Read Online House of the Blue Sea by Teresa van Bryce - Free Book Online
Authors: Teresa van Bryce
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face.
Damn those sad, over-sized eyes. It was a trick of nature, the same one used by puppies and babies. So much for her puppy dog weakness only applying to actual dogs. And how did he cover the distance between ogre and charmer so quickly? Again she found the word “no” eluding her. “Okay. If you’re sure it would be no trouble, a ride would be ... nice.”
“Great.” Mark’s smile lifted the corners of his mouth, pushing his cheeks into two round pouches just below those girl-swallowing eyes. “Then I’ll swing by around ten to pick you up? Does that give you enough time in the morning?”
“Ten-thirty would be better. You see, I’m already messing with your plans.”
“If delaying me by half an hour is the worst you can do ...”
“See you tomorrow then.”
Sandra turned and made her way from the patio to the guest room hallway. She knew that thousands of women would give their right arm, possibly the left too, for a day in La Paz with Mark Jeffery, but she would honestly prefer a day to herself. La Paz—peace. It wouldn’t live up to its name tomorrow.
CHAPTER EIGHT
T he wave travelled halfway up Sandra’s calves as it made its way to shore. She stopped for a moment and closed her eyes, breathing in the moist, salt air. February. Her fifth time in Mexico for part of the winter and still it seemed unreal that this could be a February evening. Four years ago Baja had melted the ice she felt in her veins, like the winter had moved into them and could only be evicted by such a place as this. A tear ran down her cheek without any advance notice—no tightening in the throat, no burning eyes. The pain was less and yet the tears still came easily, like the trail had been blazed by so many before them that they could come without warning, without hindrance. She opened her eyes and pulled a tissue from the pocket of her capris, drying her face. The lights of Mar Azul were starting to come on in the distance as the sky darkened. Its warmth beckoned and yet she didn’t feel ready to be with people.
The breakfast with Mark Jeffery had rattled her and the feeling had stayed with her through the day. Was it his celebrity, his outburst or simply the fact that he was an attractive man? She wasn’t sure, but she knew she didn’t want to travel to La Paz with him tomorrow. Trisha would say she was just nervous, but this didn’t feel like a case of nerves, this stone in the pit of her stomach. She walked further out into the surf, the warm water now reaching her knees, soaking the bottoms of her pants. Turning her face to the sky she raised her arms in the air, placed her right foot to the inside of her left thigh in tree pose and waited for the calm to wash over her.
***
“S o, what do you think of my famous friend?” Paul asked from behind the bar.
Sandra licked some salt from the rim of her glass and let the tart, icy beverage follow it onto her tongue. “You’re getting almost as good as Arturo at mixing a marg. Where is Arturo anyway?”
“He’s in the kitchen, and you didn’t answer my question.”
“Well ... he’s a bit on the moody side I’d have to say. It’s like dancing with a porcupine, all charm until you bump into him. Is he always like that?”
“He’s always been impetuous, but the short fuse to anger is new. He’s going through something of a rough patch right now. Career and ex-wife both giving him grief.”
“He didn’t mention his ex-wife but I gathered he’s less than thrilled with his career at the moment. Wasn’t he married to Serena Rhodes?” Sandra held her hand at chest height. “Legs up to here?” Paul reached over and slid her hand up closer to her neck. “Oh, thanks.” She laughed. “I think I saw something about her in some magazine or other recently. I never buy them but I do indulge my curiosity when I’m in line at the grocery store.”
“Serena, that’s her, the ice queen. And what you probably saw is that she recently remarried.”
“Why
Damn those sad, over-sized eyes. It was a trick of nature, the same one used by puppies and babies. So much for her puppy dog weakness only applying to actual dogs. And how did he cover the distance between ogre and charmer so quickly? Again she found the word “no” eluding her. “Okay. If you’re sure it would be no trouble, a ride would be ... nice.”
“Great.” Mark’s smile lifted the corners of his mouth, pushing his cheeks into two round pouches just below those girl-swallowing eyes. “Then I’ll swing by around ten to pick you up? Does that give you enough time in the morning?”
“Ten-thirty would be better. You see, I’m already messing with your plans.”
“If delaying me by half an hour is the worst you can do ...”
“See you tomorrow then.”
Sandra turned and made her way from the patio to the guest room hallway. She knew that thousands of women would give their right arm, possibly the left too, for a day in La Paz with Mark Jeffery, but she would honestly prefer a day to herself. La Paz—peace. It wouldn’t live up to its name tomorrow.
CHAPTER EIGHT
T he wave travelled halfway up Sandra’s calves as it made its way to shore. She stopped for a moment and closed her eyes, breathing in the moist, salt air. February. Her fifth time in Mexico for part of the winter and still it seemed unreal that this could be a February evening. Four years ago Baja had melted the ice she felt in her veins, like the winter had moved into them and could only be evicted by such a place as this. A tear ran down her cheek without any advance notice—no tightening in the throat, no burning eyes. The pain was less and yet the tears still came easily, like the trail had been blazed by so many before them that they could come without warning, without hindrance. She opened her eyes and pulled a tissue from the pocket of her capris, drying her face. The lights of Mar Azul were starting to come on in the distance as the sky darkened. Its warmth beckoned and yet she didn’t feel ready to be with people.
The breakfast with Mark Jeffery had rattled her and the feeling had stayed with her through the day. Was it his celebrity, his outburst or simply the fact that he was an attractive man? She wasn’t sure, but she knew she didn’t want to travel to La Paz with him tomorrow. Trisha would say she was just nervous, but this didn’t feel like a case of nerves, this stone in the pit of her stomach. She walked further out into the surf, the warm water now reaching her knees, soaking the bottoms of her pants. Turning her face to the sky she raised her arms in the air, placed her right foot to the inside of her left thigh in tree pose and waited for the calm to wash over her.
***
“S o, what do you think of my famous friend?” Paul asked from behind the bar.
Sandra licked some salt from the rim of her glass and let the tart, icy beverage follow it onto her tongue. “You’re getting almost as good as Arturo at mixing a marg. Where is Arturo anyway?”
“He’s in the kitchen, and you didn’t answer my question.”
“Well ... he’s a bit on the moody side I’d have to say. It’s like dancing with a porcupine, all charm until you bump into him. Is he always like that?”
“He’s always been impetuous, but the short fuse to anger is new. He’s going through something of a rough patch right now. Career and ex-wife both giving him grief.”
“He didn’t mention his ex-wife but I gathered he’s less than thrilled with his career at the moment. Wasn’t he married to Serena Rhodes?” Sandra held her hand at chest height. “Legs up to here?” Paul reached over and slid her hand up closer to her neck. “Oh, thanks.” She laughed. “I think I saw something about her in some magazine or other recently. I never buy them but I do indulge my curiosity when I’m in line at the grocery store.”
“Serena, that’s her, the ice queen. And what you probably saw is that she recently remarried.”
“Why
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