Love Me At Sunset (Destined for Love: Mansions)

by Lucinda Whitney

  In the bassinet, Carlota squirmed, and Catarina sagged against Afonso. “She’s such a light sleeper.”

  He brushed a kiss on her cheek. “Go meet your cousin. I’ll watch Carlota.”

  Catarina returned the kiss on the cheek. “Don’t let my mom see you leave.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll come downstairs after I change Carlota’s diaper.”

  When Catarina arrived in the kitchen, Luciana stood at the espresso machine. “You came,” Catarina said.

  Luciana smiled and hugged Catarina. “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”

  “I thought you were still in New York.”

  “I managed to catch a flight last night. I arrived in Lisbon and drove straight here.”

  Catarina’s eyes widened. “You must be so tired.”

  Luciana dropped a spoonful of sugar in the small cup and stirred. “That’s what the espresso is for. I’ll catch a nap after the christening. There’ll be time, right?”

  “Plenty of time. The christening is at eleven at the village church. We’ll have a light lunch, and the wedding is here at five in the afternoon.”

  Luciana smiled. “Look at you, so cool and collected. Aren’t you nervous at all?”

  “Excited, but not nervous. Now tell me, how did the project go in New York?”

  “It went well.” Luciana sipped slowly. “Better than I expected.”

  “Where did you stay, and what did you do while you were waiting for the airport to open again?”

  Luciana finished her coffee. “I promise I’ll tell you everything, but not today.” She walked to the table and reached inside her large purse. “I did have the time to finish my goddaughter’s outfit. It’s in here somewhere.”

  Carlota would wear the Romano christening gown for the ceremony and formal pictures, and Catarina would change her from that when they returned from the church.

  “Is it true Knox proposed to Jacinta on Christmas Eve?” Luciana asked as she withdrew items from her purse.

  “It’s true. They’re engaged.”

  “Finally. I don’t know what took him so long. Hope they set a date soon.”

  Catarina drew the milk from the refrigerator. “They already did. Jacinta said she’s waited enough and they don’t need a long engagement.”

  “Good for her. We’ll have two Romano weddings this year.”

  “Three, with Matias and Vanessa.”

  “Ha, here it is.” Luciana placed a small bundle on the table and unwrapped it. A two-piece outfit of pure white yarn with pink embellishments nestled inside. “Do you think it’ll fit her?”

  Catarina fingered it reverently. “She’s a chubbers, but I’ll make it fit. This is exquisite, Luciana. Obrigada.”

  Just then, the complaints of a grumpy baby sounded from the door. Afonso entered the kitchen holding Carlota in the crook of his arm. “Someone’s ready for breakfast, mamã.”

  “I’ll warm up the bottle,” Catarina said.

  Luciana stepped forward and took the baby from him. “Oh my goodness. She’s changed so much. So adorable.” She cooed at Carlota. “Look how big you are.”

  “Glad you made it, Luciana. We heard you had an adventure in America,” Afonso teased.

  Luciana chuckled lightly. “What I want to know is why you guys couldn’t wait till spring to get married. It’s so cold today.”

  The way she sidestepped the question, Luciana had a story there, but Catarina would have to put it aside for now.

  Afonso exchanged a look with her, and she nodded at him to reply.

  “We wanted to start the new year as a family,” he said. “No point in waiting on account of the weather. What better day to symbolize a new beginning?”

  Catarina handed the warmed bottle to Luciana, much to Carlota’s happiness.

  Luciana sat down, gazing at the baby for a moment, then looked up between Catarina and Afonso. “How did you manage to convince a magistrate to perform the wedding on a holiday?”

  Afonso and Catarina sat next to each other. Afonso winked. “I had some connections that Filipe set me up with.”

  Carlota sighed in contentment, and Luciana returned her attention to the baby. “Pardon my nosiness. You guys can tell me it’s none of my business. But what about the legal procedures concerning this little lady? I’m assuming Afonso is adopting her. How long will that take?”

  Afonso brought an arm around Catarina’s shoulders, and she leaned into him with a smile. She lowered her voice. “He won’t be adopting.”

