Tide Will Tell (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans) (3 page)

Mamma Mia.
Chase had told her all about his house—
their
house—but nothing could have prepared her for this. She let out a gasp, to the apparent amusement of the driver, who responded with a light chuckle.

“This is it, Miss Jennings.” He eased the car around the sprawling circular drive, stopping at the foot of a wide walkway. “Welcome home.”

Slowly, she lifted her gaze.

Wow
. She’d never lived in a place that had actual landscaping, but it had probably taken massive hours and mega bucks to make this yard look so perfectly natural. Even the house itself seemed so harmonious with nature, it could have sprouted out of the ground.

The walkway made a gradual incline toward a set of huge stone steps which ascended to the stage-like, flowerpot-dotted wraparound porch. Three stories of elegant natural wood, stone, and glass competed for height with the evergreens which formed a protective half-circle around it. Large stone chimneys emerged on either end of the roof. And windows? They were everywhere. This house went on for days.

A lump suddenly appeared in Kate’s throat. What had she done to deserve this?

Barely eight weeks ago she’d been holed up in a filthy motel room, afraid to go outside for fear of being shot or worse. Tears welled at the memory. If she hadn’t met Chase when she had, who knows what would have happened.

But now here she was, in this magnificent place, about to be reunited with the love of her life.

The driver had gotten out and walked around to her side of the car. He opened the door and held out a hand to her. Taking it, she swung both feet to the ground and stood, instantly regretting that morning’s decision to wear the three-inch heels just because Chase had once commented that they made her legs look a mile long. It could very well take the rest of her natural life to adjust to walking in these things.

She forced a calm breath, appeased by the smell of pine trees and clean air. So different from the city. The only sound to break the silence was the soft twittering of a few birds. She could definitely get used to this.

The massive double doors at the front of the house swung open and Chase appeared, smiling broadly. He stepped out onto the porch, looking even more handsome than she remembered. His chiseled features—still tanned from the California sun—and silver-streaked hair made him look more like a matinee idol than a businessman. Kate smiled. There was nothing at all wrong with being attracted to good looks, at any age. Older men admired and appreciated younger women—couldn’t the reverse be equally acceptable?

Smoothing her hair, she scolded herself. Why hadn’t she thought to check her make-up before getting out of the car? She was still so unaccustomed to wearing it and felt a little conspicuous, not trusting it to remain natural looking on her face.

As Chase descended the stairs, she moved to meet him. Gliding gracefully up the path, her body seemed to get ahead of her feet. Her right knee twisted painfully and sent her nearly pummeling into one of the tidy green bushes lining the walkway. She quickly righted herself, embarrassment flushing her skin.

What a klutz.
She was going to ruin everything if she wasn’t more careful.
Darn heels.
She made a mental note to go back to flats and work her way up from there.

“Darling.” Chase reached her in an instant and placed his hands on her upper arms. “Are you all right?”

A demure nod was all she could muster. “My foot fell asleep.” She shook the offending appendage for good measure.

Beaming, he gave her a warm hug, then tipped her chin up with his index finger and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

A shadow of disappointment crossed through her. She had hoped for a more passionate welcome, but this was no doubt too public a place for that. Why had she been so foolish as to expect more?

Chase called to the driver. “Take Miss Jennings’ things to the guesthouse.”

The guesthouse?
She frowned. She wasn’t exactly a
guest
.

He caught the question in her eyes. “I thought it would be more romantic for you to have your own space until the wedding. I mean…” He ran his fingers through her hair. “You did make it crystal clear in San Francisco that you wanted to wait.”

She pulled in a breath. It was so sweet of him not to pressure her. She loved him, but the thought of getting physically intimate with him was…what? Not exactly
un
appealing, but something she felt better about waiting for. She couldn’t explain it. Not even to herself.

“Thank you, Chase.” She smiled up at him. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

“Come into the house.” Squeezing her shoulder tightly, he guided her up the front steps. “I assume you’ve had lunch?”

