Free Under Her Spell by Isabella Ashe

could spoil this most perfect of evenings. She loved sitting here next to Zach, feeling the wind whip at her hair, smelling the ocean, and catching sparkling glimpses of it through the trees lining the road. They began to drive along the edge of Kinney's Lagoon, and Bryony drank in the sight of it. The water lay still and shining in the moonlight, stretching out to the bluffs and the deserted beach.
    "This is where they want to build the resort," she said.
    "Seashore Estates? The Mandell Corporation's project?"
    Bryony turned to Zach, surprised. "You know about that?"
    "I've read about it in the San Francisco papers," he said. "I hear a bunch of loony tree huggers are opposing the project. They haven't got a chance, though. It'll bring a ton of money into the economy, and Mandell has some heavy hitters pushing for it in Sacramento."
    Bryony swallowed hard, trying to hide her anger. "Then you think it's all but over?"
    "It is over," he said. "Oh, no doubt the granola crowd will scream and shriek and gnash their teeth, but in my opinion it's a done deal."
    "Really?" Bryony said, unable to keep the rancor from sharpening her voice. "So much for the democratic process, then. I might as well throw away my petitions and forget it."
    Zach glanced over at her, suddenly wary. "Don't tell me --"
    "That's right," she said. "I'm one of those 'loony tree huggers' standing in the way of progress. That lagoon is a precious natural resource. It belongs to the thousands of birds and other wildlife that live there. What do you think will happen to them when people start building swimming pools and golf courses just a few feet away?"
    "They'll go somewhere else," Zach said with a shrug. "That's the price of progress."
    "It's too high a price. Far too high." Bryony shuddered at his casual disregard for the lagoon she loved. They settled into a stony, uncomfortable silence. Bryony's throat closed up as she contemplated the end of their enchanted evening. The argument recalled for her, again, how different they were. Zach was blind to everything she held dear. And yet she still couldn't bring herself to hate him.
    They said goodnight, the disagreement over Seashore Estates casting a pall over their relationship. Bryony thought she saw a hint of regret in Zach's eyes, but he didn't apologize.
    As she climbed the steps to her room, Bryony felt weighed down by an exhaustion that was more emotional than physical. She changed into her favorite nightgown, ivory cotton edged with lace, and picked up the book on meditation she'd been reading. Curling up in her curved wicker chair, she tried to concentrate on the words.
    Instead, she found herself staring out at the moon. Zach kept intruding on her thoughts. She didn't understand him at all. How could he seem so caring one moment and so callous the next? Her own reaction to him was even harder to fathom.
    Sexual attraction was one thing, and she had to admit that she was attracted to him. Even thinking of him as she sat alone in her room made her heart jolt in her chest and her breasts tingle under the soft fabric of her gown. When they were together, she was aware of him with an intensity she'd never felt with another man.
    Still, there was something more. When his steely expression melted to tenderness, when she caught a flash of delight in his eyes, she felt a corresponding joy rise up in her. When they laughed together, she felt giddy with happiness. She was suddenly very afraid that her whole plan was backfiring on her.
    She couldn't be falling in love with Zach, she just couldn't. That would ruin everything. He would go back to the city in another week, and where would that leave her? He would mock her in his column, and the entire world would know that he didn't love her back. So she would just have to put a stop to these feelings, and she had to do it now.
    With that resolve in mind, she went to bed. Unfortunately, a simple decision wasn't enough to keep her from thinking of him. Even sleep couldn't