Get a Clue (5 page)

But the problem with relaxing, even marginally, was that everything came back to her, beginning with being left at the altar.

How could she not have seen that coming? Seriously, her radar should have at least blipped a warning, but she'd gotten nothing.

She'd met Dean at work. As an investor for one of the companies her accounting firm handled, he'd sauntered by her cubicle, stopping to smile at her. Other than his most annoying habit of humming Elvis tunes at inopportune times—such as when he made love to her—he'd had a suave sophistication she hadn't been able to resist, even knowing he was a player. Foolishly, she'd let herself go for it, and for some reason that had always mystified her, he'd reciprocated.

But everything he'd ever told her—such as those three words, I love you—had turned out to be a lie.

And here she was. Alone. She looked around the large room, into the far corners and the shadows there, managing to convince herself she was fine. She'd even started to relax, at least enough that her muscles didn't ache. And then—

At the loud crack, she fell off the couch and landed on all fours, eyes wide, heart ricocheting off her ribs as she searched the room.

Just the fire crackling. Forcing herself to laugh, she climbed back up on the couch and let her eyes drift shut again. Everything was good, she was going to stay good—

A soft creaking sound had her leaping to her feet. She tried to tell herself she was still fine, but that was hard to believe as she watched the handle on the double doors turn. “Who—who's there?”

The door slowly opened, revealing the large, dark cavern that was the foyer.

“Cooper?” Her heart hit her throat. “This isn't funny.”

A small, blond woman appeared. Mid-twenties, maybe, with a petite frame and a sweet, angelic smile. “Sorry. Did I wake you?”

Was she kidding?
Who could sleep in the haunted horrors of the honeymoon house? “No.”

“Oh, good. I'm Shelly, the cook. I came for the mugs I sent here with Dante.” She came further into the room, passing Breanne's empty mug, heading directly toward the fire, where she held up her hands. “Darn, it's cold between the kitchen and here.” She laughed. “Some storm, huh?” She wore dark jeans and a soft-looking white turtleneck, her blond hair neatly pulled back in a ponytail. “And welcome, by the way,” she said with a smile when she caught Breanne staring. “I hope you had a nice trip here.”

Her honest, hopeful expression seemed so completely innocent, Breanne found she couldn't say what was on her mind, which was
Are you kidding me?
“Uh, yeah. Nice.”

With a sigh, Shelly moved away from the flames, scooping up the mug. “You're on your honeymoon, right?”

Breanne felt her smile congeal. “Yes. Alone.”

“Oh.” That startled her. “So the wedding, it went . . . badly?”

“You could say so.”

“I'm sorry,” Shelly said with true regret. “And now this huge, unbelievable storm . . .”

“Until you got here, I was trying to convince myself this is all a bad dream.”

“You poor thing.” Shelly sat down on the couch next to Breanne. “Did you get your heart broken?”

The question, coming from someone Breanne had known all of a minute, should have irked her. It should have, at the very least, brought her great pain. Instead, she leaned back on the sofa, nothing but exhausted. “Maybe it's been a little stepped on,” she finally admitted. “But not broken, no.”

“Good, then you can try to enjoy your trip in spite of him. You don't need a man to have a good time.” Shelly laughed at herself. “That's what my mom always told us, anyway. I don't really have a lot of experience to go by.”

Breanne blinked at the easy familiarity with which Shelly had spoken. Breanne had family, coworkers. Friends. But truthfully, most were men. Girl talk had never really been her thing. “I don't know what I was thinking to do this, to come here alone. It was stupid.”

“Oh, you're going to enjoy yourself, I promise you. And someday you'll find another man. A better one.”

Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt,
thought Breanne. “Would you know where I could get a few blankets?”

“Of course—I'll get them for you. But first, I came to bring you into the formal dining room.”

No way was she going to be lured anywhere in this dark, haunted house. “I think I'll just stay here, thanks.”

“I was spooked when I first got here, too,” Shelly said kindly. “This place scared me to death.”

“But not anymore?”

“Well . . .” Shelly hugged her enviable petite body for a moment, running her hands up and down her arms as if chilled. “I got used to it,” she finally said. And then smiled. “And anyway, you're not alone in your fears. We all feel a little off tonight.”

“We?”

“Me, and the rest of the staff.”

“How many of you are there?”

“There's five of us. Myself, Lariana, Patrick, Edward, and Dante.” She stopped with a faraway look in her eyes and sighed dreamily. “You've met Dante.”

This pretty, innocent little thing was sighing over the hooded butler?

At Breanne's baffled expression, Shelly let out a laugh. “He's thrilling, isn't he?”

How about terrifying?
“He's . . . something.”

