Page 10 of Guarded by My Gargoyle

“Money’s no object,” he added, and she immediately tensed.

“The amount of money doesn’t affect my commitments,” she said stiffly.

To his credit, he immediately apologized. “That’s not what I meant. I just wanted you to know that I want it done properly. I’d rather it cost more and be done correctly than have it shortcut due to budgetary constraints.”

“All right.” To be fair, sometimes even the wealthiest clients, the ones who claimed to be willing to pay anything, were the first ones to hesitate when it came to spending money on things that weren’t visible.

“So will you take the job?” he asked, looking more anxious than an enormous male with a hard face should look.

“I…”

The rational corner of her brain, the corner that had kept her free from Cornelia’s well-intentioned but suffocating generosity, told her that it was a mistake. But the other portion, the portion that saw the beautiful garden beneath the neglect and heard his voice when he talked of his mother’s roses, disagreed.

And that was the part that won.

“I’ll draw up a contract,” she heard herself say before she could change her mind.

CHAPTER 4

That’s not necessary.

The words almost escaped before Garrick could reel them back in, but he managed to remain silent. He’d seen enough of the prickly, suspicious female in front of him to know that she wouldn’t interpret his offer as a sign of trust. She’d start looking for the trap, and that was the last thing he wanted.

“Fine,” he said amicably. “I’ll accompany you back to your office so we can get the paperwork taken care of.”

Small white teeth clamped down on a plump lower lip. He was sure she was looking for an excuse to put him off, but he didn’t give her the chance.

“Did you drive or walk?”

She gave up and released the lip with an almost audible sigh. “I walked.”

“Great. I was looking for an opportunity to stretch my legs,” he said as they set off. “I’ve been up on the roof all morning.”

She looked over his shoulder at the immense expanse of slate covering the roof of the mansion. “You’re doing it yourself?”

“Of course. I started as a roofer. I could carry two packs of shingles at a time, and I didn’t mind heights.” He deliberately fluttered his wings and saw her give them a quick appraising look.

“I imagine not,” she said dryly, trying to hide a smile.

“Roofing, framing, masonry, plumbing, electrical. There isn’t anything construction-related that I haven’t done.”

The words were out before he realized what he was doing. Preening in front of her like a male desperate to prove his worth. He’d never done that before. To be fair, he’d never needed to do that before.

Once the wealth came, the females followed, but he’d never met one who’d aroused even a fraction of the excitement that had swept through him when he opened his door and found Maris Calder on his doorstep.

I am in so much trouble, he thought.

To avoid making any more foolish mistakes, he kept his mouth shut for the rest of the trip around the block.

In spite of that, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed a walk more. He slowed his pace to match her ridiculously short footsteps and simply enjoyed the sun and the breeze off the river, already carrying a hint of fall, along with her green, intoxicating fragrance.

Her office consisted of an old desk and an even more ancient chair in the back of her small garden shop, but both the desk and the file cabinets behind it were meticulously organized, and she quickly pulled up a boilerplate contract on her computer.

“We should specify the scope of work.”

“Everything,” he replied immediately, then winced. “What I mean is that I’d like the entire five acres restored. It doesn’t have to be an exact replica, but whenever possible, I’d like to retain as much of the underlying structure and as many of the plants as possible.”

She smiled at him for the first time since his unfortunate comment about money being no object. “Good. That would be my preference as well. Although I should warn you that many of the plants will need to be severely pruned, and they’re going to be very ugly until the new growth comes in. I also can’t promise I’ll save everything.”