Penmort Castle (Ghosts and Reincarnation #1)(79)

She had to hide her shock again when, once they arrived in Munich, they went to the opulent Mandarin Oriental and were shown to an elegant suite which included a king-sized bed and walk-in closet.

She wasn’t surprised however when he tipped the bellman, closed the door and took Abby into his arms for a quick but thorough kiss before telling her he needed to get to work.

Thus started their time in Germany and Abby thought it would be just like home.

It wasn’t.

Firstly, Cash didn’t wake up at five o’clock, turn to her for a heated, but quick, mind-boggling session of lovemaking and leave.

He woke up at six, turned to her for a heated, but long, lingering, mind-boggling session of lovemaking, after which he held her for awhile, asking her questions in a soft voice like what she was going to do that day and stroking the small of her back or playing with her hair.

Then he left.

She spent her days in Munich’s gardens, museums and churches as well as shopping, but not buying (for herself, she got Jenny a souvenir for watching Zee).

Late afternoon, he’d call to warn her he was returning to the hotel but he always gave her plenty of time to get back to meet him there.

They spent their nights in the city’s famous beer gardens with Cash introducing Abby to her new favourite thing, Prinzregententorte, a culinary extravaganza including seven thin layers of cake separated with chocolate buttercream and covered in chocolate glaze.

The minute the cake plate was placed in front of her, her eyes hit it and rounded in greedy, exultant wonder. Cash took in her look and burst out laughing.

After he finished with his hilarity, he partially stood, leaning across the table, one hand on its top, the other one wrapping around the back of her head and with everyone watching and his mouth still smiling, he gave her a hard, short kiss that stole her breath.

He kissed her after she’d eaten the cake too. Since he had a piece as well, that kiss tasted better but Cash kissing her with a smile on his face was definitely the best.

He also spent their evenings conducting gentle, but thorough, interrogations.

He asked about her mother, father and grandmother but, notably and thankfully, not Ben. He asked about her former job and where she went to school.

He also shared his history, telling her more about his mother, a bit about his grandfather and explaining that, outside a couple of visits in his youth, he had little to do with Alistair and Nicola. Indeed, until very recently, he never spoke to them.

He also shared bluntly that he didn’t like nor trust Alistair (Abby had kind of guessed that) and had little patience for his cousins, particularly Suzanne (which Abby had also kind of guessed).

However, it was clear he held a fond regard for Nicola.

It was Penmort Castle that made him, as he called it, “heal the breach”.

She couldn’t blame him for wanting to experience his legacy, even in an unfair outsider way. If she had a legacy like that, she’d want the same.

Further, he not only asked about, but shared his own favourite books, movies and music as well as guiding them into a hilarious conversation about their least favourite books, movies and music.

She answered his questions because, she told herself, it was her job.

Not because she liked doing it. Not because she found it easy talking with him. Not because she was curious about his past and his family and how such a magnificent man as he fit in that strange viper’s den. Not because she was fascinated to know his favourite movie was Touch of Evil and his favourite book was In Cold Blood.

No (she told herself), it was just a job. Only a job.

She wasn’t in Munich with a handsome, fascinating man who not only wanted to know more about her but also easily shared more of himself.

She was there to do her job.

That was it.

After they’d eat, drink and talk, they’d stroll through night-time Munich hand-in-hand and walk off the beer and the Prinzregententorte.

After that, they’d go to their suite and he’d lead her to the bed (or, Friday night, it was the shower, then the bed) where he again made love to her, hot, long, and lingeringly.

It was different for them in Germany. He worked less, spent more time with her and all else, she found (and struggled against) could be forgotten. Their time together was more relaxed without the outside world pressing down on them. It was like being on a vacation but with Cash’s work intruding however insignificantly.

Which made it much, much harder for Abby to remember she was playing a role rather than living a dream.

So by the time they made it home late Saturday evening, she was contradictorily both refreshed and exhausted.

Cash had declared they were spending the night at her house because it was closer to the airport. Abby had attempted, all the way home, in a polite way, to prevent this.

As she followed him up the steps to her door, she knew she’d failed in this endeavour.

She had the keys ready and was beginning to reach around him when his hand came up and he took them from her.

In one of the myriad ways Cash was different than Ben, Abby noted that Cash had made a habit of doing things for her.

Ben would open her car door or he’d make her a drink sometimes when she didn’t even ask, or do other little things here and there that were mostly random but always thoughtful and definitely sweet.

Cash took this behaviour to extremes. He opened car doors, restaurant doors, hotel doors, every door. He made a point of positioning himself closest to the street when they walked along sidewalks something she remembered from years ago when her grandfather was still alive, that he told her was the hallmark of a true gentleman. He asked her preference for food and drink before the waiter arrived then ordered for her. Even though she held a hotel key card to their room, when she was with Cash, she never used it. She never once touched her suitcase. He, or a bellman, carried it everywhere.