Lone Wolfe by Kate Hewitt

Jacob continued, naming his brother Sebastian’s flagship hotel. ‘The expo goes over two
days, so we’d need to stay the night.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I don’t want you
to be—’
                 ‘No,’
Mollie said quickly. She really didn’t want to hear Jacob assure her yet again
that he had no intention or interest in making his no-strings affair offer
another time. ‘I’m not— Don’t worry … you don’t need to
be—’ She was babbling, and she swallowed hard. Jacob smiled, a sensual tugging of his mouth that Mollie neither expected nor was prepared
for. His eyes glinted darkly, and she suspected he knew how frazzled she was.
She watched his lips quirk upwards, mesmerised by the simple movement, how it
transformed Jacob’s face, lightened it, so the shadows fell away. She wished he
smiled more. She was glad, fiercely so, that she had made him smile now, even
if it was to her own embarrassment.
                 ‘All
right,’ he said lightly. ‘I won’t.’
                 ‘Sorry,’
Mollie mumbled, and Jacob reached out and brushed her cheek. It took Mollie a
few stunned seconds to realise he was simply brushing away a smudge of dirt.
Even so her heart hammered all the more and her cheek tingled.
                 ‘I’ve
told you,’ he said softly, ‘you don’t need to be sorry for the truth.’
                 But I don’t know what the truth—about you—is .
Mollie swallowed the words and just nodded.
                 ‘Anyway,
it could be fun,’ Jacob said, smiling again. ‘And
inspirational. The landscaping displays are meant to be quite good. And
I think we could both use some time away from this place.’
                 Mollie
nodded again. She seemed incapable of managing a coherent sentence, yet she
agreed with everything he said. She knew there were things to think about,
worry about, questions and concerns and dangers. Yet in that moment all she
wanted to feel was the bubbles that raced through her like champagne,
that made her feel excited and alive in a way she hadn’t felt in years.
‘Yes,’ she said, firmly, quickly. ‘I’d love to go with you.’
                 It
was surprisingly easy to leave. She left instructions with the men from the
village and packed a single bag. She decided she wanted to feel smart—never
mind what Jacob thought—and so she threw in her clothes from Italy, including a
sexy little cocktail dress in a shimmery lavender silk that she surely wouldn’t
have any need for. Even so, she tucked it underneath her trousers and then
closed the lid of her case, zipping it firmly.
                 Jacob
had told her to meet him up at the manor at nine, and so, lugging her case
behind her, Mollie headed through the gardens, now neat and trimmed and ready
for planting, towards the house.
                 She
stopped in surprise when she saw the red convertible, parked in the circular
drive. Jacob stood next to it, the keys in his hand. He looked relaxed and
comfortable in a pair of tan khakis and a white button-down shirt, open at the
throat. Mollie couldn’t quite take her eyes from the base of his throat, the
skin looking so warm and sun-kissed that she wanted to touch it. Touch him . She determinedly turned towards the
convertible.
                 ‘Nice
car.’
                 ‘Not
when it rains.’ Jacob responded with a grin as he reached for her case. ‘Sorry,
I should have picked you up at the cottage. I’m not even sure how to get there
by car, though. Is there a road?’
                 ‘No, just a path.’
                 Jacob
put her case in the car’s boot and then went round to open Mollie’s door. She
slipped into the sumptuous interior, feeling as if she were Alice and had
fallen down the rabbit hole into an unimaginable world of luxury. Jacob slid
into the driver’s seat and turned on the engine,