He turned to look at her, and her skin grew hot, but she didn’t meet his gaze. Couldn’t. Because she could still feel that earring pressing into her flesh, followed by the bitter bite in her chest when she’d realized what it meant.
“Do you really want to go there right now?” he asked in a low voice.
No, not now. Not ever. She’d decided late last night that breaking up with him had obviously been a good idea, considering how fast he’d turned to someone else, and even though she regretted how she’d gone about that breakup, at least now she knew she’d saved herself—and Shannon—from heartache somewhere down the line. Better to do it now, rather than when Shannon was really attached to him.
Right. Like Shannon isn’t already head over heels in love with the guy, just like you.
She shifted away from him, leaned her head against the headrest, and closed her eyes, fighting back the misery. “I’m going to sleep. Wake me when we get there.”
So I can hide from you in my bedroom for the next few days. And pretend my life is not a total disaster.
Yeah, this was turning out to be a brilliant plan.
“This is the house?”
Mitch could tell from the tone of Simone’s voice that she wasn’t impressed. He drove slowly forward and glanced in his rearview mirror at the gate closing behind them. Ahead, a three-car garage sat below an A-frame style log cabin. Trees and brush butted up to both sides of the garage, preventing a view of the rest of the property. There was no front door, no path, nothing but what looked like a tiny cabin.
“Worried?” he asked.
Simone crossed her arms and shrugged, avoiding eye contact like she’d been doing the whole trip. “When Ryan mentioned your rock star friend owned this place, I expected something a little…I don’t know…fancier.”
By fancier she meant bigger. So she could get away from him. For a second, Mitch considered turning around and finding someplace small so they would be right on top of each other. That, at least, would force her to deal with issues still unsettled between them, but common sense told him that was a bad idea. No one knew they were here, no one could link this place to either one of them, and Kendrick’s security was top of the line. Which, right now, they needed.
The gate opening had signaled the security monitor, and without even having to let anyone know they’d arrived, the middle bay of the garage rolled upward.
Lights illuminated the large garage as they drove in and parked. White walls surrounded them. A brand-new silver Range Rover took up the first bay; a dusty black Yukon took up the third. Four different ski pairs hung off hooks along the back wall, and a variety of different size boots were lined up below.
Mitch shoved the car into park in the middle bay and popped his door. “I guess you’ll find out in a minute, won’t you?”
As they were climbing out of the car, a door on the left side of the garage opened, and a man with dark hair, wearing jeans and a sweater, waved their way. “Welcome. I’m Ben Ford. I hope your drive up wasn’t too bad.”
Mitch shook his hand. “Thanks. I’m Mitch. This is Simone. The drive was fine. Snow’s picking up a little now though.”
Ford held his hand out to Simone, who accepted it hesitantly. He rested his hands on his hips. “We aren’t supposed to get more than an inch and it’ll probably melt by tomorrow. Why don’t I show you around, then I’ll come back and get your stuff.”
“We can grab it,” Simone said.
Ford smiled, a twinkle lighting his eyes as he focused on Simone, but she didn’t return the smile. “All part of the job.” He turned and headed back for the door he’d come through. “Follow me.”
So she wasn’t just being cold to him. Mitch wasn’t sure if that was good news or bad. He made it to the door, but Simone’s hand tugging on the sleeve of his Henley drew him to a stop.
“Who is this guy, and how do you know we can trust him?” she whispered.
Heat permeated his shirt where she touched him, and the sweet citrusy scent of her perfume wafted in the air around him, reminding him of every second they’d spent together the last six months. Part of him wanted that back, but an even bigger part just wanted answers. “He’s part of Kendrick’s permanent onsite security team.”
“And Kendrick’s rarely here,” she countered. “That doesn’t exactly put me at ease.”
They were barely on speaking terms. If he had any hope of getting through the next few days so he could get the answers he wanted, he needed to work on being civil and stop being such a smartass.
“Look,” he said, forcing the animosity from his voice, “I know you’re nervous, but there’s no one I trust more than Kendrick—except maybe Ryan. If Kendrick trusts Ford, then I trust him.”
The look in Simone’s brown eyes said she didn’t feel the same, but she pursed her lips. “Fine. For now. But let’s not give him any personal information. The less he knows about us, the better.”
Mitch nodded. “Agreed.”
She let go of his arm, and a cool brush of air replaced the warmth, sending a shiver of disappointment all across his skin. He wasn’t sure what was going on behind the scenes, he wasn’t even sure what Ryan’s PI would find, but he was sure of one thing: he wasn’t over her. And at the moment, he wasn’t sure what to do about that—or if he even wanted to do anything about it.
Stepping back so she could walk in front of him, he watched as she brushed her dark, shoulder-length hair back from her face and headed through the door. Her body brushed his as she moved, and his stomach tightened just being close to her again.
Shaking his head at his pathetic weakness, he followed her through a small hallway. A set of stairs disappeared up and to the right. Ahead, Ford reached for a parka from a line of hooks along the left wall, shrugged it on, then punched a code into the keypad next to another door.
“The garage is separated from the house for privacy,” Ford announced. “So be sure to bundle up before you come out here for anything.” He pushed the door open and led them across a curved walkway that angled toward an enormous log-style house, already lit up against the darkening sky.
“Wow,” Simone whispered.
“This more what you were expecting?” Mitch asked her.
Simone’s gaze skipped over the two-story monstrosity. Pine trees rose to the gray sky, and around the side of the building, Mitch could see the beach and lake beyond.
“I guess,” she answered. “This is insane. No one can even tell this place is back here from the road.”
“That was the goal.” Ford stopped at the front door and slid a key into the lock. Mitch and Simone waited while he unlocked the door, then pushed it open. “After you.”
Mitch followed Simone into the house. The walls were decked out all in wood, the ceiling with rounded beams. He glanced around while Ford typed a code into the security system, his gaze skipping from the wide staircase that led up to the second floor, to the archway that opened to an office on his left, then ahead to a short hall that opened to an enormous great room and kitchen with a two-story rock fireplace that rose all the way to the ceiling and a wall of windows that looked out over the lake.
Ford led them into the kitchen. “I stocked the fridge earlier. If there’s something you want that’s not here, just let me know, and I can get it for you. The bedrooms are all upstairs. There are four. All have views of the lake, so use whichever one you like best. Every door and window is wired, so be sure to use the code before you go in and out. There’s a hot tub on the patio and a small pier accessible from the yard, but keep in mind that there are sensors that alert us when someone moves from the beach to the yard, so if you plan to go down to the pier or the beach, be sure to deactivate that sensor or let me know so I don’t think we’ve had a breach.”