Chapter Eight
Harrison stood on the steps of his castle, the cool summer breeze blowing right up his kilt. God, he hated wearing the thing. But this soft opening was supposed to be a dress rehearsal in every way. He wanted to make sure that the real deal would go down without a hitch. And that included dressing like everyone’s fantasy lover from that damned fucking book.
His eyes flicked over to Nikki as the words fantasy lover ricocheted around in his head. Try as he might, he could not get the woman out of his head. It was like a baby duck imprinting on the first thing it saw coming out of its shell. Only instead of a cute baby bird, he was a horny adult male who’d imprinted on the first woman to well and truly rock his world with a single kiss. All he could think about was how much he wanted to do that again. And much, much more.
She finished texting whoever she’d been chatting with and checked a few things off on the clipboard that had become an extension of her arm and nodded at him.
“We should be good to go. The workmen have the cosmetic work done on the outside of the walls. The inside work is shored up and can be completed in the off season. Guests shouldn’t be wandering around in that wing anyway. They’ll have their scaffolding cleared out by the end of the day. And everything else should be taken care of.”
Gorgeous, sexy, smart as a whip, and efficient to boot. If she wasn’t as crazy as his dear old granny, and bound and determined to stay on the wrong side of the Atlantic, she might be the perfect woman.
He nodded at her but didn’t say anything. She nudged him with her shoulder. “It’ll go off without a hitch. Don’t be nervous.”
He squared his shoulders. “I’m never nervous.”
“Really?” she asked, her eyebrows raised. “I would be. I mean, you’re banking the survival of your family’s company on this new hotel venture going well, aren’t you? That would scare the hell out of me.”
He glanced down at her, his own eyebrow rising. “Thanks for that. Now, I’m nervous.”
Instead of apologizing, she grinned up at him. “Good to know you can feel a human emotion from time to time.”
He narrowed his eyes against the urge to roll them and went back to watching the lane leading up to the castle. Cole had texted him when they’d reached the property. The cars containing his friends would be pulling up at any moment.
She leaned in a bit closer. “I really do think this will go well,” she said, squeezing his arm. “We’ve gone over everything. Twice.”
“My family?”
“Have promised to be on their best behavior and to stay out of the way as much as possible. Really, there is no reason guests should ever come into contact with them.”
He snorted. “What should happen and what does happen are two entirely different things. Especially when it comes to my family.”
She grinned. “Yeah, they’re a hoot all right. I think you should let them wander at will. Go out of their way to interact with the guests. They all volunteered to dress the part. It could make a whole immersion experience for the guests and let your family have some fun.”
“My family dressing as fictional characters and being told to have fun is a nightmare waiting to happen.”
She sighed and shook her head. “Spoilsport.”
His lips twitched at that, and she smiled up at him again. The brilliance of her expression took his breath away for a second, and he tore his gaze away from her to focus on the road where the cars should be appearing.
“In all seriousness,” she said, “don’t worry. If there are any remaining kinks, we’ll get them worked out.”
Yeah, he had a few kinks he’d like to work out with her…
Before he could finish that insanely inappropriate thought, the cars rounded the bend and came into sight. He clasped his hands behind his back and took a deep breath. Show time.
The first car pulled up, and Cole opened the door almost before it had come to a complete stop. Kiersten was close behind him, their daughter Piper’s hand clasped in hers. Harrison smiled down at the little girl. “Hello there, Piper. How was your trip?”
She grinned up at him and held up her arms. He picked her up and gave her a hug, ignoring the open-mouthed, wide-eyed stare of Nikki beside him. Despite her obvious opinion, he wasn’t a total ogre. And when it came to children, especially Piper, and Leah and Brooks’s little girl Olivia, he was basically a big pile of mush. At least when no one was looking. But who could resist those seriously adorable cheeks and bright shining eyes?
“And where is our other princess?” he asked. Piper giggled and pointed back at the second car where Brooks was helping Leah and their daughter out.