  Luciana snapped up to them, frowning.

  “I’m Carlota’s legal father,” Afonso added.

  “We had Carlota registered with Afonso as the father. As far as the registrar in Castelo Branco knows, Carlota is our daughter.”

  “That’s awesome.” Luciana nodded at them. “I’m really glad for you both.” She propped the baby on her shoulder, and Carlota burped.

  Afonso stood and took Catarina’s hand in his. “It looks like nobody else is up yet, and you’re feeding our daughter, so I’m taking advantage to have a moment with my bride.”

  Luciana winked at them. “Go ahead. I’ll cover for you if anyone shows up.”

  Afonso led Catarina through the house, past the entry hall, and to the music room. He drew open the heavy wood shutters, from where the rose garden was visible.

  “Are you trying to remind me of where we met?” she asked.

  Afonso didn’t reply. Instead, he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, claiming her lips to his, slowly, deliberately, a deep sensuous kiss that stole all the air from her chest.

  When he was done, he touched his lips to the spot on her neck below her ear. “Next time I kiss you like this, we’ll be married,” he whispered. The warm gleam in his eyes promised much more than a kiss.

  The small hairs on her neck raised, and Catarina melted into him. She took a deep breath and grabbed on to his arms, her legs unstable and her knees shaky. “Only twelve more hours.”

  “Twelve hours seems like forever,” he said with a hint of impatience.

  “After today, it will be for always,” she reminded him.

  Afonso’s mouth curved in a confident smile. “Forever is worth waiting for.”

  Kiss Me in the Rain: Cypress Grove Mansion, a treasured constant in Layla’s perfect life, will be sold to the highest bidder if she doesn’t date an investor’s son. The problem? The man she really wants just rolled into town.

  Roping His Heart: Rachel has dreamed of owning the old mansion since she was a child. When Patrick comes to town with the deed in his hand, Rachel’s hopes are shattered. Can she have both the house and the man who has captured her heart, or will she be left with nothing?

  The Princess and the Pizza Man: Cupid is supposedly haunting Frostville Mansion, and skeptic Will heads to the place with the hope his sister will finally find the love she wants. But when he starts to fall for the fun and spunky owner, he wonders if there may be a love god living in the walls after all.

  Mending Fences: Two decades ago a little girl climbed a fence and found a friend. Now all she finds is trouble. Daniel Crawford has taken to chasing off intruders by any means possible. No one is going to cross the fence into his land. Or his heart.

  Love Me At Sunset: For Afonso, the remote Sunset Manor is the perfect place to start over as the new groundskeeper. But when suspicious accidents start at the property, will he be able to protect the young widow Catarina?

  Saving Sycamore Bay: Harrison Jackson has always been revered for his athleticism. When he’s asked to help a southern belle, a woman looks past his stats and handsome face, and he falls quickly. But she’s in too big of a mess to commit to anyone.

  Join the Destined For Love Readers Club!

  Read an exclusive sneak peek of Saving Sycamore Bay by Cami Checketts, the next book in the Destined For Love: Mansions series.

  Chapter One

  The doorbell rang, and Grace Addison clenched the paintbrush tighter. It was either somebody
telling her she owed them money or Beau here to tease her about working like a commoner. She’d show him common, paint a stripe right down his perfect nose.

  Setting the paintbrush on the tray, she tried to straighten her shirt and her hair, but what could she possibly do with the blonde curls tied up in a kerchief and paint splattered all over an old Auburn U football T-shirt? She sighed. Her days of screaming for her favorite football players seemed long, long ago.

  She hurried across the grand entry and swung the door wide. “H-hello,” she said, the annoyance in her voice fizzling out to a reverent whisper.

  Standing on her threshold was the most handsome man she’d ever seen in real life. He was no stranger to her, as she’d cheered for him every weekend in the fall. His deep brown skin was smooth and his lips were just awe-inspiring—full, shapely, and so delectable. She and her roommate, Isabelle, used to stay up late at nights discussing what it would be like to kiss those lips. Then there were his deep brown eyes, the type that made a woman want to stare into them for hours. Not to mention his tall, well-built frame. Ooh, she could just picture him in his football uniform. Here he stood on her front porch, dressed in a deep blue suit and smiling apprehensively at her. If possible, he’d gotten even more handsome since last fall. What was he doing on her doorstep? Lord have mercy.

