“I’ve been here more than three years.”
“What made you select this town over any other?”
She told them the same thing she’d told Luke all those months ago. “I fell in love with it the first time I saw it, nestled in these beautiful wooded hills. It seemed too good to be true.”
“And is it?”
“No.”
“What would you say is the town’s biggest asset?”
“There are too many for me to list just one. But a top five list would include, in random order, the town square; the downtown area with its mix of colonial, federal, and Victorian buildings; the waterfalls; the public library; and of course the friendly people who live here.”
“Well said. And the town’s biggest drawback?”
The people who live here
. But she couldn’t really say that.
Alice
. But that was another answer she couldn’t use. Then it finally came to her.
“No good Thai take-out,” Julia replied with a grin. “I sometimes miss that.”
“Thank you for speaking with us,” the judge said, pausing to shake her hand. “We really appreciate it. By the way, how are those llamas doing?”
“Just fine.”
“Good, glad to hear it.”
As he walked away with the judges, Frasier gave her a thumbs-up sign behind his back. That or he had an itch between his shoulder blades. She couldn’t be sure which. Just as she couldn’t be sure what she would do or say when she finally came face to face with her father.
After work, Julia headed to Maguire’s to fill Luke in on the latest. He had one of the servers take over his bartending duties and took Julia upstairs so they could talk privately.
“My mother went to see Adam Kemp at a booksigning in Philadelphia yesterday evening and confronted him.”
“She did what? Do you have any idea how risky that was?”
“I didn’t know she was going to do it.” Julia sat on the couch a second before bouncing up and pacing the room. “What do you mean, risky?”
“He could have sicced security on her for one thing.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened.”
“We’re not talking about letting the lobsters go free at a restaurant. We’re talking about a powerful guy here. He’s got a lot of connections. Adam Kemp has a reputation for being ruthless, doing whatever it takes to get whatever he wants. He isn’t above cutting a corner or two to keep things profitable.”
“Yes, I gathered that much when I was researching him on the Internet earlier today. But enough about me.” Even thinking about it made her edgy. “The Best Small Towns judges visited the library today. Did they come to Maguire’s, too?”
“Yeah, they stopped by for a minute or two. Asked me what my favorite thing was in this town. I said you. Then they asked me my least favorite thing.”
“And you said?”
“Everything else in town. They seemed to think I was kidding, so I let them go on thinking that. They had some of Adele’s sweet potato fries and left. They never did get to see the magnificent mural in the pool room.”
“That mural isn’t why I think that room is magnificent,” Julia noted with a sassy grin.
Luke raised a dark eyebrow. “No?”
“No.”
“Then why do you have fond memories of that room?”
“You don’t remember?” she murmured, moving closer to seductively walk her fingertips down his chest. “You were there.”
“Really?” He looped his arms around her waist and tugged her close. “I was present?”
“You were more than just present. You were extremely . . . active. And very educational. Downright illuminating, in fact.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.” She peeled off his T-shirt and reached for his jeans zipper. “Maybe I should refresh your memory a bit?”
“I don’t have a pool table up here.”
“I think we can improvise, don’t you?” She shoved him backward onto the bed.
“Affirmative.”
She straddled his hips and stared down at him with deliberate doubt. “You’re sure a straight-shooter like you can improvise?”
He clearly believed actions spoke louder than words, because he had her naked and was embedded deep within her seconds later. He then proceeded to show her how much he could improvise, muffling her scream of pleasure with his mouth.
Luke was wiping down the bar when Walt walked into Maguire’s the next day, shortly after noon. It was the first time the mayor had stopped by since Luke had returned to Serenity Falls six months ago.
“I’ve asked RJ to resign,” he abruptly informed Luke.
“If you’re asking me if I want to take his place on the town council, the answer is no.”
“That’s not why I’m here.”
“No? Then did you come to see the mural for yourself?”
“No. I came here to thank you for letting me know about RJ’s dealings regarding the waterfalls. I had no idea. I do wish you’d told me privately instead of in front of the entire town at the last meeting—”
“The entire town wasn’t there,” Luke stated.
“You know what I mean.”
“We haven’t exactly been on close speaking terms.”
“No, I realize that. You and Billy appear to have hit it off, though.” Walt sounded a bit resentful of that fact.
Luke shrugged. “I just showed an interest in his life. Do you have any idea of what sort of things he likes? It sure as hell isn’t football.”
“Is that right? What makes you an expert on kids?”
“I’m not. But I know what it takes to be a bad seed, and I see that happening with Billy. So just talk to your kid, mayor. You might be surprised what you learn.”
“Your father would never have painted Maguire’s red.”
“Exactly.”
“So you did it to get back at him.”
“I did it because I wanted to.”
“And you always do what you want, no matter who it hurts? You know people are talking about you and Julia.”
“People are always talking about something in this town.” Luke refused to feel guilty. Julia hadn’t said she loved him again. They were just two consenting adults having great sex.
Telling himself that somehow no longer convinced him it was true. The sex was great. But something else was going on here and that freaked him out. He’d never been with a woman who made him feel the way she did. Making love to her wasn’t enough. He wanted to protect her, to take care of her.
When he’d first seen her standing by the library’s pond in her Bo Peep costume, he’d never anticipated that she’d have this kind of effect on him. She made him wish he was some sort of superhero from one those comic books Algee sold. The kind that could make good on his promises.
Not that he’d made any to her. Not aloud anyway. But she was still basically a picket-fence kind of female, despite her new good-girl-gone-bad persona. And he was still a rolling stone.
He was her way of thumbing her nose at propriety. He’d painted Maguire’s red as a gesture of rebellion. Going to bed with him was her gesture of rebellion.
Luke didn’t even realize that Walt had left the building, that’s how consumed he’d been with his own thoughts about Julia.
