Crazy Love (Emerald Lake Billionaires 3) (12 page)

“How did Holly’s actual answers compare with yours?”

“Almost as badly as the first questionnaire. I’ve gone through each question and linked it back to one of the traits. Nothing is making much sense.”

Blake didn’t say anything. A few minutes later, Daniel could hear the tapping of keys on a keyboard. “We had a seven point five percent margin of error. In all of the personality testing we did, we never exceeded that figure.”

Daniel looked at the spreadsheets. He was missing something and he wasn’t sure what it was. “I’m going to look at the coding your developers used. I’ve only got the android version. What other platforms were they testing the app on?”

“We weren’t going to code for Mac and iOS until we were happy with the trial outcomes.”

“Have any of the other couples met?”

“We haven’t had any feedback from our participants yet. Their first report isn’t due for another four days.”

Daniel chewed his lip. Four days might not seem like a long time, but there was more at stake for him than Blake’s app. The sooner he evaluated its accuracy, the sooner he could plan his own trial of his logistics app in the Sudan.

He looked out of his office window. When he’d left Emerald Lake this morning his Internet connection had been non-existent. He didn’t have any choice but to come into town and work on Blake’s app from there. “Send me any information you’ve got about the development of your app. If you kept any feedback from the people who registered, send that as well. I want to know if there were any questions or words they didn’t understand.”

“I’ll send everything we’ve got. As soon as I hear from anyone on the trial, I’ll let you know.”

Daniel was considering doing his own research. Waiting for people to fill out forms wouldn’t get him the information he needed quickly. He knew that two of Holly’s friends had also been accepted for the trial, which meant two more sets of data waiting for him to investigate.

“How would you feel if I spoke to Holly’s friends who are on the trial?”

“Are you talking about Claire and Hannah?” Blake asked.

“They didn’t seem embarrassed about people knowing they were on the trial. It couldn’t hurt to get their impression of the app and the registration process.”

“If you think it will help, you could try. I’ll need to contact them to see if they’re happy to meet you. As soon as I speak to them I’ll let you know. Is there anything else I can send you?”

Daniel looked at the papers spread across his desk. “I think we’ve covered most of the things I’ll need. How’s life in New York?”

“Not as exciting as life by the lake. I’ve missed hearing Rocky the rooster.”

“You know what to do. Bozeman’s not that far from your Manhattan apartment.”

“It would be easier to record Rocky’s wake-up call and play it when I’m missing cowboyland.”

“Suit yourself,” Daniel said, “but it will be snowing soon. You know what that means.”

“No more Rocky cock-a-doodle-do-ing at five o’clock in the morning?”

“Nothing stops Rocky. I’m talking about skiing. Big Sky Resort will be bursting at the seams with people from all over the world. Six thousand acres of high-performance ski slopes are waiting for a city-slicker from New York. You’ve even got free accommodation while you’re here. What more could you want?”

“An app that works,” Blake muttered.

“I’ll do my best. Let me know if Claire and Hannah are happy to meet me.”

“Will do. I’ll call you on Monday.”

Daniel put the phone down and walked back to his window. Locals and tourists were walking down Main Street. Galleries, boutiques, craft stores, and cafés created an atmosphere not often found anywhere else. Bozeman had a heart and soul that brought out the best in him.

Moving here was the best thing he’d ever done. And maybe, if Blake was as unhappy as Daniel thought he was, it could be the best thing that ever happened to him as well.

***

Holly watched Claire mix two shades of blue paint together. This week’s art collective meeting would be one of the last they’d have in Nick’s warehouse. In three weeks’ time the contractors would start remodeling the huge space. In the next couple of months, it would become an impressive extension to Nick’s existing gallery.

Hannah passed Holly a cup of coffee. “Has Tommy’s mom told you when they’re seeing the specialist?”

Mia stuck her head around the edge of her canvas. “On Tuesday. They’re off to Seattle Children’s Hospital for Tommy’s operation.”

