Page 31 of Summer Heat
Shep had included Maya in our plans. Because this wasn't a date. I had to remember that. He wasn't going to kiss me at the end of the evening or ask me to stay in his room. I was getting ahead of myself.
I finally drifted off around midnight, still wondering if Shep was on the deck, thinking about me.
In the morning, the smell of bacon woke me. I'd slept longer than I usually did. I suspected it was because Maya sought out Shep to make her breakfast instead of waking me up.
I brushed my teeth and got dressed, making my way down the staircase to the kitchen. Living in this place was a dream. By all descriptions, it was a mansion. One that had been in the family for generations.
Only certain families were fortunate enough to own a home on Captiva. They were passed on to the next generation, rarely going up for sale.
In the kitchen, Maya sat on her stool, coloring with a plate of bacon in front of her.
"You want million-dollar bacon?" Maya asked me without raising her head.
"What's that?" I asked.
"I put maple syrup on the bacon. It's something I saw at a restaurant once."
I shrugged my shoulders. "Sure. Why not?"
He placed the plate in front of me and poured syrup over it. Then he grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee, sliding it across the counter to me.
"You don't have to serve me. I'm used to getting my own breakfast."
"I was up early and went for a run. Then I'm always so hungry; I make way too much food." He winked at Maya, who giggled.
I bit the bacon and almost moaned out loud. "This is amazing. I love the sweetness combined with the bacon."
"Is it million-dollar level?"
"Absolutely." I sipped my coffee, enjoying how easygoing and fun Shep was. "Do you have plans for the day?"
He braced his hands on the counter, towel strung over his shoulder. His chin was lined with the usual layer of scruff, and his expression was boyish. He'd never been more attractive to me. "I think we should get started on the renovation. We need to build a bathroom meant for a princess."
Maya's eyes went round. "My bathroom?"
I wanted to remind Maya that we were only here temporarily, but I didn't have the heart to say that when she was enjoying staying here.
"That's right. What do you think? Should we expand the bathroom so that we can fit a soaker tub in there? Now mine is an older style, but we could fit in something like this." Shep pulled out a piece of paper that had been folded many times and smoothed it onto the counter.
He'd drawn the specs of the bathroom with a shower, a toilet, vanity, and a separate tub. "I know we talked about doing something more modern. But I was thinking you could help me pick out the fixtures, and maybe in this bathroom, we'd go with something more glamorous."
The depiction was well-done, and there were even measurements in the white space.
Maya's eyes were still round as she nodded her head. "It needs lots of bling."
"I was thinking brass fixtures which will look gold and maybe claw feet on the tub."
"You should pick what you want though," I said.
Shep glanced up at me. "This is what I want. This home is historical, and the bathrooms should match the grandness, if that makes sense." He straightened, tucking the paper back into his pocket as if he'd been carrying it around in there. "I might go more modern in my bathroom.”
"That will be nice." Suddenly, my throat was very dry. Was he planning on having more than one woman in there? Was he thinking about how he'd use the space when he thought of the design?
He smiled. "I think so. I can't wait to get started. But I think we need to focus on Maya's bathroom first. Then we'll do the master and the others."
"What about the first floor? Is there anything we can do down here while we're working on the bathrooms?"
"We can refinish the floors and paint the walls. Why don't you two help me pick out the paint?"
