“Wow, what a kitchen,” Holly commented.

“Pretty big, huh?” He smiled. “And wouldn’t you know it, my mother hates to cook. She has a cook come from the village every day to prepare her and Dad’s meals so she doesn’t have to.”

Holly glanced around. “What a luxury.”

Reluctantly, Paul released her hand, walked to the refrigerator, and took a bottle of water from it. His eyes fell on an envelope marked Paul pinned to the refrigerator door with a magnet.

“Sorry, it’s plastic again.” He handed the bottle to Holly and took the envelope from the door. He pulled out a sheet of paper and read it, then looked into Holly’s quizzical gaze. “It says here that they had to drive up to Boston to get great-aunt Mirabelle. Apparently they didn’t want her to take the train, and Mirabelle refused to accept the chauffeured car they wanted to send.” He winked at Holly. “She drives my mother crazy. You’ll love her.”

“Your mother or your great-aunt Mirabelle?”

“Great-aunt Mirabelle, of course. Trust me, my mother will despise you from the moment she sees you.”

“What? Well, thanks a lot for telling me now!” Holly grumbled.

Paul took a step toward her and took her hand. “It’s nothing personal, but my mother will despise every single woman I bring home, unless she handpicks her. And that’s the whole reason you’re here: so I can make it clear to my mother once and for all that I will choose the woman I’m going to marry one day, and that she has no say in the matter. And the sooner she realizes that, the better.”

Holly’s expression softened a little. “You and your mother don’t get on.”

“Well, let’s just say she has very high expectations and I haven’t met any of them.” He would never meet his mother’s expectations, because he had no intention of pandering to her wishes.

“I find that hard to believe. You’re successful in business, you take good care of yourself. What could she possibly have to complain about?”

Had Holly just paid him a compliment?

Paul shrugged, not wanting to give too much weight to a flattering remark. “Mothers. How do I know what makes them tick?” Then he changed the subject. “Let me show you to your room. My parents will assume that I’ll put you into the room next to mine so that I can sneak into your room at night without being seen. We have to keep up appearances.”

“I understand,” she answered, and turned toward the door.

As he led her upstairs, luggage in hand, he felt her eyes on him. Did she really think he was taking good care of himself? Had she meant this in a physical way? Fuck, he sounded like a thirteen-year-old wondering whether the most popular girl in school had the hots for him. Ridiculous! He had to stop thinking like that. Clearly it was his dick talking. Even after masturbating the previous night, and again in the shower this morning, he couldn’t get his libido under control. Maybe it would be a good thing if he didn’t spend the evening alone with Holly.

Paul opened the door to the guest room and ushered Holly inside, setting her suitcase on the floor next to the closet. “Make yourself at home.”

“This is very cozy.”

There was a full-sized bed with a bedside table, a small desk and chair at the window, and a comfortable armchair and ottoman, all in white and soft pink.

Paul smiled. “It used to be Olivia’s room, but since she’s going to come with her husband and her son, she’ll be taking one of the guest suites near my parents’ room.” He winked. “At least that means we won’t hear Jonathan screaming when he doesn’t want to sleep.”

Holly looked around. “Does this door lead to a bathroom?”

“Yes, but it only has a shower, so if you want to take a bath, you can use my bathroom.”

“Oh,” she said far too quickly, “that’s okay, a shower is fine.”

Well, he couldn’t blame her for not wanting to share his bathroom. “Just thought I’d offer.” He looked down at his feet, then said what he needed to say before he changed his mind. “Anyway, since my parents aren’t here until Thursday, I guess this means you’ll get the night off. No playacting for the next two days. If you want to, you can borrow my car and visit Sabrina. I heard that she and Daniel are visiting his parents for a few days.”

A smile spread over Holly’s face. “You wouldn’t mind?”

Did she seem overly eager to get away from him? “No, of course not. I’ll see which of my friends is around and go out for a beer.”