What a Woman Wants (A Manley Maids Novel) (23 page)

T
HERE
has to be a clue around here somewhere. We have to look harder.”

He didn’t need to do anything harder; his cock was hard enough. And it’d be so much more helpful if she’d put on some damn clothes. Even her barely-there camisole and those Daisy Duke shorts would be better than her perfectly heart-shaped ass, all toned and curvy and
naked
, sending him into dry-mouth every time she bent over to look under a bench or at the brick path surrounding the fountain. Then there were her breasts. Bigger than a handful—and that old saying was wrong, he liked her large breasts thank you very much—her nipples flat against the pale areolas, each and every freckle surrounding them tempting him to lick them into delicious peaks. He hadn’t seen all her freckles in the moonlight, but this morning when she’d been on top of him . . . He’d pulled her down to lick each one and damn if he didn’t want to do it again.

“Merriweather
had to
include the maze in her scavenger hunt. This place is too prominent for her not to want to teach me all about it. Who did what to whom and how our illustrious family reaped the rewards. Sheesh, you’d think she’d have a trophy wall or something.”

Like an emblem in the barn.

Ah, nothing like guilt to deflate an erection. He ought to try that more often around her. God knew, he had enough to feel guilty about.

Which was why, when she’d come up with the idea to search the fountain area all on her own without any clue, Sean had gone along with it. He still didn’t know what he’d do if he found it first. Would he tell her or would he keep it for himself?

How could he after last night?

Last night had been . . . It’d been amazing. She’d been amazing. They’d been amazing. Having sex with Livvy was unlike being with any other woman. There’d been something more than just the physical—and it’d scared the shit out of him. It was one thing to admire her and like her and want her, but to feel connected?

Yeah, the universe was rolling with laughter at him. The one woman he’d ever connected with and he was going to sabotage her.

He couldn’t.

There it was. He just couldn’t do it. But how the hell was he going to pull this off
and
keep Livvy in his life?

If it weren’t for his brothers’ trust in him, their help and their money, he’d walk away. He’d take his losses and rebuild. He’d started from scratch in the beginning; he could do it again. But building something with Livvy . . . If she ever learned what he was planning to do, it’d destroy the very foundation of what they were building.

He couldn’t let that happen. He had to figure out a solution.

“Here! Sean, it’s here!”

There was her perfect butt again, bouncing—of course—as she pointed to a statue on the edge of the fountain. A few other things were bouncing, too.

Yeah, he had to figure this out.

He scooped up their clothes and jogged toward her. Let a few of his parts bounce and see how she liked it.

Her amber eyes darkened when he got close.

“Nice,” was all she had to say, but it said a lot.

She took her clothes and if there were clubs for reverse stripping, she’d be the star of the show. He’d never seen anyone put
on
a camisole in a way that begged him to remove it more provocatively than she did. And the way she shimmied into her shorts, foregoing her thong—and it was anyone’s guess as to whether that was a good thing or not—had him ready to rip the damn things off her.

“Enjoy the show?”

He gulped. “Yeah.”

She laughed when he yanked on his own shorts. His T-shirt, however, got a different reaction. It was in tatters and they both remembered why. How.

She started to tuck her hair behind her ear, but Sean stopped her. “Let me.”

She smiled up at him and it took him a few seconds to be able to breathe. He used those seconds to do what he’d wanted to do with that wayward bit of hair since he’d first laid eyes on her. “You said you found a clue?”

She nodded, spilling those curls that had trailed across his abdomen so erotically last night over her shoulders. “The girls at school used to tease me that my family must have buckets of money lying around, so when I heard about the special bucket at this fountain that actually
did
have coins in it, I’d had to come see it. Hence the getting lost in the maze thing.”

“You’re kidding, right? There’s a bucket of money just hanging out on the property?”

“It has pennies for people to make wishes with. They get recycled when the fountain guy cleans it out, but still. The idea
is
a bit much. Right up Merriweather’s alley.” She rocked back on her heels—her naked ones and not the combat boot ones, thank God—and smiled that smile that could get a rise out of him at first glimpse.

And he meant that literally. “I give up. What?”

“This.” She held up a little oval oblong silver tube. Looked like a bullet on steroids with a seam around the middle. “The next clue.”

“What’s it say?”

She opened it.

Well done, Olivia. Five more to go. Will you finish in time or are you angry enough at an old woman to throw in the towel?

You might not want to do that just yet, though. You’ll need that towel—and a swimsuit—for this next clue. But while you’re here, study the fountain. The stones come from our lands in England and the statue was commissioned for Phillip Martinson in honor of his wife, Catherine. Legend says this maze was their trysting place, gifted to her by him on their wedding anniversary. A true love match. Sadly, not all Martinsons have been as lucky in love. That is why this land and this home are so important. Never count on anyone but yourself to make your way in life. People can leave; the land is permanent.

Do I sound like Mr. O’Hara? There was a lot of truth to his words, and I do know you enjoy that movie.

“Ah ha!” Sean laughed. “That explains the alpacas.”

“Well, duh.”

“So why not Mammy and Melanie and Ashley and the rest of the crew instead of the Beatles?”

“The other animals were all rescues. Rhett and Scarlett were the only ones I got to name.”

It might be a good thing Livvy didn’t want children: Sean could only imagine having a son named Ashley.

