Chapter 4 : Top Wanted Bachelor in the Country

**Olivia POV

When I arrived back at home and was safely in my bedroom, my phone began to ring in my purse. I shoved it onto my desk and reached inside to dig around for my phone. It took me a moment to find it, but eventually I had it pressed to my ear.

"Hi, Carl," I was surprised that he had called me so soon after being there.

"Hey! Sorry, I didn't speak with you much when you were over." He sounded apologetic, and I didn't understand why.

"It's okay. You don't need to apologize to me. You've been really busy lately with work." I played with a perfume bottle on my vanity, while I talked to him.

"I have been. I wanted to tell you how grateful I am that your parents decided to invest in my company."

Carl really was the sweetest man I had ever met. He continued, "I wanted to ask you if you would like to come to our vacation home in Long Island to spend the upcoming holiday together?"

My heart began to speed up as I worried about being alone in a massive house with my fiance. I had never been alone with him on a vacation of any kind.

"If you'd like… you could ask your sister to accompany you. The more the merrier." Carl was always so thoughtful, and this only made him more so.

"That's so sweet of you, Carl," I softly smiled and rested my chin on my fist, peering out my window at the topiaries and trees outside.

"Well, I do what I can," Carl softly laughed. I loved his laugh; it was always genuine and kind. "Why don't you talk to Bethany about it and get back to me, hm?"

"Okay." I was ecstatic! I couldn't wait to ask my sister if she would go with me. I wanted to go to his summer home, but I didn't want to go alone, and Bethany seemed like the best choice.

"Let me know what she says!" Carl requested excitedly. He was far too kind to me.

"Sounds good. Thank you, Carl." I hung up the phone and rushed to go find Bethany. She was probably in her bedroom reading a magazine of some sort.

My sister was the gentlest and kindest woman. She was adopted by my parents, but you would never know it because they raised her as their own. Everyone liked my sister, and I mean everyone. There were a few guys who said they liked me, but after they got to know Bethany, they eventually all went to pursue her.

I wasn't resentful. She was just beautiful and charming. Who wouldn't love her?

Of course, Carl was that only exception. He'd told me many times that he only had eyes for me.

I reached her bedroom door down a long hallway and knocked on it with our secret sequence of knocks that we had since we were kids. It took her a moment to yell for me to come in.

I opened her door and stepped into her lavish black and gold bedroom. She was laying on her bed, kicking her feet with one ankle crossed over the other and a magazine in her hands. "What did you need, Olivia? "

I bit my bottom lip and clasped my hands behind my back, swaying back and forth. I was nervous to ask her. What if she already had plans and couldn't accompany me? "Hey, Beth, do you have any plans for Spring break?"

"I do." She peered up at me from the article she was reading and gave me a smile. Even though she was my sister and I'd seen her smile so many times, it never failed to remind me how charming it was. No wonder all the guys fell for her.

"Oh…" I said disappointedly.

"Why did you ask?" She seemed to have noticed my unsettled tone.

I looked at the floor and told her the truth. "Carl invited me to his vacation home in Long Island and he said the more the merrier. I was wondering whether you could accompany me? You know… I'm just nervous to go alone with him." I was shy and slightly embarrassed to admit that I was scared to be alone with my fiance, but I was.

"Peterson's vacation home?" she repeated. I nodded at her to confirm.

Bethany peered up at me, closing her magazine and sitting up on her bed. She thought for a moment and then replied, "Alright, I'll go with you."

What?

I hadn't expected that she would change her plan so easily for me. "You sure? I didn't want to ruin your vacation…"

She looked at me and smiled, "Because I worry about your safety, and I want you to have fun… I'll go. I don't want my little sister to worry when she's supposed to be enjoying a vacation."

I ran over to jump onto her bed and gave her a huge hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Her body seemed to freeze for a second at my embrace, but then she patted my back and exclaimed happily, "Let's get packing!"

***

We arrived at the Peterson's vacation home. It was a beautiful white mansion on the edge of the ocean. The cool breeze swirled around us, and the scent of the water filled my senses. It was gorgeous outside.

The mansion towered over us, but it felt less intimidating than their main estate. Something about it was airy and relaxing despite the fact that it dominated the coastline.

When we walked up to the wooden steps to the front door, a maid welcomed us. Her uniform was similar to the one that I had met at the Peterson mansion back home, short and teetering on inappropriate for a work setting yet it reminded me of the old maid outfits from ages ago.

