Beyond Temptation - Brenda Jackson [26]
She turned her head slightly, and he knew it was taking a lot of her willpower to keep her features expressionless. He could just imagine what she was thinking. When she didn’t say anything he decided to coax her on. “Come on, Lena, you can do it. You’re a Realtor so you have to be full of nice, descriptive words. Try it. I double-dare you.”
Lena couldn’t help the smile that spread across her features. For some strange reason she found Morgan’s antics endearing. “Okay, let me tell you what’s so nice about it…from a Realtor’s viewpoint.”
Smiling, he tilted his head downward to hers. “I’m listening.”
“Well, there’s the scent of spring in the air,” she said, dimpling, then breathing in deeply. “That’s always nice. Not to mention the brisk breeze that’s not too cold. One of the reasons I bought a home in this area was for that lake over there,” she said, pointing to the huge body of water that ran through the subdivision.
“I love walking around it, smelling all the dogwoods and seeing them bloom. But then, I need to be honest about something. Spring is nice but I like winter better mainly because I love snow.”
He arched a brow, and a smile touched the corners of his lips. “You like snow?”
She returned his smile. “Yes. I love watching the snowflakes fall to the ground and cover everything. I like drinking a mug full of hot chocolate while standing at the window looking at the snow fall and wishing I could just go out there and play in it. At least that wasn’t one of the things I had to give up moving from New York. Although I got to see snow more often while living in Buffalo, at least I still get to see it.”
She glanced up in the sky and blinked against the sun’s brightness and then back at him. “So, how did I do?”
“You went over your word count.”
She stopped, tipped her head back and laughed; really laughed. Moments later she stuck her hands in her pockets and continued walking, shaking her head. “I would hate working for you.”
He chuckled. “You already do.”
Her head shot up and she stared at him with all amusement gone, wondering if he was trying to remind her of their relationship. “Sorry, I forgot.”
This time it was Morgan who stopped walking. When she stopped as well, he reached out and lifted her chin with the tip of his finger. “I didn’t say that to make you remember.”
She shrugged. “That’s okay.”
Morgan felt the spell that had surrounded them for the past few moments trying to break, but a part of him refused to let it. She had started to relax around him and her mood had been light, almost carefree. He liked that.
“So what made you decide to leave New York to move to North Carolina?” he asked, wanting to get her talking again, as they resumed their walk. And he relaxed.
She didn’t say anything for a while, and for a moment he wondered if she was going to answer. Then she said, “My dad. In my senior year of high school his health began failing and the doctors thought a change in climate would help him. So we moved here right after my graduation and I began attending the University of North Carolina. Dad died a month after my graduation from college.”
“I’m sorry.”
A small smile touched her lips. “So was I. He was a wonderful man and I loved him deeply.”
She got quiet for a brief moment and then she continued by saying, “It was really hard for Mama. They had been together so long. There were too many memories in the house where we lived, so we eventually put it up for sale and bought this one. That helped some, but for a while I thought I was going to lose another parent when Mom went into a state of depression from all her grief.”
He nodded. “How long did it last?”
She titled her head to look up at him. “Who says it has stopped? She has good days and bad days, and trust me when I say today was one of her good days, and I have to thank you for it. This is the happiest I’ve seen her in a long time. She