schedule was as demanding as he was, the hours long, meaning that Andi’s hours often were too. But she couldn’t deny that she had found the last year completely absorbing, culminating in a strong feeling of satisfaction when Tarrington Park had finally opened as a hotel and conference centre, becoming almost an overnight success.
Linus shrugged. ‘I didn’t think it was important!’
‘Exactly what did you do to my predecessors?’ she questioned dryly.
‘Absolutely nothing,’ he bit out harshly.
‘Ah.’ Andi nodded slowly, her stomach muscles tightening. ‘I take it that was the problem?’
‘Apparently.’ He nodded tersely. ‘I don’t get involved with the women who work for me, Andi,’ he added abruptly.
Andi had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wondered if she had somehow given away her increasing awareness of Linus as a dangerously attractive man. Maybe this was his way of warning her not even to contemplate any thoughts of an intimate relationship ever developing between the two of them.
‘Then it’s lucky for both of us that I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in pursuing a relationship with you out of the office!’ she came back coldly.
Linus wouldn’t have called it lucky, exactly; Andi really was an extraordinarily beautiful woman. But by making Andi his employee Linus had effectively put an end to the idea of anything of a personal nature ever developing between the two of them.
Although, he couldn’t deny that his interest had been piqued a few minutes ago when Andi had reacted so defensively to the mere suggestion of intimacy between the two of them—before she had insulted him concerning his employment of Mrs Ferguson.
‘Lucky for both of us,’ he rasped dismissively.
Andi nodded. ‘By the way, Linus,’ she added challengingly as he went to go through to the adjoining office. ‘Perhaps I should just mention that my maternal grandfather is Welsh.’
He winced. ‘Does that mean you’ll be cheering for Wales at the game on Sunday?’
Andi gave him a sunny smile. ‘It certainly does. They have a good record, I believe?’
Linus gave her a considering look. ‘You know more about the game than I thought,’ he finally murmured.
‘Not really.’ She grimaced. ‘I just remember all of my grandfather’s telephone calls when they win a game.’
‘Hmm.’ Linus frowned. ‘After ten years, it’s time for Scotland to win again.’
‘Or England. They’re playing Italy on Saturday, I believe?’ she added innocently.
He gave a low groan. ‘I can see we’re going to have fun this weekend.’
Andi wasn’t sure that ‘fun’ was how she viewed the prospect of the next four days, being alone in Scotland with Linus. Totally physically aware of him as she was, and warned off by Linus’s claim that he never became involved with female employees, those four days promised to be difficult in the extreme…
CHAPTER TWO
‘I THOUGHT you said it didn’t always snow in Scotland in February.’
‘Okay, so it turns out I was wrong.’ Linus scowled darkly as he sat behind the wheel of the Range Rover, trying to see the road ahead through the heavily falling snow.
They had set out from Hampshire very early that morning, stopping off somewhere near Manchester for lunch before continuing the drive. It was dark as the snow began to fall softly almost as soon as they drove over the border between England and Scotland, that snow becoming heavier the further they drove towards his aunt’s home near Ayr, on the west coast.
‘Perhaps you should have checked the weather forecast before we set out,’ he added impatiently.
‘I should have? You gave me the impression that you had everything about this trip under control,’ Andi murmured dryly, no more happy at the possibility of having to come to Scotland for weeks at a time than she had been yesterday when she’d first realized it was a possibility.
‘Unfortunately, even I can’t control the weather!’ It really was foul, Linus acknowledged grimly as it occurred to him he could see barely six feet in front. Their progress was becoming slower by the minute. ‘If it doesn’t let up soon, then we may have to look for somewhere else to stay for the night.’
He could feel Andi’s gaze on him as she gave him a sharp look.
‘Is it really that bad?’
‘You can see that for yourself.’ He nodded in the direction of the road ahead. The grass verge and the road were hardly distinguishable from each other now; the road itself was rapidly being covered in a treacherous layer of slippery snow.
Not that the Range Rover wasn’t up to dealing with it, but it was no good if Linus couldn’t see where he was going. The fact that he hadn’t seen any traffic coming down the road the other way for some time now told him that the way ahead was probably even worse than it was here.
‘I have no intention of sleeping in the Range Rover, so look out for somewhere we can stop for the night.’ Linus grimly kept his concentration on the road in front of them.
Andi turned her attention to looking through the falling snow for any sign of habitation, especially for the lights of an inn or a hotel where they could rest until the snow eased. She felt overwhelmingly guilty because she hadn’t checked the weather forecast and wasn’t more prepared. Feeling disgruntled with Linus over the possibility of having to live in Scotland for weeks at a time was really no excuse.
‘Over there!’ she suddenly cried, pointing to a light ahead of them on the left-hand side of the road. ‘It could be an inn, or—No, it’s just a street lamp.’ She grimaced her disappointment.
‘A street lamp has to mean habitation of some kind.’ Linus narrowed his gaze in the direction she had pointed. ‘Yes! A short way down that lane—at least, I hope it’s a lane.’ He frowned darkly as he turned the vehicle in the direction of the lights, the covering of snow obscuring everything but a flat blanket of white that he sincerely hoped had some sort of firm surface beneath. ‘It’s an inn,’ Linus added with satisfaction as he saw the sign, bearing a thistle and a stag, swinging in the gusting wind. He turned the Range Rover into what he hoped was the otherwise deserted car-park, easing the tension in his shoulders as he gently put on the brakes and brought the vehicle to a stop. ‘Not a very big inn, but it will have to do.’ He grimaced out of the window at the small, barely discernible building. ‘Feel like making a run for it?’ Ruefully, he turned to prompt Andi.
She grimaced. ‘Do we have any other choice?’
‘No—but I thought I would ask anyway,’ Linus baited her as he reached in the back of the vehicle to get their coats, handing Andi’s to her before pulling on his own. ‘Don’t get out until I come round for you,’ he advised firmly as he braced himself for opening the door and facing the freezing weather outside. ‘If I lose you in this, I might never find you again!’
Andi shivered as she felt the blast of ice-cold wind when Linus quickly opened the door
