Sparkle didn’t have the heart to crush all that hopeful puppy dog eagerness. “We’ll see.”
She glanced down at the old Ball High yearbook she’d been studying before Deimos showed up. “I’m getting ready to transform the Happy Castle into the Castle of Dark Dreams. I was in the middle of choosing someone to do the exterior and interior painting, and then I have to pick an interior designer. I’ll have my lawyer do the actual hiring. I don’t want anyone to know I own the park.”
Deimos put his front paws on the counter so he could peer at the book. “Anyone special in mind?”
Sparkle slid the tip of her tongue across her lower lip. Oh, yessss. She got all shivery with anticipation at the sensual world of possibilities ahead. “I have two people who’ll be perfect for the jobs. I’m about to turn up the heat in our little fantasy park and see what burns.”
CHAPTER ♦ ONE
“What a wonderful blending of form and function. It projects an aura of towering strength with an intriguing touch of dark and dangerous.” Sparkle Stardust swept her arms wide to emphasize her opinion of the Castle of Dark Dreams. Her cat crouched beside her, his unblinking gaze proclaiming that he was bored, bored, bored.
“No kidding.” Amanda Harcourt was more focused on specifics than Sparkle. She stared across the moat. A man stood on a short ladder painting trim around the outer-wall gate. His back was to them.
Form and function. Mmm. A wonderful form. And said form was functioning very well as far as she could see. He’d stripped to the waist in the blazing June sun and his worn jeans hugged every line of his firm butt and long legs. Fascinated, she watched the flow of muscles beneath bronzed skin as he made smooth, even strokes with his brush.
Dark and dangerous? Worked for her. The light breeze lifted his dark hair from his neck. Hair that was a little too long and a little too shaggy. Sexy elemental male vibes shimmered off him in waves.
During the ten years she’d spent in New York honing her interior designing skills, she’d had plenty of opportunities to hook up with a fair sampling of the city’s male population. Major disappointments. But maybe now that she was back home in Galveston for a while, she’d dip her toe into the hot and oh-so-alpha Texas male pool. She deserved some fun.
“He has a sensual quality that goes with the castle, doesn’t he?” Sparkle sounded amused.
Amanda blinked and looked at Sparkle. “What?”
“Your sexy painter.” Sparkle’s amber eyes gleamed with sly knowledge. “Hey, I understand.”
Okay, now Amanda was officially embarrassed. She’d spent ten years stomping the old Amanda Harcourt into submission and rebuilding her business and personal image into the one her wealthy clients loved—cool and in control. She was sophisticated-hip. No emotional artistic phoniness for her. And she paid attention to details. A calm casual elegance gave her clients confidence in her. She was wearing a cream sleeveless dress today because light neutrals were her favorite colors. That hadn’t always been true, but neutrals fed people’s perception of her, and perception was everything.
Cool, elegant, and in control didn’t ogle painters, at least not during working hours.
But something told her a lie wouldn’t fool Sparkle. “I’ve been away from Texas too long. I forgot how much heat Texas guys can generate.” She shrugged and smiled. “If I need to stare, I should walk across Sea Wall Boulevard and go down to the beach. I’ll find plenty of buff bods wearing a lot less.”
“I guess.” Sparkle looked doubtful. “But they won’t have his sizzle.” She studied the buff bod with the brush. “Look at him—yummy broad shoulders, and that muscular back gleaming with a light sheen of sweat. Doesn’t it make you feel all prickly to think about trailing your fingers over his warm bare skin?” She fixed Amanda with an unblinking stare that had the same feline intensity as her pet. “There’s nothing more arousing than watching a strong man working a well-toned body. It’s that primitive need every woman has to take the most physically powerful male into her bed and—”
“Oh, wow.” Amanda glanced at her watch. “I’ve taken up all of your lunch hour. I really appreciate you taking time to show me the park, but I guess you have to get back to your store now.” Please have to get back to your store.
Sparkle offered her an exaggerated sigh as she pushed her long red hair away from her face. “I suppose I should get back, but I’ll let Deimos tag along with you. He loves snooping around in the castle.” She glanced down at the spotted cat before raising her gaze once again to Amanda. “No one knows who owns the park. Everything goes through the lawyer. I’ve helped him out a few times, because I’m the neighborly type. But I’m curious about all the secrecy. Are you supposed to meet the owner here?”
Amanda frowned at the cat, and the cat stared intently back at her. Wasn’t Sparkle afraid her cat would run into the street? “No, but the attorney should be here any minute now. I’ve never spoken to the owner.” Didn’t the cat ever blink?
“Hmm, strange. Well, have fun, sister.” Sparkle’s smile said the fun she had in mind didn’t have anything to do with decorating. “And don’t worry, Deimos won’t go into the street.”
A cosmic coincidence. They’d both been thinking about the cat wandering into the street at the same time. Amanda watched Sparkle walk away, although “walk” didn’t say it at all. Her swing and sway said “man-catcher” loud and clear. Amanda spent a few seconds pondering the aesthetics of Sparkle’s black shorts and black clingy top. Sure they were sexy, but . . . Amanda did a few mental head-shakes to clear away the weirdness that had accumulated over the last few days.
Why had she dropped everything to take this job? Good grief, she’d