"Welcome to the Peterson vacation home, Miss Richardson." The maid greeted me before turning to my sister and welcoming her as well. "And you too, Miss Bethany."

I saw Bethany frown slightly as if she was offended. I was about to check whether she was all right when her smile returned. Did I see it wrong?

"Mr. Carl isn't home yet," the maid continued.

I nodded. Carl had been busy lately, he was probably still working. The maid then urged, "Miss Richardson, if you'll follow me. Miss Bethany, our butler will take your suitcases and show you where you'll be staying."

I peered over my shoulder to see that my sister was being taken to another side of the house. I wondered if I was being led to my fiance and was curious as to why I had been separated from Bethany. Carl must have wanted to speak with me privately.

The maid silently walked in front of me, causing the hem of her uniform to swish back and forth. I stared at the wood flooring, freezing when I saw the same triskele emblem on the floor in a lighter wood stain than the rest of the flooring. I wondered if it was a family symbol or something else entirely since it was not at one house but two.

She continued to lead me down a long hallway. I got lost in the memory of the obsidian and silver emblem back at the other Peterson house, not watching where I was going, and I suddenly ran into something solid and unmoving.

I gasped and looked up, locking my gaze with a familiar tall man with a trimmed beard and dark eyes that bored into mine.

"Oh, Mr. Peterson," the maid greeted him. "This is Miss Richardson, Mr. Carl's guest."

"Sorry!" I apologized as I took a few steps back.

My lips parted as I took in his perfectly tailored charcoal-colored designer suit with a plum and gold accented pocket square that was neatly folded into his breast pocket. His button-down shirt was a dark plum and was accented by a black silk tie.

I dropped my eyes. My gaze was caught by his steel belt buckle and matching onyx slacks. His shoes were Italian leather and black as oil, drawing my attention because of how clean and polished they were.

But then, I suddenly tripped over the doorway of his office like a complete klutz.

I prepared myself to meet the floor, screaming, when strong hands wrapped around my body and my hands landed on hard muscular pecs beneath expensive fabric.

"Be careful," his deep and soothing voice rang in my ear.

My face pressed against his silk shirt and tie, and I was surrounded by his spiced citrus cologne. Then, uncontrollably, I felt heat climbing up my face and heard my heart thumping loudly.

When I came to my senses, I shoved him away by his chest and cleared my throat, "I'm… I'm sorry. And thank you."

I lowered my head, brushing my hands down the front of my summer dress before fixing my hair. A warmth spread across my cheeks and down my neck, the sensation dancing along my shoulders.

I glanced around to see if anyone had seen it and was relieved that no one else was there to see me trip into him.

A wall of silence passed between us, and I couldn't help but look up again. Our eyes locked to one another.

His soul resided in his eyes, making me transfixed by them. The light filtering in from the nearby window made sparks of honey shine in his warm brown eyes. He stared at me, and a corner of his lips curled up into a dangerous smirk.

He was dark, dangerous, and… attractive. I was shocked by how I described him in my mind, and I pushed my thoughts aside as soon as possible.

He was the type of man that I had been raised to stay far away from.

"You're welcome," he smirked.

I quickly scrambled towards the doorway without more words, feeling his gaze on my back as I hurried out of the office. I didn't know what he was thinking, but my instinct told me it was dangerous, virulent and I should get away.

The walls of the room had suddenly felt like they were caving in and crushing me, caressing me and teasing me. The atmosphere grew thick to where I could barely breathe.

The maid followed me and she explained, "Miss Richardson, this must be the first time you met Mr. Peterson? It's okay, you don't have to run away. It was just an accident that you ran into him and he wouldn't get upset by that. You aren't one of those ladies."

I didn't need to tell her that this wasn't my first encounter with him. I wanted to forget everything about this man—the day I had first run into him on top of tripping on him.

I was curious by her statement, "One of those ladies?"

She smiled and explained, "Mr. Ellis Peterson is the head of the Peterson empire. As a wealthy, influential and extraordinarily charming thirty-five year old, he is the top wanted bachelor in the country. Ladies are after him, but most of them are not welcome here."

I raked my teeth along my bottom lip and discreetly peered over my shoulder.

I caught a glance of him bending over with a hand in his pocket, as if he was picking something up, and I ignored it, thinking he must have dropped something when I had run into him.