“He doesn't say much, but when he does, he's just so smart, so kind. And funny, too. I just think he's the sexiest man alive, don't you?”

“I didn't get to see much of him,” Breanne said tactfully.

“I know, I'm sorry.” Shelly's smile was tremulous, making Breanne realize the cook was just as nervous as she was. “All this dark is getting to me. It makes me talk too much. I should go finish my chores before I get myself into trouble with the boss.”

“Speaking of that,” Breanne said, “do you know where the manager is?”

“Edward?” Shelly lifted a shoulder. “I'm not sure, exactly. He's usually scarce at this time of day. You let me know if you want any of the extras, okay? We have massages and a few other spa treatments available. How about some mud therapy?”

Breanne could never relax through anything like that, not under these circumstances. “Maybe some other time.”

“Aromatherapy? We use oils—it's lovely, really. Or you can swim in the indoor pool by candlelight. Oh! I could make you a lobster picnic when the electricity comes back on. And if you want me to book you for a helicopter tour when we get the phones back, or anything else like that, just let me know. For now I've got candles going in the dining room so it isn't dark there. There's food, too.”

Breanne's stomach growled.

“See? You're hungry. Come.”

“Will Edward be there?”

“Um . . .” Shelly fingered the mug. “I don't know.”

At some point Breanne had begun to warm up, except for her bare feet. If she wanted food—which she absolutely did—she had no choice but to slip back into her high-heeled, wet boots. Ugh. “How come I didn't see any of you when I first got here?”

“Sorry about that. But food will help take the edge off your travels. Then, in the light of day, everything will be okay.”

The travels had been the least of Breanne's worries. She would happily take yet another horrendous flight, seated between a
dozen
stinky fishermen this time, if only she could erase the entire day from existence. But there was no magic genie in sight, and Shelly held the doors open, gesturing Breanne out first.

She peered into the dark, dark hallway and swallowed hard.

“Come on,” Shelly coaxed. “I met the other guest on the stairs and redirected him. Cooper, right? He's there already.” Shelly said this as if his presence should entice her.

Instead her stomach took a little dip, though truthfully it might not have been fear but an unwelcome sizzle of excitement.

“He's waiting for you,” Shelly said.

“Oh, goody.”

“Have you spoken to him? He's really nice.”

“I've given up men for Lent.”

“Are you Catholic?”

“No.” She shook her head. “It was a joke. A bad one, sorry. Truthfully, I've discovered I have questionable taste in the male species, and I'm taking a break until I better hone my judgment.”

“Well, that's a shame. He's cute.”

Cute? Puppies were cute. Babies were cute.

But big, bad, sexy Cooper Scott was not. In fact, he was the furthest thing from cute she'd ever seen.

Which didn't explain that sizzle of excitement one little bit.

Cooper sat in the vast formal dining room, at a table longer than his entire condo. He looked out floor-to-ceiling windows that revealed a black, endless night filled with the glow of white snow.

A small pixie of a blond woman named Shelly had seated him, after appearing out of nowhere when he'd been heading toward the stairs. Dante had lit the myriad white candles along the window ledges that she busily set out. She was pretty, with a sweet, giving, almost naive smile, and yet nothing within him revved like it had when he'd been sparring with Breanne.

As irrational as it seemed, given that she was the opposite of every fantasy he'd ever had, he was insanely fascinated by the irritating yet sexy-as-hell woman.

Maybe it'd been the way she'd looked at his naked body. Or how she'd reacted to the vibrator: like a starving student and a scared Bambi-in-the-headlights, all at the same time. Now all he wanted was to get her to look at him like that again.

Because that was an unsettling thought, he concentrated on Shelly, who was neat and tidy, cute, and smelled like onions and seasoning. She had his mouth watering at the promise of something good to eat.

While he waited, the snow kept falling in long lines of white that were mesmerizing. He'd been told by Shelly that in good weather, he'd be able to see all the way to the far shores of Lake Sunshine, though tonight he couldn't even see the dock that was supposedly only twenty yards from the house.

Nothing but snow and more snow, and he figured one thing was certain: the skiing would be out of this world. Assuming it stopped coming down long enough to clear the roads so he could get to the lifts.

He knew if Breanne had her way, he'd be leaving at dawn, but that wasn't going to happen. But then again, neither was her honeymoon, so she could just relax. This place was plenty big enough for the both of them.

He heard a click-click-clicking, and knew the sound. It came from a pair of ridiculously high-heeled boots, squeaking from all the water they'd absorbed.

Breanne.

A/K/A Princess.

And though he knew exactly what she looked like—good Christ, the thought of her with her pants around her ankles and those barely there panties giving her a world-class wedgie would most definitely highlight his fantasies for the rest of his life—when she entered the room, she stole his breath.

