She ran to the
hall and found the storage tube. “Weston makes Sergio look like an onion.” With
that parting shot, Maddie scurried out of the way of the Cosmopolitan magazine
that came hurtling through the air.
West looked up as Maddie skidded in with her refreshments.
“Made it. I brought the blueprints and nourishment.”
Her bright smile almost caused his heart to stop. Patting
the bed with one hand, he held out the other to take the wine bottle, then the
corkscrew. “Have you and Morgana always had this volatile of a relationship?”
Maddie was on her knees, making a nest for herself beside
him, propping pillows against the headboard and pulling the covers up to cover
them to the waist. “Here’s the glasses.” She held them up while he poured the
bubbly. “This will be fun.” She grinned, spreading out the grapes and cheese on
a paper towel. “Well, we got along when we were younger. Once she hit puberty,
we went our separate ways. She’s my half-sister and I never really fit in with
her and her mom. I was like my dad and she’s a mirror image of her mother. He,
like me, loved Galveston and Windswept.” She brought the glass to her lips and
took a sip. “I lost him my first year in college.”
“I’m so sorry.” West covered her hand with his.
“Thank you, West.” Taking a grape, she bit it in half. He
leaned forward as if he wanted part of it and she playfully fed him the rest.
“Dad left me fifty-one percent of Windswept. I turned it into a Bed and
Breakfast and committed to give them their part of the profits. For a long
time, they left me alone. But they’ve had a financial setback and now they’re
pressuring me to sell. If they have their way, Windswept will soon be torn down
and replaced by a Beaumont Resort.”
“What?” This concerned Weston. “Tearing down Windswept would
be a travesty. Working on the plans, I realized how well-constructed she was
and when I drove up yesterday, I fell in love.”
Maddie rubbed her thumb on the glass. His support made her
feel good, his declaration of love made her a mite jealous. “I grew up here, I
would never want to live anywhere else. She’s withstood war, storms, and pirate
attacks.” Rubbing the sheet absentmindedly, she confided, “I don’t want to give
up my independence. Hugh Beaumont is supposed to come and proposition me.”
“Proposition you? He asked you out?” A touch of jealousy
nipped at West.
“No.” She giggled, taking another sip. “Although I wouldn’t
be surprised if Juliana tries to engineer something between one of us and him.
She’s pretty desperate to make this deal. I’m sure it won’t be me, though. I’ve
been a source of disappointment to her. I don’t go to the hair salon or get
regular manicures. I buy most of my clothes at the tourist shop on the seawall
and I wasn’t asked to dance at my own debutante ball.” As West frowned, she
hastily explained. “I missed the introductions. While everyone else was
parading around, I was scaling the drainpipe outside trying to get a kitten out
of a tree.” When he bit back a grin, she elaborated. “He was cute. I slipped.
It was muddy. By the time I got cleaned up and was presentable again, everyone
was all paired up.”
West edged toward her until their shoulders were touching.
The contact seared Maddie’s skin. The intimacy she was sharing with this man
would fuel many nighttime fantasies.
“You could never let anyone down. Look at what you’ve
accomplished.”
“Enough about me.” She clinked their glasses together. “Do
you enjoy being an architect?”
Weston turned toward her a little bit. Their faces were
close enough she could feel his breath on her skin. “I do. Galveston, as you
know, presents special challenges, everything from costal erosion to storm
surge concerns. I’m even on the board looking into the possibility of building
barriers such as levees, gates, and dikes to protect Galveston and Houston from
hurricane storm
hall and found the storage tube. “Weston makes Sergio look like an onion.” With
that parting shot, Maddie scurried out of the way of the Cosmopolitan magazine
that came hurtling through the air.
West looked up as Maddie skidded in with her refreshments.
“Made it. I brought the blueprints and nourishment.”
Her bright smile almost caused his heart to stop. Patting
the bed with one hand, he held out the other to take the wine bottle, then the
corkscrew. “Have you and Morgana always had this volatile of a relationship?”
Maddie was on her knees, making a nest for herself beside
him, propping pillows against the headboard and pulling the covers up to cover
them to the waist. “Here’s the glasses.” She held them up while he poured the
bubbly. “This will be fun.” She grinned, spreading out the grapes and cheese on
a paper towel. “Well, we got along when we were younger. Once she hit puberty,
we went our separate ways. She’s my half-sister and I never really fit in with
her and her mom. I was like my dad and she’s a mirror image of her mother. He,
like me, loved Galveston and Windswept.” She brought the glass to her lips and
took a sip. “I lost him my first year in college.”
“I’m so sorry.” West covered her hand with his.
“Thank you, West.” Taking a grape, she bit it in half. He
leaned forward as if he wanted part of it and she playfully fed him the rest.
“Dad left me fifty-one percent of Windswept. I turned it into a Bed and
Breakfast and committed to give them their part of the profits. For a long
time, they left me alone. But they’ve had a financial setback and now they’re
pressuring me to sell. If they have their way, Windswept will soon be torn down
and replaced by a Beaumont Resort.”
“What?” This concerned Weston. “Tearing down Windswept would
be a travesty. Working on the plans, I realized how well-constructed she was
and when I drove up yesterday, I fell in love.”
Maddie rubbed her thumb on the glass. His support made her
feel good, his declaration of love made her a mite jealous. “I grew up here, I
would never want to live anywhere else. She’s withstood war, storms, and pirate
attacks.” Rubbing the sheet absentmindedly, she confided, “I don’t want to give
up my independence. Hugh Beaumont is supposed to come and proposition me.”
“Proposition you? He asked you out?” A touch of jealousy
nipped at West.
“No.” She giggled, taking another sip. “Although I wouldn’t
be surprised if Juliana tries to engineer something between one of us and him.
She’s pretty desperate to make this deal. I’m sure it won’t be me, though. I’ve
been a source of disappointment to her. I don’t go to the hair salon or get
regular manicures. I buy most of my clothes at the tourist shop on the seawall
and I wasn’t asked to dance at my own debutante ball.” As West frowned, she
hastily explained. “I missed the introductions. While everyone else was
parading around, I was scaling the drainpipe outside trying to get a kitten out
of a tree.” When he bit back a grin, she elaborated. “He was cute. I slipped.
It was muddy. By the time I got cleaned up and was presentable again, everyone
was all paired up.”
West edged toward her until their shoulders were touching.
The contact seared Maddie’s skin. The intimacy she was sharing with this man
would fuel many nighttime fantasies.
“You could never let anyone down. Look at what you’ve
accomplished.”
“Enough about me.” She clinked their glasses together. “Do
you enjoy being an architect?”
Weston turned toward her a little bit. Their faces were
close enough she could feel his breath on her skin. “I do. Galveston, as you
know, presents special challenges, everything from costal erosion to storm
surge concerns. I’m even on the board looking into the possibility of building
barriers such as levees, gates, and dikes to protect Galveston and Houston from
hurricane storm
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