Her Only Desire Read Free Page A

heading down the long empty lane, catching glimpses of the big house through the foliage.
    Maison Plaisir had been the grand dam of the bayou until ferocious hurricanes and the owner’s neglect decimated the old plantation house and gardens. No good could come of the current refurbishing. Everyone said so. Better to leave the old house to rot, they said.
    She marched up the long drive, shaded by tall oaks. The branches were carefully pruned, forming a dark tunnel that led to the marble steps of the estate house.
    As she approached, the sounds of chainsaws and hammers and shouts from workers in the garden and on the gabled roof became clearer, louder. Perspiration dotted her forehead and upper lip, and she quickly wiped them with her sweaty palms.
    Damn. She’d wanted to appear cool, collected. The position she applied for was important enough that she’d overcome her fear of being in his house. She’d never been one to keep her emotions or her words inside. One careless misstep could spell disaster.
    She felt as though fate was clearing her path to enter Boone Benoit’s world. A job tailor-made for her credentials. Who else possessed a degree in hospitality or had her experience? If fate wanted her here, then there must be a reason. She didn’t believe in coincidence.
    Besides, how often would he be there? The CEO of Black Spear, Limited had offices on every continent, as well as a headquarters in New Orleans. His interest in his family’s ancestral home couldn’t be all that deep. He hadn’t set foot inside this section of Jefferson Parish in over fifteen years. More likely, the recent activities were in preparation for selling the estate, or a symbolic gesture—like shooting the bird at the folks who’d turned their backs on him.
    No, Boone Benoit couldn’t be considering returning to Bayou Vert. Not with a murder charge still hanging over his head.
    Her footsteps crunched on fine pea gravel. One heel twisted, sinking, but she quickly pulled it free. She’d decided to dress the part. Complete with a professionally tailored gray suit and pearl pumps. Her clothes may have been chosen off the rack, but she knew she looked good.
    Her long blonde hair was pulled back from her face in a ponytail, after working long and hard with the straightener to remove every bump and curl. Not a lock out of place. Not a single thread hanging from her clothing. Due to the heat, she’d foregone panty hose, but her skin tone was an even creamy tan from waiting on the diner’s outdoor tables in shorts.
    No one would find fault with her appearance. Competent, pretty, but not too sexy. All in the attitude. Or so she reminded herself.
    She drew near the edge of the gardens, although calling them that seemed like a stretch. Leggy, overgrown rosebushes surrounded by creeping vines managed a few valiant blossoms. Azalea bushes, grown wild, smothered the annuals popping from bulbs in the ground. Hedgerows were in dire need of shaping.
    The growling whine of a revving chainsaw pulled her glance to the side, where two workers, their chests bare and gleaming with sweat, worked with ropes and pulleys to cut the limbs from an oak tree that threatened a trellised gazebo.
    In the distance the sound of barking and paws scattering gravel filled her ears. Tilly shot a glance around the yard and watched as a small pug rounded the corner of the big house.
    “Max, here, boy! Max!” someone yelled.
    But the dog made a beeline for her, yipping and barking.
    An animal lover, Tilly stepped back and bent down to greet the dog. “Here, Max,” she said, reaching out a hand as the dog came nearer.
    “I wouldn’t do that,” came a warning from a large man dressed in coveralls, who jogged behind the dog.
    The dog halted two feet away, growling and spinning in circles.
    At the sight, Tilly didn’t know whether to laugh or curse. She took another step backward and her heel sank into the ground. She tried to take another step, sure she’d pull free, but the