Her hair had dried in long waves around her face. Her makeup, if she'd ever worn any, was gone. And though she walked like a princess, she still wore his sweats. A princess in sweats and fancy, expensive boots, with her chin up, only the clasping of her hands giving her away.

“You're squeaking,” he said.

She sent him a cool gaze, then looked around, taking in the exquisite ceiling molding and incredible casement bay windows. “I'm also underdressed for this room.”

“Oh, no,” Shelly said, coming in behind her. “No one has to dress for dinner. This isn't an inn—it's your private house for the week. You dress as you want.”

“Not exactly
private
,” Breanne noted dryly, her gaze cutting to Cooper. “But it's a good thing about the dress code, because my luggage is gone.”

“Oh, dear. You
have
had a rough day,” Shelly said in sympathy.

Cooper wasn't sorry. He had hopeful visions of her having to go all week in only her underwear—

“How about I see what I can round up for you in the morning?” Shelly offered, crushing Cooper's dream as she left them alone.

Breanne stood just inside the room, seeming as if she'd run if she only had somewhere to go. At the very least she was going to sit in the chair farthest from him, which was approximately miles down the room. To avoid that, he rose and pulled out the chair right next to him.

Breanne hesitated, but then came close, until once again he could see the wild, almost frantic beat of her pulse at the base of her neck.

“You still afraid?” he asked.

“Of course not.”

“Cold?”

“Haven't we already had this conversation? No.”

“Then . . .” He lifted his hand and stroked his thumb over her throat. He wasn't really sure why, except the strangest thing had happened when he'd touched her before. He'd felt a spark, from deep inside where he hadn't felt anything in too goddamn long. And he wanted another.

And another.

His brother had been fussing over him for months to get the hell out, take a leave, relax, just be, before he landed in the psych ward. Cooper had finally caved and gotten the hell out.

He'd quit.

And he still hadn't felt any better. Hadn't felt
anything
.

Until tonight.

Breanne encircled her fingers around his wrist and that inner spark leapt to flame. “
Cooper
.”

“Breanne.”
Don't shove me away. God, don't
.

Shockingly enough, she didn't, and for a long moment they stood just like that, eyes locked, her fingers over his.

“You keep touching me,” she whispered.

He knew it. He had her soft skin imprinted on his brain already.

“If you keep it up, I'm going to—”

“What?”

Still looking into his eyes, she chewed on her bottom lip. “Something.”

“Anything you want,” he murmured, and smiled grimly when, with a sound of great vexation, she tossed his hand from her and stalked around the table—click, click, clicking—strutting as if she wore something straight out of a fashion magazine rather than his sweats. In fact, just the look of her hips sashaying with attitude turned him on.

He was in bad shape if riling and baiting her like this was the most fun he'd had in too long.

On the other side of the table now, she pulled out her own chair, shooting him a smug, superior smile.

“I think you're crazy about me,” he said.

She sputtered. “You're delusional. You—” She broke off whatever insult she'd been about to fling his way as Shelly came back into the room with a bottle of wine. She was followed by Dante, who set down a large tray at the head of the table.

Shelly beamed at the butler-who-didn't-look-like-a-butler. “Thanks, Dante.”

He didn't smile back. “You're welcome.”

Shelly arranged the plates between Cooper and Breanne, one filled with an assortment of breads, another with luncheon meats and cheeses, and a third with fruit. “I feel so bad,” she said, her smile still in place, but a bit wobbly now as she clasped her hands in front of her. “Edward insists on a gourmet meal, and I really did spend the day making up roasted chicken with asiago polenta and truffled mushrooms, but then the power went out, the oven flicked off—” She sounded close to tears. “It didn't finish, and now . . .” She lifted her hands helplessly.

“No worries,” Cooper said. “I'd eat anything tonight and be happy.”

“Really?” Shelly asked anxiously.

“Absolutely.”

“Me, too.” Breanne gave Shelly a smile of her own, one Cooper hadn't seen, which meant it was real and full of warmth. He almost did a double take, struck by how it softened her face, removing all lines of sarcasm and bite.

Had he thought her not classically beautiful? He needed his eyes checked.

“Thank you for serving us at all,” Breanne said sincerely to Shelly.

“Oh, but it's nothing like how it should be,” the cook told them, still twisting her fingers.

“You did the best you could,” Dante said. “We all know it. Stop worrying.”

She shot him a tremulous smile.

Dante jammed his hands in his pockets.

Breanne got busy, sliding some cheese and grapes on her plate. “The best thing I make is reservations, so for me, this is great.”

More relaxed now, Shelly laughed as she picked up the empty tray. “Then you just wait until tomorrow. I'm going to spoil you both rotten.”

