Royally Claimed - By Marie Donovan Page 0,36

by sliding his hands down to squeeze her bottom. She wore thin knit exercise shorts and his hand was hot on her skin.

She giggled. “Very handy indeed. But what do you say, Frank? Let’s fix the place up together, and then you can bring over the workers for the bigger projects.”

“You’re going to be a distraction.”

“A bad one?” She wiggled against him.

He nibbled her earlobe. “What do you think?”

“A good distraction. But rolling around in bed won’t get the renovations done. If we don’t do anything, we’ll have to get outside help that much sooner, and that means losing our privacy.”

He frowned at that idea. She knew privacy was a rare gift for him, being surrounded most of the time by family and staff at home. “Okay, Julia. We can do most of the work and delay bringing in the cleaning and landscaping staff for several more days.”

“Great.” She looked around. “Where should we start?”

He sighed, his warm breath tickling her. “The bathrooms. Paint, plumbing, the whole works. All the supplies are out in the storage shed.” He reluctantly let go of her and drank the rest of his coffee. “Take your time with your breakfast—it’ll take me a few minutes to carry the new materials in.”

He trudged toward the door in mock disappointment but was whistling cheerfully by the time he went outside. He was such an active man and thrived on difficult, physical work. Julia quickly loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and headed upstairs. She had bragged about her do-it-yourself skills and it was time to prove it.

Julia eyed the master bathroom’s ancient faucet with two faceted plastic knobs designed to look like crystals. A steady drip of water plopped into the sink.

Frank appeared in the doorway. “Lovely, isn’t it?”

“Is this the same sink from the last time I was here?”

“Yep.” He grunted as he set down a big cardboard box that held a new vanity cabinet. He straightened up and massaged his lower back. “I’m sure it is. We haven’t fixed up the villa for years.”

She opened the doors under the old sink and shut off the water, disconnecting the plastic trap and letting the water drain into a bucket. Frank carried a wrench and screwdriver into the bathroom and stopped when he saw her progress.

“Screwdriver.” She held out her hand and he placed it in her palm. She tried to undo the screws holding the cabinet to the wall, but they were too tight for her. She struggled for a minute and Frank knelt beside her.

“Here, let me.”

She fought with the screws but he made an impatient noise and covered her hand with his. “You don’t have to do this all by yourself.”

“I’m used to it.” She didn’t mean it as a slam on him but his lips tightened.

They tussled briefly over the tool but he prevailed and quickly freed the vanity from the wall. His muscles bulged as he pulled it into the bedroom.

While he was taking the old fixture downstairs, Julia cut open the new box and had the new vanity and sink pushed up against the wall. It was a dark mahogany with a cream stone top and she found a new brushed nickel faucet in a nearby box.

“Julia!” he said in annoyance, his arms crossed over his chest.

“What?”

“That cabinet and sink are very heavy, and you are still getting over your injuries. I am not going to let you help with this renovation if you insist on doing everything by yourself.”

She huffed out a breath. “I’m perfectly capable of doing work like this without straining myself.”

“I mean it, Julia.” His face hardened into what she privately called his “duke expression.” She’d only seen it a few times. “If you don’t leave the heavy lifting to me, I’ll do all the work myself.”

“And what would I do?”

“Sit on the terrace and enjoy the ocean view. Or else I’ll take you back to São Miguel.”

“You’d separate us for this?”

“For the sake of your health I would do anything.”

“Oh.” She hated to admit he was right. Although she’d been in excellent shape before her injury, she wasn’t back up to her full strength and was starting to feel a bit of strain in her arms and shoulders.

“What is the American phrase? You can be the brain and I can be the brawn.” He gave her a teasing smile.

“Oh, Frank.” She pushed at him and he hugged her. He certainly was strong, built like an ox.

“We make a good team, you and I.” He dipped