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“Okay,” she said in a daze.

He smiled broadly, taking a few steps out of her room before turning back toward her. He pressed his hands against both sides of the doorframe, the ridges in his forearm shifting. “And pack an overnight bag, warm clothing, and shoes to walk in. We leave Monday at seven o’clock sharp. Will that suffice, Miss Knox?”

Winnie’s mind spun with the information. Overnight bag, strong shifting forearms, warm clothing. A holiday with Matthew.

“I guess,” she said. She wasn’t leaving England quite yet, then. “But I don’t even know where you’re taking me or who’s going.”

“We’ll be alone,” he said with a sure nod. “As for everything else, just leave it to me.”

“All right,” she mumbled.

“Monday. Seven o’clock sharp,” he repeated. “Do you need to set an alarm?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m a big girl. I think I can handle being on time.” Then another thought occurred. “Wait, what about hotels and food and stuff?”

He tapped excitedly against the doorframe with his fingertips. “I’m a big boy. I think I can handle it.” Once again, his eyes twinkled. “I’ll see you Monday. Seven o’clock.”

He backed away, leaving her door open as she called after him. “So eight, is it?”

His laughter echoed down the hallway.

When he was gone, Winnie closed her door, shaking her head in utter shock. She’d just agreed to spend time alone with a guy who hadn’t liked her in three weeks.

She pressed a hand to her brow, staring at the piles of clothing and toiletries on her bed and in her suitcase.

Well, she’d better get started unpacking right now because apparently, she had something else to pack for entirely.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“Is that what you’re wearing?”

Winnie paused in the doorway of Foxwood, looking down at Matthew, who leaned against his horrible beater-of-a-car that was pulled in front of the estate. It was Monday, two minutes until seven o’clock in the morning, and Winnie had just appeared before Matthew for their…their what, exactly? Matthew had called it a holiday. She thought it was better to call it a business trip.

That was the safest option.

Whatever it was, she wasn’t sure she was ready for it, especially when she caught sight of Matthew in his tall boots, thick blue raincoat, and jeans. She thought he looked rather perfect.

But apparently, he took issue with how she looked.

“What do you mean?” she asked, peering down at her heels, skirt, and shirt.

She had to look way better than she had in her sweats Saturday evening, despite the fact that she hadn’t slept last night due to nightmares. She’d dreamt that she’d shared her failures with her family during their Sunday chat, despite the fact that she hadn’t attended their virtual call the day before.

She hadn’t been able to stomach it.

Matthew motioned to her person, drawing her attention to the present. “I said to wear warm clothing and shoes to walk in.”

She frowned, moving toward him and his car, her small carry-on bouncing against her leg. “I’m warm enough with the raincoat, and I can walk in these shoes. See?”

She stepped closer to him, but he shook his head, pushing away from the car and motioning to her heels again. “Those will not work for what we’re doing today. First off, you absolutely need to wear trousers, and don’t you have any wellies?”

“Wellies?” she asked, pulling up her lip. “I don’t even know what those are.”

“Wellies,” he repeated, as if that would help her. “Wellingtons. Rain boots?”

Oh. She looked over her shoulder at the closed door of the estate. “I have some boots⁠—”

“Not high-heeled,” he said with a knowing lift of his brow.