Elle watched as Theo got out of the car and walked toward her. She first thought he’d been at a work event or society function, being driven home in the castle’s shiny black Bentley sedan, but as he walked closer, she saw that he wore jeans and an emerald green polo. His cheeks were dusted with five o’clock shadow, his dark hair somewhat disheveled.

He stopped in front of her, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, a slight frown on his handsome face.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” she said as she stood from his front steps to face him.

“I’ve been busy,” he answered, not quite meeting her eyes.

“I just thought that maybe we needed to talk about, you know, the kiss.” Her stomach fluttered as she said the words.

Theo’s gaze snapped to hers, and electricity crackled in the air between them. “I thought we had already decided it was a one-time thing.”

“We did, but that was days ago, and I’ve barely seen you since. I don’t want things to be awkward between us, Theo.”

“They’re not.” He cleared his throat. “They won’t be.”

“Good because, as you know, this job is important to me.” She took a hesitant step toward him. The night around them was cool and still with a full blanket of stars twinkling overhead. “No more avoiding me then, okay?”

“I wasn’t…” He paused, gazing off into the darkness above and then nodded. “I won’t avoid you.”

“Good.”

“Your first guests arrive on Monday,” he said, his expression still neutral, distant.

She nodded. “I was hoping to talk to you before then, to go over any last-minute protocols or expectations. I hate to take up any of your weekend, but maybe we could schedule a time to meet?”

He shook his head. “I’m actually leaving first thing in the morning, flying to London. I’m attending a charity event there tomorrow night and business meetings the first of the week.”

“Oh.” She smoothed her hands over the front of her dress. “Well, do you have a few minutes right now? I just had a few questions to ask you before our first guests arrive.”

He hesitated a few moments and then nodded. “That’s fine.”

“Oh, great. Thanks so much.”

He unlocked the front door of the guest house and motioned for her to lead the way inside. She stepped into the darkened foyer, waiting for him to turn on the light. Being here in his house—where he lived and slept—felt so much more intimate than meeting with him in the castle. Her pulse kicked up its heels and cheered at the prospect, even though she’d just gotten herself and Theo firmly back on business terms, dammit.

He stepped inside behind her, and the foyer flooded with light. She blinked, momentarily blinded after sitting outside for so long waiting for him. When he came into focus in front of her, he was standing closer, so close she felt the heat from his body. His familiar scent enveloped her, warm and masculine, mixed tonight with the smell of beer.

“Were you out with friends?” she asked, knowing it was none of her business and annoyed to realize she didn’t like the idea of him being out with another woman.

Get a grip, Elle.

He nodded. “Buddies from grade school.”

“It’s nice that you still keep in touch,” she said. There was something about him, a looseness in the way he carried himself, a kind of languor in his eyes, that made her think he’d had a few—or maybe more than a few—beers. If this was drunk Theo, he was the complete opposite of a sloppy drunk.

“Hadn’t seen them in years. It was good to catch up.” He walked toward the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Water would be great, actually.”

He grabbed two bottles from the fridge and handed one to her, careful—if she wasn’t mistaken—that their fingers didn’t brush in the process. He led the way into the living room and motioned for her to take a seat. “You have questions?”

She sat in a large chair opposite the couch and twisted the cap off her water, but either the bottle was overfilled or she was holding it too tightly because water spurted from the top of the bottle as she opened it. It splashed down the front of her dress, and maybe it was just her dirty mind, but somehow the image of the water squirting out of the bottle struck her as phallic. She felt a hot flush creep over her skin as she dabbed at the water stain on her dress.

Theo stood from the couch and strode out of the room, returning a moment later with a paper towel in his hand. He handed it to her without meeting her eyes, returning to his seat on the couch. And it wasn’t her imagination. Things were definitely awkward between them now, but she didn’t know what else to do about it other than proceed with business as usual and hope it worked itself out with time.

“Thank you.” She dabbed at the front of her dress. “So about Monday…”

He leaned back on the couch, resting his hands on his thighs. “Yes?”

“I’d like to take our guests on a tour of the castle, and I wanted to get your blessing on exactly which parts are open for visitors.”

“I’d say any of the common rooms downstairs—kitchen, lounge, dining room, ballroom, but not my office or any other parts of the private residence.”

“Okay,” she said with a nod. “That’s exactly what I was hoping for. In fact, I had a new business idea, offering tours of the castle. What do you think?”