Breanne paused, a grape halfway to her mouth. She set it down and looked at Cooper expectantly.

He knew what she wanted him to say, that tomorrow there wouldn't be two guests, because he was leaving. Instead, he just smiled. He wasn't going anywhere.

Dante moved to Shelly's side and took the tray from her hands. Shelly gazed up at him as if he were a god. Her god.

Cooper wondered what it'd be like to have someone look at him like that.

Not coming close to duplicating the expression, Breanne sent him the evil eye. “One of us is leaving tomorrow,” she said to Shelly.

Dante shook his head.

“No?” Breanne asked. “Why not?”

“The roads aren't cleared and no one's going to be able to get to them until the storm passes, which is supposedly no time soon. We're all trapped here.”

“Where do you sleep when you're stuck like this?” Breanne asked.

“Oh, don't worry about us,” Shelly said quickly. “There are servants' quarters we can stay in. You won't even know we're here.” Leaning in, she began to pour the wine, first for Cooper, and then for Breanne, who scooted her chair back to make room for Shelly. At the odd scraping noise, Breanne looked down, then carefully lifted a sliver of glass. “Yikes. Something must have broken in here.”

Shelly stared at the glass without moving.

Dante reached in and took the shard. “No harm done,” he said, then took the bottle of wine from Shelly's fingers, set it down on the table, and directed her from the room.

Silence reigned.

Cooper looked at Breanne.

She pretended not to notice.

“So we're stuck,” he said, making her face it. “Might as well relax about it.” He hoisted his glass of wine in a toast. “What do you say?”

She stared at him, then lifted her glass as well, downing the contents in a few gulps before reaching for the bottle.

“You might want to slow down, Princess,” he warned. “You're at altitude now, and that's going to go straight to your head, fast. Drink some water so you don't get dehydrated.”

She bared her teeth and growled.

He laughed but lifted his hands. “Just trying to help you avoid getting hung over.”

“I could avoid a hangover entirely by just getting drunk and staying there,” she said miserably, and when he laughed again, she picked up a grape and looked as if she was considering chucking it across the table at him.

Arching a brow, he silently dared her, enjoying being distracted by her frustration. The woman must burn up more stress calories a day than the president of the United States.

Or at least as many as he did at work when adrenaline was flowing and—and that no longer mattered because he'd quit. He'd walked away and had become unemployed. Funny that he'd forgotten, even for a second.

He was just getting into his cheese and crackers when another set of footsteps came down the hall—not light like Shelly's, nor rubber-soled like Dante's. These were heavy, hard, and clinked and rattled with every step.

“What's that?” Breanne whispered, eyes wide.

Step, clink. Step, clink.

“Not a what,” Cooper said, “but a who.”

“That isn't Shelly or Dante.”

“No,” he agreed.

The footsteps came closer.

Step, clink.

Step, clink.

With a sudden gasp, Breanne rose to her feet, running around the table in those silly heels, directly at Cooper. He reached to pull out the chair next to him for her, but as she reached the corner, her heels slipped and she flew into the home stretch.

It was all he could do to catch her, but catch her he did. Her hair stabbed him in the eye, caught on his jaw, and even went into his mouth, but his brain had locked on the fact that her warm, soft curves were trying to crawl up his body. Her breasts were mashed against his chest, her legs entangled with his. He liked it all, but then again, it'd been so long since he'd had any action, he'd have liked just about anything.

Then an extremely tall, extremely lean shadow filled the doorway with indistinguishable features. “Sorry,” the shadow said in a heavy Scottish accent. “But has anyone seen me bloody flashlight?”

Still in Cooper's lap, Breanne froze.

The shadow stepped further into the room. The candlelight caught him, revealing nothing more than a mere mortal man, possibly thirty, wearing a tool belt from which swung a hammer, a wrench, and an assortment of other tools.

Hence the clinking.

Cooper threw an amused look at Breanne, who remained utterly still for one instant before she blew out a short breath and struggled like a wildcat to get out of his lap.

But because he was a sick, sick man, Cooper used his superior strength to hold her against him before craning his head toward the man in the doorway. “No flashlight, sorry.”

“Well, fuck me,” Scottish said, and scratched his head. His red hair stood straight up. “I'm trying to get the generator up and running, straightaway.”

“That'd be good,” Cooper said.

“Power lines are down all over the bloody place. It'll be days and days with no electricity if I don't get the generator running.”

Breanne looked horrified. “
Days and days
. . . ?”

“Aye. Well, off I go, then.” With another scratch of his head, Scottish walked out.

Step, clink.

Step, clink.

“If I call him back here,” Cooper whispered in her ear, “will you crawl up my body again?”