Page 22 of Unexpected Entanglement

“I live here. My quarters are off the office.”

“Oh. I could stay with Alex and Oliver if you’re more comfortable with that.” He picked up his two small bags from the floor where he’d left them earlier.

“It’s a small two-bedroom house,” Rowan said and eyed his belongings. “You travel light.”

“Kinda have to with the bike.”

“Where did you start from?” she asked. “My…half-sister lives in New York, is that where you came from?”

That was the first time Rowan mentioned Rae at all.

“Rae and her husband recently moved to his hometown in Georgia, but yes, I live in New York.”

Rowan nodded as she digested the info but didn’t comment further on Rae. “But you retain a hint of your Boston roots,” she instead said as they started climbing the stairs.

“You could tell?” He eyed her with a small amused smile. After living in a boarding school in England for most of his teenage years, he thought he’d gotten rid of most of his hometown accent.

“Like my father used to say, you can take aMainuhout of Maine, but you’ll never take theMainuhout of him. I suppose it’s the same for Bostonians.”

“Or New Yorkers,” he added. Or even Southerners, as he thought of his friend, Dean, whose subtle Southern drawl had charmed most girls in college.

Rowan turned left at the second floor’s landing and opened the first door. After turning on the light, she walked in. “I had this set up to show Bobbie and her team how I like the rooms made, but you can use this. I’ll have another one ready in the morning.”

“I can take another room if you want to keep this—”

She waved him off. “It’s no big deal.”

“Thank you for accommodating me. I know we didn’t get off on the right foot earlier.” He did a quick sweep of the room.

It wasn’t a large room, but it was spacious enough for a soft-backed queen-size bed covered in white bedding and fluffy pillows. An antique dresser stood on one wall with a modern gold-rimmed mirror hanging above it. The mix of modern and classic should’ve clashed, but it worked. There was also an overstuffed three-seater sofa, a reading chair, and modern-shaped lamps to complete the look.

“This is a great-looking room,” Chris commented as he continued to explore the details.

“It isn’t a suite at The Sullens or…” Rowan started.

Rowan stopped mid-sentence when she looked up and saw Chris Sullens looking at her with an amused smile.That condescending smile, she grumbled internally. But she remembered what Alex had said:just say thank you and move on.

In her time with Richard, he’d often given her compliments just to follow them with veiled criticisms. He’d also used praises to manipulate her to do mundane tasks he didn’t want to dohimself, like the laundry, cooking, or cleaning, as if she had a Ph.D. on those chores. Still, he complained when his shirt wasn’t pressed, dinner was a tad bland, or he’d run out of shampoo, and she hadn’t bought him a new bottle.

So Rowan became wary of his honey words. In hindsight, she’d realized she had slowly become the woman he wanted—a perfect, submissive housewife to his future-CEO self. Well, fuck that. But the bad habit was hard to kick.

“Thank you,” Rowan said stiffly instead.

Chris turned to her as if he sensed the doubt in her voice. “Did you design this room?”

“I had a designer friend’s help. I thought the old inn’s look needed modernizing, but I also didn’t want to lose the traditional touches.”

“I think you and your designer friend managed to find the balance. This room is warm and inviting,” Chris said, walking to the dresser.

Rowan searched for any hint of sarcasm in his words, but the way he touched the surface of the antique dresser and how his lips turned up at the corners in a small smile showed appreciation, not condescension as she’d thought earlier.

“How many rooms are in this house?” he asked.

“Four estate rooms like this with queen beds and three suites with king beds and larger floor space. Two of the suites still need a few finishing touches.”

“Are they similarly designed?”

“Similar, but each room has its own special touches and theme, either in the art choices, the accent wall, or the bedding. This one is the most neutral. We decided to play with the gold accent and didn’t want to overdo it.”

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