As long as the rain fell, the flood waters would rise, and the roads would become more and more impassable with every inch that accumulated.
We could be here for bloody days if it didn’t stop.
I did not want to be here for days with Mr. Grumpy over there.
I suspected he relished the idea of being here with me even less, given we hadn’t spoken a word to one another for two hours.
Instead of talking, we’d laid in relative silence. I’d put my book down an hour ago while he’d still been sitting on his mattress reading by the firelight. It was the only source of light we had since we’d blown out the candles after checking the weather forecast—we’d been lucky to get enough signal to catch a video of the forecast.
Granted, Miles had been hanging over the staircase banister rather precariously to hold the signal, but still.
The point remained.
We were stuck.
I rolled onto my side and stared at the window. The curtains were closed, but there was a slither of space where the drapes didn’t meet. I couldn’t see a thing, but I stared at it long enough that I could hear nothing but the rain pelting against the glass.
It was weirdly soothing.
Although I did rather wonder if that was the fire and not the rain.
I sighed. Why did these storms always throw out the power? I could charge my phone, but I had to be conservative with the power bricks. There really was no telling how long it would take to restore the electric, especially if the reason for this was a downed power cable.
And let’s be honest. That probably was the reason.
How long would I be stuck here with Miles?
If there was anything worse than being stormed in, it was being stuck in with someone who hated you.
I had no idea how to deal with this situation.
So I didn’t. I simply lay here in the dark with the fire lighting the library and my back to Miles.
At some point I fell asleep, because when I next registered my surroundings, it was to a glaring brightness that made me wince.
Was the power back on?
Could it be? Had the power gods graced us with it long enough to eat something that wasn’t cheese and crackers?
“Miles?” I whispered. “Are you awake?” I sat up, and when I moved my foot, I hissed a very unladylike word under my breath.
Ouch.
That hurt.
My ankle was as stiff as a board, like someone had put a steel rod in my leg while I’d slept. This was going to take more than a couple of days to get over, and that was time I didn’t have while I was cooped up with Mr. Grumpy over here.
Speaking of Mr. Grumpy… Where the hell was Miles?
Had he up and left me overnight? That was terribly rude if so. I know we’d had a bit of a confrontation last night, but surely he wouldn’t leave me alone up here.
Well, maybe he would. I didn’t know him that well, after all. It wasn’t like we were anything close to being friends.
Although we had been a little close at one point last night in the pantry.
Ahem.
No.
I wasn’t going to think about that. The more time we were forced to spend together, the clearer it was that my crush was very much ill-placed. Miles absolutely had no time for me. Our forced proximity had made that abundantly clear, and that was fine.
Fine.
Totally fine.
Absolutely okay.
I swallowed and looked around. The light was blinding—I forgot they’d been on before the power went out. There was no telling how many lights were on in this house. It could be literally one hundred, and it looked as though I was going to have to hobble about the entire manor to fix it.
Great.
I could at least start with this room, even if it was still a bit grim outside. It was still raining, but the wind had passed at the very least. I could handle a lot of rain and I could handle a lot of wind.
Wind and rain together, however, was utterly intolerable.
I dragged myself up from the floor with the help of the sofa. Before I turned off some lights, I was going to get some Ibuprofen and hope it got to work before I felt too much pain.
Maybe I had really hurt myself.
Ugh.
Using the sofa to take me to standing, I winced a few times as I attempted to put weight on it for the first time today.
“What are you doing?”
The sound of Miles’ voice made me jolt, and I fell back onto the sofa. “What are you doing? I thought you left.”
“I made breakfast since the power is back on. Apparently, it keeps going off again, so I thought I’d make the most of it while it was here. It’s only bacon, eggs, and toast, but I thought it was better than another lunchable.” He paused and looked down at me, lips twitching as if he were fighting a smile. “What are you doing?”
“Well, I was going to make today the day I assemble an army and fly to Denmark to usurp the Danish Royal Family.”
“Just as well I made breakfast, then.”
“Indeed.” I stared flatly at him. Why was he so handsome in the morning? God only knew I looked like a sheep that had been dragged through several hedges backwards. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
“It looks like you’re not having much luck assembling that army,” he quipped. “Is that Tudor novel you were reading going to your head?”
“How do you know it was a Tudor novel?”
“It’s titled ‘The War of the Roses,’ Gabriella. It’s hardly inconspicuous.” He approached me and looked down at me. “Your foot hurts, doesn’t it?”
“I was going to hunt down some painkillers,” I admitted, dropping the sarcasm. “I’m sure I’ll be fine once I’ve moved it some.”
“Well, let me help you into the kitchen. You won’t have to use it as much and you can stretch it on the stools.”
“I’m fine. I can—”
Miles grabbed my hands before I could finish my sentence, and I swear to God, all the moisture left my body.
Dry throat.
Dry mouth.
Hell, even my eyes were dry.
He gently pulled me up until I was standing right in front of him. He smelled amazing, exactly like my favourite laundry detergent, and I realised he was in his own clothes.
They must have dried.
It also meant his t-shirt fit him like a glove.
I peered up at him, swallowing. He was so dangerously close to me, and his fingers were wrapped tightly around mine. His hold on me lingered for a little too long, although I was almost certain it was entirely my imagination.
It had to be my imagination.
Wasn’t it?
“It feels better now,” I said in a scratchy tone. “Just needed to loosen up.”
“Right. Well, I’m here if you need me.” Miles’ voice was low, and he hovered just a second too long before he released my hands and stepped back. His fingers trailed down my hand, and I bit back a squeak as a tingle danced down my spine.
All right.
Not everything about me was dry.
Ahem.
Moving on.
Very.
Far.
On.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Thankfully for me, Miles could cook.
It was the simplest of breakfasts, but it was very much welcomed after the storm. Besides, there was no telling how long the power would actually stay on for. It wasn’t uncommon for it to flick on and off over a period of several hours while the power company attempted to fix whatever the issue was.