Welcome to Mills & Boon. Jennifer Rae

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      Helena felt that same chill that had overtaken her on her wedding night begin to snake its way through her veins, despite the steam from the shower seeping into the room and the warm summer morning outside.

      ‘You mean you had it all arranged for you and Thea.’ She was not jealous of her sister, Helena reminded herself. It wasn’t as if she was in love with Flynn either. She just liked to know where she stood, that was all.

      ‘I arranged it for my wife and me. That’s you, in case you’d forgotten.’

      ‘Not likely,’ Helena muttered.

      Flynn headed back towards the door. ‘Car will be here at ten. I’ll meet you in the foyer.’

      And then Helena was alone again, with only the sound of falling water to keep her company.

      A vineyard tour. Presumably that included wine-tasting, so things could be worse. Maybe there’d even be lunch. Taking a deep breath, Helena decided to focus on the positive. Paying attention to the good things in life, she’d found, was sometimes the only way to avoid drowning in the despair of all the bad things.

      So—good things only.

      The sun was shining, the new website was going well enough that she’d earned a break, and she would have wine and food in the sunshine today. Maybe she could even talk the maid into coffee and something resembling breakfast before they left, if she was quick.

      Lots of good things to distract from the one awful thing. It was going to be a good day.

      Forcing a smile, she hopped in the shower, washing away her bad mood with the soap suds. By the time she emerged again, the maid had left coffee and a pastry on the chest of drawers and Helena sipped and nibbled happily as she flicked through her wardrobe to find something suitable for a newly married woman on her honeymoon, taking a tour with her husband.

      She really hadn’t packed for this. Mostly, she’d just been working in shorts and a T-shirt so far. But today’s trip seemed important to Flynn, so she guessed it should be important to her, too. Maybe they’d even manage to learn how to speak to each other again. That kind of milestone required more than a pair of shorts, Helena decided.

      In the end, she settled on a sunny yellow cotton dress, patterned with daisies around the hem, and slipped her feet into white sandals. She twisted her wet hair into a knot at the back of her head, knowing it would dry quickly enough in the sun and give her pretty waves when she let it down that evening. Even with ten minutes to add sun protection and a little light make-up, she was still ready well before ten.

      Grabbing her straw hat and bag, she headed down the stairs to find Flynn already in the entrance hall.

      ‘You were quick,’ Flynn said with a smile. ‘I thought I’d be waiting a while for you.’

      ‘Shows how little you know me.’ Helena arched her eyebrows. ‘I’m very efficient—when I want to be.’

      ‘Well, thank you for your efficiency.’ He glanced away for a moment before meeting her gaze again. ‘I’m sorry we haven’t had much time to spend together so far this week. With Zeke’s surprise coup, getting Dad to make me CEO, things are frantic at work, making sure everything’s in place.’

      ‘I understand,’ Helena said as coolly as she could. ‘I had work to do too, anyway.’

      Flynn blinked and Helena realised he probably hadn’t even known she had a job, beyond helping out with his wedding. Irritation rose in her chest. Rosebud Interiors might not be much compared to the might of Morrison-Ashton, but it was still her company.

      ‘That’s good, then,’ he said. ‘Maybe you can tell me more about it over lunch?’

      Some of the irritation faded away when she realised he did sound honestly interested. ‘Yeah, okay.’

      ‘Great. Well, then, let’s get going.’ Flynn held out an arm for her. After a moment she took it and was rewarded by a warm private smile. ‘I’m looking forward to a day out with my wife.’

      Helena beamed back, an unexpected warmth blossoming inside her despite herself at the words ‘my wife’. Maybe this day wouldn’t be all bad.

       CHAPTER SIX

      AS THE CAR flew through the Tuscan countryside, Flynn settled back into his seat and ran through his plan for the day again in his head.

      Main objective: to make Helena comfortable with this marriage in time for Henry’s arrival. Or was the main objective to get Helena to sit down and sensibly discuss the marriage contract? One led to the other, admittedly, but a firm objective was the first step of any plan. So, which was it?

      Maybe he needed a broader plan. Make the objective a signed contract before they headed back to London. In which case, today’s steps broke down into—

      ‘Oh, wow!’ Helena wound down her window and stuck her head half outside the car. ‘Look at this place, Flynn!’

      Resisting the urge to pull her back inside, where a passing car was less likely to lop her head off, Flynn tried to look around her at what had made her so excited. Whatever it was, it fitted nicely with his plan, at least. Coaxing Helena into a better mood was definitely step one.

      Outside, field after field of grapevines sunned themselves as they ripened and, up ahead, Flynn could see the farmhouse from the photo his PA had attached to the diary entry. This was the right place then, at least.

      ‘It’s gorgeous.’ Helena ducked back into the car, her smile far more authentic this time. ‘This is where we’re doing the tasting?’ she asked as the driver took another twist in the rough driveway at considerable speed.

      ‘This is the place.’ Flynn made a mental note about a raise for his PA as he pulled out his phone and checked the notes on the diary entry again. ‘A tour of the vineyards, followed by a tasting with antipasti, then a drive to a nearby taverna for lunch, where I believe they serve the wine from the estate.’

      ‘Sounds perfect.’ She flashed him a quick grin that showed her neat white teeth. ‘Very romantic.’

      ‘I think that was the plan.’ He tucked his phone back in his pocket as the car reached the top of the drive and slowed to a stop. ‘At least, that’s what I asked my PA to organise.’

      ‘You asked her to organise romance?’ Helena asked, eyebrows raised. ‘Isn’t that a little counter-intuitive?’

      ‘I don’t see why.’ The driver opened Helena’s door, so Flynn opened his own and stepped out into the late morning sun. ‘Most things can be improved by a little planning.’

      ‘Still...romance needs a certain sort of spontaneity. Don’t you think?’

      She really wasn’t anything like her sister, Flynn mused. Although, given Thea’s own last-minute change of plan for love, perhaps they had more in common than he’d imagined.

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