  “Good morning, ma’am,” he said all formal-like, sticking out his hand. “I’m Harrison Jackson.”

  “I know who you are,” she breathed out. She put her hand in his and felt for a moment like she’d found heaven. “Number twenty-two, best cornerback in the NCAA.”

  Harrison let out a grunt that sounded like a laugh and retrieved his hand. “Um, thank you, ma’am.”

  Her eyes widened and she wagged a finger at him. “Don’t you act like it isn’t true. I watched every game of your college career and I know you’re the top, just like my mama’s pecan pie is the best in the South.” Well, used to be the best in the South.

  This time he did laugh, a deep chuckle that warmed her clear through to her toes. “I appreciate the compliment, ma’am, but if I’d been the best I would’ve been drafted, not working as an accountant.” He grinned, and those white teeth flashing against his dark skin made her feel a bit faint. “Not that I’m complaining. Accounting’s a good career, lots of opportunity.”

  She eyed him up and down. That fit body was going to be stuck behind a desk all day? That was like cooping up a snow leopard or a tiger. “No, no, no. You can’t be an accountant. You are a football player, you must play!”

  Harrison laughed again. “I’m fine, really, ma’am. I’m doing what I want to do.”

  She eyed him, confused by his response and not sure he was being square with her, but then a bigger question begged an answer. “What are you doing on my front porch?”

  His smile dimmed. “Mr. Goodman sent me.”

  Henry. Her dad’s best friend. He was like an uncle to her. He and her Uncle Mike, her daddy’s former right-hand man, were better uncles than any of her blood relatives. “Is Maribelle doing all right?”

  “Not really, ma’am. Mr. Goodman felt his place was with her during her dialysis. But he has a lot of …” His mouth twisted as he searched for the right word. “Concern for you, so he sent me to help.”

  Henry had just become her favorite person. He cared enough to send help and to send it with style. Harrison Jackson. It was like a superstar walking right through her front door. How long was he planning to help? If she could talk him into staying in one of the eight bedrooms upstairs, maybe she’d get some rest at night. Nobody and nothing was going to get through all of those muscles.

  Grace stepped back, blushing at the thought of him sleeping in the next room over. “Where are my manners? Come in, let me get you a glass of lemonade.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  They walked side by side back to the kitchen. Her mama would be appalled that she didn’t care about having a guest sit in the formal room and bring him refreshment, but Grace was tired—tired of the pomp and circumstance, tired of serving and working, and just all around tired. She’d worked her tail end off. If she wanted to sit in her sunny kitchen and drink lemonade next to this fine-looking man, she’d ignore her mama’s censure from heaven.

  She glanced up, way up, to Harrison’s strong jawline. He must’ve felt her gaze, because he gazed down at her. His slow grin made her stomach tumble. “You are Grace Addison, correct? I kind of assumed.”

  Grace laughed and gestured to her paint-covered clothing. “You probably thought you’d find me dressed a little classier than this.”

  They made it to the kitchen and Harrison held the swinging door open for her. Just the sight of his strong body and that arm holding the door made her feel faint again. Maybe having him stay here wasn’t such a good idea. She’d never get anything accomplished besides ogling him.

  “Truth be told, ma’am, I kind of envisioned a big old hoop skirt with your hair in curls and you daintily holding a teacup.”

  Grace loved the teasing lilt to his voice. “Gracious me, sir, I’ll go put on my corset and hoops right now.” She laid the Southern drawl on thick enough to frost a cake.

