Something was Definitely Up. She didn’t believe in paranormal kinds of things, but she had to admit there had been something extremely odd going on back there in the castle. She would have taken the time to examine just exactly how odd that something had been, but it had been immediately clear that she’d needed to get Nathaniel out of there before he fainted.
What had he seen that had set him off that badly?
She glanced at the man whose car she was driving. It was a bit hard to look at him, actually. He looked like he should have been on the cover of some magazine for Scottish gorgeousness, but he was so oblivious to the looks women gave him that she suspected if he knew what he looked like, he just didn’t care.
At the moment, he looked like he was about to lose his lunch.
“Eyes on the road,” he said, not opening his eyes.
She pursed her lips. “I wasn’t looking at you. I was lookingpastyou to admire the scenery over there.”
He groaned. “Of course you were. I suspect the truth is that you wanted to make sure I wasn’t on the verge of sicking up lunch in your lap.”
“That thought had crossed my mind.” She watched the road for a bit, then stole another look at him. “You look awful.”
“Thank you.”
Too bad it didn’t detract all that much from his appallingly good-looking self. She drove for a bit longer, then glanced at him. “Do you ever look in the mirror?”
“Every morning, darling.”
She smiled. “Do you frighten yourself?”
“A better question is, do I frighten you?”
“I am unintimidated by you or your pretty face,” she said archly. “I didn’t mention this before, but my undergrad is in art. I’m used to drawing perfect specimens while ignoring their accompanying egos.”
He wheezed, but it sounded a bit like a laugh. “I will model for you any time you like if it means I can stare at you soulfully whilst you’re about rendering my spectacular features on paper.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “You aren’t really that conceited, are you?”
“If I am, I’m paying a heavy price for it at the moment.” He shifted, then groaned again. “Thank you for driving.”
“My pleasure.” She paused. “Migraine or food poisoning?”
“Take your pick,” he said grimly. “At the moment, it feels a bit like both. Are you all right to drive home?”
“Absolutely. At the very least, I’ll just follow yournavigation’s calm, soothing voice and ignore you while you’re heaving your guts out the window.”
“Very kind.” He shifted, then sighed. “I feel approximately eighty years old.”
“Well, you don’t look a day over fifty.”
“Don’t mind me, then, if I succumb to my years and snooze again in this glorious bit of sunshine.”
She suspected he would, and she wasn’t surprised when he did. She stole the occasional glance at him, but that only left her shaking her head. He was hard to look at, but she supposed she could make the effort in order to draw him properly. Taking one for the team, as usual.
She was altruistic like that.
The trip back to Benmore was easy driving, and while Nathaniel’s Range Rover was definitely bigger than what she’d gotten used to, it drove like a dream. She glanced at her passenger occasionally, but he didn’t stir. She supposed that was enough of a stamp of approval for her.
He woke as she was turning onto the road that led to both their houses.
“I’ll drop you at your place,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I’m sorry for this. I’m not usually so enfeebled.”
“I can walk,” she said. “It isn’t that far.”
“But ’tis pouring with rain and you’ll catch your death,” he said, rubbing his hands over his face. He smiled faintly. “Thank you, Emma. I’m not sure what came over me.”
