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I wrapped my arms around me as if that could dispel the frost that seemed to cover me. As my eyes began to somewhat adjust to the darkness, noises like the beginning soundtrack of a horror movie just as the monster made an appearance pierced the silence like thunder. I jumped just before the sounds of an engine preceded light stunning my eyes.
A few blinks later and a smallish room came into focus, adorned with a leather beaten sofa and TV taking up the left side of the room and a small but serviceable kitchen to the back and right. A small table finished out the room. Then a tiny hallway to the right led to what I assumed were the bedroom and bath.
My pilot, who I just realized hadn’t introduced himself, went to the left to start a fire in the hearth below the large TV.
As I stood shivering, I asked, “What’s your name?”
He stilled and turned his head to face me. “Grant,” he said as if it caused him effort to give me that much information about himself.
I rubbed my arms, not sure what to do. My guess was if I complained, he would go back to calling me Highness, which was super annoying.
“You should get out of those wet clothes,” he said without bothering to look at me.
I glanced around, because surely he didn’t think I would get naked in front of him.
He stood, and for the first time, I really took in just how tall he was. In the plane, he’d been stooped. Back at the small airport, I was too mad and frazzled to really pay attention to him. Now, I could appreciate his frame. I wasn’t a small girl. Some considered me tall for a woman, yet he dwarfed me.
“You expect me to get naked here?” I said before my thoughts tumbled back to getting naked with him.
His eyes raked over me like he was disappointed in what he saw. I gritted my teeth and bit back a sarcastic remark that wouldn’t have been kind, considering he was doing me a favor. Then again, he probably thought of himself as my savior.
“No. You can change in the bathroom.”
That’s when I realized I didn’t have my bag. As if reading my mind, he pointed to the floor near the door where my bag sat.
I snagged it and followed in his wake as he entered the short hallway.
He pointed at the end. “You can change in here.”
I worried my lip between my teeth, not wanting to say what I had to.
“I don’t actually have a change of clothes. I—”
He cut me off. “Of course, you don’t.”
He had the nerve to look put out when I was just as annoyed as he was making assumptions about me. Before I could explain again that I hadn’t exactly been thinking clearly when my dad called to say my grandmother was in the hospital, he darted across the hall and disappeared in a room.
When he came out, he handed me a folded bundle of clothes. “You can wear this. It’s not going to be a perfect fit but should keep you warm.”
“Thanks,” I said through clenched teeth.
The more I wanted to hate this man, the more he did something nice, although begrudgingly.
In the bathroom, I got my first look at what he’d given me. The material was ribbed and turned out to be a thermal top and bottom set in gray. I stripped and took a towel from the rack to dry off. Though I really wanted a shower, I decided not to take one yet. The place appeared pretty remote, so I wasn’t sure of the plumbing situation even though there were a toilet and a sink.
The dry clothes felt like heaven, but they didn’t completely warm me up. I left the bathroom and gravitated toward the fire and the heat coming off of it.
“There’s food in the fridge if you want to make something to eat,” he said, scaring me.
I hadn’t seen him, and I clutched my chest as I spun to face him. Before I thought better of it, I admitted, “I can’t cook.”
“Of course, you can’t.”
There it was again. His damn judgment. I was done.
“You know you don’t know anything about me,” I began.
“I don’t and I’m not really interested in finding out more. Let’s just get through this. I’ll make steak. It should be up to your standards.”
