Mistletoe and Mayhem - Cheryl Bolen Page 0,259

front door.

She ignored his sly grin at her notebook and pencil as they came to a halt a few yards from the house. Rhys stood, hands on hips, and pronounced his opinion about the main residence.

“The guttering needs repairs. The windows a good lick of paint.” He glanced at her still closed book and cleared his throat. “You might want to take some notes, Wister.”

Keeping her composure, she opened the book and let a long piece of paper unfurl and fall over the side. She had been taking notes. Pages and pages of them over the past year. “I think I have those already on the list,” she replied.

He muttered something under his breath, and she turned her head away while she stifled a titter.

“It’s pleasing to see you have already done some homework,” he said.

Her chortle turned to a wry grin. “I assume you know the ancient folktale of Aladdin? Well, I call this notebook the book of a thousand and one wishes, because I figure it will take a magic genie to make all of them come true.”

“Once again, I have underestimated you, Wister. If you do happen to find that genie, could you please ask him for a large sack of gold coins but tell him he can hold off on the magic carpet,” replied Rhys.

They shared a moment of silence while a lightness hung in the air between them. Even a little banter with Rhys was worth its weight in magical gold coins. Lord Carno was fast becoming a person she had a lot of time for. A man who seemed to not only care about people but who wanted to salvage Kington House.

“I could recount the details from the notebook as we work our way around the estate today. When we are finished, I can add in anything else that you feel needs to be included. Would that work in with your plans, Rhys?”

“Why yes, Wister, that sounds like a sensible idea.”

Wister swallowed deeply at hearing him speak her name. Her pulse began to quicken at the prospect of the dozen or so wicked things she would like to do with him. All of them naked. She quickly averted her gaze and studied the notebook.

What are you doing? You have only just met the man.

She sent a prayer of thanks to heaven for having had the good sense to wear a heavy coat this morning. Under her gown, her nipples peaked as primal urges stirred. Just standing this close to Rhys did things to her body that hadn’t happened in a very long time.

Not since him.

She pushed the thought of a certain gentleman and what he had done to her some two years past firmly to the back of her mind. A summer affair which had eventually revealed itself to be a major mistake on her part, and for which she had been made to pay many times over.

“Shall we?” Rhys said.

Only a day ago, she had been worried that he was going to dismiss her from his employ, and she would be homeless. The world had spun a mere half day forward and she now found herself picturing him without his jacket, waistcoat, shirt and…

Keep your mind on what you should be doing and stop thinking wicked thoughts of Welsh barons. He is rather striking, but he is not for you.

Her lustful body was not so easily dissuaded. Following Rhys, Wister indulged in a private study of his broad shoulders and his enticing brown hair which peeked over the collar of his coat. Her thoughts continually ran to all the wrong places. Dangerous places.

What sort of lover would you be? If your gruff, sexy manner is anything to go by, I can imagine you would be superb.

Wister gritted her teeth. This job had seemed easy. Now she wasn’t so sure. Rhys might well be giving coins for her advice, but she too would be paying a price over the next month or so.

Resisting her growing attraction to this ruggedly handsome Welsh baron was going to cost her greatly.

Chapter Nine

The list inside the notebook grew steadily over the next few days. Each morning Wister and Rhys would meet to discuss what else needed to be done in order to get Kington House operating as a fully functional and money-generating estate once more.

They also settled into a comfortable routine of supping together in the kitchen each night. Rhys noted but did not make mention of Polly’s increasingly earlier departure time as the days wore on. Wister