“Yes…” Had she? Willing her knee to take pity on her, she cautioned a step. An alarming pain shot through her leg, throwing emphasis on the incline of the pathway. It didn’t help that the slim skirt was more confining than she was used to.

“Hurry, darling.” Chase seemed oblivious to her struggle. “There are some people inside I want you to meet.”

“Oh, really?” Her stomach dipped. “Who?” She tried not to let her voice betray her anxiety, but it came out sounding pinched.

A mischievous grin played on his lips. “Let’s just leave it as a surprise.”

The ringing of his cell phone drew his hand to his jacket pocket and his attention from her. “Sam. Talk to me.” He spoke into his phone, then held up a hand and stepped ahead of her, indicating his need to take the call in private. His tone turned urgent as he climbed to the porch and vanished around the corner of the house.

Left alone on the steps, she huffed out disbelief. She had only been here for five minutes. Couldn’t he let a call go to voicemail just once?

As she leaned on the pillar next to her, she kicked off her shoes and rubbed her sore knee. Scanning the sloping rock and flora garden on either side of the walkway, she scolded herself. It would do her no good to get angry at Chase on her first day. Besides, he clearly thought it appropriate to leave her to explore on her own.

Excitement pushed aside the anger. This was her house!

She glanced toward the corner where Chase had disappeared, but there was no sign of him. Dipping down to pick up her shoes, she faced the front door. Her nerves strained at the thought of running into the people inside, whoever they were, but restlessness stirred. This was her home too now, and she was dying to take a look around.

She stepped forward and gave the door a gentle nudge. Surprised by the weight of it, she pressed her palm to the wood and eased her head inside as it opened.

Instantly, the air left her lungs.

Chapter 4

Whoa.
This place was something. The interior had the same natural feel as the outside, with exposed beams and lots of Native American-style art on the walls.

As Kate slipped inside, her feet felt soothed against the shiny hard wood floor. Stopping to listen intently, she took comfort in the silence. She was definitely not up to meeting anyone just yet.

A humongous staircase swooped up to the second story, with a railing that extended halfway around the upper portion of the foyer. To the left of the stairs, Kate saw an entryway into what she assumed must be the living room. As she moved gingerly toward it, the full impact of the room ahead took her breath away.

“Wow,” she mouthed. At the far end of the practically-train-station-sized living room was a soaring wall of glass with an astonishing view of a deck with a fire pit and a hot tub, the tops of trees as the land abruptly sloped downward, then expansive water, and another island beyond. On the wall to her left rose a majestic stone fireplace. She smiled lightly as she pictured herself snuggling with Chase on the champagne colored leather sofa positioned in front of it.

A display of what looked like hand woven baskets in various shapes and sizes filled one wall, interspersed with pieces of clay pottery.

Unbelievable.
Looking around, she felt so rich. The decor wasn’t exactly her style, but that was okay. She could get used to it.

Next to the fireplace, another doorway beckoned, and she padded toward it.

Seriously?
This was the kind of dining room you see in movies, with a long table leading to yet another soaring window with the same view as the living room. As Kate’s gaze moved upward, she held her breath. Situated above the table was the most unique and beautiful chandelier she had ever seen.

Quietly, she stepped into the room, not taking her eyes off the colorful formation overhead.

Squiggles of glass formed a beautiful cluster, its tendrils extending like vines attached to the ceiling. The colors echoed those of the view from the window behind it—blues like the water and sky, greens from the foliage, and brown from the woods—streaked with subtle highlights of fiery red, orange, and purple.

There was something about it that seemed to glow, even though the chandelier itself wasn’t illuminated. It was magical. And mesmerizing.

Overtaken by an urge to touch it, Kate glanced over her shoulder. No one was around, but she’d have to be quick.

She set her shoes down next to one of the upholstered dining chairs and hiked her slim skirt up just enough to allow for the necessary mobility. Being careful not to slip on the highly polished wood, she hoisted herself up onto the table. Once on her knees, she reached up, but it was still too high.
Stupid cathedral ceiling.
Never one to give up, she checked once again over her shoulder. Taking care not to further aggravate her injury, she pulled herself to her feet.

