Farther along this hall, youâll find the kitchen, the great room and what was Donâs office. My office is down on the main floor, but I do most of my work at home.â
âRight. You donât live at the Manor. Whereâs your place from here?â
He steered her toward one of the high, arched windows lining the hallway and pointed. âSee the red roof just past that tall pine?â
She did. The building couldnât be more than a five-minute walk from where she was standing. âClose.â
âIt is. So if you ever need anythingâ¦â
He was standing so near, she felt heat radiating from his body toward hers. He smelled so good, she wanted to breathe deeper and when she looked up into those chocolate-brown eyes, she had the strangest desire to lean in and⦠What was she thinking? Didnât she have enough going on in her life at the moment?
âThanks,â she said abruptly, taking a safe step back from him. âIâll keep that in mind.â
He watched her for a second or two and Erica wondered if he could tell what sheâd been thinking. If he could see that she had been wondering what he would taste like. If his lips were as soft and warm as they appeared to be.
But if he did know, then he was as determined as she to not draw attention to it. He scrubbed one hand across his face, then waved one arm out in front of him in silent invitation to continue on down the hall. He walked beside her and the heels of their shoes sounded out like gunshots in the stillness.
When he finally stopped in front of a door and opened it, Erica stepped past him and stopped dead on the threshold.
It was gorgeous, which shouldnât have surprised her. Everything about Jarrod Ridge was breathtaking. But somehow, she hadnât expected her room to be soâ¦wonderful. After all, she was the stranger here and from what she could tell so far, her new brothers and sister had been no more thrilled to hear of her existence than she had been to hear about them. Sheâd half expected an ordinary hotel room, lovely, but generic. This, she told herself as she walked farther into the room, was anything but generic.
The living room was done in various shades of blue. Pale blue walls, dark blue, overstuffed furniture, cobalt vases stuffed with flowers dripping heavy scent into the air and navy blue drapes at the arched windows. The wood floor was dotted with braided rugs in shades of blue and cream and even the fireplace was fronted by tiles that looked like delft.
âWow,â she said and even that word was just so insignificant to the task.
âGlad you like it,â he said, moving into the room behind her.
âWhatâs not to like?â She did a slow turn, tryingto see everything at once. Then her gaze landed on Christian again. âTo tell the truth, I wasnât expecting anything like this.â
He grinned briefly and something inside her twisted up tight in response. Really, the man had an almost magical smile. Good thing he didnât use it often.
âWhat were you expecting? A cell in a dungeon?â
She smiled and shrugged. âNo, not that bad, but nothing soâ¦â
âMelissa suggested you stay in this suite. She thought youâd like it and your brothers had no objection.â
âNo objection.â Well, that was something, she supposed. âIt was thoughtful of Melissa.â
âYouâll like her. Sheâs looking forward to meeting you.â
âAnd my brothers?â
He paused for a long moment before he said, âTheyâll come around.â
âJust one big happy family, huh?â Funny, her excitement-driven nerves had become anxiety-driven in the blink of an eye. It seemed there were plenty of hard feelings for everyone to get through before they could even begin to relate to each other.
âYou have as much right to be here as they do,â he told her.
âDo I?â Erica shook her
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley