by SUE FINEMAN
“I’d like to put a pool room and snack bar down there, and a workshop big enough to store the Harley in the winter.”
Al’s face opened in a smile. “Ah yes, you’re the one with the motorcycle Andy talked about last night. The one who put his dog in jail.”
“That’s me,” said Blade. “Did he tell you about the day of the two baths?”
“No, but Maria did,” he said with a chuckle. “Poor Daisy.” Al closed his pad and stood. “I’ll go down and take some measurements on the lot. I won’t have time to finish the plan this week, but I can get you started and a local architect can finish it for you. Will that work?”
“Absolutely.”
Blade walked down to the lot with Al and helped him measure. The circle drive would work only if they could angle the garage off the corner of the house.
“You know, we could…” Al talked about possibilities, ways of tying the look of the house into Cara’s house without making it so dramatic and contemporary. Blade listened and nodded. Maria was right. This guy was an artist, a genius at design. His mind clicked along at ninety miles an hour, throwing off one great idea after another.
By the time Blade walked back to the Staff House, he knew he was moving in the right direction. His new house would be big enough for a growing family. And Daisy.
All he had to do was convince Maria to marry him.
<>
After a long run on the beach Monday afternoon, Blade showered and came out of the bathroom to find Lila in his room. He quickly wrapped the towel around himself. “Do I have to lock my door?”
“I’m lonesome, and you are one gorgeous hunk of man.”
“Go buy yourself a vibrator, honey. I’m not interested.”
“I heard Nick say that you need a wife, but Maria wouldn’t marry you.”
More than a little irritated, Blade yelled, “Get the hell out of my room and stay out.”
She cocked her head and gave him a come-on smile. “I’ll marry you, Blade.”
He took her glass and dumped wine down the front of her silk blouse. “I said get out,” he said in a low, firm voice. “Take your business elsewhere.”
Nick stood at the bottom of the staircase. “Something wrong up there?”
“Your girl here is repeating things she heard in your house,” said Blade. “And I sure as hell don’t want a damn drunk in my room.”
Nick jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Go pack your things, Lila. Stop by the house before you leave and I’ll give you your final paycheck.”
Lila ran crying to her room, and Blade said, “Hey, I didn’t mean to get her fired.”
“It’s not the first time, Blade. Get dressed and come over to the house. Al has some questions about the plan.”
“Be right there.”
As soon as Nick left, Lila began screaming and carrying on, blaming Blade for getting her fired. Ignoring her, Blade dressed and walked across the street.
Lucas let him in. “I heard,” he said quietly, “and it’s long overdue.” He pointed to Cara’s study, where Al worked on a laptop at Cara’s big desk.
At a smaller desk on the side, Nick had a checkbook out, and he and Cara were discussing how much to pay Lila. He didn’t want to give her any severance pay, and Cara insisted on giving her some. “She’s not getting a reference, and it may take awhile for her to find another job.”
Cara turned to Blade. “I’m sorry about Lila. Every member of the staff signs a statement saying they’ll never divulge anything they’ve heard in our home. This is not the first problem we’ve had with her, but it’s the last.”
“It sure is,” said Nick. “She had a hangover this morning.”
“That’s not a surprise,” muttered Blade. “There were three empty wine bottles in the kitchen this morning.”
“Three?” Nick shook his head. “So that’s where Cara’s wine was going.”
Blade sat down beside Al. The printer hummed and three pages stacked in the tray. Al said, “Keep in mind that this is a preliminary plan.”
The first floor had everything Blade wanted—a big master suite with an exercise room, another bedroom and bathroom, one big living room with a fireplace, formal dining room, kitchen and breakfast area, porches and decks.
As Blade had requested, the second floor had three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a huge library. A balcony porch off the library crowned the kitchen porch below.
