Page 27

When I heard Zachary take a sharp intake of breath, I risked a glance at him. He was fixating on something again, but what could it be? Certainly not my boobs—I was covering those. Whatever it was, his pupils had dilated. The urge to be closer to him hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Oh, there you are. You made it. You don’t even look that bad. I was afraid that rain soaked you. Grace, darling, do you want a blow-dryer?”

“That would be great,” I replied. I could also use it on my shirt.

“I have one right there in the bathroom.” She pointed to a small wooden door, and I immediately darted toward it, taking a deep breath as I stepped inside, closing the door behind me.

The blow-dryer was on a shelf above the sink. Grabbing it, I looked at myself in the full-length mirror on the door. I actually wasn’t that wet. My shirt was only soaked because my wet hair was on it and lying over my breasts. The bottoms of my jeans were soaked, too, but other than that, I was good.

I plugged in the dryer, putting it on the hottest setting. I missed having my product with me because my hair was going to look insanely frizzy, but it didn’t matter. Tonight was about finding out what Gaston and Felicia wanted and what they expected from a partner—notabout looking my best or impressing Zachary. I would be eternally grateful to him for what he did and making sure I got home okay and was safe. But right now, I had to keep my head in the game.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, I noticed that the house smelled absolutely amazing. I remembered where the kitchen was from the tour last time I was here. The three of them were gathered in there.

“There you are,” Felicia said. “The stew is waiting in the slow cooker.”

“It’s still early, woman,” Gaston said, and I realized it was only six o’clock. “No one has to eat now except the horses. I need to take the pallet out and feed them.”

“I’ll do that,” Zachary said at the same time I exclaimed, “I want to feed them.”

Gaston clapped his hands. “Perfect. Then I can help Felicia finish dinner faster. What do I have to do, darling?”

“I’ll throw a salad together. Bring some pickles and other veggies. Maybe you can whip up an appetizer,” she suggested.

Gaston jerked his head back. I barely managed to stifle laughter. Clearly he’d expected something along the lines of “Oh, there’s nothing for you to do.”

“Grace and I will take care of the horses while you do that,” Zachary said.

Huh, that twinkle was back. What exactly did this man have in mind?

Our kiss flashed in my head. My entire body vibrated at the thought of repeating it. But that was highly unlikely, wasn’t it? Then again, so was our first one. Sometimes I still wondered if it had really happened.

“All right, I’ll bring you two raincoats,” Gaston said.

“Will they fit us?” I asked.

“Yes. They’re one size fits all. We have quite a few for our guests, since the weather can be unpredictable. It’s much better than a towel or an umbrella. Just your face gets wet.”

Gaston led us to one of the seminar rooms and opened a closet. It was full of coats. Zachary and I each grabbed one and put them on. Mine was a bit too big, but it would do. I pulled the hood up and was ready to go.

Gaston took us out through the back door. “You can take this one,” he told me, pointing to a small haystack. “Zachary, if you grab one of the big ones, that’ll be enough for tonight’s feed.

“All right,” Zachary said.

He bent down and easily lifted the stack.Yummm. I couldn’t see his body properly, but I could imagine his muscles were stretched taut right now.

“You can break into a run, Grace. I’ll catch up.” Zachary said.

“Oh. You don’t mind?”

“Not at all. I’m going to be slower with this.”

“I’ll wait for you at the stables, then.”

I ran through the rain, my face freezing after only a few steps.Holy crap.I was breathing hard by the time I arrived at the stable.

“Hey, horses,” I greeted. “Hi, Starlight.” I pulled at the string under my chin and lowered the hood so he’d recognize me. “We’re here with dinner.”

Zachary came in only a minute or so later.