Wait. What the hell was he doing imagining children with Livvy? He had to make sure there was a relationship,
and
that he’d have the means to provide for those kids before he could even
think
about having them. Then there was convincing Livvy
to
have them—

“And here’s the bad poem.”

Sean listened with half an ear as he tried to shove the image of Livvy carrying his child out of his head. It didn’t want to go.

“So I guess we’re off to the lake next.” She rolled the clue up and stuck it back in the tube. “Shall we go get our bathing suits or are we going
au naturel
?”

It might kill him if they did.

T
WO
hours later, after the animals had been dealt with, they’d put on their suits, pulled together a picnic lunch, and headed out for the lake on the property.

Sean had big plans for the lake. There was an island in the middle of it that would make the perfect setting for small weddings. If he could get utilities to it, he might even think about putting up a honeymoon cottage there, too. That would go before the zoning board the minute he took possession of the estate.

“Oh, look! A bald eagle!” Livvy pointed to the right of the golf cart where the white-headed bird soared in for a landing on top of the island’s tallest tree.

This place was a work of art.
The
perfect property for what he had in mind. He
had
to find some way to get it. Absolutely had to.

“Livvy, I was wondering . . .”

“Yes?” She turned toward him with a big, hopeful smile on her face, her eyes dancing, her fingers clenching his, excitement and happiness literally buzzing off her like an electric current.

If only that explained why he was so wired.

“Isn’t it gorgeous? I can’t believe I never came out here. I wonder if there’s fish in the lake? What a great place to just hang out and relax.”

Or hold a wedding reception.

For guests
. Not for himself or Livvy. No. He was thinking strictly along the lines of business. That’d been his first thought when he saw the lake. The edges were perfectly manicured, every stone and patch of moss and foliage all strictly planned out and maintained. Merriweather had been meticulous like that.

Sean jerked the golf cart to a stop two feet from the water’s edge. “So, um, where’s the next clue here?”

“Good question.” Livvy got out and grabbed the picnic basket from the back seat. “I’ve never been here so I have no idea.” She pulled out the previous clue. “She mentions something about needing our towels, so I guess we’ll be going in the water.”

“The island. The clue’s on the island.”

Merriweather had been very interested in his ideas for weddings on that island, though concerned about the impact on wildlife. Sean had earmarked a hefty sum in his budget for an environmental impact report, that, luckily, he hadn’t ordered yet. He could postpone that project and use the money for Livvy’s asking price.

It wasn’t enough, but it was a start.

They set the picnic basket and blanket beside one of the springs that fed the lake, the cool water trickling over smooth stones in a soft serenade.

The lake water was pristine. And cold. Merriweather had said a snow runoff reservoir filled the lake, and it was just the thing Sean needed when Livvy took off her skirt—she was back to skirts—to reveal a bikini.

His hands itched to take it off and memorize her curves all over again.

It only got worse when she went in the water and her nipples went on high alert.

Sean dunked himself, praying it’d do the trick.

It did. Until he saw her again.

So back under he went, holding his breath for as long as possible before he had to come up for air. Luckily, the island wasn’t too far now and he walked out. He’d never been so thrilled for shrinkage in his life.

L
IVVY
took her time getting to the island. Sean was standing there, looking every bit as perfect as Eros—except for the shorts, that was—and she wanted to enjoy the scenery. She still couldn’t believe he was as into her as she was in him.

Maybe he’s seeing dollar signs.

Well there was a thought to suck the pleasure out of everything.

But, hey,
there were no guarantees she was going to end up with the place anyway, so Sean, if he
was
hedging his bets, could be doing it all for nothing. But he wasn’t, because he wasn’t that kind of person. She knew that about him. She didn’t know how she knew; she just knew. Instinct had served her well all these years, kept her going all on her own, so she wasn’t going to disregard it.

“Aren’t you cold?” he called from the water’s edge, his hands on his hips, shaping his abs into a nice V with those broad shoulders. Shoulders that she’d run her lips over last night. And this morning.

Too bad she hadn’t brought more than two condoms out with her. Speaking of which, she needed to go to the drug store at some point.

“Nothing like cold water to wake a person up.” And calm their nerve endings down.

She joined him on the beach and it was the most natural thing in the world to take his hand. So she did. Or he took hers. Either way, it didn’t matter because they were touching each other as they started searching the island.

H
E
shouldn’t hold her hand. He forgot things when he held her hand. Important things. Things like Bryan and Liam and a whole bunch of money. Things like the future and his plans and what he wanted to do with his life and what he had to prove to not just everyone else, but to himself.

The thing was, he hadn’t counted on Livvy. On wanting her. And not just in the carnal sense—though there was that—but in
every
sense. He wanted to see her away from this place. Away from the barn and her animals. Just to take a walk somewhere new for both of them. Something they could call their own. He wanted to see her little farmhouse and the life she’d carved out for herself. He wanted to hear about her childhood and soothe her fears. He wanted to make all the loneliness go away and promise her that she’d never be alone again.

Sean stumbled on a rock. At least, he thought it was a rock. Maybe it’d been a metaphorical one because what he was thinking . . . was heavy. Way heavier than he wanted at this point in his life, but if he thought for even a second about letting go of her hand and taking a step back—and another and another—he just couldn’t do it.

Because this—her, him—it felt right.

Get your head back into the real game, Manley.

Funny, he’d swear his conscience sounded just like his accountant.

Millions of dollars
.

Yeah, it did sound like Don.

But Don would be looking out only for his financial interests, so Sean tried to focus on something else.