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“All good?” she asked.

“As good as it gets tonight.” He put the car in gear and drove out of the lot with a control that belied the temper simmering in his veins. “I told him we were headed for a continuing ed deal that you couldn’t cancel.”

“He’ll be here when we come back.”

He hated the grim resignation in her voice. “Probably.” At the corner, he paused to give her a reassuring smile. “But when we come back, you’ll be Mrs. Ellington, making whatever Luca Gallo wants irrelevant.”

He took tremendous satisfaction in the way that reminder perked her up.

Chapter Six

Trina dida few rounds of calm and restorative breathing as Rhett drove away, leaving Brookwell behind. “I shouldn’t let him scare me. I mean, I know I’m safe.”

Of course that wasn’t what bothered her most. She was angry that her parents had given Luca what amounted to her home address. The whole reason she didn’t live off-property was that she felt safer inside the Inn. She pulled out her phone and opened the messaging app, only to put it away again.

“More texts?”

“No.” She looked down. “I’m turning off my personal phone.” She shoved the device deep into her purse. No more interruptions from well-meaning parents. “Jacob can reach me on the business phone if he needs me.”

“So you can set boundaries.”

“Yes.” Wound too tightly, she needed to dial down her ire and aim it at the right target. Rhett had been miraculously helpful. Just whisking her away to Key West for a few days could be enough to deter Luca. They might not need to marry after all. “Jacob forwarded your call earlier because he knows you’re a friend.”

Rhett snorted.

“You’re disputing the status?”

He shifted a little in the seat, drawing her attention to his shoulders, down his arms to his hands on the steering wheel. She couldn’t recall ever being this attracted—enthralled—by a man’s arms before.

Of course, she’d kept anything remotely resembling desire in lockdown mode for ages. Especially if the temptation was within reach.

“Wouldn’t you?” he challenged.

“At one time, maybe,” she admitted. She changed the subject, trying to keep her emotions from running amok again. “You said your suite in Key West isn’t accessible to guests?”

“That’s right. You should do the same here.”

“Never thought further precautions would be necessary.” Her parents hadn’t told the first two men where her room was located. “Besides, I can’t expect them to build a wall or anything when the next manager might need a different setup.”

“You have plans to move on again?”

Was that concern in his voice? “Not at all. I hope to stay forever.” She tried to laugh, but the sound was garbled. “Just don’t tell my parents I said that.”

“They seriously expect you to take over the family hotel?”

“Worse.” She sniffed. “They want me raising their grandchildren while my husband runs the management company. That’s why they sent Antonio first.”

“Unfair.”

She relented. “It would be if I was interested in taking over the company some day.” She’d mostly gotten over that offense. Mostly.

“Would you be more inclined to go home and step into your inheritance if Luca wasn’t nearby?”

A question she’d never bothered to consider. “I don’t know.” She’d been focused on staying single, secure. Out of Luca’s reach.

When her voice trailed off, Rhett let her think, embracing the quiet as he drove on to the airport. It was an easy silence, though he was sure she wasn’t thinking easy thoughts.

He checked the mirrors as they drove, still edgy and braced for trouble.