“All this talk about biting is making me squirm.” She wriggled in her seat, inadvertently pulling her simple white dress tight across her full chest.
Justin suppressed a groan of arousal. “Please, don’t talk about biting and squirming while I’m driving. It could be dangerous.”
Alicia let out a little growl. The lascivious gesture sent a ripple of lust straight up his spine. He couldn’t wait to see more of her wild side.
Alicia crossed her sleek, tanned legs, giving him a flash of inner thigh.
The sensation in his crotch was getting to be pretty unbearable. “Tell me where to park,” he said as he pulled off at the exit. The hum and buzz of Houston subsided as they entered the peaceful, tree-lined streets of historic Somerset.
Victorian houses sat gracefully amidst large lawns and mature trees. A kid rode by on a bike, like something out of the 1950s.
“That house is a Stanford White.” She pointed to a stunning Beaux Arts “cottage” he’d never noticed before. “He was a famous nineteenth-century architect who—”
“Was murdered by the husband of a woman he had a scandalous affair with.”
“You’ve heard of him,” she said with surprise and delight in her eyes.
“I had one of the most expensive educations money can buy. Despite that, I managed to pick up a few facts along the way. It’s a beautiful house.”
He’d stopped the car and they sat with the engine humming. “The detail is incredible. You’d never see that kind of elaborate molding on a house today.”
“And just two years ago it was condemned. The roof was damaged during a storm and the city wanted to tear it down. That’s when I joined the Somerset Historical Society and we raised money to have it restored.”
Pride showed on her beautiful face. “It sold for two million when it was finished, and the owner loves it so much, she lets us give tours as a fundraiser.”
Justin was intrigued. “How did you get interested in architectural history?”
“I always loved to look at beautiful houses.” She glanced up at the steep eaves and shimmering multi-paned windows. “When I was a little girl we lived in a tiny house in the barrio. The roof leaked and the foundation was half-rotted, but my parents didn’t dare ask the landlord to fix anything in case he tried to raise the rent. My parents saved every penny they had because they couldn’t wait to move out of there and buy their own home. The American dream, you know?”
She laughed, but her laughter was tinged with sorrow. “They used to talk so much about that house they dreamed of—the sunny windows it would have with views of a grassy backyard, a big kitchen with rows of shining copper pots. Alex wanted his own bedroom so he could put up shelves for his collection of model airplanes.”
For a second, her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t suppose they ever came close to having enough money for a down payment. My dad was killed in an accident where he worked and after that my mom just struggled to make ends meet. No one talked much about buying a house again. Except Alex.” She smiled. “He always said you have to dream big, no matter what. Even after our mother died, he kept saying that.”
“He’s right.” Emotion rose in Justin’s chest.
How he wished he could turn back time and give Alicia’s family the house of their dreams. The most pressing financial problem his parents ever faced was finding new tax loopholes to exploit.
He slid his arm around her shoulder. “Your parents would be so happy to see you and Alex at El Diablo.”
“Oh, I know.” Her eyes brightened. “My mom used to clean houses all over Somerset and El Diablo was one of them. She took such pleasure in polishing all the lovely quarter-sawn oak trim and buffing the brass doorknobs.” She stared out the window, as if lost in the past. “I know this sounds silly, but when we were there—she used to take me along when school was out because she couldn’t afford a sitter—we’d pretend it was all ours. I used to dance down those corridors and pretend one of those pretty bedrooms with the chintz curtains was mine, and that I had a closet filled with fine clothes.”
“And now you do.”
“Yeah.” A broad grin settled across her face as she turned to him. “Funny, isn’t it?”
“It’s totally awesome,” he said, meaning every word of it. “I guess the American dream is alive and well in Somerset.” He squeezed Alicia and she nuzzled against him.
Something kicked inside his heart. A fierce longing to give Alicia the world—or at least the most beautiful house in it.
Where did that come from?
“So, there are more of these old gems in Somerset?”
“Oh, yes. It developed as a suburb for wealthy Hous-tonians, so nearly all of the buildings are special in some way. Look at this one.”
She pointed to a quasi-gothic stone structure across the street. “The owner fell in love with a medieval abbey in Somerset, England, and had it brought here brick by brick and rebuilt as his home. It even has some of the original stained glass inside. I gave a tour of it last year through the museum.”
“You’re a busy woman.”
“Keeps me out of trouble.” She flashed him a grin.
“Until now.” He grazed her neck with his teeth. Desire flashed through him, and he realized they were still idling on a busy street. “But let’s save that energy for later.”
“Sounds like a plan. Can we stop by Julie’s Gems so I can rave over her work on the necklace you gave me?”
“Sure thing.” He couldn’t hide a pleased grin as he pulled back on to the road, heading for Main Street, the focus of Alicia’s preservation efforts.
He hoped they wouldn’t run into anyone who’d greet him as Justin. On the other hand, if they did, maybe it would be the hand of fate at work.
Alicia showed him a hidden alleyway behind Julie’s Gems where his car barely fit into the single parking space. “You need more parking around here,” he muttered with a raised brow.
Alicia shrugged. “Or more people need to start using public transportation.” She winked. “It’s better for the earth.”
“This is Texas, sweetheart.”
“So? Miracles can happen.” She smiled sweetly and marched ahead of him up the neat alley. Her heels clicked authoritatively over the cobblestones. The way her backside jiggled slightly inside her flimsy white dress almost deprived him of his senses.
Miracles can happen.
With Alicia around, he had a feeling almost anything could happen.
“I can’t wait to thank Julie for the work she did on this topaz.” She opened the door. “I think it’s the loveliest gift I’ve ever had.”
Justin followed her into the store and greeted Julie. “It was a hit.”
“I knew it would be.” The bubbly jeweler hurried from behind the counter and gave Alicia a hug. “But you didn’t tell me it was for one of my favorite people.”
Justin shrugged. “I didn’t know you two knew each other.”
“Alicia knows everyone in Somerset,” said Julie, tossing her red curls. “And we all adore her.”
Alicia flushed sweetly.
Julie stared at the topaz glittering on the delicate chain around her lovely neck. “And that is some very fine craftsmanship, if I do say so myself. Though I do have to give some credit to Rick for bringing me such a perfect stone. I don’t believe for a minute that he dug it up himself.” She shot him a wry glance.