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“My cousin Luke rebuilt the house. He lived there for a while, but then he married the woman who owns Edilean Manor, so he moved in with her. He and I worked out a deal in private, and now the house is mine.”

“Edilean Manor,” Gemma said, her eyes wide. “I saw photos of it on the Web site. Is it as good as it looks?”

“Better. I’ll make sure you see it.”

“Before I leave,” Gemma said and frowned. In just a few hours the job had come to mean more than just the Frazier documents. She’d met people and was becoming involved in their problems. And maybe she and Colin were becoming friends. Or maybe more than friends. She was quite attracted to him, both physically and as a person. And she liked that he was so well respected by the people in town. Even the children liked him.

“If you leave,” Colin corrected as he pulled into the driveway of a very pretty house.

To hide her smile at his tone, Gemma leaned forward to get a look at the house. It did indeed look a bit like a Frank Lloyd Wright design, with its deep overhanging roof and built-in flower boxes. The trim around the windows and door was of rich wood that glowed with warmth.

Colin pushed a remote attached to his sun visor, and the garage door opened. There was nothing inside, not so much as a garden hose. As the big door rolled shut behind them, he reached to the back and got the food. “Want to see the house?”

“Love to,” she said as she got out and followed him.

There was a covered breezeway leading from the garage to the side door. It was made of wood of three colors, all of it sealed to preserve the natural shades.

Gemma ran her hand along the rail. “You say your cousin Luke did this? Or did he hire someone to do it?”

“He’s the woodworker.” Colin used his key to open the back door and they entered the kitchen. It was beautiful, with new cabinets painted pale yellow, and granite countertops of a deep gold. All the appliances were stainless steel.

The kitchen opened into a dining room that had more of the beautifully finished windows that looked out to the front.

“Wow!” Gemma said, and Colin smiled at her.

The living room was to the right, partially walled off from the kitchen-dining area. One whole side was a stone fireplace flanked by shelves for books and a big TV. There was a large Oriental rug on the floor, but it was the only thing in the room. In fact, there was no furniture anywhere.

“Mind sitting on the floor?” Colin asked.

“My favorite place.”

“But only if you have a dozen books open around you and a notebook in your hand. And how many colors of pens do you use?”

“Seven—which is one fewer than Kirk says he uses. I’ll have to ask him what number eight is.”

They spread the food out on the paper wrappers on the carpet and began to eat.

“This is delicious,” Gemma said.

“If Ellie makes it, you can bet it is.”

Gemma looked around the beautiful room. There were glass doors along the back and they opened into a courtyard that had a garden beyond.

She looked back at him and again thought how much she loved the look of him. In the last couple of years she’d spent so much time with athletes that she’d become attracted to larger men. Besides the boys that she’d tutored there’d been the coaches. One of the assistants and she had dated for months. But she’d broken it off when his lack of interest about anything but sports got to her.

She could feel that indescribable “something” that made her think that Colin was also attracted to her. However, she was very aware that he’d maneuvered the conversation so Gemma had admitted she didn’t have a boyfriend, but Colin had said nothing about his own love life. If it hadn’t been for her adviser telling her all three sons were unmarried, she wouldn’t even know that. “How does your girlfriend like this house?”

“I told you that no one has seen it.”

Which was a perfect nonanswer, Gemma thought, and she was damned if she was going to work to find out more about his personal life. “I like the house very much,” she said at last. “You should be very happy here.”

Colin moved to lean back against the wall, and took his time before speaking, as though he were contemplating what to say. “In the last year and a half three of my friends . . . well, actually four, got married, and it’s made me think about my own future.” He looked at her and smiled warmly. “I’m sure that’s more than you wanted to know about me.”

She wanted to say that she’d like to hear a lot more, but it was too soon for that.

They were quiet for a while, then Gemma asked him about his brothers.

“Real pests,” he said, but there was so much love in his voice that it was almost embarrassing. He talked while they ate, telling her about his family, and she saw how close they were to one another.


Tags: Jude Deveraux Edilean Romance