CHAPTER EIGHT
His first night with Maddie gave Guy the best night’s sleep he’d had in years. On that basis, he hadn’t expected to wake up and find himself alone, with the connecting door between their suites very firmly closed. Not only was his lady gone—there was barely any sign she’d even been there, apart from the shallow dent in the pillow beside him.
The distant sound of church bells told him he’d probably slept through breakfast. He wasn’t surprised. His recuperative powers weren’t quite what they’d been in his youth. Even so, the two of them still hadn’t spent the whole of the remainder of the night asleep after their first explosive encounter. His body throbbed at the mere memory of waking to find Maddie’s mouth on his cock and her hand cupping his balls…
So when, exactly, had she left his bed? Not only that—how had she done it without waking him? Only one person had ever managed that, and she’d never told him her secret. Determined to discover the reason why Maddie hadn’t stayed, Guy flung back the sheets and headed for the bathroom.
Cleaned up and ready to face the day, he fastened the cufflinks at his wrists, and gave his appearance one final check. White dress shirt, no tie, black trousers, black shoes. Maybe one day he’d get comfortable in jeans, but it wasn’t happening today.
Guy was at the connecting door, hand raised to knock, when he heard voices on the other side. They weren’t clear enough to distinguish individual words, but he could make out they belonged to a man and a woman. The woman was obviously Maddie, but who was the man? Brow creased in a frown, he rapped on the door and without waiting for permission, flung it open.
Whoever he was, Maddie was at the other door, in the middle of saying goodbye to him. In the next second, Guy realised why—the mysterious visitor must have been the room service waiter, delivering the delicious-looking spread laid out on the table by the window.
Maddie turned to Guy and greeted him with a smile that sparkled more than the sunlight glinting off the crystal juice glasses. “Good morning, sleepyhead.” On tiptoe, she planted a saucy kiss on his cheek. “I was about to come and get you.”
Guy slung an arm around her waist and pulled her to him for a more thorough greeting. “Good morning to you, too. How did you manage this? They finished serving breakfast over an hour ago.”
Her expression reminded him of the cat that got the cream—she had one up on him, knew it, and was enjoying the hell out of it. “I work in the hospitality business, remember?” She tapped her nose and winked. “Trade secret.”
Guy chuckled, grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Thank you. I was looking forward to sharing breakfast with you this morning. Having it in here is even better.”
Taking her by the hand, he led her to the table and pulled out a chair, indicating that she should sit. He then draped one of the crisp, white linen napkins over her lap, before taking his place opposite her.
She gave him a small, self-conscious smile. “Thank you.”
“Whatever for?” Guy shook out his own napkin and dropped it into place.
She shrugged. “The last man I dated wouldn’t have done that.”
“The last man you dated was a fool. Coffee?”
“Thank you.” She pushed her cup and saucer towards him. “What makes you say that?”
Guy picked up the coffee pot. “It’s obvious. If he hadn’t been a fool, you wouldn’t have been free to accept my invitation to dinner.”
“Oh.” Eyes lowered, Maddie pressed her lips together, as if considering the implications of his statement, then her startled gaze connected with his. She took a gulp of coffee and pulled a face.
Guy added cream and sugar to her cup, concerned that he’d unsettled her enough for her to forget to do it. “Did I say something wrong?”
She shook her head. “Thank you. Oh no, it’s just… I wasn’t expecting you to say anything like that.” She sipped her coffee this time, and smiled. “Even if it is true.”
“It is true—which is my good fortune. Now, eat up—I have plans for today.”
“You do. What might they be?”
Guy buttered a slice of toast and handed it to her. “Come home with me.” He grinned. “You can even meet the blushing bridegroom.”
“Ah, the elusive Dr. Northwood. I read an article about him a couple of days ago. Something about a research facility and an imminent breakthrough in the search for energy security?”
“That’s right. He’s also the son of a late friend of mine. He and Ros have been staying with me while they house-hunt.”
“A new house as well as a wedding?” Maddie sucked in a deep breath. “Rather them than me.”
“They’re making progress. I think they’ve narrowed it down to three, or at least they had. The agent contacted them about another property that’s just come on the market. They were due to view it yesterday.”
“That’s one advantage of living in at the hotel.”
“Don’t you find that a little… precarious? Not having a place of your own?”
Maddie shrugged. “Not really. I mean, I know it probably looks that way, but it’s convenient, cheap, and if I ever move to another job, I won’t have much to move.”
“And you’d still live in at a new hotel?”
“Probably not.” Maddie hesitated. “I joined Remington not long after I returned to the UK. The manager offered me staff accommodation. At the time, it took away the issue of trying to find somewhere while I was settling not just into my new job, but back into living in this country. Without any real reason to move, I’ve taken the line of least resistance and stayed.”