“Tours of the castle?” He rubbed his chin, seeming again like the impartial businessman she’d first met almost two weeks ago.

“I thought we could sell tickets for guided tours of the castle and grounds. I’d be happy to lead them myself, at least to start.”

“Possibly,” he said. “But with limits. I don’t want the place swarming with tourists during the work week.”

“So public tours on the weekend and small, daily tours for guests?”

Theo nodded. “That sounds workable.”

“Okay then.” She ran through a few more details with him about accommodations for their guests. Once they’d agreed on everything, she rose from the couch. “Thanks, Theo. It’s late, and I’m sure you’re tired. I appreciate you running through this with me.”

“It’s no problem.” He rose to face her.

She looked down at the water bottle in her hand and felt herself blushing again. Memories of their kiss rushed through her brain. The hot stroke of his tongue against hers, the thrill of his words as he told her how much he wanted her, and the feel of his hard cock pressed against her thigh.

Theo Langdon might carry himself with all the elegance and class befitting his title, but she’d seen him let down his guard. She’d heard dirty words come from his mouth. She’d felt the raw force of his passion, and dammit, there was no forgetting it.

“I’ll walk you out.” He motioned for her to go ahead of him.

She walked to the front door and paused there. “Thanks again for your help.”

“Good luck on Monday.” He rested a hand on the door frame, his blue eyes locked on hers. “I hope everything goes well for you.”

“Do you really?” She couldn’t resist needling him. “Because if I were you, I’d be hoping we failed so it would be that much easier to kick us out in three months.”

“I don’t want you to fail.” His eyes seemed to blaze into her, his gaze was so intense. “I wish you all the best. Unfortunately, we met at the wrong time and under the wrong circumstances.”

His words hurt because she knew he was referring to so much more than her work here at the castle. “Well, I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, so things will work out the way they’re supposed to, whatever that is.”

“I hope so.” Something unspeakably sad resonated in his tone.

She stepped outside, letting the cool, dark night envelop her. “Goodnight, Theo.”

“Goodnight, Elle.”

She felt the heat of his stare on her back all the way to the castle’s front doors.

“A number of priceless family heirlooms are missing.”

Theo’s uncle’s words rang in his ears as he leaned back in his seat on the Langdon private jet and closed his eyes. Apparently, his grandfather had squirreled away a number of pieces of Rose’s jewelry, including several priceless heirlooms that had been in the family for generations. Alistair had always been a bit eccentric so the news, no matter how frustrating, wasn’t entirely surprising. He seemed to have hidden them somewhere in Rosemont Castle rather than storing them in the family vault, and now it fell to Theo to find them before someone outside the family did, and more importantly, before he could sell the castle.

Because all he needed was one more complication on that front.

He heaved a heavy sigh. This trip had been yet another reminder of the many duties awaiting him in England. Surprisingly, the charity event had been more enjoyable than he’d anticipated. The Langdon Family Foundation was involved in a lot of good work. Childhood literacy had been his grandfather’s pet project, and while that work would continue, it was time now for Theo to put his own stamp on the organization, to bring forward his own favored charity.

He knew what issue he wanted to champion, but to do so would mean letting a very ugly skeleton out of the closet, one the family had worked very hard to keep hidden. The board would do their best to change his mind, and they might be right to dissuade him. Childhood literacy was a worthwhile cause, a safe way to continue his grandfather’s legacy.

He thought of Elle and her friends and their new program for rescue animals. His primary platform needed to benefit people, but perhaps he could designate a small amount to an animal charity as well. That would be a new angle for the Langdon Family Foundation, possibly a welcome one.

Elle.

Just the fleeting thought of her caused a visceral reaction inside him. His body tightened, became more alert, more aware. He could almost smell her perfume, feel the weight of her gaze, the heat of her green eyes. His cock grew heavy inside his dress slacks.

Christ Almighty.

What was he going to do about this attraction? How was he going to get her out of his system? At the Gardener event on Saturday night, he’d been hit on by plenty of available women, and he’d felt absolutely nothing for any of them. Because his every thought was consumed by Elle.

Lovely, vivacious, beautiful Elle.

They’d agreed that their kiss could only be a one-time thing. It was highly uncouth for him to even consider taking her to his bed. But he couldn’t silence his thoughts, his desires, the way his body reacted every time he was in her presence. He would honor their agreement, but if she made a move on him, this time he wouldn’t turn her away.

