Annie's Rainbow - Fern Michaels [38]
Parker laughed. “I know that statement has some deep, dark meaning known only to you. Perhaps you’ll share it with me someday.” Annie knew the smile on her face looked sickly at best. “Tell you what. I’ll have Mattie fix you a nice cool drink. You can walk in the gardens or check out the house. It’s much cooler inside. I need to take a shower and change my clothes. Would you like to freshen up? Mattie will show you to your room.”
“Yes, I think I would.”
“Good, I’ll see you in a bit then. Mattie, our guest is here,” he bellowed.
She was incredibly tall and graceful. Ageless with her coronet of braids and high cheekbones. Her island attire was as regal-looking as she was. Annie felt like she was in the presence of royalty. She smiled, and Mattie returned her universal greeting. “Come, I will show you to your room.” Annie followed like a puppy and then giggled when she saw the woman’s bare feet peeking out from the colorful muu-muu she was wearing.
“Your dress is beautiful,” Annie said.
“If you like it, I will make you one. Which color would you prefer?”
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean for you ...”
“It will be my pleasure. There is not much to do when Parker isn’t here. I sew for his nieces all the time. If you do not have a color preference, I can make you one that will look like our daily rainbow. I have many bolts of rainbow silk. You are a size ten, no?”
“Yes. Size ten.” It was an omen of some kind. She was sure of it. She was jittery now with all the talk of rainbows. Shift into neutral, she cautioned herself. It’s all just a coincidence.
“I will have your island dress ready when it is time for you to leave. Freshen up, Miss Clark, and I will have lemonade ready for you on the lanai.”
Annie waited until the door closed before she looked around at the room that would be hers for the next few days. For some reason she’d expected white-wicker furniture. Instead she had wonderful mahogany polished to a high sheen. The floors were a burnished teakwood. She smiled at the high four-poster, with its colorful spread. A paddle fan circled lazily overhead, while the crisp organdy curtains billowed into the room from the open French doors. She felt almost light-headed with the heady scent of the plumeria wafting into the room.
Annie sat down on the small bench that matched the vanity. For a little while she’d almost forgotten her ugly secret, then it was in her face again with all the talk about rainbows. She tried to push the thought away by concentrating on what she was going to do when she returned home. If she was lucky, July’s profits would allow her to finally make up the money Rosie had chewed to pieces and then she would be able to package it up and return it to the bank. Fourteen months’ worth of interest would bankrupt her. She’d have to figure out a way to send an IOU of some kind that couldn’t be traced. Don’t think about that now. Think about these beautiful islands and this mini vacation. Think about Parker Grayson. Think about how attracted you are to him. Think about what it would be like to go to bed with him. Right here in this big old four-poster with the gentle trade winds blowing over your slick naked body. Think about that. A ring of scorching heat circled her neck and crept up to her face just as a knock sounded on her door.
Annie opened the door, her face flaming. She’d never felt so flustered in her life.
“What’s wrong?” Parker asked, his voice full of concern.
“Wrong?”
“Yes, you’re all flushed.”
“Oh. You probably won’t believe this but I saw a cobweb up near the molding and I was jumping up and down to swat at it with a towel. Your housekeeper is too old to be jumping up and down.”
“You’re right, I don’t believe you.” Parker grinned. “I’d really like to hear the real reason you look so flustered.”
The rosy hue on Annie’s face darkened. “I don’t think you could handle it.”
“I’m a big boy. Try me.”
“I was wondering what it would be like to go to bed with you,” Annie said coolly as she sashayed past him and out through the door.