British Black Sheep - Lauren Smith Page 0,40

picked up his grandfather’s watch and pressed down on the knob to make the lid pop open. The black hands were stopped. Alec twisted the top of the watch, cranking the knob back, feeling the little gears work as the watch wound up. When he pressed the knob down again, the hands began to move. He adjusted the time and set the watch back on the desk, face open.

He left the study and went to his bedchamber where he poured himself a glass of brandy before he settled in a chair by the fire. Perhaps his father was right. Perhaps it was time to really get to know the man he’d loved fiercely and lost.

9

Brie changed into her black and pink short-sleeved button up shirt and short pajama set, brushed her teeth, and washed her face in the expensive Italian marble bathroom connected to her room. It felt like she was spending a night in an honest-to-God princess suite.

Whoever said fairytales weren’t real had never stayed in Merryvale. Her walls were covered with floor-to-ceiling tapestries of deer walking through the English woods. In the corner of one hanging, there was a darker area of the woods that held a wolf, half hidden in a set of bushes. The wolf gave the tapestry an edge of menace that intrigued her. No doubt there was some story behind it. She would have to ask the countess about it later.

Brie climbed onto the tall four poster bed and pulled her coat toward her. She dug into the pockets and found the business card Alec had given her. His name, along with the last name that would have given away his relation to her client if only she’d taken the time to look, was printed in a neat block letter font. Beneath it was the Barclays logo as well as the address of his investment banking division in London. Alec’s office phone and mobile number were near the bottom.

She brushed her thumb over the number and then tapped it into her phone and saved it to her contacts. After a brief moment of hesitation, she typed out a text.

Brie: I’m in bed. Waiting for you.

She paused before she hit send. Was that too on the nose? She didn’t want to come off too forward. She erased the message and typed another.

Brie: You Up? ;-)

Then she muttered as she deleted that message as well. She was twenty-nine, too old to send a winking face emoji to a man she was hoping would get naked with her very soon. She wasn’t a teenager.

Brie: I meant what I said by the tree.

Perfect. Not too aggressive, not too teenage-y. Just the truth. She hit send and held her breath. A moment later three dots appeared as Alec started to reply.

Alec: You found my business card?

Brie: Yes.

Alec: Good. I was worried you asked my mum for my number.

Brie bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Brie: I don’t think it would’ve been good to ask her for your number. God knows how she would react if she knew why I wanted it.

Alec: She’d either faint or throw a parade. Best to keep this our little secret.

Brie: Agreed. So…

She didn’t want to outright invite him over.

Alec: Which room are you in?

Brie: Uh, I don’t know. The one with the forest tapestry that has a scary wolf half hidden in one corner.

Alec: The forest room. Be there shortly.

She giggled at that.

Brie: The forest room? That’s unoriginal.

Alec: This house has over fifty bedrooms. You run out of clever names after a while.

Brie slid off the bed and tucked her phone back into her purse. Her heart hammered and her blood beat a steady rhythm in her ears as she started to second-guess what she was doing. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

She jumped at the soft knock at her door. When she opened it, Alec was there in his jeans and sweater, holding a bottle of scotch and two glasses. Tucked under one arm was a leather journal. Brie let him slide past her into her room and shut the door.

“I thought you might be a little nervous and liquid courage can help.” His gaze drifted down her body to her bare feet and legs, and his lips curved in a crooked grin that made her flush.

“The drink would be great,” she admitted. Trying to have a casual, sexy fling was new to her and she was anxious. A little liquid courage was definitely in order.

Alec set the glasses down on one