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“It was absolutely worth it.”

She fought the smile off her lips. “You’re lucky I didn’t punch you. You can’t mess with a girl who’s lived in New York, you know. I could have pepper-sprayed you, too.”

“You have some on you?”

“Usually.”

He smiled in response, rubbing his cheek. “Sorry. I really didn’t think I’d scare you that badly.”

She had a mind to reject his apology on principle, but when she shifted the light of her phone onto his face, the redness beyond his beard shone brightly.

She winced. “I suppose I did that.”

He rolled his jaw. “Yes, you did. But I deserved it.”

“Well, I know that much. But I’m sorry just the same.”

He waved a passive hand, but Winnie still eyed his cheek. Now she really did feel bad.

Without another thought, she reached forward, intending on stroking the skin to see if she could dispel the redness, but as her fingertips stroked his beard instead, every inch of her froze aside from her racing heart.

What on earth was she doing? She shouldn’t be staring deeply into his eyes, feeling the soft prickles of his facial hair on her fingertips. This was a business trip. A business trip that involved talks of kissing, playing hide-and-seek, and assaulting her business associate, apparently. But a business trip all the same.

She dropped her hand and took a step away from him, shifting her phone’s light away to hide her embarrassment.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“For slapping me?”

“Sure.”

Matthew’s smile grew tenfold at her words.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Shortly after their escapade in Skipton’s dungeons, Winnie and Matthew headed straight for York. Despite feeling guilty still for the redness lingering on Matthew’s cheek, Winnie had enjoyed every minute of their drive.

Matthew had taken a longer route to the city, showing her more incredible views of Yorkshire’s greenery before they finally reached York. Together, they headed to the bed and breakfast just on the outskirts of the city where they parted for their separate rooms and agreed to meet downstairs for dinner shortly after.

Winnie took a quick shower, changed into fresh clothes, and replaced the wellies with a pair of red heels, having been reassured by Matthew that they were finished with stairs and muddy puddles—at least for now.

Truthfully, were it not for the small blisters now forming on her heels from the rain boots, Winnie would have probably worn them throughout the night. They were comfortable, sensible, and produced more compliments than Winnie had received in her life.

In those boots, she was no longer Winnie Knox. Instead she was Winnie: Gaudy Wellies Wearer, and she loved it.

Unfortunately, the city called for something a bit nicer, and those floral attention-getters just did not match with the sleek black dress she’d changed into that night for dinner.

As she peered into the mirror, she made to pull her hair back into her typical bun, then paused. Wasn’t there something different she could do? Something a little less boss-y? Besides, if she wasn’t supposed to think about work, why did she have to look like work?

She dug through her toiletry bag, finding a claw clip inside before twisting her hair up loosely and allowing a few tendrils to frame her face.

There. Now she didn’t appear so fierce.

But as she closed and locked the door behind her, Winnie wondered if she’d put in a little too much effort that evening. Hair, lipstick, clothing. Was she trying to draw too much attention to herself? What if Matthew still wore what he had before? She’d look like a try-hard.

Fortunately, her worries were set aside when she saw him standing at the base of the stairs waiting for her, wearing slacks and a striped button-up shirt, though his curly mane was only slightly tamed.

He caught sight of her as she stood at the top of the stairs, a smile growing on his face as his eyes settled on her heels. “Got tired of those wellies, did you?”