“That’s fast,” Holly said. “I thought they might have to wait a long time.”

Mia put her brush down. “The team of specialists had a cancellation and decided to bring everything forward.”

Claire stopped painting and stared at Mia. “Is Tommy all right?”

“He’s okay. They didn’t see any point waiting another two or three months. At least this way his operation will be over before Christmas.”

“I guess that’s something,” Claire said slowly. “Do they need help with anything?”

Mia shook her head. “They’re fine at the moment. Their family has been amazing.”

Holly could only imagine how important the love and support of their family was. “Did you see Tommy when you visited his family yesterday?”

“I did. He’s so cute. He smiled at me.”

“It was probably wind,” Claire said. “Babies tend to have a lot of that.”

Hannah snorted. “You know as much about babies as I do.”

“I know more. One of the ladies I look after has twelve great-great-grandchildren. She shows me their photos and gives me regular updates on what they’re doing.”

“Is that Mrs. Cousins?” Hannah asked. “I’ve heard all about her family.”

Claire nodded. “I want to be just like her when I’m ninety-eight years old. She’s so happy.”

“Mrs. Cousins can wait. Tell everyone our news,” Hannah said.

Claire looked at Mia and Holly. “Sally Gray and Todd Randall are getting married beside Emerald Lake. They want us to stage their wedding.”

Holly knew her friends loved planning events. They’d been in hot demand after they’d organized another couple’s wedding. But no one in Montana held their wedding outside in the middle of October.

“What if it’s snowing?” Mia asked.

“We have a contingency plan. If the weather is bad, they’ll get married in their barn. If we can make it to the lake, they’ll have their wedding there. It’s going to be so romantic.

“How did Sally and Todd know to contact you?” Holly asked.

Claire sat forward. “We decorated the Baxter Hotel for a fundraiser the animal shelter organized. Sally was on the committee and worked with us. After the gala she asked if we would help make her wedding special.”

Holly walked across to the kitchen and brought back the coffeepot. “Let me know if I can help. Another pair of hands can make a big difference if you get stuck.”

Mia held her empty mug out for a refill. “Count me in, too. I don’t mind what I do. Now that we know what Claire and Hannah are up to, can we change the subject to something that’s close to all our hearts?”

Hannah poured coffee into her mug. “Do you mean the exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery?”

Mia shook her head. “No. I’m talking about the dating app. Has anyone met the men they were matched with?”

Holly sighed. “I hope you have more luck than I did.”

Hannah frowned. “I thought you were meeting Daniel tomorrow night.”

“It’s not a date, it’s research.”

Mia grinned. “If someone asked me to try different ice cream flavors with them, I’d call it a date.”

Holly hadn’t told her friends about her questionnaire. It seemed pointless when she might not see Daniel after tomorrow night. “Ice cream is the only thing we’ve got in common.”

“You’re not convincing enough,” Claire said. “I think you secretly like him, but you’re too scared to let yourself enjoy his company.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re a die-hard romantic. Not all people have a soul mate waiting for them. Sometimes you’re better off on your own.”

Mia wiggled her finger at Holly. “You’re letting your past experiences alter your judgment.”

“What about you, Mia. Have you called Adam yet?” Claire asked.

“He called me,” Mia said with a grin, “and he sounds super sexy and really amazing. We’re going out for coffee on Saturday morning.”

Claire lifted her coffee cup in Mia’s direction. “Congratulations. Hannah is meeting her match on Saturday morning at the same time I am.”

“But at different places,” Hannah said. “We’re not double-dating or anything.”

Holly looked around the table at her three friends. “If everyone ends up with a broken heart you can share a tub of chocolate ice cream with me.”

Claire picked up her paintbrush. “It’s not going to be as bad as you think. Ben sounds really nice and Hannah likes Brett. It will be interesting to see how our dates turn out.” She started to turn back to her canvas, then stopped. “Did anyone ask the community center if we could use their rooms for our art workshop?”

