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I couldn’t tell whether or not they believed me. I wouldn’t have believed me.
“Well, better get someone to repair the road in front of the gates,” said Noah. He pulled four big fingers through his thick mop of blond hair. “It floods every single time it rains.”
He smiled at me before returning to work, and for one beautiful moment his starfire eyes lingered on mine. I thought about what it would be like to crush my mouth against those perfect, tantalizing lips. Or how it might feel to press my face against that hard, quivering abdomen…
Then he was heaving his hammer high overhead, and smashing away another piece of history.
“Hey.”
I turned and Chase was there, his two emerald orbs rendering me instantly helpless. He had the jawline of a Greek god, and cheekbones to match. One masculine hand scratching at a dark patch of super-hot stubble was the only thing that broke me from my trance.
“Things are getting a little thin around here, no?”
I couldn’t look away. Two big arms rested on the mighty sledge, propped up tall between his legs.
“T—Thin?”
“Yeah,” he smiled. “Used to be a full crew. Lots of work going on. Lately though, seems like we’re… dwindling.”
The scent of him was driving me wild. Sweat, steel, leather… and something else. Something so manly it was making my knees weak.
“Don’t worry about it,” I smiled back, trying not to overdo it. “Temporary lull. Ebbs and flows.”
Without thinking, I reached out and laid a hand on his deeply-tanned shoulder. It felt like touching a marble statue.
Oh my God…
I saw those amazing eyes dip down my body. They took their time coming back up, stopping at more than a few places along the way.
“Ebbs and flows,” Chase grinned, before twisting away.
Two
MADISON
“I’m sorry, but you’re overextended. There’s nothing more we can do.”
The loan officer’s words echoed in my mind as I drove slowly home from the third and final bank. I was officially out of options. Down to the very last of my savings.
And I wasn’t anywhere near able to pass the inspections required for historical status.
Glumly the reality of my situation began to sink in. I’d miss the deadlines, and lose the property rights. They’d go straight back up for auction again, only this time, they’d be purchased by people with far more resources than me.
Hey, look. It’s not your fault.
It wasn’t, really. No one could’ve predicted my uncle’s illness. He got sick so suddenly, and faded so fast. And it was so sad, too. So cold and lonely, trying to care for him all by myself.
And when he was finally gone… somehow care for the castle, too.
Even with the money he left behind, it wasn’t nearly enough to finish the project. It would be several years of backbreaking work, down the drain. My uncle’s last great love, ultimately unfinished. His final legacy, lost.
And certainly not for a lack of trying.
Maybe you could check with another bank. Or maybe—
It was really no use arguing with myself. Trying to figure out a way to somehow keep the payment schedule and finish renovating the property as per the government-issued requirements. That was the hard part, really. I could fight off bill collectors or I could fight off inspectors, but definitely not both.
It was just over two years ago that I’d left California for the promise of something new. To not only see and travel Europe, but to live in a castle while doing it! My uncle Travis had sent me the most breathtaking photos. Everything looked so good, so incredibly amazing…
