Chapter Two New Devon #3
“A little credit for the teacher, no?” Viggo pouted and frowned.
“Another one who wants to get credit for doing their job.” Madison folded her arms, pretending to be annoyed.
Viggo outstretched his palms. “I don’t understand.”
“You did say that you taught classes, correct?”
“True. But I never thought I could be a dog trainer.” He laughed.
“A good teacher and a good student.” Madison unfolded her arms and patted him on the shoulder. “So what does Diogo have to say?”
“Time for his dinner.” Viggo stood and held out his hand. “Come. My place is a few blocks away. That is, if you want to continue our walk.”
Madison held up the half-empty bottle. “What should we do with this?”
“Neither of us is driving.” He took the bottle from her, used his handkerchief as a stopper, and placed the bottle in the backpack.
Then he held out his hand again. Madison gladly took it and stood.
This would be her first opportunity to see where and how Viggo lived.
Once again, she slipped her arm through the crook of his, and they headed to his home.
“I have to warn you, it’s not very posh.” Viggo was well aware that his cottage was a fraction of the house Madison was renting. But it was his. All of it. Every renovated crook and cranny of it.
They turned the corner at Snug Harbor Drive.
The third house down was impeccably landscaped with ornamental grass and decorative rocks.
Madison remembered the description Olivia gave her when they first encountered the handsome captain.
Madison knew she shouldn’t let on that she had already seen photos on Google Earth.
She didn’t want Viggo to think she was a stalker.
After all, it was just a little investigative work.
As they approached the house, they could see the big dog sitting inside the glass storm door, pounding the floor with his tail.
“There’s my guy,” Viggo said affectionately.
“He’s quite handsome.” Madison had seen Diogo over a dozen times, but the way he was sitting so proudly, waiting for his papa, made for a wonderful photo.
“He takes after his old man.” Viggo batted his eyes playfully.
“I wouldn’t disagree,” Madison complimented the fine-looking man standing next to her.
“Thank you very much, ma’am.” Viggo nodded and broke into a wide smile. He gestured for her to walk ahead of him up the stone path.
“Did you do the landscaping?” Madison asked.
“I did. I wanted something extremely low maintenance and to keep the beachy feel.”
“Mission accomplished, Captain.” Madison saluted him. “Seriously. It’s impressive.” She wasn’t exaggerating.
“I visited a few garden centers. Read a couple of magazine articles.”
“You, too, are a good student,” Madison remarked.
“I do my best.” Viggo unlocked the glass door, and Diogo stepped back to let them in.
“Hey, pal,” Viggo said, as he bent over and gave the dog a few rubs behind his ears. Diogo responded by wagging his tail harder.
Viggo stood, turned to Madison, and swept his arm in a half circle. “Welcome to my humble abode.”
Diogo barked, asking for more attention. Viggo leaned over at his excited pooch and whispered, “Hang on a minute, buddy. We have a guest.” Diogo let out a little snort. Viggo snapped his fingers, and Diogo sat down in a sphynx position, watching every move Viggo made.
“Can I get you anything?” he asked Madison.
“Should we finish the champagne before it goes bad?” She chuckled.
“Excellent idea.” Viggo pulled two wineglasses from one of the sleek cabinets.
“Sorry. No champagne flutes. These will have to do.” He retrieved the bottle of bubbly and touched it to his cheek.
“Still pretty chill.” He poured the champagne into two streamlined glasses.
“These are merchandised as ‘universal’.” He used air quotes.
Madison snickered. She wouldn’t mind if they were jelly jars. “As long as they can do the job.” She took the glass he poured for her.
“Give me one sec. I don’t want Diogo to call the police dogs.” He turned and began to dish out Diogo’s dinner, then placed it on a mat.
Madison’s eyes slowly scanned the living area.
She was rightly impressed. A large room spanned the entire front of the house.
The kitchen and dining area were on one side, and the living area on the other.
The floor was made of wide-plank whitewashed French oak, with the window and door moldings to match.
The walls were painted a light neutral greige.
The kitchen had a modern design of light oak cabinets with white marble counter tops.
A six-feet-wide island separated the working area from the dining area.
Two beige, flat-weave rugs created designated spaces for the dining table and seating area on the other.
Scandinavian-designed furniture was placed in front of a simple, modern fireplace, flanked by two tall windows.
Madison’s eye for design was twinkling. The space looked like a photo from Architectural Digest. “Viggo, this is stunning.”
“Thanks. You should have seen it when I bought it.” He gestured to the empty space in front of them.
“This room was divided with a wall.” He gestured where it had originally stood.
“Kitchen on this side, and teeny living space on the other. Two bedrooms in the back and a bath. It was a summer cottage. The only source of heating was a small space heater in that wall.” He pointed to the fireplace.
“It took me a couple of years to get this place into shape.”
“I would love to see ‘before’ photos, if you don’t mind. Design was always a passion for me, whether it was clothes or spaces.”
“Your career speaks for your talent.” Viggo lifted his glass.
Before he took a sip, he glanced at the clock on the stove.
The fireworks were going to start in half an hour.
He picked up his glass and walked toward Madison, who was still gazing around the room.
“Sk?l!” Viggo said as he clinked her glass.
“à votre santé,” Madison responded with her not-often-used French. “To your health.”
“Thank you; and to yours,” Viggo replied. “Give me a minute so I can change into my civilian clothes and freshen up.” He set his glass down and walked toward the bedroom area.
Madison sank back against the large pillows on the chaise-style sofa. It’s certainly been an interesting day. And it’s not over yet.
She gazed beyond the windows. The meticulous yard was enclosed with a board-on-board privacy fence. Madison chuckled to herself, envisioning someone trying to spy into the yard. They would be met with a large, wet nose and a very cross expression on a big dog’s face.
The sound of a shower running gave Madison more time to investigate what represented Viggo’s world.
She was impressed with his attention to detail.
The tasteful furnishings and décor matched what she knew of his personality.
She stood and walked over to the opposite wall, where a big-screen TV hung above a row of shelves containing a collection of vinyl records.
She began to sort through the artists. She noticed he favored smooth jazz, with recordings of Joe Sample, Earl Klugh, Pat Metheny, and David Sanborn.
There were also some classic-jazz musicians like Stanley Turrentine and Oscar Peterson.
She pursed her lips. He has good taste in music, as well.
The shower stopped, and Madison returned to her lounging position on the sofa.
She didn’t want him to think she was being a snoop, even if she was.
Within a few minutes, Viggo reappeared, with his towel-dried hair combed back in a very stylish manner.
He was wearing a pair of jeans, a green, long-sleeve Ralph Lauren polo shirt, dark brown belt, and boat shoes.
Madison tried valiantly to keep her jaw from dropping.
Seeing Viggo in his own space, wearing his own clothes, gave him a new aura.
True, she had seen him many times wearing civilian clothes, but for some reason, he looked more dashing this evening.
Maybe it was the hair. Maybe it was the setting.
Maybe it was the champagne. It was probably all of it.
He was just looking rather fine to Madison.
“You clean up real good,” she teased, then stood.