Be My Love Song Read Free Page A

something really kinky…” the man laughed, “I
might knock fifty off.” He laughed some more. Maddie sort of liked his accent.
Very exotic.
    “The whole night seems like the best value.” She gave him
the minimum amount of information he’d need to pretend they were dating. “When
you come, if you could tell my employee at the desk that your name is Weston
Rogers and act like we know one another well. When we’re together, just follow
my lead. Come to the Windswept Hotel at seven, I’ll be cooking dinner and if
you could dress business casual, I’d appreciate it.” Madeline gave Rod no
chance to reply or ask questions. Primly she hung up and smiled, satisfied.
    “Madeline! Madeline!” Tilly came running across the lobby.
    “What’s wrong?” She jumped up, concerned.
    “The guests in 213 are naked on the beach!”
    Maddie’s eyes grew wide. “The temperature is in the 40s.
This isn’t the Polar Bear Club.”
    “I know, they’re turning an odd shade of blue.” Tilly grabbed
Madeline’s hand and hauled her over to the front windows. Several other guests
stood and watched also, hands over their mouths.
    “Oh, my goodness,” Maddie grumbled. “They’re too old for
that kind of PDA.” She hid a smile, seeing the middle-aged couple attempting to
reenact the famous surf scene in the old movie From Here To Eternity .
“Tilly, run out there and tell them if they want to swim nude, they need to
ride the ferry over to McFaddin Beach on Bolivar Peninsula. If the police catch
them here, we’ll be fined and so will they.”
    She shook her head as her employee started off to do her
bidding. Tilly didn’t get very far before she turned around and yelled, “That
architect called, he’s going to have someone drop off the drawings for you to
review this evening.”
    “Good. Let Elaine know about that and be sure to tell her I
have a gentleman caller coming for dinner, so it will be okay to send him up
around seven this evening.”
    “A gentleman caller?” Tilly gave her an interested stare.
    “Don’t ask.”
    “Yes, ma’am. Gotcha. Your sister left bright and early, she
said she’d be shopping on the Strand until after lunch.”
    “Good. We can use all the economic stimulation we can get.”
The Strand was Galveston’s Rodeo Drive. It was only a block off the bay where
cruise ships and the tall ship Elissa docked. There would be enough high
fashion there to occupy her easily distracted sibling. And as for the
architect’s plans? Well, Maddie couldn’t worry about the renovations right now,
she had to get ready for her ‘date.’ Putting on a show good enough to convince
Morgana she didn’t need help with men was as important as protecting Windswept
from falling into the wrong hands.
    As she made her way toward the elevators, several guests
were arriving. “Hello, I hope you all have a good time. If you need anything
let us know.” Valentine’s Day wasn’t her favorite celebration, she much
preferred Halloween or Christmas. When you had no significant other, the
holiday was pretty meaningless. All of the happy couples holding hands and
sneaking kisses made her sad.
    “Excuse me, miss.” A beautiful young redhead stopped Maddie
with a hand on her arm. “Could you recommend a few things we could do in
Galveston during our stay?”
    “Certainly,” Maddie answered, donning her tour director hat.
“The local symphony orchestra is playing at the Galveston Opera House tonight
and the whole island is celebrating Mardi Gras with parades on the Strand,
dances on the seawall and there’s a masquerade ball at the Hilton hotel. Check
with our concierge for tickets.”
    Her husband leaned in and whispered, “How about something
spooky? Any ideas?”
    “Ah.” Madeline grinned. “You’re certainly staying in the
right place. We have several resident spirits. A confederate soldier is
sometimes seen on the second floor balcony off the billiard room and children’s
laughter is sometimes heard in the