too much.”
“I work for you.” The man was a walking contradiction.
“And, as your boss, I’m giving you an hour off.” He turned into a long drive, one with which I was already familiar.
“What are we doing at Nolan Royce’s estate?”
Malcolm’s smile was back. “Tell me, Alice, have you ever ridden a horse?”
Chapter 12
Malcolm
The lip caught between Alice’s teeth told me today’s ride would be a brand new experience. Perfect. I was already enjoying myself tremendously with Alice’s playfulness in the car, and I was looking forward to what else our morning would hold.
When I’d returned home after last night’s dinner, I’d felt as if I were on a high. Granted, the whiskey may have contributed, but the ease with which I’d stood and spoken in front of thirty people was massively relieving. Maybe all I’d needed this entire time had been Alice’s return. The reassurance of her presence only a room or a phone call away had all the pieces falling back into place. Now I had only to convince her to stay.
It was this thought that brought me back to my list of ways to ensure Alice’s happiness—which I’d come to simply call my Alice List in my mind.
Even though the speaking issue had been solved, I’d still go along with a few more of her exercises, as she’d spent a great deal of time preparing her plan and being productive pleased her. The work with Victoria could continue as well, and there were bound to be endless opportunities for Alice to boss me around and/or prove me wrong. As long as I kept this excursion to the promised hour and didn’t fuck things up too spectacularly going forward, I considered items one through five to be sorted. Tick, tick, tick, tick, and tick.
1. Bossing me around √
2. An organized desk √
3. Me sticking to my schedule √
4. Proving me wrong √
5. Being useful √
Add to that the music and the spring rolls and I was on fire. Look at me ticking items off like a star pupil.
8. The Thai spring rolls from the palace kitchen √
10. Feldish folk music √
But I wasn’t done. Simply curing me of my affliction and bossing me around wouldn’t do the trick to keep Alice after the coronation. So I’d arranged the breakfast and cannoli for her before I turned in for the night.
In the morning, I rang for Matthias and asked a favor which he was kind enough to take on. By the time Alice returned to her flat this evening, several potted coriander plants and a basket of citrus fruits would be waiting for her. This manner of task would normally have been delegated to Victoria, but I was unsure I trusted the solidity of their apparent détente just yet.
I’d briefly considered the boyfriend piece as well—find a decent chap to drive her home this evening and maybe strike up a conversation. It could work since she had no car and always insisted on using public transportation to find her way home. But I quickly discarded that idea since I hadn’t a clue how to locate an appropriate man for the job. That, and the idea of watching Alice drive off with some pervy stranger didn’t sit well at all.
This had me settling on nurturing a new hobby, and since I’d previously been reassured that all women adore horses, I immediately thought of Nolan’s stables. One phone conversation later and all was arranged before Alice even knocked on my bedroom door this morning.
The biggest revelation of the morning—and, in fact, the entire week since Alice’s return—was the impromptu kiss I landed on her lips. As brief as it was, I found her lips’ sweetness lingering on my own well after the moment, and I couldn’t quite get the softness of her skin out of my mind. Though her body was small, I found a suppleness I hadn’t expected as I all but attacked her and held her to me. My fingers flexed over the yielding curves of her waist and hips, and I had the fleeting notion that had I carried her just a few feet into the room, I could have laid her on my bed to further explore all that I’d been missing to that point.
Thankfully, I’d quickly gathered my head again and carried on with breakfast. And now, here we were standing in front of Nolan’s stables as one of the stable hands walked a pretty palomino quarter horse in Alice’s direction.
“Come on, Alice. He won’t bite.” Nolan