“There she is!”
Leah smiled and brought her toddler over to them. He ruffled the baby’s hair and set a now squirming Piper down so she could run and explore.
“Wow, Harrison, this is amazing,” Leah said, taking it all in.
“Thank you,” he said, hoping she still thought the same after spending a few days in the place. The phrase “looks could be deceiving” probably had Alberth Castle in mind when it was coined.
“Yeah, dude, you’ve been holding out on us.” Brooks slapped him on the back and Harrison scowled at him. Brooks just grinned. That man would grin if the whole world was burning down around his ears.
“I haven’t been holding out. I just had no desire to have you sully my childhood home.”
Brooks nodded. “Valid point. I shall try to keep my sullying to a minimum.”
“I’d be much obliged,” Harrison said.
Leah nudged him with her shoulder. “Oh, stop giving him such a hard time. You know he’ll be the perfect guest.”
Harrison snorted. “I know no such thing. The last time I went somewhere with him, we ended up being personally escorted from the premises by hotel security. Within an hour of arriving.”
Brooks got a faraway, nostalgic smile. “Ah yeah. That was a great trip.”
Harrison frowned, but Leah laughed and patted his arm. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he behaves.”
His scrunched-up face relaxed. Although he’d never had the desire to settle down himself, he couldn’t help but approve of the partners his friends had chosen. First Kiersten and now Leah were both amazing women. Intelligent, funny, and beautiful inside and out. If he could find such a woman himself he might consider…
He glanced over at Nikki and cut that train of thought off at the pass.
“Excuse me, sir,” Austin said, “but shall I escort our guests to their rooms now?”
“Oh, yes, Austin, thank you. We’re just waiting for…”
Harrison glanced back to the cars where Chris and Izzy were climbing out of their respective vehicles. He frowned a little and turned to Kiersten. “No Cass?”
She returned his frown. “No. She and Chris broke up a few weeks ago. She didn’t think spending a vacation together would be the wisest choice.”
Harrison glanced back at his friend, not sure if he was surprised. On the one hand, Chris tended to be a serial monogamist. He didn’t date around. He was always in a relationship with someone or other. But they never lasted. Cass, though, she had hung in there for a while. Harrison had been starting to think they were in it for the long haul. While he was sad for his friend, he couldn’t help the tiny twinge of relief that flashed through him. It had been a little lonely being the odd guy out at their gatherings and poker games. Harrison hadn’t had a steady girlfriend in years and had no desire for one. Being the only single one of the group had been a little uncomfortable at times. Not that he’d wish emotional pain on his friend. But he couldn’t help but be a little glad he wasn’t the only stag flying solo anymore.
Harrison nodded at Austin who bowed to him and their guests.
“If you’ll all follow me,” he said, bending at the waist a little and holding his hand out. “I will escort each of you to your rooms. Do not worry about your luggage. It will be delivered shortly.”
Harrison and Nikki watched as their first group of guests followed Austin up to the steps leading into the Grand Hall.
“So far, so good,” Nikki said quietly.
Harrison snorted. “They aren’t even inside yet. Give it a minute.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Have a little faith. We’ve been working hard. I’m sure it’ll all be wonderful. You’ll see.”
Harrison shook his head. “You are far too optimistic, Franklin.”
She gave him a soft smile. “If I wasn’t, we’d be drowning in negativity over here. Tone it down, will you?”
He chuckled, which earned him a wider, more brilliant grin from his erstwhile assistant. “I’ll do my best to not expect the worst.”
“Well, that’s all I ask,” she said.
“Ha! You ask a great deal more than that.”
Her grin turned into a flat-out, teeth bared, smile. “So you say. But admit it, I at least know how to get things done.”
He gave her a little bow. “That you do. And with my family flitting around driving us nuts, too. No small feat to stay dedicated and productive under those conditions, that’s for sure.”
