Page 105 of Authentically, Izzy
She relaxed back into the seat, soaking in the growing awareness. “You’re definitely full of wonderful surprises, Mr.Sutherland.”
He kept his gaze ahead on the narrow road but held his grin. “Well, I’m afraid I may disappoint you a little with the house. Since I’m in midrenovation, a large part of the house is still in disrepair, but I’m making progress.”
She could practically feel the excitement oozing from his posture as he sped over the hills, closer to his “cliff house” as he called it. What was she supposed to think about a place like that? Agatha Christie?Dracula? Brontë’s Thrushcross Grange or... she shuddered... Lovecraft? She studied Brodie’s profile and shook her head. Nope. Let’s stick more with Herriot or... her lips tilted upward... Wodehouse. Yes, he was all things bright and beautiful and good.
And she gave her heart completely over. Come what may. She wanted to be with Brodie Sutherland.
He caught her staring and hung on for a second. “I really want to kiss you right now.”
“It’s definitely a benefit of in-person interaction.”
“I’ll make certain to take an extended time on that particular benefit once we arrive at the house, because”—he turned the car into a drive with two rock pillars on each side—“here we are.”
A little bronze sign within each rock pillar showcased a faded name: Waithcliff Manor.
Her eyes widened, and she sucked in a breath.
“Ah, I see your mind spinning with Brontë and Dickens.” He chuckled and started down the drive. “But I’m afraid you’ll find more of a derelict manor house for now, though I’m quite proud of what I’ve accomplished thus far.”
“Well, you have to at least have a kitchen, right?”
He nodded. “And a bit more than a kitchen. The government of Skymar is invested in restoring existing structures on the islands, so one can apply for special funds. But those additional funds arrive in trickles instead of gallons, so in between work and family, the renovation process has taken some time. And the larger and basic needs had to happen first. Windows. Stonework. Electrical and plumbing. So in order to stretch those funds, I’ve learned how to make certain repairs and restorations by watching copious amounts of YouTube videos.”
“YouTube is powerful.” Izzy turned back to the road ahead. “I fixed my sink because of a YouTube—” Her sentence cut off as a tower rose above the trees ahead. Izzy leaned forward, hands on the dashboard. The tree-lined drive opened to reveal a beautiful stone houseof grayish tan. The “tower” Izzy had seen—a turret—rose up on the right and just beyond it . . .
“The ocean,” she whispered, catching glimpses of the sea through the veil of trees as Brodie brought the car to a stop in front of the house. And this time shedidpress her face against the window. Shehadstepped into a dream or a former era or... whatever.
“I usually enter through the kitchen, but I wanted to give you the special tour.”
Izzy barely had time to lift her mouth off the floor before he’d come around to her side of the car and opened her door. She took his outstretched hand and he pulled her forward, his attention shifting from her face to the house.
“It’s slow going, you understand, but I want to do it right.” He fingered through his keys as they neared the double dark-oak front doors with frosted glass embossed in the top third of the doors. “So I’ve only finished a few rooms thus far and only on the ground floor.”
“It has a tower,” Izzy rasped out as he placed the key in the lock. “Like... like a real tower.”
He paused and turned toward her, his brows giving a shimmy. “I know, which I believe should become the perfect reading room, don’t you?”
“Oh my goodness. That would be amazing.”
“Exactly what I thought too.” He began to push open the door and then stopped. “It’s still a work in progress. Remember that as we tour.”
“Stop stalling and let me see this castle of yours.” She nudged him forward and with a renewed grin he leaned over and took her lips with his. A soft, swift touch, but enough to bring her pulse into a responsive gallop.
With a squeeze to her fingers, he pushed open one of the double doors to reveal a beautiful but simple foyer. The stone floor led forward through an arched opening where a stairway curled up and out ofsight. A lovely teardrop chandelier hung from a white ceiling adorned with diamond-shaped designs.
She wasn’t sure why she’d expected dark colors and leather, complete with dead animals on the walls. Maybe fictional daydreaming didn’t always give a clear representation. This tasteful simplicity matchedherhero, though.
A sudden movement slid into her vision. Fuzzy, grayish white, and at a full run, up bounded a beautiful dog with every bit of welcome dripping from his overly large tongue. Brodie intercepted the furry bundle just before he made contact with Izzy’s jeans.
“Ah, I see the welcoming committee is in good form today.”
Izzy laughed and dropped to her knees, rubbing a palm over the dog’s soft head. Well, she tried. The puppy licked her hand well before her palm ever made it to his fur.
“Hello, Argos.” At the sound of his name, the puppy wiggled free from Brodie’s hold and squirmed right into Izzy’s chest, licking her face with all his might. She giggled and pulled back, redirecting the puppy love to her hands again.
“Ach!He’s trying to drown you.” Brodie took the puppy by the collar and gave him a little tug. “But he’ll calm down after a bit. He’s as excited to meet you in person as I was.”
“Samwise could keep up with him, I think.” She pushed to a stand as Brodie smoothed his palms over each side of the dog’s face in a calming fashion. He proceeded to give Brodie a sound lick on the nose, to which Brodie looked up at her with an apologetic shrug... and she pretty much decided she loved him. Bookshop or not. Cliff house or not.