“Nick said you were concerned about resale value, so I put closets in the library in case a future owner would want to turn part of that space into another bedroom.” Al pointed to the room over the garage. “I left this unfinished, but you can make it a play room or home theater or a maid’s room. I added a back staircase between the garage and kitchen, and I left the dining room open to the second story. It’ll make the room more dramatic, but if you don’t want it open, we can close it off and put a bedroom over it.”
“No, I like it open like that.”
He wondered if Maria would.
Blade was talking with Al about the library/study combination when Lila came in. Her eyes were swollen, and her jaw clenched in anger when she saw him. Nick handed her an envelope and Cara reminded her that she’d signed a contract not to divulge anything she’d heard in their home. “If you speak to anyone about us or our family or guests, we will sue you for breach of contract. Do you understand?”
Lila grabbed her check and left.
Blade walked to the door with Al, and Lucas called to him from the guards’ room. “Some guy was at your house looking for you, Blade. Angelo told the guy you’d left town, and then he called the police and gave them the guy’s license number.”
“Probably Sunny’s supplier.” If so, he came for the same reason Sunny had—for money. Angelo and Teresa should be all right as long as Blade wasn’t there.
“Angelo said he and Vincent got your old truck running. The kid’s on his way over here now, so you can sign the title over to him.”
The rickety old truck wouldn’t last much longer, but Blade would have given anything for one like it when he was eighteen. He wore out a lot of shoes in those days.
<>
Maria worked in Nick’s office Monday morning and then picked up the kids from the bus stop. She thought she’d see Blade today, but he’d been keeping his distance since she set him up with Debbie. It was for the best, she told herself. He had to marry someone, and she wasn’t interested in marriage. Was she? No, she wasn’t.
The kids had their snack and went outside with Daisy. Minutes later, Andy brought her inside and put her in the kennel. “She was bad.”
“Fluffy again?” Maria asked.
“Yeah. She almost got hit by a car. Can I call Blade and tell him?”
Maria punched in the number of Blade’s cell phone and handed the kitchen phone to Andy. He explained what happened, and Maria could almost hear Blade telling him he’d done the right thing in locking her up. After two or three minutes, Andy handed her the phone and ran back outside with his brother.
Her children were beginning to accept Blade as part of their lives.
Why couldn’t she?
“Maria, are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here, Blade.”
“I promised Angelo and Teresa some furniture for staying in my house, and I need to save enough stuff to furnish my own house. The problem is that I’m domestically challenged and don’t know the first thing about furniture. How about coming to New York and helping me sort through the house? Help me decide what to keep for me, what to keep for Angelo and Teresa, and what to get rid of.”
Maria knew this trip was a bad idea. Being alone with Blade was a bad idea, because she knew what would happen. But she hadn’t done anything for herself in such a long time. “When?”
“How soon can you get away?”
Fred’s parents were taking the kids during spring break. “The kids leave for Seattle Friday afternoon. They’ll be gone a week.”
“Then I’ll make reservations f
or Saturday morning. We’ll be back before they are.”
“Yes, all right. Did Al—”
“I have a preliminary sketch and approximate room sizes. It’s enough to choose furniture. I’ll need dishes and pans and linens—everything to set up housekeeping in the new house.”
Blade was definitely domestically challenged. He needed a wife, one with a lot of patience, because this guy needed intensive training. He was bright and funny and so sexy she could barely stand to be in the same room without touching him.
But he didn’t know how much soap to use.
And he didn’t know how to love.
Chapter Eight
Maria worked extra hours that week to make up for the time she’d be taking off while the kids were on spring break. Blade was conspicuously absent. Instead of working in the office, Blade and Al were doing their business at Nick’s house.
Was he avoiding her?
Thursday afternoon, Fred’s mother called Maria to confirm that she’d pick the kids up after school on Friday. Robbie was excited about going and seeing his father. Andy and Jimmy didn’t want to leave Daisy behind, but their grandmother was allergic to dogs, so Daisy had to stay home. And Molly flatly refused to go. Maria knew that Molly didn’t want to face her father or her teacher. They’d be married soon, and seeing them together reminded her of the pain and humiliation the day she’d found them together in the classroom after school.
