in the way he looked at me.
He said nothing else as he guided me inside, flipping on a series of light switches. Small LED lights shimmered across the entire room, and I was surprised all over again.
“This is beautiful,” I half whispered as I walked through the entrance foyer into one of the most incredible family rooms I’d ever seen. Between the floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace and the open floor plan, every piece of furniture designed perfectly for the space, I was enthralled by how he acted as if this was just a landing spot for him.
