Free Weekend Agreement by Barbara Wallace Page B

an increasingly tipsy Cole, who seemed quite determined to win her attention away from Daniel.
    He needn’t have bothered. Even silent, there was no forcing Daniel into the background. The air pulsed with his energy. Charlotte found herself aware of every slight movement, every imagined glance in her direction. When he excused himself during dessert—to make a call, he claimed—the room fell flat and lifeless.
    After dinner, she declined Cole’s offer to check out the Lucky Duck , and instead excused herself to explore the library. William had made mention of some of his ancestors’ whaling diaries, and she was curious. She was passing through the downstairs parlor when she heard the sound of voices coming from near the veranda doorway. It was Vivian and Daniel.
    “It wouldn’t hurt you to be a little more supportive of your brother’s efforts,” she heard Vivian whisper harshly. “He’s trying to make something of himself.”
    “You mean you’re trying to make something of him, don’t you? He’s not going to build a new America’s Cup boat.”
    “You don’t know that.”
    “I know Cole. He doesn’t even have an official design, for crying out loud. Face it, this is a pipe dream like every other thing you’ve come to me with.”
    “This time is going to be different. I plan to stay on him.”
    “Right, like you stayed on him all the other times. No way.”
    “Dammit, Daniel, he’s family. Family supports one another.”
    Charlotte heard a strangled sigh. “Funny how you only play the family card when you need something from me. We both know you would have ignored me completely if Dad hadn’t left the trust in my name. Tell me, would I be family now if I hadn’t become rich and famous? You know what, don’t answer. I’m not in the mood for any more trumped-up affection.”
    The veranda door rattled shut, followed by the sound of a frustrated cry and the clapping of espadrilles on tile. Charlotte moved to make herself scarce, but didn’t do so in time. Before she could get three feet, Vivian pulled up short in the doorway.
    The women eyed each other. “If you’re looking for Daniel, he went for another one of his beach walks,” Vivian said. Except for the slight breathlessness in her voice, there was no evidence she’d ever been arguing.
    Smoothing her hair, the older woman started toward the hallway, only to stop when she saw the book in Charlotte’s hand. “Don’t get too involved in any library readings,” she told her. “I doubt you’ll have the chance to finish. My son seldom keeps the same companion for long. He’s very difficult to please.”
    “I don’t know about that,” “Charlotte said, meeting her gaze point for point. “All you need to do is pay attention to what he wants.”
    Vivian’s lips curled in a smile. “So you think you figured out the path to Daniel’s heart, have you?”
    “What I think is that I’m willing to listen. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a phone call to make.”
    With more boldness than she felt, she swept past Vivian.
    …
     
    How could a man be so prickly and yet so charming? Back in her room, she sat on the window seat and flipped through the pages of Judy’s research file. There was Daniel with Valerie Pinochet at a movie premiere. Daniel in the Mediterranean with a Greek tycoon’s daughter. Daniel in New York escorting the latest top cover model, and the next latest, and the next. Dozens of photographs, dozens of women. How did this fit with the lonely man she met tonight on the beach?
    My son seldom keeps the same companion for long. She sighed, thinking of how true those words were. And her…what was she thinking passing snipes with Daniel’s mother like that? Suggesting she knew the way to Daniel’s heart. Suggesting she wanted Daniel’s heart. She didn’t.
    As if she could compete anyway. She flipped over another clipping, revealing another gorgeous escort.
    Suddenly she realized her cell phone was ringing. “Where have