by J. S. Cooper
“Herne Hill is quite the place to be.” He made a sharp right and muttered under his breath. I looked ahead to see a herd of cows crossing the road. “Old man Sharpe just lets these things do what they want.”
“Things? Or cows?”
“Oh, you’ll see all his animals all over town.” He shook his head. “Ridiculous.”
“Are you from here then?” I looked at him curiously. Henry didn’t strike me as a small-town man, but from the way he talked, he seemed familiar with Hern Hill Village and its inhabitants.
“Not really.” He shook his head. “My parents divorced when I was three. My mom moved to Paris, and my dad moved here. Wade and I lived with my mom full time—well, she had custody of us. We went to boarding school in England. However, we spent every summer here with my dad. Then for college, Wade moved to Boston and I went to LA.”
“And now you and Wade work together?” I asked, curious if I’d be seeing more of Henry. I snuck another glance at his profile. He was very handsome and he had a good sense of humor. It wouldn’t be so bad if he was around.
“Not really.” He laughed and then turned on the radio. I took that as my signal to stop asking questions and looked back out of the window. I wanted to call Lucy and tell her about Henry and this small town, but I would do it after I met Wade. As soon as I thought about him, my heart started racing again. I was much more nervous than I’d thought I’d be, starting this new job. Would he be like Henry? Was Wade a sheep in wolf’s clothing? Or was he the kind to look all sweet and innocent on the outside, but on the inside he was all angry and tormented? If his phone conversations were anything to go by, he was going to be one interesting and annoying man.
About an hour later, we pulled into a long driveway. My jaw dropped as I saw the mansion that sat at the end of the driveway, surrounded by a freshly mowed green lawn and perfectly trimmed bushes.
“We’re here!” Henry announced. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said Wade lived in an estate.
“Wow!” I couldn’t believe how large the house and grounds were. “Wade has no help?”
“Well …” Henry looked at me for a few seconds and shook his head slightly. “No inside help. No housekeeper, no cook, no cleaner, no butler, no one.” He bit down on his lower lip. “He does have a man come once a week to tend to the gardens, though.”
“So who cleans the house?” I asked, gawking at the building as we stopped behind another car. “Please do not tell me that this will be part of my job. There’s no way.”
“I can’t say.” He shrugged. “I don’t know what my brother has planned.”
“Do you live here as well?”
“Oh, no.”
“I meant, are you staying here while you’re in town?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Wade and I don’t see eye to eye on many things. I’m staying in a cottage on the edge of the grounds.”
“Wow, how big is the property?”
“We have ten acres here. There’s a creek southwest of here, near the woods. My dad built a small cottage back there for gutting.”
“Gutting?”
“He liked to hunt. We have deer and wild rabbits back there in the woods. He preferred to skin them and clean them near the woods instead of here.”
“Oh.” I felt a bit queasy. “Do you hunt?”
“Not me. It’s a barbaric sport.” He paused. “But Wade does.”
“Hmm.” My lips thinned. I was liking Wade less and less, and I hadn’t even met him yet. I looked toward the front door, expecting to see him open it to greet me, but it remained closed. “Is he here?”
“Yes, I suppose he’s still in his meeting or something.” He shrugged and we got out of the car. “Let me grab your suitcase, and we can head inside.”
“Okay.” I was disappointed that Wade hadn’t come to meet me, but what did I expect? I had already thought he was a bit of a pompous jerk. Now it was confirmed.
“I’m not sure what room he has you in, so I can’t take you to your bedroom, but I can show you around the kitchen, the living area, the pool, and stuff.”
“Thanks. That would be great.”
