Sea of Dreams (The American Heroes Series Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

grinning lip. “All right,” she agreed. “Go for it.”
    “You said you’re from Los Angeles?”
    “Born and raised in Pasadena.  I was on the Tournament of Roses Rose Court in 1993.  If you don’t believe me, look it up.  I was Princess Blakesley Amelia Thorne.” She presented a much practiced Rose Parade wave complete with the stiff cup-shaped hand and swiveling wrist.
    A faint grin played on his lips. “I would believe that implicitly,” he agreed. “You definitely look like a princess.”
    She smiled, flattered. “Thanks.”
    “You’re welcome,” he sat forward, folding his enormous hands on the table top. “But I’m not finished yet. Pasadena isn’t a bad town; why’d you move down to San Diego?”
    Her smiled began to fade and she took a sip of her wine.  Beck watched her, thinking that maybe that hadn’t been the right question.  He’d been so excited about sitting at the same table with her that maybe he had been too overbearing.  Maybe he had asked a question with too personal an answer.
    “Sorry,” he said softly. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”
    She looked at him, forcing a smile. “It’s not that,” she said, somewhat subdued. “It’s just a complicated answer.”
    His smile returned. “Like I said, you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to,” he said, rather eager to change the subject. “So… what do you do for a living, Mrs. Masterson? Is that a safe question?”
    Her smile turned genuine and she laughed softly.  “It’s Blakesley Thorne. I took back my maiden name after my divorce,” she said, “and you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
    His eyebrows lifted. “Should I guess?”
    She laughed again. “You can try.”
    He pretended to think. “A super model?” he watched her giggle and shake her head. “A pediatrician? A spy?”
    “No, not even close,” she shut him up. “When I was in college, I started cleaning offices at night for money.  It worked with my schedule and paid well.  I started getting more and more clients just by word of mouth, so much so that I started employing my friends to take the jobs I just didn’t have time to do.  Eventually, I grew the business into one of the most successful industrial janitorial companies in the state.  I sold it last year so I could pursue my dream.”
    He was listening intently. “What’s your dream?”
    She smiled bashfully. “My college degree wasn’t in business,” she admitted. “It was in Art. I paint. I want to open my own art gallery.”
    He was staring at her.  After a moment, he simply shook his head. “That’s a pretty amazing story,” he said. “You’re telling me that you built a big janitorial business and you weren’t even a business major?”
    She nodded. “Weird, huh?” she sipped at her wine again. “I sold it to a national chain for a lot of money, at least enough to keep me comfortable the rest of my life. I was lucky.”
    He wriggled his eyebrows in agreement, in surprise, as the waiter brought his beer. “So you moved down here to open your art gallery?”
    “I’d really like to. I’m going out with a real estate agent next week to look at some storefronts.”
    His intense green eyes were warm on her, inspecting her, digesting her life and dreams as she explained them.  He held up his glass of beer to her. “I think it’s great that you can live your dream,” he said sincerely. “Good luck on your art gallery.”
    She lifted her wine glass, smiling as she clinked it against his. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I really hope it works out.”
    He took a big gulp of beer, savoring it. “If you have as much talent for art as you do for business, then you shouldn’t have a problem.”
    She shrugged modestly, glancing at him and realizing he was studying her intently.  From the moment he had appeared, his eyes had never left her, but his manner wasn’t threatening or lecherous. It was kind, curious, and very