“I see.” Having polished off a small bowl of porridge, Guy threw caution to the winds and helped himself to the ingredients of a full English cooked breakfast. He made a half-hearted mental promise to work it off in the gym at some point. “You worked overseas?”
“A few years ago now. It was… interesting. I learned a lot about hospitality, and somewhere along the way, I fell into event organising.”
“What made you come back?”
Maddie’s knife clattered on her plate. She gave a nervous laugh. “How clumsy of me. Sorry about that.”
Good recovery. Guy hadn’t missed the brief expression of alarm that crossed her face at his question. The mystery of Maddie deepened. The reason for her return was clearly a hot button, but for now he wasn’t going to press her for more details. “That’s okay. So, are you going to come home with me?”
This time, Maddie carefully set her cutlery down. “Would you mind if I don’t? It’s just…” She grabbed her glass of juice and gulped down the last couple of mouthfuls.
“Just what? Talk to me.”
“I have a busy day tomorrow. We have a big conference to prepare for—”
“Maddie, you’ve been to the house before, you already know Ros—”
She sighed. “It’s hard to explain, but when I went to Stonehaven, I made my own way there. And I have a business relationship with Ros.”
“So?”
“So… talking to her as someone you’re seeing socially… I’m not sure I can explain, but I’m not entirely comfortable with that change to the status quo yet.”
Which made no sense whatsoever to Guy. True, the first and so far only occasion she’d visited his home had been in her own transport. Equally true, Ros and Simon had been absent from Stonehaven for a few days at the time. What Guy couldn’t understand was what difference it made to meet them as the woman he was dating rather than their point of contact for their wedding venue.
However, if she wasn’t ready, far be it from him to force her into a situation she found awkward. “It can wait. How about if we head back to the hotel after breakfast, and I’ll call you this evening?”
Maddie almost visibly relaxed. “That’s fine. I need to check the floor plans for the conference, and this afternoon will be ideal.”
The drive to Remington Grange was pleasant enough. However, as he drove away after dropping Maddie off, Guy couldn’t help but wonder if something wasn’t quite right with their relationship.
With the second week of his new role about to start, Guy had some preparation of his own to do. He was heading back to Whitehall, his old stomping ground, for a string of meetings. Though it wasn’t that long since he’d resigned, in some ways it seemed like a lifetime ago. He didn’t miss it one iota.
A couple of hours of preparation for his meetings reminded him why he didn’t miss it. His reward for such dedication to his work was the phone call he’d been itching to make since the moment he’d driven out of the gates of Remington Grange.
“Guy.”
He liked the way she said his name. “Hello, Maddie. How’s your afternoon been? All set for the conference?”
“What co—oh, yes, everything’s fine. The catering’s all organised.”
“I thought you were finalising the seating plan?”
“I was… I mean, I did, but I wanted to make sure the catering arrangements were in place as well. It’s the first time we’ve hosted this company, and if we make a good impression, it could mean a lot of repeat business for the hotel.”
A sense of uneasiness crept over Guy. Something didn’t ring true. He wanted to put it down to the years he’d spent working in intelligence making him see things that weren’t there. Analysing every little nuance of speech and action to detect the presence of a threat had long ago become second nature to him. Those usually well-honed instincts insisted Maddie was being less than honest. He didn’t want to believe it, but he couldn’t quite convince himself to dismiss it.
“I can see why you want to make sure everything’s perfect.”
They chatted for a while, and when the call was over, Guy remained in the library. If Ros and Simon were sticking with their post-dinner plans, they were in the entertainment room, enjoying a movie and one of their date nights.
Guy approved. Their high-powered careers could easily overwhelm a relationship, so regular date nights were a good start in preventing that.
In one way, Guy was glad they were busy elsewhere. Respecting their privacy gave him the chance to mull over his thoughts regarding Maddie. Hell of a time for all this to rear its ugly head, though, just after they’d spent their first night together. The devil on his shoulder was taunting him with the suggestion that he might have made a monumental error of judgement.
What if he were to run a background check on her? While he might no longer have access to the relevant systems, he still had contacts who did. And in the next moment, he regretted allowing the thought to gain more traction. What was wrong with him? With an impatient shake of his head, he rose from the chair and headed for the study, where more preparation awaited him.
This work had nothing to do with his government meetings. Guy was facing one of the most crucial missions of his life. The two-phase operation was scheduled for next weekend, with the more critical element taking place on Friday afternoon.
If all went well, one week from now, everyone would know he was the owner of Club Aegis, including his family and closest friends. He could only hope they all received the news with good humour, but what troubled him most was Ros’ reaction, and the potential destruction of his last remaining family relationship.