She shook her head and turned to go back inside. “You are far too harsh on them.”
Before the last word was out of her mouth, a shriek echoed from the open front door.
Harrison turned to her. “You were saying?”
She opened her mouth to say something but instead, turned on her heel and hurried inside to see what was going on.
Harrison sighed and followed her more slowly. He hated it when he was right.
…
Nikki and Harrison rushed back inside, pausing only briefly until the next shriek sounded so they knew which way to run.
Harrison was muttering under his breath as he took the stairs two at a time. Impressive. It was all she could do to keep breathing. No way she could talk at the same time, to herself or anyone else. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest as she finally cleared the stairs. She really had to start hitting the gym more.
Harrison was well ahead of her, his longer legs eating up the distance with much more efficiency. He turned into one of the bedrooms a few seconds before her, and when she rounded the frame, she had to skid to a stop. Her momentum carried her enough that she bumped into Harrison despite her efforts.
He didn’t even glance at her, though he did automatically put his hand out to steady her. Normally, she’d have been slightly offended if she couldn’t get a guy’s attention even after full-on running into him. But the sight before them left her too surprised to think of anything else.
Leah had screamed. The first time, at least. She still stood near the wall, her hand on her chest like she was trying to keep her heart from escaping, as she stared open-mouthed at the canopy of the bed.
Nikki’s eyes widened as she finally made sense of what she was seeing. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked, leaning closer to Harrison.
“Unfortunately, I believe it is.”
A chunk of the masonry from the ceiling had apparently fallen, shredding the canopy in one corner as it fell through. Tangled up in the remains of the material was what seemed to be a small skeleton. Not human, thankfully, though, Nikki couldn’t tell what it was. A small animal?
Austin appeared behind them, giving Nikki a second jolt. The man moved way too quietly for her. He was going to give her a heart attack one of these days. He held a stick and a pail.
“My apologies, sir. I’ll get this cleaned up straight away.”
He immediately went to work, disentangling the small skeleton with the same nonchalant attitude that he might employ if he were cleaning up a glass of spilled milk.
“Where in the hell did that come from?” Nikki asked.
Harrison frowned. “I’m not sure, but I think it might be Morty.”
Nikki’s eyebrows rose. “Old pet of yours?”
He finally glanced down at her, his eyes a bit glazed and confused. She knew how he felt. He nodded. “My cat. He went missing when I was twelve.” He shrugged. “I always just assumed he’d run away.”
Nikki glanced back at where Austin was finishing up. “He did, I guess. Just not as far as you probably assumed.”
Harrison gave a little snort and then sighed deeply, rubbing his hand over his face. “Our guests have been here all of five minutes and the whole thing is already an unmitigated disaster.”
She rubbed his back. “Oh, it’s not that bad.”
His eyes widened. “How is this not that bad? The skeleton of a dead animal just dropped on one of our guests.”
“Okay, fine, it’s not good, but it’s really not a total disaster. I mean, the whole point of this soft opening was to work out any remaining kinks, right? Well, this is definitely a kink, and it’s definitely been worked out. I doubt we have to worry about any other skeletons dropping on unsuspecting guests.”
Harrison’s shoulders relaxed a little. “True.”
“Unless you have other missing pets I’m unaware of.”
His lips twitched. “No.”
“Oh, good. Missing relatives?”
His grin widened. “No.”
“Excellent, because frankly a human skeleton falling through a bed canopy is probably more of a surprise than we’d be able to take.”
He shook his head, but his face had lost that tight, pinched look that she hated so much. The guy really needed to learn to loosen up. Granted, when they’d discussed all the possible things that might go wrong when their guests arrived, dead creatures falling from the ceiling hadn’t even been on the radar. Still, it could have been much worse and really, it was kind of funny. She didn’t know what it was about the Troy estate, or family, but she was quickly learning to expect the worst, or at least the unexpected, when it came to them.
