She could barely make eye contact with Nick the next day, not without feeling her cheeks flaming red and her stomach tightening in an undeniable reaction to his presence.
This wasn’t right. She should not be having thoughts like that. Not about him. He worked here and technically she owned the place. Getting tangled with him would be a nightmare. A real legal nightmare.
Not to mention that his wife had died here. Or that his daughter thought she was still here. Was that better or worse? Did Nick believe it too? Was he tied here because of Sally’s memory? It might explain why he was reluctant to leave. She’d decided to run a thousand miles from the place which had taken everyone she loved, but she’d understand the reverse as well.
The conversation about paintings and dead children had not helped. He’d been trying to explain Maeve’s imaginary friends and all it had done was make Alex question her own memories. She hated it. Had he done it on purpose?
Was this some kind of ploy to drive her out of Wildewood Hall?
And dear God, the dreams were not helping.
It had been a while since she’d had sex, true, but she was a rational human being. She could control herself. But she’d never felt hungry to touch someone else, not like she had yesterday with Nick. Gabe used to tease her about it. A couple of her boyfriends had left because of it. One had called her a cold fish. Another had been even less flattering.
Nick mostly seemed intent on avoiding Alex as much as possible, which was fine. Probably sensible. The less time theyspent alone together the better. He was probably afraid she’d try to jump him again, and to be honest so was she. It was the most embarrassing thing about all of this.
That and the fact she couldn’t shake the wanting. Yes, it was definitely better to stay out of each other’s way. Avoid temptation.
He had work to do as well, mostly out on the estate. He was just doing his job.
Alex should have been working on her book but she was having to spend more time wrangling the lawyers who were getting absolutely nowhere. Apparently, the situation with the inheritance had got a lot more complicated, as there was some kind of entailment involved which stretched back through generations of the de Wilde line. It tied the remaining land to the house, and the house to the family, in ways Alex didn’t really understand. With no male heir, the title Baron de Wilde would revert to the Crown. Which was fine by her. She certainly didn’t want it.
But that left the estate in limbo, because the title belonged to the English Crown and the land was in Ireland and while there was documentation going back hundreds of years it was in no way clear what legally should happen to it now. There were various covenants as well, mostly relating to the woodland for some obscure reason, which many of her vaunted ancestors had drawn up. Layers and layers of complications. Including the latest one which Theo had drawn up for Nick and Nick’s job.
Sure, the feckless wonder could do that, but not write down a simple bloody will.
It was a nightmare.
She could fight it in court, they told her. It could all be untangled. The law firm assured her of that. But at the same time, Gordian knots were mentioned, and she had to look thatup – an impossible tangle which could not be unravelled, which Alexander the Great had cut apart with his sword.
She wasn’t Alexander the Great. More like Alexandra the Moderately Competent in Her Own Field. She didn’t have a sword.
Alex glanced up at the wall visible through the door of the study where a dozen weapons of various shapes and sizes had been mounted long ago on either side of that ghastly mirror. Okay, maybe she did have a sword. Several. But that wasn’t the point.
Untangling the legal mess around the estate would take time. And money.
So much money.
Money she didn’t have.
And worse, because of it the hotel people were getting cold feet. There was no bargain to be had here, not anymore. If she couldn’t pay to take the court case, they would have to. And they didn’t want that outlay. Or the effort. What had looked like a quick and profitable deal was turning into something no one wanted to touch.
Alex fought not to curse out loud, kept her voice calm and professional, and tried to ignore the stinging in her eyes.
The only way she was getting out of this was to take court cases in at least two different jurisdictions with uncertain outcomes which would cost a fortune.
And then she’d probably have to take Nick to court as well. Even though it would be best for them both to create as much distance between them as quickly as possible. He had a contract, she reminded herself. It let him live and work here. And to do that to him…to take even the small comfort that living here might give him without so much as a by your leave… She really didn’t want to do that. She could see now what this place meant to him, his last link to his wife. He might not want Maeve here –understandably given her imaginary friends – but he couldn’t let go either, could he?
Alex sat in the study, her back to the window overlooking the drive, and pinched the bridge of her nose. From the corner of her eye, through the door, she could see at the ancient mirror on the far wall of the hall through the open door. She could see herself in it as she leaned back in the chair at the desk. Movement caught her attention, just a flicker of something in the corner of the mirror. Her breath caught in her throat as she turned to study it more carefully. There was nothing there. No one else in the house.
But she was sure.
Just for a moment, anyway. She forced herself to exhale, slowly, carefully. Made herself drop her tense shoulders and twist her neck to the side to loosen the taut wire of her muscles.
She closed her eyes, letting herself imagine some kind of much needed relief. She was so tightly wound after her dreams. It might be a fantasy, but didn’t she deserve that? Just a little one?
Hands came to rest on her shoulders, massaging, caressing. Strong and clever hands, so very gentle and relaxing. Slim with long, dexterous fingers. They worked her tension free. Fingertips brushed against her throat and she let her head fall back with a soft groan of relief. She was so surprised, she couldn’t think of a thing to say.
What was Nick doing in here? She hadn’t even heard him come in. Since that moment in the hall when she’d rubbed his back, he’d been trying to avoid her, she was sure of it. She’d been stupid, that was all, and she’d only wanted to offer some comfort. And now, here he was, more than returning the favour. And God, he knew what he was doing with his hands, that was for sure…
