Drape Expectations Read Online Free PDF Page B

said cheerily. “Ace. Lady is playing with Brindle and Trista out back.” Then dropping all pretense, she explained, “Trista called me. She was upset you were arguing.”
    Marsha looked embarrassed. Ace just looked stubborn and determined, and his whole body was rigid.
    â€œDid you say Trista went out back?” Marsha asked. “I should go check on her.”
    Caprice said, “That would probably be good.”
    After Marsha exited the room, Caprice said to Ace in a calm tone, “You must care for Alanna if she’s going to move in. But this happened so fast. Maybe Trista and Marsha need time to get used to the idea.”
    Obviously still perturbed about his argument with his ex-wife, Ace snapped, “My personal life is none of your business.”
    Although Ace was bristling, Caprice wasn’t going to let that bristle her.
    â€œTrista made it my business when she called me. Should I have told her I didn’t have time to come, or wasn’t concerned about her feelings, or she could handle it on her own? She’s twelve, Ace. She looks up to you and her mother. Whether this was a misunderstanding today or something else, she deserves to come first. Isn’t that what you decided?”
    Ace’s lips were still tight and his jaw set. Finally he sighed. “Marsha told me she’d arrive after noon. She’s never early. Alanna was here and we were ... making plans, talking about the open house.”
    Caprice waved her hand as if she didn’t want to know any more, and she really didn’t. She said simply, “Trista’s upset.”
    â€œI’ll make it up to her. Maybe I can keep her tomorrow night, too. Even if I miss Alanna’s open house.”
    Ace really did have a good heart. He just had to figure out where Alanna and his daughter fit into his life.

Chapter Three
    Caprice knew her open houses sometimes hit snags. It was the nature of the business. However, she didn’t expect her client to be a huge impediment.
    Alanna Goodwin was a monumental impediment.
    Never mind that Alanna insisted that when the open house was over, she was wrapping her draperies with the fringed tiebacks once more. Never mind she’d wanted her stamp of approval on all of Nikki’s Southern dishes. Never mind she was underfoot and in the way at least half the time Caprice had been staging her house. They’d had a royal battle about moving out the two settees that crowded the room. Caprice had won that turf war by bringing in one love seat from her own storage shed to help de-clutter the space.
    The theme of Antebellum Ecstasy was perfect. The only thing that could have enhanced it would have been century-old live oaks with Spanish moss hanging from their boughs in the front yard. There were “oohs and aahs” from prospective buyers about the grandeur of the house, the beautiful white pillars, the expansive veranda around the back, the porcelain knickknacks, and the velvet and brocade fabrics.
    Nevertheless ... Alanna wouldn’t stay out of the mix. She was dressed to the nines in pearls and polished cotton, perfume, and hot pink nails, inviting everyone inside as if she had been expecting them for tea. She was talking to prospective buyers and not just talking, but overselling with overkill.
    Denise Langford, the luxury-property real estate broker who had listed the house, sidled up to Caprice. “Can’t you cage her? She’s going to run off clients who are actually interested. When it’s a done deal, the buyer sometimes wants to talk to the seller. But not at this stage. What are we going to do?”
    â€œUnderneath that pretty lipstick, Alanna isn’t all soft-spoken words,” Caprice explained, if Denise didn’t understand that already. “She’ll get what she wants any way she can. I’ve had to work with her this entire week, and, believe me, it hasn’t been easy. The only thing I like about Alanna