Page 31 of Wake Me Up Before You Cocoa

“You are quite correct,” Mrs. Sutton agreed. “I know this will be a time-consuming task, but I hope we can finish within six months. My old bones long for a rocking chair overlooking the ocean.”

“Six months,” Wade said with a start of surprise at the quick time frame, and he inadvertently gave a low whistle. “Sorry, ma’am, that was my gut reaction.”

Mrs. Sutton had a sly grin of her own. “I haven’t heard a man whistle at me in decades. No offense taken. I do understand we may find more things that need overhauling than not, but just do your best and keep me apprised. I will give each of you a key to come and go around your personal work schedules, but Mrs. Dixon will be here even if I’m not.”

“When would you like the initial list of repairs?” Wade asked. “And an estimate of cost?”

“Would two weeks give you enough time?”

“Absolutely. Your home is my top priority until it’s finished and sold to the highest bidder. I have a couple of other guys that will oversee our current jobs.”

“Perfect. I was hoping you’d say that. Now, I have an appointment to attend to. You and Marina make a first pass and just leave me your lists and notes at the end of each day.”

“Mrs. Sutton,” Marina said quickly. “I do need to tell you that I have a scheduled trip to Great Britain coming up on Monday. I’ll be gone almost a week. I know it delays my work here at your home, but it might be a good thing since I can take my initial list of the items you might want to sell to my contacts in the UK.”

“I would say that’s perfect timing then,” Mrs. Sutton said with a smile. “Mr. Kennedy and I will have plenty to keep us busy until your return.”

Mrs. Sutton slowly rose from the chair. “I bid youau revoirfor now, Mr. Kennedy and Miss Marina.” She grabbed her cane from the corner. “Mrs. Dixon,” she called out.

“Your car is in the driveway,” the housekeeper said, appearing at the library door. “I’ll help you to it.”

Chapter Fourteen

Within thirty seconds, Mrs. Sutton had a sweater around her shoulders, her handbag over her wrist, and she was gone.

After waving her off from the front porch, Marina spun around on her heel, and found Wade gazing at her. “Hey, you,” she said, trying not to grin like a lovesick puppy.

“Hey, you, ditto,” he replied.

There was a small moment of silence, and then Wade said, “We’ve got two hours. Shall we get started? I’m pretty enthusiastic about this project.”

“Ooh, yes. I want to pretend like this house ismine!” Marina said, practically bouncing on her toes in excitement. “Is that bad?”

“Nope, that’s part of the fun of old houses, especially something so exquisite and historical as the Sutton Mansion.”

Marina tilted her chin to gaze into Wade’s face. There was a boyish giddiness and happiness she hadn’t seen in far too long. “I think you’re as bad as I am, and I didn’t think I’d ever find a friend who loved the past the same way.”

“Are we still friends, then, Marina Cormier?” he asked, giving her one of his beautiful smiles that sent shivers all over her body.

“Of course, we are,” she said softly. “We never stopped. We were just a couple of stupid kids to ever go our separate ways.”

Whoa. A shiver ran down Marina’s neck, working all the way to her toes. She’d said the words aloud. What would Wade think? Had she come on too strong?

Wade just gave her another beautiful smile. Of course, the man wouldn’t say more. He was about to get married! To another woman. Marina blinked back the sting of emotion in her eyes and pulled out a spiral notebook from her handbag. Clicking a ballpoint pen, she gazed up at his face in a business-like fashion.

“How’s this for a plan? I’ve got a list of the rooms in the house,” Wade said, holding it up. “I’ve been comparing it to the floor plan, and it matches. Let’s go room by room and just list all the antiques so you can get started with appraisals. I need to consult with my architects before I can start anyway. Plus, get my heating and cooling contractors out here to inspect the bowels of the house. I can’t do anything more until I have an official, certified inspection. From my guys and the city.”

“Let’s do the downstairs, then the upstairs,” Marina agreed. “Lead the way. But first, there is a magnificent grandfather clock right here in the foyer, an inlaid cherry wood table, some porcelain vases, and the library has this giant oak and mahogany antique desk, plus tons of old books. I’ll get my librarian friend, Kirsten Floyd, over here to inventory those. She’s an expert when it comes to historical books.”

Marina wrote as fast as she could, listing the rooms and the items in each.

“Ready for the dining room?” Wade asked.

She nodded, leading the way, her excitement building. “Good grief, that table is to die for, not to mention hand painted china from the 19thcentury and silver cutlery and accoutrements—the real stuff! These hand-blown wine goblets in the cabinetare superb. See how much smaller they are than the ones we purchase these days? Even the chairs are smaller. Based on shoes and clothing of the period, people were smaller than today.”

“All these heavy velvet draperies had to cost a fortune,” Wade remarked, running a hand along the soft material at the dining room windows that overlooked the backyard fountain. “Come look at the window glass. It hasn’t been replaced in a hundred years. The glass was handblown and you can see the waves in it.”

“I love the design of the floor to ceiling windows here in the South,” Marina said, walking over to gaze through the glass. “During the summer months they’d open them up to catch the cool evening breezes.”

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