I walked over to a rose shrub at the front of the house. The flowers were pale pink and the vine was crawling along the facade of the house, framing one of the windows. I peeked inside the window and saw what appeared to be a formal living room. I stepped back as Henry walked past me and toward the front door. He looked back at me, and I hurried to join him as he pulled out a key and unlocked the large black door. He held it open for me and I walked into a spacious foyer with vaulted ceilings. Immediately to the right, there was a large ornate mirror with a gold frame hanging on the wall over a mahogany wood console that featured an array of small vases. To the right of me hung a bear's head prominently attached to the wall, its eyes vacant and its teeth ferocious. I shivered at the sight of it and wondered why it was there. It didn’t seem to fit the setting, but I didn’t ask Henry any questions. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know.
“Wade, buddy ol’ boy, we’re here!” Henry dropped my suitcase on the floor as he called out into the house. He turned to me and winked as he let out a loud cat call whistle. I stood there, slightly uncomfortable, as we waited.
“I thought you were going to show me around.”
“I am, but I wanted to let Wade know we were here. He’s most probably in the office or something on a call.” He shrugged. “Want to have a look around?”
“Sure.” I held my handbag close to me and nodded. A chill filled me as we made our way down the long corridor. The hallway was eerily spooky aside from the sound of our footsteps as we walked across the light gray and white marble. I followed behind Henry and tried not to gawk as we walked down a hallway filled with paintings that appeared to be original Caravaggios, Monets, and Rembrandts. I didn’t have the best eye, but I’d spent enough time in art history classes and museums in Europe to recognize the masters when I saw them.
“I’ll take you to the back first and then we can come back inside and explore the house.” Henry offered me an impish smile as he turned to look back at me. “And maybe my brother will make an appearance.”
“Sounds good.”
We walked through a large kitchen toward some French doors, which led to a back patio that highlighted the vast grounds behind us. Henry made a sharp left, and we headed toward what appeared to be the pool area.
“No way.” Henry stopped still at the side of a lounge chair. I followed his gaze to see what he was looking at and froze as I watched a long, lean golden body slicing through the water doing the front crawl. My eyes were drawn to the toned muscular arms as they sliced fluidly through the water. It was almost like watching a dolphin.
“Wade!” Henry walked toward the pool. “Yo, dipshit!” He grabbed a white towel that was placed on the lounge chair and threw it at the figure in the pool as it passed us again. The swimmer stopped and stood up straight. He had goggles on, so I couldn’t see his face properly, but from what I could see of his chest, he was built like a sleek, well-oiled sports car. I swallowed hard as he took off his goggles and ran his hands through his slick wet hair.
“Henry.” That familiar voice, condescending yet sexy, floated through the air. I hated that butterflies soared through my stomach at the sound of it. His eyes then turned to me and I watched as he looked me over, his expression giving nothing away as he stared at me. “And you must be Savannah.”
“Yes.” I bit down on my lower lip to stop myself from continuing, but I couldn’t help myself. “And you must be The Wade Hart.” My upper lip curled and I knew I sounded like a bitch, but really? He was swimming while his brother was picking me up at the train station and showing me around his house.
“I am.” His lips twitched.
Wade swam over to us then put his hands on the side of the pool and hoisted his body up before I could even blink. He shook the water from his hair and out of his eyes with a quick flick of his head. I gasped as hundreds of droplets splashed me. I
nstead of apologizing, he offered me a sardonic look and then took a step closer to me.
He was a lot taller than I’d thought when I’d seen him in the pool. Not that I’d thought he was short, but I’d imagined he’d be about Henry’s height, and Henry was about six feet. Wade, however, towered over both me and his brother. He appeared to be about six foot four and all muscle. Water droplets rolled down his chest, and I stared at his toned abs and pecs a moment longer than was polite before looking back up into his face.
If I’d thought Henry was handsome, I was blown away by Wade. He was absolutely, spine-tinglingly gorgeous. His dark hair was slick and black, his eyes a light, teasing aqua-green that pierced my soul, his lips were juicy and pink against his dark olive complexion, and he had a hint of stubble on his cheeks and chin that I wanted to run my fingers across. My heart did a hundred flip flops as I stood there, and I prayed to God that he couldn’t see in my face how attractive I found him.