He reclined his seat and attempted to sleep but after about thirty minutes, he gave up. His mind was wired, his thoughts consumed by missing heirlooms, charity functions, and Elle, although only the latter made his pants uncomfortably tight. Giving up on sleep, he pulled out his iPad and put on a movie to distract himself from the chaos in his mind.

By the time the jet landed in Virginia, he was exhausted. With the time change, it was just past nine on the East Coast, but to his body clock, it was the middle of the night. Fatigue burned through him as he rode out to Rosemont Castle in the Bentley, but it went much further than a need for sleep. It was a bone-deep reminder that he was wasting time here in Virginia, of all the things waiting for him in England.

As he stepped out of the car, he saw Megan and Elle out front with their foster dogs, and dammit if his entire body didn’t crackle with awareness at just the sight of her.

“Hi, Theo,” Megan called as the women started walking toward him.

“Hello.”

“How was your business in London?” Elle asked. She had on purple leggings and a patterned, flowing top that for some reason looked ridiculously sexy on her. Probably because everything about her was sexy, right down to her sparkly purple flip-flops.

“Good,” he said. “Tiring.”

“I bet.” She tugged on the pug’s leash. He couldn’t remember any of the dogs’ names at this point.

“And how have things gone so far with the guests?” he asked.

“Really well,” Elle said, at the same time Megan said, “So great!”

“I’m glad to hear it.” And his smile, though tired, was genuine. Although it would make his life simpler if their new business failed, he found that he wanted them to succeed, even if they had to pack up and take their new business elsewhere in a few months. That wasn’t really so hard to do, was it?

“It’s funny, the most consistent question we’ve been asked so far by our guests is whether they’ll get to meet you,” Megan said with a sly smile.

“Me?” His gaze darted to Elle, who looked away.

“Yes, the super-hot and super-single Earl of Lure,” Megan said with laughter in her voice. “Even the men want to meet you, although for more macho reasons obviously. If you wanted to put in an appearance during breakfast tomorrow morning, I’m sure you’d make everyone’s day.”

“I’ll consider it,” he said, intending to do no such thing.

“Thanks, Theo,” Megan said. “You’re a solid guy.”

“We really appreciate it,” Elle added with a sweet smile.

And apparently, they hadn’t realized that by saying he’d consider it, he’d actually planned under no uncertain terms to make himself scarce during breakfast tomorrow morning. Just when he thought his day couldn’t get any more complicated or frustrating.

Dammit.

Elle buzzed between the kitchen and the dining room, bringing plates to the table. To keep costs down while they were under their test run here at the castle, she, Megan, and Ruby were filling many of the needed positions for the inn themselves. They served breakfast—and cleaned it up—and performed the roles of hostess, front desk staff, and guest services. The only outside staff they’d hired was a part-time housekeeper to clean and service the rooms daily and someone to help the weekend chef, Mary, with breakfast preparation.

Luckily Beatrice, the weekday chef, was able to provide gorgeous, mouth-watering breakfasts to their guests at no additional cost. That might change once all the rooms were filled, but for now, with only four guests at the table, things were still manageable.

“I thought you said Theo would be here,” Ruby whispered as she and Elle crossed paths in the kitchen.

“He said he would try to stop by.” Elle was starting to get the feeling he had just been humoring them, and she could hardly blame him. The man was busy enough as it was without her asking him to put in an appearance so their guests could fawn all over him. It would be such amazing publicity for their program, though…

Consequently, she was feeling a bit miffed as she cleared away the last of the breakfast dishes without so much as a glimpse of the elusive earl. At least she’d had the good sense not to mention a possible meeting to the guests ahead of time.

“Elle, do you think we could spend some time in the garden with Remington?” one of their guests, a woman named Dana, asked. Dana and her husband were celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary and were hoping to round out their celebrations by adopting a new dog.

“Of course,” Elle told her with a smile. “Let me finish up here and then I’ll go get him and meet you guys in the garden. Would you like me to send a couple of mimosas out to you while you wait?”

“That would be lovely. Thanks so much.” Dana linked arms with her husband, Dan—true story, Dan and Dana, and they were such a cute couple too!—and they walked out the side door in the direction of the gardens.