“If you want to stay with Grandma, you’ll have to clear it with her,” Maria told her. “I’m going to New York to help Blade with his grandfather’s house.”
Molly’s eyes widened. “You’re going to New York?” Can I go?
“It’s not a pleasure trip, and you can’t come along.”
Molly pouted all evening.
<>
Friday afternoon, Maria kissed her boys goodbye and watched them leave with their grandparents. Andy was worried about Daisy, but Molly had promised to take care of the dog while he was gone. Fred’s parents weren’t warm and loving, but they were responsible people, and Maria felt comfortable letting the boys stay with them. She assumed that Fred would see them while they were there. Although Maria had custody of the kids, she wouldn’t deny Fred and his family visitation rights.
Fred had only seen the kids a few times since Maria moved them out of Seattle last summer. He’d never been much of a father, especially to the younger boys, and the only one who missed him was Robbie. Molly missed their big house and her friends there, but she was happier here in Gig Harbor, in Grandma’s house.
Maria felt a deep loathing for her ex-husband, but she’d never talked to her children about the things he’d done. Although he didn’t visit them, didn’t call them, and didn’t pay child support, he was still their father. She kept her anger at Fred bottled up inside her, where it couldn’t get out and poison her children’s minds against him. One day the boys would figure out what Fred was really like, but they wouldn’t hear it from her.
Daisy sat in the window and whined. Maria picked her up and rubbed the soft fur on her head. “Poor Daisy. Did your kids leave without you?”
<>
Long before dawn the next morning, Blade pulled into the driveway at Sophia’s house. Sophia, still in her robe and slippers, opened the door. “Maria will be ready in ten minutes.” She poured him a cup of coffee and handed him a plate of French toast. “Nobody leaves my house hungry.”
Blade kissed her on the cheek. “Sophia, I love you.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s what they all say. You take good care of Maria in New York.”
“It’s the other way around, Sophia. She takes good care of me. I have a house filled with stuff. Anything special you’d like to have? New bedroom furniture? Linens? Dishes?”
“Dishes,” said Maria. “Mom needs a new set of dishes.”
Sophia flapped her hand. “I don’t need anything. Sit down and eat, both of you.”
Twenty minutes later, Blade loaded two bags in the car and drove a still-sleepy Maria to the airport. This two-hour checkin requirement robbed them of sleep, but it couldn’t be helped.
Finally, the boarding began. Blade stood and reached for Maria’s hand. “Come on, Sleeping Beauty. First Class boards first.”
“First Class? Are you crazy?”
He leaned down close to whisper, “Not crazy. Rich.”
<>
Hours later, the limo driver met them at baggage claim at JFK Airport in New York and drove them to the house. Blade watched Maria’s eyes widen when she saw the house on Long Island. The huge mansion was quite impressive. And it belonged to him.
The butler came out to welcome them, and the limo driver and another man carried the bags inside. The butler escorted Maria to Mary Elizabeth Banner’s bedroom suite, a feminine bedroom with a private sitting room. Blade was given the ornate master bedroom, the room his grandfather died in.
“The mattress has been replaced, Mr. Banner,” said the butler. “If you’d rather have another room, I’ll—”
“No, this will do. Has the furniture appraiser been here yet?”
“Yes, sir. He was here last Thursday and Friday, and he will be going through the attic rooms tomorrow.”
“Did you find a cook?”
“Bridget is back, and dinner will be served at seven. Her new job didn’t work out.”
The maid unpacked for Blade and then went to help Maria.
Blade stood in Maria’s open doorway and watched her settle into her room. “Blade, this furniture is exquisite.”
“It’s French,” said Margaret, the maid. “The yellow room is Italian.”
Blade and Maria went down the hall to see. “Oh, look,” Maria said on a sigh. “My mother would die for furniture like this. The secretary is outstanding, and the bed… who wouldn’t love sleeping in that beautiful bed.”
