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Grace could not have sounded less enthusiastic if she tried. Olivia chuckled, amused and intrigued at the same time.

“Yeah, thanks, Ms. Michaels.”

chapter 6

Using her first name did not occur to Olivia at the moment, and Grace did not offer it.Well…Olivia was not used to people taking an instant dislike to her, though, for some reason, the simple fact that she was here, breathing the same air, seemed to annoy her friend’s relative. Olivia was curious about her. The way Grace had raked her crystal-clear blue eyes over her at the door may have quite a bit to do with it. The deliberate once-over had made Olivia feel X-rayed from top to bottom. Dissected, almost. And stripped naked, more or less. Michaels had done this with the aplomb and confidence of a woman used to undressing others, with her eyes and otherwise. Or so Olivia estimated. In turn, she found it a little difficult to take her eyes off her. It was true that Grace Michaels could not be said to be her type. Olivia did not usually go for hard, driven, badass businesswomen. She tended to favor slightly softer characters. Then again, Michaels was also fantastically female in appearance. She hit the uber-femme vibe beautifully in tailored black slacks, which must cost more than Olivia’s entire wardrobe, high-gloss ankle boots, and a fitted white linen shirt under an old-style livery frock coat, maroon, with antique golden embroidery on the front. Her full-bodied platinum blondhair, cut in a sleek bob, rustled attractively every time she moved her head. A choppy fringe highlighted almond-shaped, intelligent blue eyes. With her sculpted cheekbones and dramatic jawline, Grace Michaels was definitely a looker. Forget finding it just a little difficult to look away. Olivia found herself staring way too hard instead. This earned her another cutting glance from Grace.

“Okay.”Man!The woman was intense. “I should leave you to it and take the dogs for that walk.”

“Thank you, Oli.” As Charlie smiled, Olivia noticed Grace quirk an eyebrow as if she had a problem with the shortening of her name. “Be quick with it, and you can have a cup of tea with us. We’ll save you a cookie.”

Olivia wondered if Grace Michaels would save her one, or throw it in her face, more like. She whistled to Jerry and Everett, nodded to the two women, and promised herself to take her time out there.

???

Grace relaxed the second Olivia left the room. She had no idea why she was tense, but something about the other woman made her feel on edge.

“She’s a good girl,” Charlie declared, clearly not using the qualifier in the same way that Grace routinely did with her erotic play partners.

“Uh-huh. Is she a new friend of yours?”

“Kinda new, yes. I met her at the vet a couple months ago. We started talking, and she said she’d be happy to walk Jerry for me when the weather got bad. Or if it’s snowing a lot.”

Grace had never heard her aunt complain about this kind ofthing before.

“Is your hip bothering you a lot?” she asked.

“It’s been tighter than usual. But still, not too bad.”

“You know, Charlie, you don’t have to grit your teeth and just suffer through this. My offer to you still stands.”

“I know. Thank you. But I’d be lost in Miami, darling.”

“Not for long, I’m sure. And the warmer weather would be much kinder on your joints. You could join a salsa class, make friends and exercise at the same time.”

“Oh, Grace.” Charlie laughed and patted her warmly on the thigh. “I dread to think what I’d be like on the dance floor. If I ever moved to Miami, it would be to be close to you.”

“That would be nice.”

“It would. But you know I belong here. In this house... It is my home.”

She glanced at the smiling portrait of her late husband on the fireplace mantel. They had been married for twenty-seven years. Lived in the same house, yes. He’d passed away in 2017 after a short illness, in his own bed, with his wife by his side. Grace nodded in respectful understanding.

“Maybe you could just come to visit a bit more often,” she offered. “Give yourself a break when you need it.”

“That I would like very much, yes.”

“We’ll work something out. Maybe in January to escape the worst of the freezing cold.”

“What about Jerry?”

“Jerry can come too. What are you doing for Christmas and New Year?”

“I’ll be in Burlington. Just the usual, you know?”

“Hmm.” Grace winced imperceptibly. “Yes.”

Her father still lived in Burlington, in the stone mansion allthe kids had grown up in. The residence lacked a lot of character. Well, at least according to Grace, who knew a thing or two about such things. It did have enough rooms to accommodate the entire family for Christmas, which used to be important to her mother. The holidays remained a big deal for the Michaels, with all the kids expected to attend Christmas lunch. As the black sheep of the clan, Grace was never invited. Looking on the bright side, she supposed it saved her having to decline. Her father, John Michaels, had done well for himself in the seventies, buying and developing property. He was not into design or hospitality but very good at spotting opportunities and putting talented managers into place. Once the new business was up and running smoothly, he would sell it for profit and re-invest the money into something else. He applied the same formula to bars, restaurants, and nightclubs all over the US, becoming a multi-millionaire in the process. When Grace was five years old, he acquired an old crumbling building and some land on the shore of Lake Champlain. He decided to keep this piece of property and, over the years, turned it into one of the top vacation spotsin the country. The Red Eagle Golf and Spa Resort catered to the rich and famous. Movie stars, singers, sports icons... Even the odd royal from time to time. The plan had always been for Grace to take over after her father’s retirement. But then… Well. ‘Shit happened’. Her brothers, Chloe, and her husband were in charge of running the family business now.