Read Online Blue Heaven (Blue Lake) by Cynthia Harrison - Free Book Online Page A

go any further than that. Yes, she was attracted to him, but that was just left-over baby lust from Marcus. Or maybe seeing Mama with her kittens had brought that subliminal desire for a baby roaring back to life, and her cavewoman genes had chosen Daniel for the daddy. That was all this was. But she was smarter than biology. And stronger.
    She stared at the huge house. It sat upon a good amount of space on the wide lot. Three-storied. Brick. Large porch with the thick stone piers. She was stalling. How to ask for his help? How to bring up the subject? “Oh by the way, your brother took some beds from your house and moved in with me and a teenage girl he picked up off the highway” seemed inappropriate on so many levels. She wouldn’t mention the roof situation, the attempt at a staircase, or that scary sliver of sky. For all she knew, they’d just roughed something in to get an idea of dimension. They’d probably be fine once they got into it. Okay, she needed to quit stalling and just go ring the doorbell already.
    She climbed, trepidation and something else, possibly house envy, in every step. The details of this house were perfect. Mellow warm brick. Wood trim stained a gorgeous mahogany color. Gleaming glass inserts in double front doors. Thanks to Daniel, she now knew that this glass was original, knew how to spot the waviness that gave it away. And she was still stalling. What was he going to do, bite her? And why did that random thought make her heart pound harder?
    She took a breath and rang the bell. She heard footsteps and then there was Daniel, at the door. Looking too beautiful to be a bad guy. If it ever happened, if they did have a child together, it would be a beauty. Male or female. Just with his DNA alone. Stop it! she warned herself.
    “Hey you, come on in.” He seemed delighted to see her.
    “I don’t want to disturb you, but something’s come up.”
    “With Blue Heaven?”
    She wanted to confide in him about her doubts regarding her building team, but resisted. “No, the project’s fine.”
    “Oh. Good.”
    Gee, she felt like an idiot. She suddenly blanked on why she was here.
    “How’s it going? What do you need?” He took both her hands and pulled her from the porch into an entryway as big as her bedroom.
    ****
    When Eva had shown up at Daniel’s door, it was as if he’d conjured her. He’d just been thinking about her, daydreaming about the way her stomach curved in and how those curves were places you could get lost in. They’d gotten close to something the other day at her place. Maybe today they would get back there, and then some.
    “Want a quick tour?” He’d like to start the tour in the bedroom, but that would be too obvious. In some ways, Eva seemed as skittish as her cat.
    “Well, okay.” Something was on her mind, but it couldn’t be too important or she’d have said what it was by now. Probably wanted to take him up on his loan offer and didn’t know how to ask.
    He would put her at ease with his Bryman chat.
    “This is the first house Bryman designed. And a member of his family has lived in it ever since.”
    He led her through the dining room and into the kitchen. The three rooms were large, with wide openings. He pointed out features without really paying attention to his words. He couldn’t even hear himself, so focused was he on her standing next to him. He wanted to take her in his arms and do it on the dining room table. Even if she let him, and that was a big IF, it would probably be a mistake. Take it slow, that was the ticket.
    “Scullery, laundry room, servant’s dining room, which I use as my office. I’ve kept everything authentic.”
    In the other wing, he pointed out his billiard room, a library, and a room his mother had always called a morning room, maybe because it got full sun at that time of day.
    “My grandmother liked to sew in here,” he said. She walked into every room, touching fabric, looking closely at wallpaper patterns, running