Read Online Weekend Agreement by Barbara Wallace - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Barbara Wallace
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,” Cole said. “Give you a taste of what it’s like.”
“I don’t know if we’ll get the chance, Cole. The way this wind is picking up, it might be too gusty to head out tomorrow.”
“Well, then,” Cole said, his smile growing impossibly broader, “you’ll simply have to come back another weekend.”
“It’s that storm, William. I knew we should have postponed our party.” Pinching her brow, Vivian sighed in a dramatic fashion. “That hurricane is going to move in and ruin all our plans.”
“Now, now, sweetheart, the weathermen all say the storm is moving out to sea. It’ll miss us entirely. Besides,” William scooped up his wife’s hand and planted a kiss on her wrist, “the powers of nature know better than to cross you.”
“Heaven help us if they do,” Daniel muttered. Charlotte held back a smile. Looking up, she saw he had that same unreadable look as on the plane. An equally mysterious feeling swept over her. “You all right?” she asked.
He nodded. His eyes swept over her, bringing another warming sensation. The rest of the veranda faded away, leaving only him and the ocean backdrop. She found herself unable to speak as he slipped the glass from her fingers. “Come on,” he said in a quiet voice. “Let’s take a walk.”
Chapter Five
“So what do you think of my humble family?” Daniel asked as they walked along the shoreline.
They were walking barefoot in the surf. The waves churned up by the distant storm dampened the rolled cuffs of Daniel’s slacks, but he didn’t mind. The more shoreline they covered, the more the headache that had plagued him since the flight receded. He loved the feel of water swirling around his ankles, the sand rushing out from beneath his feet with the receding waves.
Next to him, Charlotte had bent to retrieve a shell, her tan thighs smooth and inviting. “They were expecting someone else,” she said.
“Guess they’re behind on their supermarket reading.”
Her raised brow told him the reference didn’t go unnoticed. “Valerie Pinochet, then. No wonder they were surprised.”
“Surprised is one way to put it.”
“Disappointed?”
Did she mean him or his family? He watched as she turned the scallop shell over and over in her hand, as if judging its worth. “They’ll get over it.” At least William and Cole would. They didn’t really care whom he showed up with anyway. As for his mother… “Vivian will simply have to find another photo opportunity.”
“She’s very strong-minded, your mother.”
As diplomatic an answer as he’d ever heard. “You don’t need to mince words with me, Professor. I’m well aware my mother is a self-absorbed princess.”
Take, for example, that drivel about writing a book. Vivian wouldn’t read an entire book, let alone write one. She simply wanted the conversation away from Charlotte. His mother only shared the spotlight if there was something in it for her.
“We’ve no one to blame but ourselves, of course.” He picked up a shell and skimmed it into the surf. It disappeared into the foam. “No one does anything to stop her. What’s the proper term? Enabling? We’re all guilty.” Himself included.
“Sometimes it’s easier to acquiesce,” Charlotte said.
Surprised, he paused. She had the same expression she wore when offering him crackers: earnest and sincere, as if she truly understood. A queer tightness filled his chest. “William and Cole have the formula down perfectly. I tend to be a little more passive-aggressive.” Benefit of being the billionaire son. Still, he gave in too, eventually. Ingrained behaviors died hard.
He kicked at the water, hoping to push aside the gloom threatening to rise inside him. There was a time when he saw his mother as a princess, an ethereal beauty who floated in and out of his bedroom in a cloud of silk and rose perfume and kisses that promised attention tomorrow. There was a time when he believed the promises too. Before he learned
“I don’t know if we’ll get the chance, Cole. The way this wind is picking up, it might be too gusty to head out tomorrow.”
“Well, then,” Cole said, his smile growing impossibly broader, “you’ll simply have to come back another weekend.”
“It’s that storm, William. I knew we should have postponed our party.” Pinching her brow, Vivian sighed in a dramatic fashion. “That hurricane is going to move in and ruin all our plans.”
“Now, now, sweetheart, the weathermen all say the storm is moving out to sea. It’ll miss us entirely. Besides,” William scooped up his wife’s hand and planted a kiss on her wrist, “the powers of nature know better than to cross you.”
“Heaven help us if they do,” Daniel muttered. Charlotte held back a smile. Looking up, she saw he had that same unreadable look as on the plane. An equally mysterious feeling swept over her. “You all right?” she asked.
He nodded. His eyes swept over her, bringing another warming sensation. The rest of the veranda faded away, leaving only him and the ocean backdrop. She found herself unable to speak as he slipped the glass from her fingers. “Come on,” he said in a quiet voice. “Let’s take a walk.”
Chapter Five
“So what do you think of my humble family?” Daniel asked as they walked along the shoreline.
They were walking barefoot in the surf. The waves churned up by the distant storm dampened the rolled cuffs of Daniel’s slacks, but he didn’t mind. The more shoreline they covered, the more the headache that had plagued him since the flight receded. He loved the feel of water swirling around his ankles, the sand rushing out from beneath his feet with the receding waves.
Next to him, Charlotte had bent to retrieve a shell, her tan thighs smooth and inviting. “They were expecting someone else,” she said.
“Guess they’re behind on their supermarket reading.”
Her raised brow told him the reference didn’t go unnoticed. “Valerie Pinochet, then. No wonder they were surprised.”
“Surprised is one way to put it.”
“Disappointed?”
Did she mean him or his family? He watched as she turned the scallop shell over and over in her hand, as if judging its worth. “They’ll get over it.” At least William and Cole would. They didn’t really care whom he showed up with anyway. As for his mother… “Vivian will simply have to find another photo opportunity.”
“She’s very strong-minded, your mother.”
As diplomatic an answer as he’d ever heard. “You don’t need to mince words with me, Professor. I’m well aware my mother is a self-absorbed princess.”
Take, for example, that drivel about writing a book. Vivian wouldn’t read an entire book, let alone write one. She simply wanted the conversation away from Charlotte. His mother only shared the spotlight if there was something in it for her.
“We’ve no one to blame but ourselves, of course.” He picked up a shell and skimmed it into the surf. It disappeared into the foam. “No one does anything to stop her. What’s the proper term? Enabling? We’re all guilty.” Himself included.
“Sometimes it’s easier to acquiesce,” Charlotte said.
Surprised, he paused. She had the same expression she wore when offering him crackers: earnest and sincere, as if she truly understood. A queer tightness filled his chest. “William and Cole have the formula down perfectly. I tend to be a little more passive-aggressive.” Benefit of being the billionaire son. Still, he gave in too, eventually. Ingrained behaviors died hard.
He kicked at the water, hoping to push aside the gloom threatening to rise inside him. There was a time when he saw his mother as a princess, an ethereal beauty who floated in and out of his bedroom in a cloud of silk and rose perfume and kisses that promised attention tomorrow. There was a time when he believed the promises too. Before he learned
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