Free Champagne Romance (Romance Novel) by Suellen Smith Page A

enjoying his luxury
bachelor pad. It more than annoyed him that he was perturbed by the
face that now was on his coffee table staring back at him. Unable
to control himself, he reached for the magazine and began to thumb
through it until he reached the pictures of Swan. She was doing a
swimsuit layout somewhere in the Caribbean with the white sands,
clear aqua water, and sunny blue sky. She stood in a skimpy bikini
on a sandy mound looking out over the Caribbean Sea. Her gorgeous
long hair with the bird of paradise flower was tucked behind one
ear. It blew lazily in the breeze along with the backdrop of the
island palms. The aqua crocheted bikini covered very little of her
womanly assets. It did not take much imagination to remember the
large nipples and long legs that wrapped around him. A muscular
male model stood directly behind her with his disgusting lips on
her long neck. Swan smiled sweetly with half closed lids looking
fully recovered. She seemed to be enjoying herself. That rather
pissed him off!
    Slater threw the magazine down again in
disgust and walked out on the balcony for a smoke. What he didn’t
know is that the Caribbean photo shoot had taken place last
    fall, six months before it was to appear in
the spring magazine issue and three months before the fatal airline
disaster.
     

CHAPTER 21
     
    Swan pulled back the delicate white muslin
drape that covered the panoramic view of the Pacific. They let in
light and still gave her privacy when needed. She stared out the
window of her glass doors that overlooked the ocean , but her
vacant eyes still held no vision. She could only imagine the frothy
tide as it rippled down the sandy beach and roared back to the
yawning ocean beyond.
    Swan had spent two months going to every
appointment with every ophthalmologist in the Los Angeles area that
was a world expert in their field. They all seemed to have the same
conclusion of “wait and see”. She thought that that was a rather
laughable phrase considering that was literally the state, which
she did not find herself. She was frustrated and upset. Lately, she
seemed to be in a continual state of nausea as well. Had it not
been for her friend, Kat, she would have totally freaked-out.
    Kat lived in a luxury home nearby. It was
fortunate for Swan that she was in-between-lovers and not at her
second home in southern Italy. Kat had replaced Ace for her
temporary lifeline. She organized Swan’s apartment for her, took
her to doctor appointments, and helped her with her darkness.
Through sheer determination, Swan began to pull herself together
and take complete control of her life. She did not remain helpless
long. She learned from the organization for the visual impaired how
to live in a world of blackness. Once she was resigned to a
possibility of a lifetime of blindness, she soon learned to adapt
to what was a strong possibility of normalcy for the rest of her
life.
    Swan’s apartment was not arranged too
differently. Too much rearranging would only disturb her
equilibrium and cause her to feel totally lost in her own
surrounds. But, certain concessions had to be made in order to make
it more functional. She could only picture the Brazilin cherry
floors and the few changes that Kat had made.
    Swan’s pleasant luxury apartment was painted
a soft yellow with white ornate molding above doors and at the top
around each wall. Her artwork was bright and cheery. The bright
colors made her feel happy and brought joy to the life that she had
created. A Chihuly masterpiece of hand blown colored glass hung
over the Biedermeier table in the dining room. The beveled glass
mirrors on three walls of the dining room were in six-inch sections
that reflected a view of Catalina and the Pacific. A few expensive
Venetian glass pieces and Lalique collections graced the antique
tables as well.
    Throughout Swan’s home, she had large
needlepoint rugs that complimented her floors and walls. The rug in
the dining room was cream with a wide