Seaspun Magic Read Free

into a halt.
    Jill had had an unusual booking last week, a bed and breakfast for one adult male. Not that that was unusual in itself; it was the time—the middle of winter! "To recuperate by the sea" was the reason given. Not knowing the exact date of her guest's arrival, Jill had asked Arianne to take in the invalid should he come while she was away in Seattle on Erin's emergency.
    The car stopped at the top of the lane by the collection of garbage cans. On the gatepost right beside the car was the street number of her house, and after a fractional hesitation, the car eased into her lane. A second later she was bathed in the glare of headlights, and in a few minutes more the somewhat shabby vehicle came to a complete stop in front of the house.
    Arianne hurried to catch up to it. When she reached it, the engine was off and the owner was stepping out onto the driveway.
    Golden light poured out the windows of the house, illuminating them both. Arianne stared, taken aback. She had been expecting an elderly man. If this was her bed-and-breakfast guest, he wasn't nearly sick or old enough!
    "Arianne Sawyer?" he inquired politely.
    "Um...yes!" She stumbled over a suitable reply. He'd caught her unprepared. For the life of her she couldn't remember his name. Foreign sounding, she thought.
    "I'm Leo Donev. Jill McKinly made new arrangements for me?"
    "She, um, got ahold of you, then?" Arianne felt as if she were babbling.
    "She left a message with my answering service. I hope her son is okay?"
    "Well, yes, as far as I know. She's calling again tomorrow." There was a moment of unexpected silence. Cold gusts off the ocean ruffled his full head of hair. He wore a leather bomber jacket, very fine and expensive looking, a contrast to his shabby car. While crisp autumn leaves swirled around them, his glance slid down
    her small shape, clad in only a sweater, jeans and incongruous plush pink slippers.
    Taking a deep breath, Arianne gathered aplomb. But before she could say anything, Leo Donev hinted pleasantly, "Do you think we could go inside?"
    With a touch of the jitters Arianne started forward. "Yes, it's freezing. Let's go in____"
    Once at the bottom of the front stairs he took her arm casually, perhaps because he had little faith in the stability of her footwear, and the most subtle whiff of an enchanting men's cologne went wafting past her nose.
    Badgered by Jill and wanting to help her friend in distress, Arianne had agreed to take in the invalid. Jill had pointed out that he did have good references and was sure not to stay too long. Besides, with Christmas on the way, the rather lucrative return was enticing. And the guest was willing to pay extra for an out-of-season stay.
    It hadn't seemed like such a bad idea at the time. But as Arianne went up the stairs beside her guest, it struck her as absolutely awful! She should have insisted Jill reserve one of the beachside motels in town for him.
    She had always vetoed the idea of a bed-and-breakfast business in her own home, although Jill kept trying to persuade her of its practicality. Privacy, however, meant everything to Arianne, and she had good reason for that attitude. Having perfect strangers invade her home was definitely not practical in her case. She took a sidelong assessing look at him through the downsweep of her long black lashes and had the strangest feeling that her life was suddenly going to change immeasurably.
CHAPTER TWO
    Rae's protests at being left alone in his playpen for longer than he liked met them immediately upon opening the front door. Howling in frustration, he couldn't have sounded noisier or more difficult. Wincing, Arianne took a quick look at her guest's face. Would he decide a nice quiet hotel in town was more to his liking? Desperately she hoped he would.
    But putting a couple of fingers to his lips, Leo Donev wolf-whistled louder than Rae was screaming. Miraculously silence settled on the house. Utter silence. Not even a whimper came from the