Elle hadn’t dared to hope that they’d adopt any of the dogs out so quickly. She’d grown pretty fond of Remington and his sweet, hyper personality in the two weeks since his arrival. The Pearsons had been taken with him from the moment they met, and she thought they’d make a wonderful family for him if they decided to take him home. Plus, if they adopted Remington, then Elle could try again to bring Azalea into the Fairy Tails program.

She mentally crossed her fingers as she carried the last of the breakfast dishes into the kitchen. “Everyone loved the French toast, Beatrice.”

“Wonderful,” Beatrice said with a smile, then her expression sobered. “I just wanted to say, for the record, that I’m pulling for you. The whole staff is. We love it here. Most of us have been here working for Mr. Langdon—Alistair—for decades, and we’d love to stay on with the younger Mr. Langdon.”

“Oh.” Elle paused, caught off guard. “Thanks, Beatrice. I’m doing my very best to convince him not to sell.”

Beatrice leaned in, her brown eyes sparkling. “Between you and me, I think you’ve got a chance.”

“You do?” Elle wanted desperately to believe it was true, but deep down she felt like she was fighting a losing battle.

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

Elle straightened. “What?”

“He respects you,” Beatrice said. “The fact that you’re still here speaks volumes. If anyone can change his mind about selling, it’s you.”

Her words were still ringing in Elle’s ears as she made her way out to the courtyard ten minutes later with Remington at her side. She wasn’t sure if Theo’s cooperation had anything to do with respect, though, or just the desire to kiss her.

“There you are, Remy,” Dana said, crouching down in front of the little dog. Remington bounded into her arms and kissed her face.

“Hey there, little guy.” Dan rubbed Remington behind his ears.

“Would you like to take him for a walk?” Elle asked.

“We’d love to,” Dana said.

“You’re welcome to walk him around the gardens and spend some time getting to know each other. I’ll be right here whenever you’re ready.”

“Thank you so much, Elle,” Dana told her.

Dan took Remington’s leash from his wife, and they walked off with the little dog bounding between them. Elle sat on a bench by the path and watched them go. They looked good together, the couple and the dog. She leaned back and closed her eyes, letting the warm sun caress her face. She was tired. She’d worked long hours the last few days making sure everything ran smoothly with their first guests, but she was loving every moment. This afternoon she’d be giving her first tour of the castle and grounds, and it was going to be so much fun.

Voices broke her from her reverie a few minutes later. Or, one voice in particular. She recognized the timbre of Theo’s voice from across the garden, and when she opened her eyes, she saw him standing with Dan and Dana, posture relaxed, a wide smile on his face. Remington bounced against his knee, and he bent to pet the dog. Dana was chattering excitedly, one hand pressed against her chest, obviously thrilled to meet the elusive earl.

The next thing Elle knew, they were posing for selfies. She decided it was time to intervene on Theo’s behalf, but by the time she’d reached the group, they were talking like old friends.

“Well, if it isn’t the lady of the hour,” Theo said as she approached, a hint of laughter in his voice.

“Am I?” Elle asked, glancing between him and her guests.

“Theo was just telling us how much work you’ve put into your new program here at Rosemont Castle,” Dana told her.

“Oh.” That was somewhat surprising, considering he hadn’t wanted her to start her program at all. “Well, yes, it’s been a lot of work but totally worth it.”

“We certainly appreciate your hard work,” Dana said. “We’ve had the most amazing time here. I never imagined we’d get to spend our tenth anniversary vacationing in a castle, and now we’ve even met the new Earl.”

“It was my pleasure,” Theo told her before excusing himself to take a phone call.

Elle walked with the Pearsons as they headed back toward the castle.

“Unfortunately, it’s almost time for us to check out,” Dana said. “This has been a magical vacation.”

“I’m so glad you thought so,” Elle told her.

“We’ll definitely recommend Rosemont Castle to our friends.”

“I really appreciate that.”

“As for Remy,” Dana glanced down at the little dog at her feet. “We really like him, but…”

“We’re just not sure he’s the right dog for us,” Dan finished for her.

“I totally understand.” Elle reached for the leash in Dana’s extended hand. She did understand. She wanted her guests to be one-hundred-and-ten-percent sure before they adopted any of the available animals in the Fairy Tails program. This was her first week in operation, and these were her very first guests. It would have been foolish to hope for a match.

And yet she still felt a crushing weight of disappointment in her chest as she led Remington back toward the castle.