Standing face-to-glass with the bottom tendrils, she slowly extended her fingers. It was so delicate, she was almost afraid to touch it. From up close, she could see that the tendrils weren’t just random shapes as they’d appeared from a distance. They actually resembled tiny seahorses. She let out a giggle of delight, then placed her raised fingers over her lips. She scolded her blasted habit of acting like a child at the most inappropriate times, even though she knew it was because so many of the joys of childhood had eluded her. Maybe it wasn’t so terrible that she latched onto moments like this when she could.

Confident now that she wouldn’t utter another sound that might alert anyone in the house to her presence, she removed her fingers from her lips and inched them toward the smooth glass. Close up, she could detect the trick that had made the glass seem so luminescent. Tiny flecks throughout the glass that looked like real gold caught the light as it danced in through the window. Kate clicked her tongue at the discovery, as if she had unveiled a magician’s secret. This was even better. It was an artist’s secret.

She extended her fingers and was just about to touch the tail of the bottommost seahorse when a slight sound behind her sent her head whipping around. To her dismay, a guy about her age stood in the doorway, round eyes fixed on her.

A gasp caught in her throat.

“Uh…” He seemed to struggle for words. “Did you lose something up there?”

Her brow creased. “No…I…I’m coming back down. I…just wanted to get a better view.”

“I see.” He smiled and the room lit up. “So, how’s the view?”

She wanted to respond, but her tongue had been momentarily tangled, not so much because she’d been caught doing something ridiculous, but because this guy was drop dead gorgeous. Dark hair, strong features, and deep brown eyes that could melt her like chocolate if she didn’t turn away soon.

Amusement danced in his eyes, making them all the more impossible to turn away
from
. He moved toward the table. “Would you like a hand getting down?”

Would she? She froze. How was she supposed to gracefully lower herself with an injured knee and a reed-thin skirt?

Fingers fidgeting, she twisted her engagement ring so that the diamond rested inside her palm.
Protecting the stone
. Why
else
would she have done that?

As she attempted a smooth dip down to a kneeling position, he raised his hand to her. Reflexively, she reached for it, her gaze locking with his. Suddenly, her legs turned to pudding, causing her knee to make an encore performance of its earlier twisting maneuver. Yelping in pain, she collapsed forward, both knees thunking on the hard surface.

She realized, to her horror, that she was now face to face with Mr. Gorgeous. He had caught her by the elbows, effectively stopping her from tumbling all the way to the floor. She quickly pulled herself free with so much force that she fell backward, landing in the center of the table on her backside with her knees bent gawkily in front of her.

He stared at her, wide-eyed. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Painfully straightening her legs, she smoothed down her skirt as best she could manage. “I’m just peachy.”

Eyes softening, he held out a strong hand. “Let me help you. For real this time.”

She paused, studying the sincerity in his gaze. Judging him to be devoid of ulterior motives, she scooted forward enough to take his hand.

He helped her to her feet, then—to his credit—dropped her hand and took a polite step back.

“I don’t think we’ve met.” Acting as though she hadn’t just made a supreme fool of herself, he offered his hand again, this time more formally. “I’m Josh Collins.”

Once again, she quickly assessed him. He seemed nice enough. Not at all like he was coming on to her, thank goodness. She shook his hand. “Kate Jennings.”

“Nice to meet you, Kate.” His shake felt firm and confident. “I don’t remember ever seeing you at U Dub. You must be one of Jessica’s friends from the island.”

Jessica?
She tipped him a look. “Oh…I just…got here.” Why couldn’t she form a coherent sentence?

“Hmmm.” Taking a slight step back, he playfully studied her. “Don’t tell me you’re one of Stuart’s friends?”

Who on earth was Stuart? She allowed a small smile and shook her head, unable to cut short the fun he seemed to be having.

“Let me think…” Snapping his fingers next to his ear, he looked up toward the high ceiling. “…Kate…Kate…. Nope. It’s not ringing a bell. I remember Stu mentioning a Candy, and a Shelby, and a Madison, but never a Kate.”