“I thought I was cooking you something to eat?” she said, feeling something in her stomach twitch. It wasn’t unpleasant, it was just unfamiliar.
He shook his head. “I’m not one to turn down home cooking, but do it another night, when I’ve herded alpacas from your rose garden or something.”
“Gran mentioned two of them managed to find their way into town.” Sorrell watched his hands and tried to stop from being obvious. “Jake came legging it down the high street.”
Zack nodded. “Yep! That’s how my family rolls—chasing alpacas through the town centre like it’s perfectly normal.” His expression became studious and she was the subject. “Give it a couple more weeks and you’ll start to see how crazy this place is. Christmas is like nothing else. There are traditions going back centuries that we still carry out. Have you heard of Mummers’ plays?”
“I’ve read about them. Where groups of people dress up and perform short acts, moving from house to house,” she said. She’d done some research into the area before buying the manor house, knowing that the area with its oddities would be a good part of the attraction to potential guests.
“There will be at least four groups going round the pubs and bars this year,” Zack said. “Alex is in one of them, and Jonny. I think his kids will be in it too. It used to be that the actors would keep the money, but it’s all donated to a chosen charity. I think this year it’s the mountain search and rescue teams.”
“I saw them head out on Monday,” Sorrell said, hearing a banging at the door.
“A climber had a fall. Broke his leg and needed help getting back down. He was stuck in a bad section with a sheer drop just below,” Zack said. “That’ll be Scott. I’ll let him in.”
Sorrell watched Zack walk down the hallway to the door, his jeans hanging around a very nice grabbable ass. She hadn’t slept with anyone since a few weeks before she and Mark split up. The fact that they hadn’t had sex for a few weeks before splitting should’ve been a sign of what was to come—she’d realised that later. But she’d been so busy with the hotel and getting everything up and running and he’d been working all over the country. Or so he’d said.
Zack made her think of bed, and not sleeping in. His height and build and the energy she sensed was coiled up in him made her want to find out what buttons she needed to press to release it. How far could he be pushed before he would snap? What would he be like when he lost that element of control he wore like a badge?
“Hi Sorrell,” Scott said, coming through. Between the two of them, they made the doorway look small. “What are we putting up?”
Zack passed him a line of fairy lights. There were three different types and she’d drawn a plan to show where she wanted each type to be placed. Plus, there were the other lights she’d bought, ones that reminded her of evenings in the summer, that should be hung outside for fireflies to dance around.
Sorrell expected Scott to be sarcastic, to tease her about the lights, but instead he got on with it, debating with Zack about the best way to do it, lining up the stepladders and putting the plank across to create a platform.
Just over an hour later there had been no casualties and all of the lights were where she wanted them, all working. The two men who had helped her looked pleased with themselves too, clearly having enjoyed being her heroes.
“That’ll look pretty fucking good when it’s dark,” Scott said, pulling on his thick jacket. “I’ll come up this weekend and have a look. Give you a lift in the bar if you want too, maybe come up with a signature cocktail.”
Sorrell’s grin was wide. “I don’t want to steal your business.”
He shook his head. “There’ll be enough to go round. You being open will draw new people here. Right, I’m heading back to town. You coming in later?”
“No, we’re heading out for the rest of the day,” Zack said, looking at Sorrell. “Just have a few more bits to do here.”
Scott gave a slight nod. “Where’s he taking you?”
“I’m not sure,” she said. “We didn’t get that far in the conversation.”
“I was thinking Chatsworth House,” he said. “The house will be decorated for Christmas and they have the markets on.”
“Good move.” Scott nodded. “It’s always good there. Have a nice time.”
He took himself out, leaving Sorrell alone with Zack and her thoughts. She wasn’t entirely sure what to say or do and searching for an excuse to not go seemed impossible.
“You don’t have to go to Chatsworth or wherever if you don’t want,” she said. “It’s enough that you’ve helped me with this. I need to put a picture…”
“Sorrell,” he interrupted, stepping towards her. “I would really like to take you out somewhere. I get that you’re probably not that interested in seeing anyone so it can be just as friends, if that’s what you want, but no strings, nothing expected, let’s just drive out and go somewhere.”
“Okay,” she said, a huge giant knot pulling tighter in her stomach. “Let’s go.”
“I’ll do the pictures first.”
Chapter 10
The night had tossed a dark blanket over the sky, seemingly putting the world to bed. Tiny pinpricks of stars were already visible and the air was cold. So far, there hadn’t been much snow, just the odd sugar coating that wasn’t even enough to launch a marble-sized snowball, but Zack knew it was on its way. He could smell the change in the air and had noticed how the animals on the farm were behaving. Winter was coming.
“Last entry is at four fifteen,” Sorrell said, checking her phone. “Can you believe I’ve never been here before?”
