When A Man Loves A Woman(22)

A house was meant to be a home, not a showcase. Her home was well lived in and well loved. Her dog was a huge part of her life. All dogs ever asked for was to love and be loved. If Zoey shed a little each day she could deal with it. The love and affection she showered on Delilah was massive.

She looked around her home. Flowers from her garden were always placed in a vase, adding color to her world. At the moment she had a bunch of pink roses mixed with a few wild flowers. She had baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies using her famous Dalton family recipe. In making the cookies she’d forgotten all about the fact that Mac hailed from a family that specialized in baked goods. No doubt he’d tasted the best sweets in all of New England.

The ringing of the doorbell caused her to take a quick look in the hallways mirror. Her hair looked fine, although her complexion looked a bit pale. With her creamy skin it was hard to tan or get some sun. She had a tendency to burn. Wide blue eyes stared back at her. An anxious expression was etched on her face.

“You’re fine,” she told her reflection. “He’s just stopping by to look at your computer. It’s not as if this is a date or anything.”

A date with Mac. The very thought of it caused a giddy feeling to glide straight through her. She’d spent some time daydreaming about it late last night when she had been unable to sleep. Tossing and turning had led to thoughts of Mac. What would it be like, she wondered to be courted by him? To be the woman in his life? Something told her the reality would be much better than any dream.

She wasn’t the type of woman who could ask a guy out, even though she would love to hang out with Mac. It just wasn’t her style. She was old fashioned in that regard.

Delilah walked toward the front door, wrenching it open just as it pealed for a second time. Mac was standing there, filling up the whole door frame. Zoey immediately began to sniff Mac like crazy and slobber all over him.

“Hey Delilah. How are you?” Mac, dressed in a pair of dark washed jeans and a forest green T-shirt looked handsome and relaxed. A pair of sneakers completed the causal look. He paused to give Zoey the attention she craved by nuzzling her under her chin.

“I’m good. Come on in,” she said, inviting him inside with a wave of her hand. “Go play outside for a bit, Zoey.” She scooted Zoey outside to her fenced-in yard.

He walked over the threshold, immediately filling up her bungalow with his strength and strong presence. “Thanks for allowing me to come over today. I can’t say that I slept a wink last night though. Too much anticipation.”

“I can’t say I blame you. I didn’t mean to leave you hanging,” Delilah said. She felt badly about dangling the information in front of him yesterday. Knowing he’d been on edge about it all night made her feel guilty.

“No worries. You didn’t leave me hanging. It almost felt like the night before Christmas and not being able to go to sleep because I knew something great was waiting for me under the tree.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s a wonderful feeling. Why don’t we head into the living room? I have my computer on the table.”

Mac followed behind her. “By the way what happened to Betty?”

“Sadly, she’s beyond repair.” She tossed the words over her shoulder. “I’m on the lookout for a gently used car if you happen to know of anything.”

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Mac said. “One of my buddies over in Chatham might have something at his lot.”

When she turned back toward him he was looking around her living room. “Your place is beautiful, Delilah. You’ve done a lot of renovating, I see. It looks really different than the last time I was here.”

She shot him a puzzled glance. “You were in here?”

He sank down on to the couch next to her and nodded his head. “The previous owner, Judd Banks, was a friend of mine. When I was a teen-ager I used to do odd jobs for him around the place. He suffered from MS, so as his condition deteriorated I helped out more and more around the place. I always loved this house. Do you know it was one of the first bungalows built in Breeze Point?”

“No, I didn’t know that. I do remember Mr. Banks though. He was an amazing painter. His works depicting Breezy Beach are masterpieces.” The bungalow had been a part of Mr. Bank’s estate after he passed away. Sadly, she’d never had the opportunity to meet the owner of her house, although she had purchased one of his paintings through his estate.

“He was really talented. Remy says that Judd making a living at painting inspired him to reach for that dream himself.”