Leah had calmed down and she and Brooks were looking up through the new hole in the ceiling along with everyone else gathered in the room. Harrison went over to apologize. She snagged the newly returned Austin and gave him instructions to move Brooks and his family to a new room and she stepped out into the corridor to call Bob and his builders to get their butts over posthaste so they could get the hole in the ceiling patched up. They weren’t on the top floor so they didn’t have to worry about a sudden indoor rain shower or anything, but if a skeleton was the first thing that came through the hole, she really didn’t want to see what the encore was.
When she came back in, Harrison made a beeline for her. “We need to get that fixed…” he started, but she waved him off.
“No worries, already handled. Bob and crew are on the way. Austin is making sure the chamber at the end of the hall is ready, and skeleton free, so Brooks and Leah can be moved there. We are good.”
Harrison blinked at her like he was at a loss for words and then let out a sigh of relief. “You know, you are proving much more efficient than I thought you’d be.”
She gave him a slight frown. “I think there’s a compliment in there somewhere.”
He just grinned at her. “I might have to give you a raise.”
“Or a year’s alimony,” she said with a wink.
“Alimony?” Brooks said, sliding up to them and looking between them with the keen interest of a five-year-old on Christmas morning. “You’re divorced? When did you get married? You’ve only been gone for a couple of weeks.” He looked over at Cole and Chris. “We let him out of our sight for a few minutes and look what happens.”
Chris frowned. Cole opened his mouth to ask the first of probably many questions but Harrison held his hand up. “Shorthand version, and listen up because I’m only saying this once.” He took a deep breath and then let it all loose. “Nikki is my assistant—”
She smiled and waved. He ignored her.
“We’re pretending to be engaged around my family because my grandmother is crazy, and there was a bit of a mix up when we first arrived. There will be no real wedding. Or divorce. Or alimony,” he said, aiming that last bit at her. She scowled. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he said, turning on his heel, “I’ve got a million things to see to.”
“Wait…” Cole said, following him out.
“Hold up,” Chris said, likewise following.
“Dude,” Brooks said, hot on his tail.
Their voices echoed down the hallway, the boys pestering Harrison with a million questions while Harrison replied with various iterations of no.
Nikki chuckled quietly to herself until she turned to find she was the object of the direct and intense attention of the females left in the room.
Kiersten grabbed one hand, Izzy the other, and they both towed her to a chair that Leah oh-so-gently pushed her into. They spread around her like raptors ready to pounce.
“Should I be afraid?” she asked.
Kiersten laughed. “Not at all. Sorry for the whole interrogation scene, but…”
“Yeah,” Leah said, leaning forward a little from where she was perched on the footstool. “I mean, this is Harrison we are talking about. Even a pretend engagement is so far beyond the realm of possibility where he is concerned that I think we’re all a little shell-shocked.”
“What the hell is a pretend engagement anyway?” Izzy asked. “What are you two up to?”
Nikki shrugged. “Nothing really. We accidentally ended up in bed together the first night we were here, his granny walked in and freaked out a little, and someone mentioned the word marriage and she just sort of latched onto it. It was easier to go along than try and explain.”
“Yeah, sorry, I still have a ton of questions,” Kiersten said with a laugh.
“Nicole!” Harrison’s voice boomed from down the hallway.
She jumped up. “Gotta run!” She headed out the door as fast as she could, both to see what had made Harrison shout for her and to escape the well-meant but more-than-slightly-intimidating group of women in the room. It simply hadn’t occurred to her that Harrison’s friends might want to know what was going on between them. A stupid oversight for sure.
And one that flew completely from her mind the moment she turned the corner into one of the far bedrooms and located Harrison in the bathroom. On the floor. Soaking wet with a small trickle of blood running down his cheek.
She put her hands on her hips and sighed. Maybe she should put Gerry on standby to call whoever had today’s date in the pool. She wasn’t sure she could take one more thing going wrong.
She looked down at Harrison and muttered, “What now?”