Holly had tried twice to book different rooms. “It won’t work. There’s another event planned for the same weekend. All of the rooms are fully booked or waiting for final confirmation. We can’t count on a cancellation to secure the rooms we want.”

Mia glanced at Holly. “We can’t pull a venue out of thin air. When do we need to decide if we’re canceling the workshop or not?”

“I’ll need to order our supplies on Monday if we’re going ahead. That gives us the weekend to find another venue.”

Mia took a step away from Claire’s painting. “Let’s hope that someone has a sudden brainwave. I’d better keep painting or Mr. Dupré isn’t going to be happy with me.”

Holly was under the same pressure as Mia. She picked up their empty coffee mugs and carried them into the kitchen. In addition to her landscape series, was sketching another portrait that was different from anything she’d done before; so different that she was worried no one would like it.

With three paintings needing to go to the exhibition in San Francisco, she’d been tempted to leave the portrait until later in the year. But something was telling her to keep going, and for once in her life, she was going to listen.

***

Daniel held back a smile as Holly took her first bite of his favorite Moose Tracks ice cream.

“I didn’t think you liked chocolate in your ice cream.” Holly sighed as she dipped her spoon into the bowl between them. “This tastes so good.”

“Vanilla ice cream with ribbons of fudge and peanut butter isn’t chocolate ice cream,” he said as his spoon followed Holly’s. “Wait until you taste their huckleberry flavor.”

Choosing where to go for an ice cream date that wasn’t a date, hadn’t been difficult. Within a week of arriving in Bozeman he’d stumbled across The Chocolate Moose Candy and Soda Shoppe. The smell of home-made candy had drawn him into the store. The ice cream and old-fashioned soda fountain had kept him there for nearly an hour.

Holly’s gaze wandered over the candy counter. “I can’t believe I haven’t been here before. Mia will go crazy when I tell her about the taffy and the truffles.”

“I take it Mia has a sweet tooth?”

“More than a sweet tooth. She loves candy, especially when it’s home-made.”

“What about you?”

“I’m more of an ice cream and milkshake girl. When I was little, my mom used to take me to the Great Falls Creamery for my birthday. They made the best milkshakes I’d ever tasted.”

“Do your mom and dad still live in Bozeman?”

“Mom died a few months after I moved back to Bozeman. I haven’t seen dad since I was six years old.” Holly put her spoon on top of her napkin. “The last twelve months have been hard. If it weren’t for Mia and her granddad, I don’t know what I would have done.”

“I know what you mean. My sister was sick last year. I called my friend Blake at all hours of the day and night and told him what was happening. He never once hung up or missed a call.”

“Is your sister okay now?”

“She’s in remission and doing well. She had breast cancer.”

“Where does she live now?”

Daniel dipped his spoon into the ice cream bowl. “At the moment she’s living in Cedar Rapids. But in two weeks’ time she’s coming to stay with me for a while.”

“You must be looking forward to seeing her.”

“I am. When she was sick we realized we’d been so busy with our careers that we’d lost contact with each other. That’s part of the reason I moved to Bozeman. I knew if I stayed in New York, nothing would change. I was stuck in a lifestyle that I didn’t want any more.”

Holly rested her elbows on the table. “I didn’t choose to return to Bozeman, not at first.” She glanced at Daniel before looking at the nearly empty ice cream bowl. “When mom died I was living in New York. I didn’t know what to do. Mia booked a ticket on the first flight she could find and came and got me. Moving back to Bozeman was the best thing I’ve ever done.”

“Are you happier here than in New York?”

Holly’s gaze connected with his. “I feel as though I’m where I’m meant to be. I started painting again after I moved home. Mia and I started the Bozeman Art Collective. As well as helping at the community center we organize weekend art workshops for teenagers. I’m making a difference in other people’s lives. I couldn’t do that in New York.”