Cat found that the closer they drew to Ackerlund Manor, the more her excitement ebbed, giving way to anxiety and mild irritation; she also felt the slightest bit of suspicion. Twenty-four hours ago she seemed so solid in her thoughts and feelings of Jonah, comforted by his presence- now she felt a seed of doubt; clearly, there was more than what met the eye with Jonah, and she sensed he wasn’t being completely honest with her.<br/><br/>His remark about Cat being his friend to his uncle gnawed at the back of her mind, refusing to be subdued, despite her efforts to squelch it. For the first time in what felt like forever (in actuality, it was little more than a week) she felt the darkness of suspicion and sadness bloom in her chest. Regardless of her emotions, she managed to keep her disposition calm and collected- to one that did not know her, she would appear to be in awe of her surroundings, lost in thought.<br/><br/>If she were being honest, Cat knew she had no reason to be upset. Despite the intensity of her feelings for him, they barely knew each other and had never put any distinctive labels on their relationships. Still, her thoughts flickered to the one brief kiss they had shared early in the morning before he had asked her to come to Sweden with him, of the warmth and passion it had invoked in her.<br/><br/>The car came to a stop in front of the manor and it appeared to be larger than ever, like it would swallow her whole like chaotic mix of emotions within her. Ackerlund Manor was easily large enough and decadent enough to be a small palace. She took note of the armed guards and gulped- Jonah definitely had some explaining to do.<br/><br/>She stepped out into the darkness, and shivered slightly, having more to do with apprehension than the cool temperature, making sure to tread lightly on the gravel, so as not to sink into the damp earth. She had taken Jonah’s advice to dress up a bit for their arrival, and had quickly changed out of her ripped jeans and t-shirt at the airport into the only thing she owned that would be appropriate (little happened in Wasella that deemed semi-formal wear) and freshened up her hair and makeup.<br/><br/>She walked arm-in-arm with Jonah up the driveway and into the regally-decorated vestibule in a black, ruched, long-sleeved bodycon dress that hit just above the knees, sheer black tights and heels. Her long dark was pulled back in a casual yet elegant half-up style. She had always been a firm believer in the less-is-more rule when it came to make-up, drawing more attention to her stunning green eyes. She wanted to appear sexy and sophisticated, yet modest- she wanted to make a good first impression. She certainly nailed it, but even dressed in her best she felt like a duck out of water in Ackerlund manor.<br/><br/><em>“Nothing to worry about Cat, my grandfather and the King were schoolmates, who knows you may even get to meet his royal highness at some point.”</em><br/><br/>Cat could not hold back her choke of surprise, and nearly died of horror and embarrassment right then and there… the king? The Ackerlunds were not just filthy rich, they were practically royalty. Had she been any social-climbing woman, she would have been over-joyed, but Cat could not help feeling even more out-of-league.<br/><br/>“Looks, like I’ll definitely need to update my wardobe.” She laughed, somewhat nervously- luckily she had been saving for quite some while and had a fair amount saved- she would have to have Jonah take her out to town to exchange currency and get some new clothes. The last thing she would want would be to embarrass Jonah or her family, and she doubted her casual attire of distressed jeans graphic tees would be accepted here.<br/><em><br/>“How rude of me. Anders this is Cat.  She’s a friend from Alaska.”</em><br/><br/>Cat listened to the exchange between Anders and Jonah with amusement, giggling at their comments and attempts to rile each other. She found the whole thing rather entertaining until Jonah once again referenced her as his friend. It definitely stung more the second time around, but what could she do?<br/><br/>Was this how he truly felt? Had their kiss meant nothing? What of the meaningful, deep conversation they had had with each other? Had she imagined all the chemistry between them? Perhaps his behavior and previous consideration of her feelings was just common of Swedes?<br/><br/>Cat bit down her frustration and offered Ander’s her most-alluring smile, glancing briefly in Jonah’s direction as she grasped Ander’s hand, letting the exchange linger a tad longer than necessary- she knew that was attractive and could be very charming when she wanted to be. She would be lying if she told herself this were only a test on Jonah’s behalf; she wanted to see if he got jealous of her mild flirtation with his friend. If he truly cared of her only as friend, he would not care. But if not…<br/><br/>She had allowed Jonah to open up parts of her heart that she had been carefully to lock up, had given him secrets she had never shared with anyone else, and though they hadn’t been together physically, she was more intimate with him than she had ever been with anyone else. To have that all be chalked up to just being friends was highly insulting to her.<br/><br/>One thing was certain, she would keep her guard up around Jonah until she knew exactly what was going and how he felt about her. She couldn’t allow herself to be hurt again. She couldn’t bear it.