Lucky's Lady (The Caversham Chronicles Book 4) by Sandy Raven Read Free Book Online

tup the wife.
    This woman might be the one and only time he ever violated his own rule.
     
    M ary-Michael smiled and turned to their new client. "I have an idea. Since it is already starting to get warm in here, perhaps you might like to walk through Ajax, as she is nearly done. You can get a feel for the fittings and layout, then tell me what you like and dislike."
    Captain Gualtiero loosened the top button of his shirt and nodded. Mary-Michael was fascinated by the indentation revealed at the base of his throat when he parted the starched white collar. Sometimes she wished she could do the same, but no respectable woman would do anything of the sort. What she could do, though, was remove the jacket that was causing her discomfort. So she unbuttoned it and slid it off, hanging it on the coat rack in the corner of her office. Immediately she felt much more comfortable in her short-sleeved blouse. Placing her wide-brimmed hat on her head, she cleared her throat and collected her graphite pencil and writing board with a few sheets of paper. "Let's take a walk, Captain."
    They left her husband's office and walked past Andrew Nawton, who worked on another client's final drawings. Mary-Michael took the opportunity to introduce their draftsman to their new client, letting the captain know that this was the man who would produce the duplicates of her originals. "Like all the tradesman in our company, Mr. Nawton is the best at what he does."
    They continued down the hallway and stairs to the main doors where her very handsome new client held the door open for her. Mary-Michael thanked him, calling him captain. Her breath caught in her chest when she detected his fresh soap-and-water scent as she walked past him. She caught his gaze as she passed and he smiled, causing her knees to weaken.
    "Please, call me Lucky."
    She felt an odd clenching in the vicinity of her lower belly. It was too soon . Even if she was going to wind up in his bed for that much-desired infant, it was too soon to give him this much intimacy. "I've never been on a Christian-name basis with a client before, Captain, and to address you in such a familiar manner goes against my upbringing."
    "I'm sorry. I only thought to make the conversation flow more comfortably between us," he replied, the soft timbre of his voice revealing a trace of an accent other than English.
    Mary-Michael let the comment pass. She wasn't going to enter into any conversation with him that did not pertain one hundred percent to the construction of his two clippers. Not yet. She led the way toward Ajax, knowing he followed. She could feel the heat of his gaze on her back. She realized perhaps she wasn't dressed in the most conventional of clothes, but she had a job that entailed a great deal of outdoor supervision, walking and climbing. A woman couldn't do what she had to do daily, wearing a dress. Which is why she always wore breeks or trousers to the shipyard.
    "One at a time up the plank. I'll go first." She strode onto the board they used as a gangplank and walked onto the main deck, her client behind her.
    "I'm amazed that you did that so effortlessly," he said with a hint of admiration in his voice.
    She would not succumb to his charm. She would not. "Captain, I climb aboard this boat every day. Just as I will climb aboard your boat every day while it is under construction. It's how I know the quality of work coming from our yard is the best it can be. And, if I may be allowed to brag, among the finest in the world."
    "Have you ever fallen into the water?"
    "Of course. The last time was two years ago, after we'd had a cold night. I didn't think it was cold enough to ice, but I stepped on the plank, slipped, and fell in. Because of that fall, every winter we now have a bucket of sand at the base of the ramp. First man up spreads sand for those who follow. And we continue to spread sand until the sun melts the ice."
    "Ingenious."
    "No, Captain Gualtiero, practical." She smiled at him. "If