“So, you made it on time.” He smiled at me, though it wasn’t a warm, happy smile. More of a self-congratulatory grin that irritated me as soon as I saw it.
“Obviously.” I could see Henry staring at us, an amused expression on his face, but I just couldn’t stop my sarcastic retorts.
“I take it you found the money deposited into your account this morning?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t.”
“Well, aren’t you just a sweet pleasant surprise?” He tilted his head to the side and then looked at his brother. “You just can’t get good help these days.” My back stiffened at his comment but I didn’t deign to respond.
“Well, I think that Savannah is lovely.” Henry took a step closer to me. “Not only is she beautiful, but she’s smart and witty as well.” He winked at me and I smiled warmly at him, appreciating his comment and the fact that he’d called me beautiful.
“She’s not going to sleep with you just because you complimented her.” Wade laughed as his eyes flew back to my face and narrowed. The smile left my lips, and I glared at him. “Or maybe you would.” He shrugged and took a step back. “Doesn’t really matter, you won’t have the opportunity. You’ll be too busy working.”
“Yes sir, no sir, two bags full, sir, anything you need right now, sir?” I did a little curtsy and plastered a fake smile on my face. Henry laughed as Wade raised an eyebrow at me.
“I’m taking it you’re not an actress. Your Yorkshire accent needs a lot of work.”
“It wasn’t a Yorkshire accent.”
“Exactly, that’s what I just said.” He grinned at me. “It wasn’t anywhere close.” Before I could respond again, he turned around and dove back into the pool and started doing laps. I stared at him for a few seconds before turning to Henry. I could feel my chest rising as I controlled my anger.
“Your brother is an asshole.” I resisted my first urge, which was to jump into the pool and splash him. I didn't even want to acknowledge my second urge because it made even the inner me blush.
“He is.” Henry laughed. “I’m surprised you took this job.”
“You and me both.” I shook my head. “Maybe this isn’t worth it.”
“I can drive you back to the train station if you want to leave?” He looked almost hopeful, and I wondered if he wanted me to quit. “I mean if you need a ride.” He looked away. “It’s up to you.”
“No, it’s fine for now. I’ll see how the work goes. I’m guessing the meetings he needed me for so urgently this morning no longer exist?” I shook my head and let out a sigh. “I’m glad I woke up at five a.m. to get here on time.”
“I can see how that could be annoying.” Henry pulled out his phone. “Look, I really hate to do this, especially considering how your first meeting with Wade just went, but I actually have to go. I just got a text about something important and I need to head to my cottage and take care of some business. I hope you don’t mind?”
“No, that’s fine. Thanks for picking me up.”
“You’re welcome, Savannah. Don’t let my brother get to you. Feel free to put him in his place if you need to. He’s more bark than bite.”
“Okay, I’ll remember that. Thanks.” I nodded at him and then walked to the lounger to sit down as Henry walked away. I sat there watching Wade continue to swim, and I could feel myself growing angrier and angrier as the time went on. How long was he going to keep swimming? Finally, I grabbed my phone from my bag so that I could text Lucy.
Savannah: Lucy, I’m here!
Lucy: How is it? Amazing?
Savannah: Do you think there is any chance it's amazing?
Lucy: Wow, that bad?
Savannah: Worse, Wade Hart is a bigger jerk than I even thought he was going to be.
Lucy: Oh wow, what happened?
Savannah: Well, remember how he said he wanted me to—
“It must be nice to have a job where you get paid for texting.” Wade’s deep voice almost made me jump as his shadow crossed my screen. I jumped up and rolled my eyes.
“Well, it’s not as if I have anything to do.”
“You saw the kitchen, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Didn’t I tell you I wanted you to prepare my meals?”
“You said lunch and dinner. You said you’d take care of breakfast yourself.”
“Oh, did I?” He chuckled. “Well, change of plans. You’re in charge of that as well.”
