Casson had explained what he needed and Red had groaned inwardly. It seemed that every time he had convinced himself to stay away from Ronnie, the universe contrived to throw them together.
Red hadn’t been able to come up with a reason why he couldn’t take Ronnie with him. “No problem,” he had told Casson, making an effort to keep his voice light.
Of course it was a problem.
But he couldn’t turn Casson down, even if it meant being thrown together with Ronnie for a good part of a day. Casson had thanked him and promised to have him over for his homemade chili one night soon.
Red had hung up the garment bag with his suit in the foyer armoire, leaving the door open so he wouldn’t forget it in the morning. Shortly after, he had tried to push away thoughts about Ronnie while he was going over his files, but their constant intrusion had forced him to shut down his laptop.
He had poured himself a brandy and had tried to process the impact of Ronnie Forrester in his life since he had stopped to rescue her. He had only known her for a little over forty-eight hours, but Ronnie had landed in Parry Sound like a meteorite, making a sizable dent on the surface and sending chunks flying in every direction.
And one of those chunks had hit him. Hard.
Red had swallowed the rest of his brandy and headed to his en suite bathroom for a quick shower, the quickest he could manage, so he wouldn’t be tormented by the memory of his body pressed against hers…
He hadn’t been successful. The torment had been sweet, and the possibility of his imaginings becoming a reality had steamed up his consciousness more than the way the hot water had steamed up the shower.
Afterward, he had put on a robe and decided against driving to Toronto himself. He would employ the services of his private limo driver…
Liam now turned into the winding road that led to Ronnie’s cottage. His pulse spiked when Liam made the last turn. Ronnie was waiting at her doorstep, wearing a short red coat over a dark gray dress or skirt, and short black dress boots. She had a red-and-black scarf tied around her neck, and her black winter cap matched her black gloves. She had a briefcase that she had set down, and was peering down the driveway, her eyes widening as the limo glided toward her.
Well, at least she was on time. “I’ll get her door,” he told Liam.
“Good morning, Ronnie.” He opened the door on the passenger side for her and held out his hand to take her briefcase, which he set down on the seat opposite his. Red tried not to let his gaze linger over the way her dress or skirt tapered to just inches above her knees, and at the generous glimpse of her legs below… He held out his hand, instinctively guessing that she might need it to prevent slipping, especially with those heels…
“Good morning.” Ronnie took his gloved hand and gave him an awkward smile as she stepped into the limo, her cheeks flushed.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“I HOPE CASSON warned you about my strict rules for passengers who travel with me,” Red said wryly, while he buckled up across from her.
Ronnie’s eyebrows shot up. “Actually, just one. And I did comply, being outside at the precise time you had specified. Although I had expected you to drive up in your truck, not in this.”
“I appreciated that,” he said, nodding to Liam through the glass partition to proceed. “Although, if I was driving by myself, I would have probably left at least an hour earlier.”
Ronnie stared at his profile, wondering if he was annoyed with having had to alter his plans to include her. She caught the slight tensing of his jaw muscles. He was annoyed.
“Well, Casson didn’t have to go and ask you to include me in your travel plans,” she blurted defensively. “I would have been okay to travel on my own… You’d think he was my parent at times, instead of my cousin, worrying so much about me.”
Red glanced at her, his brow furrowing. “Well, you did have a recent incident with your vehicle,” he reminded her pointedly. “But no need to bring up the past. You might as well sit back and enjoy the ride.”
Ronnie stifled the response she wanted to articulate and settled back against the plush leather upholstery, wishing she had thought to sit next to Red, instead of having to face him the whole trip. It was disconcerting. His face scruff had undergone some trimming. If he had been good-looking before, now he could join the ranks of hunks in magazines, or in commercials for high-end cologne… And whatever cologne he was wearing at the moment, the refreshing scent of pine trees, seemed to be encapsulated in the limo with them.
“Can I get the driver to stop at a coffee shop before we hit the highway?” He slid open a temperature-controlled compartment in the limo that held bottles of champagne, wine and assorted liquors. An adjacent section held a variety of fluted and other glasses. “I don’t imagine you’d be up for one of these.” A corner of his mouth curved upward.
“You imagine correctly,” she said curtly. “That’s not my style.”
Red switched on the intercom and instructed Liam to stop at the coffee shop coming up on their right.
“Large coffee your style?” He glanced at Ronnie.
“Yes, thanks. Double milk, no sugar,” she said, zipping open her handbag to grab her change purse.
“I think I can handle paying for an extra cup of coffee,” he said, grinning.
“I didn’t want to be presumptuous,” she said, lifting her chin.
