Did he know?

If I shivered, would he be able to tell?

Gosh, what was I doing? Sure, he smelled great, like freshly cut grass and soil and the flowery detergent we used on our sheets, but I had no business reacting like this. There was no reason for my heart to be running a marathon at his closeness in the dark.

None.

None at all.

The air around me cleared as Miles stepped back slightly and flicked the switch several times. “I think you’re right. It’s the power.”

“Oh.” I wrapped my arms around my waist as a shiver ran through my body.

Miles was still close enough that if I lost my balance and slipped forwards, I’d fall right into his body. A part of me—the part with one too many hormones raging in it—considered falling accidentally-on-purpose and hoping he’d catch me.

But that was ridiculous.

My life was not a romantic comedy movie.

If it was, it’d be terribly boring.

“Are you all right?” he asked, and I felt his hand touch my arm.

I laughed shakily. “I guess that’s a no to the spaghetti.”

“I’m inclined to agree. Come on, it’s pitch black in here. We need to find those candles.” He wrapped his hand around my elbow to guide me out, and I’d never been so glad to be wearing a jumper in my life.

God knows how I’d react if my arms were bare.

Miles helped me out of the pantry and into the kitchen where the gas cooker had gone off. He released me and turned the knob so no gas could escape, then turned to me. “Shall we find the candles?”

I nodded and limped in the direction of the library where there was both the fire that needed seeing to and a stash of candles for emergencies, and the full realisation of the situation I was in dawned on me.

I was alone. In my house. With no power.

With the hot gardener I had a highly inappropriate crush on.

Surely things couldn’t get any worse than this.

CHAPTER NINE – MILES

If anyone had told me this morning that I’d be stranded at Arrowwood Hall alone with Gabriella with no power, I’d have laughed at them.

It wasn’t something I’d planned to happen today.

How was I supposed to know the roads flooded? I was in the greenhouse when the storm had hit, and it really hadn’t been raining for that long when I was ready to go. It wasn’t that unusual that I hadn’t seen anyone else.

It was raining.

It was hard to garden in the rain.

And now I was here. Stuck with her. In the biggest, fanciest house I’d ever set foot in. With no way fucking out.

I’d never been more uncomfortable than I was in this house. This was so far away from anything I’d ever experienced that I was seriously considering asking if there was still a ‘downstairs’ for the staff, because I’d probably be more comfortable down there than up here in all the grandeur of the manor house.