“Okay.” My lips thinned. I would not argue with him. I would not let him get the better of me. “Do you want me to make it now?”
“No,” He shook his head and I stared into his sparkling eyes. “I think you’d poison me if I asked you to cook me breakfast now.”
“Well, you might be an asshole, but at least you’re astute.”
“You think I’m an asshole?” He smirked. “I’m your boss. Do you really think that’s an appropriate thing to say?”
“Do you really think you’ve been appropriate?”
“How have I been inappropriate?” He cocked his head to the side and counted on his fingers. “I hired you for a job, I paid you a hundred grand in advance, I had my brother pick you up at the train station, I’m taking my morning swim as I do every morning.” He paused and his voice grew huskier and lower. “Tell me Savannah, how exactly have I been inappropriate?”
He knew he had me. What could I say? That he’d made me get here early to work when it obviously hadn’t been needed? Was that really something to complain about? I couldn’t tell him that his tone and look simply irritated me. I was in the wrong. I’d been rude, blatantly rude. Shit, most people would have fired me already for my comments.
“Maybe you haven’t,” I said finally, hating myself for my words as soon as I saw the wide satisfied smile on his face.
“That’s more like it.” He looked me up and down again, slowly. “You’re pretty.” He stared in my eyes, a curious look on his face. “You could have sent a photo.”
“I didn’t want to send a photo.” I stared at him obstinately. “That was a rude request.”
“Yes, I can see how it might have been a bit inappropriate.”
“Just a bit?” I shook my head. “Maybe a lot.”
“Well, I can tell you that I’m not disappointed.”
“Okay, and?”
“I just thought you’d like to know that I think you’re passable.”
“Passable? Just now I was pretty, and your brother called me beautiful, but now I’m only passable?”
“Do you have a thing for Henry?” he blurted out, his gaze intense on my face.
“What are you talking about? I just met him.” I stared pointedly at his dripping body. “Are you going to grab a towel? Are we going to start working?”
“You’re awfully bold and bossy for someone on their first day.” He raised an eyebrow. “And for someone who obviously needs the money.”
“Look, I don’t need the money that badly,” I lied. “If this working relationship is going to continue like this, then maybe it
’s best if I just leave now.”
“Do you want to leave?” His question lingered in the air for a few seconds and we just stared at each other. As I gazed at him, I realized I didn’t want to leave and it had nothing to do with the money.
“Are we going to work? Maybe if I find out more about my tasks, I will be able to decide. Also, will I have access to a car? I don’t want to be stuck here all day and night at your mercy.”
“Can you drive?” His lips twitched.
“Yes.”
“Then you will have access to a car. Don’t get too excited, though. You won’t have that much free time.”
“Legally, you need to give me breaks and days off.”
“You talk like a lawyer.”
“I’m not a lawyer.”
“That I already know, Ms. Savannah Carter.” He grabbed another towel from the lounge chair and wrapped it around his shoulders. “Come, let’s go inside. I’ll show you to your room before I change, and to make things up to you, how’s about I make you breakfast?”
“You’re not going to poison me, are you?” I offered him a small smile and he laughed, a deep warm sound filling the air as we made our way into the house.
“You wouldn’t know until it was too late if I did.” He winked then looked away. I shivered. Wade Hart was going to be trouble. I could feel it, but I didn’t care. I’d never had a proper adventure in my life, and I was ready to start now.
Chapter 6
“Did my brother show you around the house yet?”
“No, he hasn’t shown me anything aside from the pool area.”
“Figures.” Wade muttered something under his breath and then walked over to the fridge. “Would you like a green juice?”
“No thanks.” I watched as he opened the door and took out a little plastic bottle. He opened it and chugged it down and then placed the container on the countertop.
“I like green juice every morning before my workout.” He strummed his fingers against the countertop and continued. “Celery, cucumber, cilantro, apples, and some ginger. Fresh.”
“Okay, and why are you telling me this information?”