Blade made a mental note to put that furniture in the guest room at his house, for Sophia. He took several pictures of the Italian room with his new digital camera. “We’ll keep this.”
There were two other bedrooms on this floor. One had a big four-poster bed with sheer fabric draped around the top and the four corners. The armoire and dresser and bench coordinated perfectly. The brocade bedspread looked a little dressy for a kid Molly’s age, but it matched the bench. There was even a little dressing table in the corner. Perfect for a girl’s room. “We’ll keep this, too.”
The other bedroom had a gleaming cherry sleigh bed and matching armoire. A small chest served as a lamp table between two overstuffed armchairs covered in the same chintz fabric as the bedspread. “Would Angelo and Teresa like this?”
“I’m sure they’d love it, Blade. It’s beautiful.”
They walked down to the other end of the floor, to Blade’s room.
“I don’t much care for the furniture in this room, Blade. It’s okay in here, but it takes a huge room and a high ceiling to pull this off. It’s too formal for you anyway.”
He didn’t care for it either, and the buyers had offered to purchase everything in this room, including the painting over the bed.
Maria opened a door off the hallway and found a linen closet the size of a small bedroom. The wide upper shelves were labeled with the size sheets and the rooms they were meant for. Coordinating towels were stacked beside the sheets. Deep lower shelves held blankets, quilts, and comforters. “There must be at least six dozen sets of sheets in here, and look at the towels. There’s enough here to supply a hotel.” She ran her hand over the softest sheets she’d ever touched. “This is a wonderful find.”
“We’ll keep the sheets and towels for the sleigh bedroom for Angelo and Teresa, give a few sets to your mother, and keep some for ourselves.”
Maria heard something in his tone of voice and in the words he used to know something wasn’t quite right. His thoughts today had been on his new house and the work that had to be done here, in his grandfather’s house. It was almost as if he’d been blocking his real thoughts. She crossed her arms and gazed deep
ly into his eyes.
I want to marry you, Maria. I want to make a home for you and your children. I want to give you a happy life.
“Blade, I’ll help you find someone to—”
Without looking away, he shook his head. “Gerry found something in the will. I have to marry before my fortieth birthday, and that’s May second. I’m running out of time.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Marry him?
“You wouldn’t let me go out on the street looking for a hooker or bag lady to marry, would you?”
“This isn’t funny,” she snapped.
“Lila would have married me.”
“Cara’s maid?”
“Former maid. She heard things in the house and used them to try to seduce me. Not that I wasn’t tempted—every single guy is looking for his next lay—but I was holding out for a better offer.”
Maria turned back to the linens. She couldn’t discuss this without caving in, and the only impulsive decision she’d ever made had given her a baby that wasn’t her husband’s. “What color towels do you like?”
“Whatever you want in our bedroom and bathroom is fine, Maria.”
She felt the heat from his body behind her, and then his hands gently ran down her arms to her hands. He brought her hands back to his hips and then unbuttoned her blouse and reached inside. She inhaled sharply, but didn’t pull away. His hand felt rough, yet gentle, and his sensuous touch made her skin tingle.
“We’d make beautiful children together, Maria. Girls with their mother’s beauty and gentleness, and boys with a fascination for motorcycles.”
“I already have a boy with a fascination for motorcycles.”
“Then we’ll make another one,” he said, brushing kisses on her neck.
She felt herself weakening, but she couldn’t move away. He rubbed his erection against her behind, and she leaned back into him and turned her head toward him. The first kiss was so hot it burned through her entire body, and she knew without a doubt that they’d make love tonight. This was the real reason he brought her to New York. He wanted to seduce her.
If she didn’t agree to marry him, would he still want to make love to her? Did she want him to make love to her? Yes, but she wasn’t convinced that marriage was a good idea. Still, she’d never again have to worry about how to support her children.