Maybe there was a storm on the way.įrom the corner of her eye she saw movement in the darkness. No other flashes of light illuminated the sky, yet the night air was warm and humid. More than once this week she’d been jolted awake by the repetitive thud.Īs she yanked the screen door closed, she looked toward the tree line at the edge of her property. If she didn’t make sure to pull it closed in exactly the right way, it would end up opening and banging against its frame with the wind. “Damn door,” she grumbled.įor weeks, the latch on her screen door had been broken. The initial panic at hearing the loud sound was replaced by annoyance. She shrugged, setting her glass aside and made her way to her bedroom.

Close enough that she should’ve been able to hear thunder. The flash she’d seen had been close though. Lightning storms weren’t uncommon in South Carolina. She waited for the thunder, but none came. As she rinsed out her wine glass, she saw a flash of light through the window above her sink. and walked the few steps it took to get to her small kitchen. Looking at the mountain of half-finished sketches and cold mugs of coffee on her desk, she frowned. Finding plants that resembled those found in the temperate climate of Japan, but could survive the humid subtropical climate of South Carolina, would be an interesting design challenge to say the least. Tomorrow she was scheduled to meet with a particularly wealthy client who wanted the yard of his lakefront home to resemble an authentic Japanese garden. It was not often that she was required to leave her home and venture into the world, and she preferred it that way. Her home office was a perfectly cultivated creative area, and the majority of her designs were produced there, rather than in a stifling office. Whenever she tried to sleep, her fatigued body was at odds with her active mind.Īs a landscape designer, Jade could get away with both sleeping and working at odd hours. She envied people who were able to lay down and drift away to dreamland in a matter of minutes. It had never been easy for Jade to sleep. “Why do I do this to myself?” she muttered. Other names, characters, places, incidents, and events are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

Choosing theo victoria aveline