“Oh.” She’d really been hoping his phone call had been productive. “I guess I could do an internet search and start calling them. Maybe I’ll get lucky and someone will have a last-minute cancellation.”
Trey sighed. “Or you could just come home with me.”
“Home? With you?” She sent him a strange look. “I know you’re tired, but we’re in France not California.”
“I know that.”
“Then how can I go home with you?”
“Okay, it’s not actually my home, but you do recall that I’m from France, right?” He smiled.
Was he inwardly laughing at her? “I didn’t forget. The accent gives you away.”
“Listen, this banter might be more fun if I wasn’t so tired.” Before she could dispute the claim, he continued. “My head is pounding, so how about you just agree to come with me?”
It was one thing to stay in the same hotel in separate rooms, but it was much more intimate to share a house. “Are you sure about this?”
“Quite frankly, no. But we can’t sleep in the lobby of this hotel.”
She hated to admit it but he was right. And she was so tired.
Trey didn’t wait for her response as he turned to the door. With the luggage in tow, he headed for an available car. She couldn’t help thinking that this was wrong. She knew by the look on his face that taking her with him was the last thing he wanted to do.
There was something growing between them. It was something she didn’t want to examine too closely. Though she had a lot of friends, she didn’t let anyone get too close. It hurt too much when they betrayed you.
She’d had a boyfriend after she’d finished college. Charlie had been a blond-haired, blue-eyed hunk of a man. At first, she’d resisted him, but every time he’d walked into the coffee shop where she worked in the evenings and on weekends, he flirted with her until he gained her trust. Looking back on that time still hurt.
Charlie had said all the right things—done all the right things, from flowers to fancy dinners. She’d thought at long last she was no longer alone in this world. She’d let down her guard and confided in him about her hopes, dreams and fears.
And then she’d gotten her first official editorial position working for a well-known publisher. It wasn’t her beloved White Publishing, but it was a highly sought after position.
She was all set to start in two weeks. And then everything went sideways. Suddenly the company withdrew their job offer with some flimsy excuse about a mix-up.
And then she caught Charlie in a lie followed by a strange text message on his phone. Once confronted by a furious Sage, he confessed to being hired by Elsa to spy on her. And that Elsa
was behind the lies that cost her the job. Her stepmother had smeared her name in the publishing world.
There was only one reason her stepmother would still try to hurt her—the woman had a deep dark secret. That day, Sage got all the confirmation she needed that her suspicions about Elsa were true. She was certain Elsa had lied, cheated and thieved her way to the top of White Publishing. And now Sage would do whatever it cost to out her conniving stepmother—including sacrificing a personal life. That was the day Sage hired her first private investigator.
Once they were in the car headed away from the bright lights, Trey said, “Don’t worry. Everything will work out.”
She turned to say something, but in the glow of the passing lights she caught his dark, mesmerizing gaze. The words stuck in her throat. Every time he looked into her eyes, she felt as though she were going to drown in his dark brown eyes.
Her pulse quickened and she wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Before now, they’d always been at work where there was a constant string of people in and out of her office. There was no time for indulging in a kiss.
But tonight, all bets were off. She assured herself that exhaustion was playing with her mind. As she continued to stare at him, she knew she wasn’t alone with these wayward thoughts.
Though she hadn’t dated many men, she did know when they were interested in her. And Trey was interested. Still, there was one more complication—they worked together. And crossing that line would come with a host of complications.
With a sigh, she leaned back against the leather seat. She just needed some sleep. Tomorrow things would be much clearer.
“We’re here.” Trey’s voice lacked any enthusiasm.
She looked out the window at the impressive château. No expense had been spared in its design or in the landscape that was illuminated with lights lining the drive.
“You said this place belongs to a friend?” She couldn’t help wondering what sort of friends Trey had. Obviously they had deep pockets.
“Um...yes.” He got out of the car before she could ask any further questions.