Maybe Algee was right. Maybe Julia was Luke’s weakness.
Or maybe he was hers.
“Are you nervous?” Pam asked Julia as they waited at one of Philadelphia’s top-notch eateries for Adam Kemp to show up.
Julia nodded. “I think I ate half a bottle of Tums last night. Thanks for coming with me,” she added.
“No thanks are necessary. I think Luke was a bit ticked off that you wouldn’t let him come.”
“I didn’t want him punching Adam if he said something wrong.”
“I may not have as mean a right hook as Luke, but I took some tae kwon do lessons at the Park District last year. So if you need protecting . . .”
Julia laughed at the image of her petite and perky friend taking on Adam. “I’ll keep that in mind if I need backup.”
“There he is.” Pam pointed to the silver-haired man walking in the entrance. The maître d’ rushed over to him, greeting him with marked deference and quickly escorting him to their table.
“Which one of you is my supposed daughter?” Adam Kemp stood there looking from Julia to Pam and back again. “You.” He pointed to Julia. “It’s you.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Adam frowned. “You don’t sound like you believe it.”
“Neither do you.”
“Something we both have in common.” Adam took a seat. “Well, ladies, what are you having? The prime rib here is excellent. Really one of the very best in the country. It’s not every day a man hears he has a daughter. Lunch is on me.”
“You make it sound like this is just another business deal.”
“How do you want me to sound?”
“I don’t know. More human.”
“I can assure you, I’m very human.”
“Weren’t you surprised to find out you had a grown daughter? This is my friend Pam, by the way. Not that you asked.”
Adam nodded his acknowledgment of the introduction and then answered Julia’s question. “Yes, I was surprised. But life is a constantly evolving situation. You make adjustments or you fail.”
“A constantly evolving situation? You sound like Angel.”
“Your mother and I really have little in common.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“She raised you to be like her, I suppose.”
He was only with her a few minutes and already he sounded disappointed in her. Julia tried not to be upset, but this entire conversation was extremely unsettling for her. Apparently not for him, however. “You suppose wrong. She raised me to think for myself.”
“I hear you’re a librarian.”
“That’s right.”
“In a regular library?”
What did he think? That she worked in a nudist library? “Serenity Falls Public Library.”
“Serenity Falls, huh? One of my subsidiaries was investigating a business opportunity there. But the deal fell through.”
Great. Her father had been involved with trying to ruin the town’s scenic pride and joy—the waterfalls. She’d forgotten that incident at the town meeting but now recalled that Luke had said Kemp Enterprises had talked with RJ about the project.
But right now, Adam sat across the table from her, looking entirely too much like the PR photo on the back of his book. She wanted to shake that bedrock confidence of his. “Angel says you’re ruthless.”
He was totally unfazed. “She says you’re interested in information. What do you want to know about me?”
“What do you want to know about me?” she countered, playing for time.
“I already know a great deal about you. I had you investigated. There’s a file on my desk with all the details.”
“Then why ask me what library I worked at?”
Adam shrugged. “I didn’t recall all the details.”
“Right.” His answer stung. “A little detail like a daughter might get in the way of your big-business decisions.”
“Not really. I try to keep my personal life separate from my professional life.”
“How tidy. I really can’t picture you and my mother as a couple.”
“We got together. It was nice and then it was over. End of story. Now let’s order.”
He did so for both Julia and Pam.
Then he asked Julia, “Do you have your mother’s aversion to wealth?”
His question caught her off-guard and without a quick answer.
“Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons. That’s a Woody Allen quote, but it’s true,” he continued. “If I’d known about you when you were a child, you wouldn’t have wanted for anything. I’d have made sure of that. You would have gone to the best boarding schools, gotten the best education, had the best opportunities.”
He used the word
best
a lot. She noticed that when reading his book, which she’d picked up at a local bookstore the day before. That and the words
take control
. He’d used those a lot in the book as well. Take control of your subordinates. Take control of your life.
Julia had always liked control, but since meeting Luke, she’d learned that losing control could bring more happiness than she’d thought possible.
“I take my responsibilities seriously,” Adam added.
Julia always had as well. But listening to him go on about the need to deliver successful results in life left her feeling very unsettled. Because that list of things Adam had said he could have given her were all material things. But maybe that’s all he had to offer. Too bad it wasn’t anything she really valued.
“Hey, sexy, want a ride?”
Julia turned at the sound of Luke’s voice. She hadn’t imagined it. He was there. Leaning against his big, bad Harley. Wearing those black jeans and T-shirt he’d had on when he’d first roared into Serenity Falls. Only now he was outside the restaurant in Philadelphia. Adam had already left. Julia had taken some time to compose herself in the ladies’ room afterward, unsure why she’d gotten all teary-eyed. Lack of sleep, stress, disappointment—there were lots of possible reasons. “What are you doing here?”
“You really are gonna have to stop asking me that.”
“Luke’s here,” Julia told Pam, who’d just come through the revolving door and joined them.
“I see that. It’s okay if you want to go back with him,” Pam said.
And so it was that Julia found herself on the back of Luke’s Harley, her arms wrapped around his waist, her skirt hitched up above her knees, her legs pressed against his, her cheek pressed against his warm back.
She loved this man with every fiber of her being. He’d come all the way to Philadelphia and waited for her just to be certain she was okay. Surely that meant he felt something for her?
As they rode home, Julia closed her eyes and imagined the two of them together forever. Luke running Maguire’s and grumbling about Adele’s bossiness. Her becoming library director and firing Alice. Them having children who’d grow up safely in Serenity Falls, enjoying everything that was good about living in a small town. A boy with Luke’s blue eyes and a girl with her own hazel eyes. Their daughter would be able to wrap Luke around her little finger.