Page 14 of Scent of Home

All of these questions follow me up to the falls, but ultimately, they’re pushed away by the happy feelings of something new, of something exciting.

Maybe this is what we all need?

Chapter five

Erin

If I were goingto pick anywhere in the world to go off on my forced vacation to, I wouldn’t have even dreamed a place like this exists. It would not have been on my list, but it’s the absolute perfect place for me.

Not that strange little town, but this place.

I push open the glass door and step out onto the balcony. It only sits a few feet above the river, and as I lean over the rail, I can look down and see the stones below. The water is the clearest water I've ever seen, and the rushing roar of the river is hypnotising. The dark forest on the other bank offers the perfect feeling of isolation and privacy.

“It’s stunning here,” I whisper. I feel outside of what I’ve always known. Like I’m discovering a whole new side of myself. I’m not sure I like it, but I’m not going to run from it.

Locke murmurs his agreement.

I glance over my shoulder at him and smile. “Regretting your choice?”

“Not even a little bit,” Locke purrs and comes to lean on the rail beside me. “This is the nicest place I’ve ever been.”

“Helps that it comes with eye candy,” I tease.

Locke chuckles. “They are very nice-looking alphas, and that beta is very pretty.”

I exhale. “Maybe if I had a place like this, I wouldn’t work so hard.”

“I would. It’s in my nature to work.”

I glance at Locke and find him staring at the water with a resigned expression.

“Don’t you enjoy making music?”

“Oh, I love music. It’s in my heart, soul, and fingers. I hate everything else that comes with it.”

“Paycheck to paycheck? Dingy pubs?” I ask.

He glances up, surprised. I think he’s going to ignore me, fop me off, maybe lie, but he just smiles.

“You got me. It sucks. All of it.”

I cover his hand with mine. “We’re on a holiday now, let's just escape for a little while. We can just pretend.”

He grins and spins away, grabbing his leather jacket and shrugging it on.

“All right, we’ve investigated every inch of this very cozy cabin. It’s time for dinner. Do you want to walk up with me?”

I nod, allowing him to change the subject, but I make a mental note of it. “I’m just going to have a shower and get changed. You should, too.”

Locke stays on the balcony as I quickly go and get ready. In twenty minutes, I’m dressed in a sundress and feeling much more myself, without all the travel dust on me. As I come out, Locke passes me, slipping inside and leaving the door ajar. This close, he almost touches me, and it leaves me feeling edgy and aroused.

I collect my purse and sit at the round table with four chairs and wait. The inside is beautiful. It’s just one open lounge, dining, and kitchen area with two doors leading to the toilet and the bedroom. It’s very modern, with clean, simple lines.

Around the fireplace is the same stone as the main house. Locke comes out and smiles at me. I put my phone away. No missed calls. No messages.

I don’t have friends. I have colleagues. No one messages or calls me asking if I want to go out, but it never bothered me before.

Even he didn’t message. I should be relieved. Instead, I’m furious. I want to know he’s suffering. I want to hear him beg.

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