“Why would I do that?” I ask as I take a bite.
“To be with Shawn,” Maeve says.
I shake my head. “No, you misunderstand. We’re having sex, but no one said anything about falling in love. We’re enjoying each other while we work together. That’s it.”
“Huh,” Maggie says. “Really?”
“Why?”
Maeve shakes her head at Maggie as if to shut her up.
“What am I missing?”
“Nothing,” Maggie says, holding up her hands. “It’s just surprising, that’s all.”
“We’re together all the time,” I remind them. “And the work itself wasn’t going well at first. I honestly thought I might kill him.”
“So, you slept with him instead?” Maggie asks with a grin.
“Attagirl,” Maeve says.
The rideshare drops me off at Shawn’s, and I frown when I see the man himself standing at the rear of his SUV, loading a suitcase.
“Where are you going?” I ask as I approach. He turns and offers me a devastating smile that has me immediately flashing one of my own.
The man’s smile should come with a warning label.
Warning: may incinerate panties.
“We’re going up to the cabin for the weekend.”
“Who’s we? You got a turd in your pocket?”
He blinks at me and then says, “Excuse me?”
“My mom used to say that to me when I was a kid. Who is we?”
“You and me.”
I narrow my eyes on him. “We still have work to do, and I haven’t packed anything. Your communication skills need some polishing, Shawn.”
I glance into the back of the SUV and see that he’s already added a couple of my cozy throws and pillows.
Okay, that’s sweet.
“We’ve been working our asses off all week, Lex. We can take the rest of today off. It’s Friday.”
“I’m not really an outdoorsy girl.”
I can just imagine what this cabin looks like—a tiny, rustic building with no electricity, no running water, and bugs everywhere.
Absolutely not.
“Besides, don’t we have to work at the pub?”
He tucks my hair behind my ear, and I immediately feel my nipples pebble.
My physical response to this man is absolutely ridiculous.
“We have the weekend off from the pub,” he replies. “We’ve earned the downtime, don’t you think?”
I wrinkle my nose. “But in the woods?”
He laughs and shakes his head at me, then loops his arm around my shoulders and guides me inside.
“Come on, city girl. Let’s grab a few more things and be on our way. I promise you’ll have a good time.”
“If I hate it, can we come back?”
“Absolutely.”
I almost tell him this is a waste of time since I’ll most likely want to come right back to the island, but I don’t want to sound like a complete jerk, so I hold my tongue and finish putting some things into a bag. Less than thirty minutes later, we’re driving off the island.
“No ferry?”
“No, we’re going in the opposite direction, north of Seattle into the forest a bit. It’s a nice drive.”
I nod and look out the window, watching the miles whiz by.
It takes almost two hours to get where we’re going. When he turns off the highway, the road is gravel. Dusty.
I wrinkle my nose but remind myself to be optimistic.
Maybe it won’t be so bad.
And maybe I’ll win the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Almost there,” Shawn murmurs as he turns right. About a hundred yards later, he pulls up in front of a house and cuts the engine.
All I can do is stare.
“Let’s start unloading the car,” he says and moves to open his door, but I stop him.
“Wait. This is the cabin?”
He looks at it and then back at me. “Yes. Is there a problem?”
“Shawn O’Callaghan, you made me think this was a one-room shack without any modern conveniences.”
“I never said that.” He smiles.
I stare at the enormous, two-story home in front of me and can’t hide my shock.
“It’s bigger than your house on the island.”
“Yeah, Kane and Anastasia bought it late last year. It was a good investment, and Kane said we can all use it whenever we want. It’s nice to drive up here and get away for a little while, you know?”
“Right.”
No, I don’t know. Because my family has never purchased a multi-million-dollar cabin in the mountains.
“Did you think I was going to make you rough it all weekend?” he asks as we get out of the car and walk around to the back, pulling out bags and blankets.
“Well, yeah. You said cabin. You didn’t say ‘mountain estate.’”
Shawn laughs. “I have no intention of having sex with you in a rustic cabin. Outside, maybe, but trust me when I say this place is more than comfortable.”
I can see that. The house is massive with windows that look out over a valley with mountains in the distance.
He leads me inside, and we drop our belongings just past the front door as he gives me a quick tour.
“There are four master suites in the house,” he begins. “The one on the main floor is Kane and Stasia’s. The others are empty. We just stay wherever we want when we come, so feel free to pick the one you like the best. The kitchen is my favorite part of the house.”
“And I can see why.”
It’s white and modern, open to the living space, and has views of the mountains. The entire house is absolutely gorgeous.
“Why doesn’t anyone live here?” I ask.
“It’s just too far out of town,” Shawn replies. “We like being on the island. But Ma and Da are planning to come and stay out here for a month or so soon. We’ll all come and go while they’re here. I don’t think they’ll last a week before Ma insists they stay with one of us on the island so she can fuss at the pub. She misses cooking.”
I grin at the thought. I wish I would still be here when his parents arrive so I could meet and talk with them. I bet they’re wonderful people.
Shawn opens the fridge, and I gasp.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“Did no one clean the fridge out the last time you were here?”
He relaxes and laughs. “This is all new food. We have caretakers who come in with fresh food and open the windows to air the place out, that sort of thing.”
“Of course. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.”
“You don’t have to think about anything for the next forty-eight hours,” he says with a wink. “It looks like they brought a whole meal, as well. It’s in the oven. Are you ready for dinner?”
“Let’s finish unloading the car. Then we can settle in and eat,” I suggest.
“Good idea. And you can choose our room upstairs.”
“Our room?” I raise a brow, but I’m totally playing with him. I haven’t slept in the guest room since the night we got drunk at the pub.
Shawn moves in close and plants his lips next to my ear.
“Our room, Lexi. Where I plan to explore every inch of you and introduce you to a few new things, as well.”