fashion magazine. Alicia took a deep breath and counted to ten before answering. This was old territory with them; there was just no getting around the fact that Adam was over-protective. Willing her heart to stop pounding and her voice to be steady, Alicia told him that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
“I always lock th e main door after everyone leaves and it’s not like we’re in the ’hood, Adam. This building is perfectly safe, as you are well aware. I’m not a child , you know,” she said firmly.
Suddenly Adam’s stern countenance turned playful and he closed the gap between them with one long step. “Yes, chica, you are. You’re your daddy’s baby girl and I have no desire to explain anything to him or your two big brothers. Just what do you think they’d do to me if I let something happen to you?”
He had her there. Her father and her two older brothers approved of the close relationship between Adam and Alicia in large part because they knew no harm could come to Alicia with him around. She smiled with resignation and changed the subject.
“So how did it go this afternoon?”
Adam groaned. “Our client is turning into a huge pain in the rear,” he admitted. He moved to sit down on the long, comfortable sofa and took Alicia’s hand as he did so. Alicia folded her legs under her and Adam leaned back against the pillow-backed sofa. With his eyes closed he recited the list of new demands from Darcy Hamilton, a very wealthy client whose constant input was driving him crazy. They were remodeling a thirties-era Arts and Crafts style bungalow in Grosse Pointe for her, something that should have been a relatively simple job, but since she kept changing her mind about the details, the job was dragging on endlessly.
“Okay, today she decided that big round window s on the stair landing would make her life perfect. It took me two hours to explain to her that what seems like a simple change would cost her about ten thousand dollars more. She just wasn’t getting the idea that once the design is complete, you just can’t go making these little whimsical changes when the mood hits you,” he said, disgust evident in his tone of voice. “I should have just told her okay, fine, put in the window and taken her money. Unfortunately, I have too much integrity to do that and she has too much money to care.”
Alicia rolled her eyes before commenting. She felt a little heat in her cheeks, even though Adam hadn’t seen her make the evil face. She hated admitting it, but she couldn’t stand that little Darcy. The woman was Alicia’s polar opposite: she was petite, dainty, and ultra - feminine and had more clothes than Alicia could contemplate. She’d never seen the woman in the same outfit twice. And that way the woman ate Adam up with her eyes was just plain sickening. Alicia had no doubt but that the woman made up things like the new window s just to get Adam on her turf. Alicia was trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t reveal how jealous she was of their client when Adam’s eyes popped open and he looked directly at Alicia.
“Get this, no sooner did I finish explaining to her that the window idea was totally impractical than she comes up with another request. She wants the laundry room on the second floor instead of in the basement where it already is. That’s only going to involve moving a load-bearing wall and ripping out work that’s already been completed,” he said angrily. “That woman is a menace.”
“Well now, I can’t say I blame her about the laundry. That’s really the best place to have it since that’s where most of the dirty clothes accumulate. Too bad she didn’t mention this bright idea a few months ago.”
Adam snorted. “Yeah, well, from now on you can deal with her. She asked where you were, anyway. Maybe you’ll get along with her better than I do. She just irritates me,” he confessed.
Before Alicia’s dismay at having to deal with
Emma Wildes writing as Annabel Wolfe