Page 33 of Scottish Seducer
Chapter 13
Stephanie
Seriously,the steamy hotel shower left my skin dewy and soft just from cleaning myself.
Charlie knew how to hit almost all my buttons, including my inner goddess, who loved being clean and pampered.
When I finally emerged, drying my hair, I was ready to drive and give Charlie a tour of Chatsworth House. The house was begun in the 11thcentury, but during the Regency era, the so-called “Bachelor Duke” who’d owned it hosted many parties, and Jane Austen herself mentioned the house inPride and Prejudice.
While I was chosen to be part of next year’s Jane Austen planning committee, this was one of the most important of the places rented for the ten-day festivities. We rented buses to get there, but it was worth it, as the house was amazing.
I took the towel off my head and opened the door. I heard a male voice as it said, “I’ll look her in the eye and judge for myself, Charlie.”
I glanced all around and saw Charlie on the phone on the terrace. He had it on speaker as he said, “See you soon, Logan.”
So he must be talking to his brother, though my skin prickled like I was the subject of that conversation. I ignored my intuition and kissed his cheek.
His eyes were wide like I’d caught him doing something he shouldn’t. I tilted my head and asked, “Why are you looking at me so strangely?”
His face turned red as he asked, “What did you hear?”
Okay, so the conversation was absolutely about me. I shrugged and said, “You said ‘Logan’, so I assume it was your brother.”
He took my hand to lead me inside as he said, “Yes. He’s looking forward to me going to the Highland Games. He has assigned me…us…a few duties.”
I bounded off to the bedroom to get my clothes and discovered Charlie had bought me a nice yellow day dress with small flowers embroidered along the hem and matching flats.
I pulled it on as I said, “Sounds fun. Is it true that people toss logs?”
He took the diamond studs out of the bedside drawer and gave them to me as he said, “Yes, though I won’t be entering the competition.”
His muscles were temptingly firm and well defined, but I finished dressing and put the earrings in as I said, “Could be fun to see you as a big gladiator type tossing tree trunks around.”
He took the keys to the car and said, “Another time. I have to work on my space flight deal right now.”
My limbs were still a little weak from last night, but I held his hand as we headed out and I recited his many businesses deals. “And the bank. And the app. And run the airline and mobile phone and laptop companies you recently acquired.”
He held the car door for me and said, “I like technology. And the app is much bigger. It’s three-D and will blow the rest of the computer world out of the water.”
Fair point. He had his fingers in so many pies, keeping up with him would be almost impossible for anyone. Honestly, this was another reason we’d never fit, since I was more of a one commitment at a time type, but as he started the car I asked, “How do you keep track of so many businesses at once?”
He drove faster than I did, his eyes on the road, as he said, “I have other people run them so I can chase my next idea.”
Work was an easy conversation, because it distracted me from overanalyzing the sex. I swallowed and asked, “Which is...?”
He followed the signs to the house we were to tour as he said, “I want to buy a bank.”
A small spasm surprised me. I hadn’t expected that answer, so I adjusted my earrings as I said, “That’s not your usual style.”
He winked at me and made the final turn onto the estate as he said, “That’s what my brother said, but if I buy it, then it makes it easier for me to fund the space plans.”
I grinned and nodded as we pulled into a spot. “Now that sounds more like you.”
We both stepped out of the car, and my bearings were off since I normally took the bus or carriages here and had never parked in a lot. I took his hand and asked, “Where are we?”
He kissed my knuckles and guided me like he’d been here a dozen times. I blinked and finally noticed the small signs he’d already seen.
A moment later we were near the bridge and river. We trotted up the estate, but a small lake caught my eye. He saw me and kissed my cheek as he said, “Wait here. I’ll let them know we’ve arrived.”
