Page 40 of Seaside Cowboy's Marriage of Convenience

“Nope. Happily, no emergencies, either. We did have a husband asking to place his wife’s favorite flowers in the room. We were glad to oblige, but...” She allowed a dramatic pause while taking a sip of her freshly squeezed orange juice.

He chewed on his filet mignon. “Let me guess. She was allergic to them. No? Hmm. It wasn’t his wife’s favorite flowers?”

Kennedy sighed. “Right. The wife decided the flowers were for someone else, so the scene wasn’t pretty. He defended himself by saying he mixed her favorites up with his ex’s favorite flowers. And apparently, he was in hot water already, so the bouquet was the apology. Let’s say, she used the bouquet for a different purpose and hit him with it.”

“I’ll never forget your favorite flowers. And not just because I don’t want to get hit with a bouquet.”

She rolled her eyes, though secretly pleased. After the initial hibiscus fiasco, he did remember to gift her orchids. “I’d never do the latter.” She took another sip of the sweet tangy drink. “I’m sorry you have to miss work at the clinic while on the trip.”

“I haven’t had a vacation in years. And one of my college buddies agreed to cover for me. Your idea to offer him a suite at the hotel and a voucher for the hotel restaurant worked. He said it was a win-win. Though Saylor seemed sad to see me gone for a week.”

How could he be this clueless?

“That’s because she likes you,” Kennedy blurted out.

He blinked and dropped his fork onto the plate. Its clatter underlined his gasp. “You mean more-than-likelikesme?”

“Yup.” Better change the topic fast. She munched on the dinner roll that melted on her tongue. And her heart was melting in Austin’s presence. “Everything is ready for the trip tomorrow. And Marina brought some good news today. Mason’s girlfriend’s ex left Port Sunshine, thankfully without visiting her first. Also, several towns to the north, the police caught a burglar who targets hotel rooms, and has a history of assault. Of course, he might not be the one who struck Emma on the head. But I can hope I might not be targeted. Rachel looked through the outside camera recordings for the car Emma mentioned. She did identify a vehicle with what might be armed men inside, but they didn’t seem connected to me.”

“I’m glad.” He took her hands in his, making her heart flutter again. “I want you to be safe.”

Her intuition told her she might not be 100 percent safe yet. Her heart surely wasn’t safe in his presence. The connection thickened between them, and she could look into his eyes forever.

Yet she withdrew her hands. “Thank you. I want you to be safe, too. I dragged you into this.”

“You didn’t. I made the decision and I stand by it.” His gaze didn’t waver from her.

Excited and unnerved, she hid her response by forking up another bite of the filet mignon, then searched for a distraction. Well, it was more than a distraction. It was something important to her. “I appreciate you agreeing to go to Lazoria for our honeymoon. I did some research, and Marina helped me. It’s a small country with nearly a thousand years of history that attracts many tourists. Believe it or not, it’s a monarchy. The festival where the person who looked like my cousin was spotted is an annual Renaissance festival. Oh, I rented us a room in a castle. I hope that’s okay.”

His fork stopped midair. “One can do that?”

She blinked. “Of course. Well, the castle was changed into what you might call an upscale bed-and-breakfast. It only has four rooms available to tourists, and I rented all of them to give us privacy.”

His eyes widened. “So you, um, rented an entire castle?”

That probably sounded strange to him. Did she take her privilege for granted sometimes? She didn’t think she spent frivolously like her mother, but maybe renting an entire castle wasn’t something one should do. She could’ve helped a lot of abandoned animals with that amount.

She poked into her steamed rice. “It’s too late to cancel now. And I know it would’ve been much easier and cheaper to rent a house or get hotel rooms. But staying in a castle appealed to me. Something about the mysterious atmosphere... If you’re worried about accommodations in a place built centuries ago, it had modern renovations and, according to Rachel, an excellent security system installed. And because it doesn’t have any properties around, it gives privacy.” And privacy was important to Kennedy.

“Um, I didn’t worry about that, but thanks.” He grinned as he picked up his orange juice glass. “I’ve gotten used to electricity and modern-day plumbing. Though I admit a medieval-style candlelit dinner might be rather romantic.”

She munched on her buttery biscuit. “Well, if you don’t mind a few rats running around, as well.”

Caramel and Smiley barked in unison, anticipation widening their doggy grins.

“Don’t worry, buddies. It was a joke.” Austin turned to Kennedy. “It was a joke, right?”

Yeah, maybe her sense of humor wasn’t great. But she did enjoy the rapport they shared. He was so easy and fun to be around, and she needed that so much. But was she whatheneeded? “Yes. And the place is pet-friendly. The manager already said she can pet sit while we visit places that don’t allow dogs. The castle also has a large fenced-in yard, which is important because we’re taking Caramel and Smiley.”

The dogs barked again, but this time as if to say, “That’s right.”

“What time do we need to leave for Charleston?” He drained his glass, then refilled it from the crystal carafe.

She looked up from her filet mignon. “Why do we need to go there?”

He cocked his head, his brow crinkling up. Then he forked up the salad, dripped in virgin olive oil dressing where Christos had added a special ingredient. “Well, to get to the airport?”

“Oh. We’re flying out of a private hangar.” She pushed away her empty plate. She was so used to eating out from food containers—except with her uncle, of course—that using heirloom plates added a charm to dinner. But then, she’d rarely eaten without working at the same time. Sometimes, she’d even sleep and shower at the hotel. Working into the night had helped her avoid nightmares. “My uncle offered us the use of his private jet. It’s much more convenient. Especially when one’s traveling with two dogs. And it will save us time.”

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