slowly approached the table. “I can’t believe you did all this.”
“I thought it would be appropriate,” he replied.
Jade smiled brightly, her eyes delighted. “Because you wanted to see how beautiful the house could be?” she asked, taking a seat in one of the pretty, white wicker chairs.
“Something like that,” he said, holding one of the chairs out for her. When she was seated, he took the seat directly across from her and Jade fiddled with her napkin, nervous about looking him in the eye.
A waiter arrived out of one of the dark rooms, an open bottle of wine in his hand. He immediately poured both of them a glass of red wine and Jade sat back, trying to relax while listening to the cicadas and tree frogs.
Another waiter arrived and placed a beautifully prepared meal in front of her and Jade relaxed as the delicious scents rose up to greet her. The meal was delicious and she had to admit that she actually enjoyed talking to Angelo once he stopped trying to be so arrogant and obnoxious. He was knowledgeable, funny, charming and able to discuss just about any subject.
When the waiter finally took away the last course, she sat back, suddenly feeling awkward. She’d had too many glasses of wine perhaps and Angelo was looking much more handsome than he had earlier in the evening. “Well, I guess I’d better leave. I can walk…”
“Let’s go through the house,” he interrupted. “You can give me your ideas and discuss which rooms you’ll start in first.”
Jade stood up automatically, setting down her wine glass. “I haven’t agreed to take on the project,” she replied, feeling saucy and daring now. It was all the wine, or maybe the way he was looking at her. Several times during the meal, she had to remind herself that she had a boyfriend, that she didn’t like this man, and he was the town enemy that was going to destroy all the things she loved about her little place on this earth. It was hard to remember when she was laughing about whatever he was telling her, or blushing with his obvious admiration.
Now he was standing next to her and she could once again feel the heat as his incredibly large body towered over her. She wanted to step back, but discovered that the table was behind her.
He smiled down at her but didn’t say anything. Instead, he took her arm and led her back into the house. When they stood in the great hall, he didn’t say a word, but waited for Jade to begin, letting her wander around the room that was now lit with very weak wall sconces.
During the daylight, the room was filled with sunshine by the large windows but it was dark now, making the area feel a bit depressing. “This is a gorgeous room. The lighting needs to change primarily but…” and she continued to go around, pointing out issues that need to be changed but also keeping the original style of the room by repairing the damage caused by years of neglect and lack of climate control. Interspersed, she discussed the furniture that could be brought in to make the room feel livable and comfortable. The room was enormous which was both a challenge and a benefit.
Angelo didn’t say anything as he followed her from room to room. Jade’s imagination was thrilled with all of the exciting things that could be done with the house but she had no idea how much he wanted to spend refurbishing everything. There were so many details to the house, so many things that needed to be fixed or replaced. All of the bathrooms would need to be completely gutted and even some water lines repaired. And of course, the kitchen needed to be completely renovated as well.
When they were back on the lanai, she stood awkwardly beside him, aware that she’d chattered on about everything while he walked beside her silently.
She only noticed that issue when she stopped talking. The waiters had cleaned up everything while they’d been walking through the house and seemed to have completely disappeared. The only sounds were the chirping of the grasshoppers and singing of the cicadas and tree frogs and she stared at his chest, trying to figure out what he was thinking.
When she finally looked up at him, she realized that was exactly what he’d been waiting for.
“When can you start?” he asked, his hands in his pockets. Angelo wanted the business portion of their