  Harrison’s deep chuckle reverberated through the large kitchen, filling up all the nooks and crannies that had survived without laughter this past month. She smiled in return, falling completely in love with his laugh, and gestured to a chair by the butcher-block table. As a child, she’d spent many an hour in here with their cook and close family friend, Aunt Geraldine, and her mama. Generations before, the prejudice was thick, but her parents had dispelled with all of that. They loved their employees like family, which worked well since they all lived and worked under the same roof. Grace had been raised by Aunt Geraldine as surely as her mama, but with money as tight as it was now, she’d had to let everyone go when her daddy died. Aunt Geraldine and her husband, Uncle Mike, claimed they were ready to retire anyway. Luckily Daddy had set up a fund for them that the lawyers couldn’t touch and they’d bought a little house a few miles down the beach.

  Grace tried to understand why her daddy hadn’t done the same for her. Her lawyer, Ike, was a very nice man who patiently explained things to her, but he couldn’t change the twenty-year-old will any more than she could. She was only allowed two thousand dollars a month to live and maintain the house unless she either sold the house, married, or turned thirty. Thirty was a few years off, marriage probably further than that, and she’d work two jobs before she sold her house. Two thousand dollars a month would’ve been a fortune twenty years ago, or even back in her college days, but she was finding it wasn’t much to maintain a house and property. She was still making payments to the plumber for the septic tank backing up into the main floor bathroom, and it would take a year to get on top of the bill the electrician had left in her mailbox for updating the outlets to the fridge and stove after they shorted out two months ago. Uncle Mike used to maintain the place, but when she went away to college, Uncle Mike must’ve gotten overwhelmed and worn out. Things were pretty run-down.

  Harrison sat and she went to the fridge, coming back with a tall pitcher of lemonade and pouring two glasses full. Sadly, she had no cookies, pie, or anything sweet to serve with it. Her mama was definitely rolling over in her grave right about now.

  “Thank you.” Harrison took the glass in his large palm and drained a long swallow. “Warm today.”

  “You should take that suit coat off.” Grace reddened, partially because of her implication that she’d like him to take clothes off, but also because she couldn’t afford the air conditioning, so she’d turned it off. It was a warm June day in the South, well over eighty with way too much humidity and no breeze to hope on. “I mean, if you want to.”

  Harrison simply smiled at her and shrugged out of his suit coat, placing it on the back of his chair. Grace watched in awe, her jaw gaping slightly. His white shirt was short-sleeved, so his beautiful biceps were on fine display.

  “I remember every time you interce
pted the ball,” she said dreamily, luckily catching herself before she told him everything she remembered: those large hands snatching the ball out of the air, his biceps bulging through his football uniform …

  “You really were a fan.”

  “Oh yes, sir. Never missed a home game, and watched all the away games on the TV.” When he shifted as if her admission embarrassed him, she asked, “Do you miss it?”

  “Oh yeah. I loved playing.” He shrugged and took another drink, gripping the glass tightly. “But we all have to grow up at some point.”

  Her enthusiasm deflated. Harrison should still be playing football and she should still be enjoying college life, but here they were. He was a professional businessman and she was a professional painter and maintenance woman. Ha.

  “What did you graduate in?” he asked, smiling at her.

  Dang, he seemed like a nice guy. Who would’ve thought it? She’d dated a few athletes in college and some of them had heads bigger than their stats. Harrison should’ve been like that, but he definitely wasn’t.

  “I have a bachelor’s of education and I was halfway through my master’s when Daddy passed.” She gestured around sadly. “It was either come home and take care of things, or lose the house to some jokers who want to tear it down and build a massive resort.” She gestured out the large windows at the sweeping back lawn, which overlooked a gorgeous beach on Mobile Bay. Oak trees lined the property, almost a hundred acres of grass, forest, and swampland. She couldn’t even keep the grass around the house mowed and trimmed. The flower beds were a mess and the rest of the property was overgrown. Hopefully her poor mama couldn’t really look down on her from heaven, though Grace always felt like she was.

  “I’m sorry about your daddy.” He guzzled the rest of his lemonade and casually reclined into the chair.

  “It is what it is.” She fought back the tears, brushing at one that she didn’t catch fast enough. “So what did Henry send you to do?”

  He glanced away and rubbed at his neck. She’d most likely embarrassed him with her emotion. “Well, he wanted me to help with your financial trouble and whatever else you need.”