<br/><br/><em>“ You’ll be safe here. Perhaps we can grab a fika sometime during your visit when I’m not on duty”</em><br/><br/>“It would be a pleasure,” Cat purred gazing meaningfully at Anders, before once again glancing over at Jonah to view his reaction, at Anders’ proposal for a fika. She had absolutely no interest in Anders other than platonic companionship, but she wanted Jonah to know he had upset her.<br/><br/><em>“Master Jonas, welcome home” </em><br/><br/>It occurred to her that Jonah had not given any run-downs on Swedish etiquette when meeting for the first time. She was not sure how to greet the servants. Would it be considered rude and out-of-turn for her to introduce herself? On the other hand, she didn’t want to appear arrogant or snobbish. She decided complacent silence until she was addressed would be best and smiled demurely. She felt very relieved when Jonah suggested she relax and take a bath- she needed time to decompress and assess her emotions and this very confusing situation.<br/><br/>“Thank you…” She replied to Jonah, suddenly exhausted- between the long flight and drive to Ackerlund Manor, and the intense fleeting emotions swirling chaotically in her. Had this been just a mere few days ago, she would have felt reluctance to part with him, and they would have said goodbye with a hug- but here he seemed different, more reserved, and she did not know to react in a way that was acceptable.<br/><br/>With a soft sigh, relinquishing her carry-on, but removing her phone before doing so and following the maid up the grand staircase and out of sight. Her heels echoed loudly in the long, elegant, immaculately hallways despite her soft steps and she could not help but marvel at the home’s beauty and old portraits.<br/><br/>She let out a small gasp of surprise as the maid suddenly stopped and she uttered her apologies as she nearly bumped into her. She let out another gasp when the maid opened the door and revealed Cat’s room, which was really suite, bigger than the main floor of the tiny home she shared with her father. There was a large bedroom, sitting room, and  a bathroom bigger than the tiny room in her dorm, all lavishly decorated. The most tantalizing smell was wafting in from the bathroom- floral and sweet and Cat sighed with relief- a hot bath was exactly what she needed to unwind. She turned around to thank the maiden, but she had already disappeared.<br/><br/>Without a seconds further hesitation, Cat stepped out of her pumps and shut the bedroom door behind her, quickly peeling off her clothes and sprinting for the bathroom. The bathroom itself was very warm, warm enough so that she would not get cold when she got out of the water. An entire wall was curtained, its heavy fabric drawn back to reveal a wall-wall mirror, the floor made of white marble, and the walls were of white and gold brocade. In the middle of the room was a large heated tub, bubbling with jets, mountains of foamy bubbles peeking over the rim. There was a table right beside it, filled with the many expensive looking bottles all in Swedish (one of the servants had kindly labeled each one with their translations in English) and a small spot for Cat’s phone, the wifi password printed neatly on a card for her use.<br/><br/>Cat quickly connected to internet and began streaming her favorite playlist for relaxing and sank eagerly into the tubs depths, enjoying its pleasant aroma. The water was not scalding, but almost, just the way she liked it, and it had covered her completely up to her neck. The warmth and the jets worked incredibly to remove every ache and knot from her body. It was the most relaxing experience she had ever had. She let down her hair and sank completely beneath the waters surface, loving the warmth on her face. She stayed there for a few minutes, till she could no longer hold her breath and resurfaced with a gasp.<br/><br/>She took her time, scrubbing every inch of her body, until she was sure that she would gleam in the light before grabbing one of the shampoo bottles- it smelled of flowers and honey- and  began  lathering her hair, then did the same with the conditioner. She couldn’t help but to feel anything but relaxed, and felt a great deal better.<br/><br/>Cat wasn’t sure how long she had been in the bath, but It had felt like forever, and her hands and feet were adequately pruney. She wasn’t too sure what Jonah had planned for the rest of the evening, but she couldn’t stay in the tub forever. Very reluctantly, she pulled turned off the jets and pulled the drain before climbing shakily out of the tub- her limbs felt like jello.<br/><br/>Just as she expected, Cat wasn’t the least bit cold when she got out of the water, but the fluffy white bathrobe looked too soft to be passed up and wrapped it around herself. She was beginning to understand why Jonah missed home so much- she’d be willing to stay forever, for the bathroom alone.<br/>She walked back to her room and began looking for her clothes, although she was not sure what to wear- Her usual wardrobe seemed very out of place here. True to Jonah’s word, everything had already been neatly put away for her. After some searching, she found her undergarments and had just put them on when there was a sudden knock on the door. “Just a minute!” she called, panicking.<br/><br/>After a moment’s struggle in not knowing where to look for the remainder of her clothes, Cat groaned with exasperation before throwing her robe back on a running her fingers hurriedly through her now silky, shiny damp hair. “um…come in!”<br/>