Love Captures the Heart (Sully Point, Book 3) (13 page)

"Come here," he said. His smile at her crinkled
the edges of his penetrating eyes.

"You aren't going to try anything, are you?"

"Just a simple kiss good-bye."

She paused and looked at him suspiciously, then walked over
to the bed. He reached for her and the next thing she knew, she was on his lap
and being thoroughly kissed. Her toes tingled as her arms went around his neck
and the kiss grew more passionate. Finally, she pulled away. "Whoa. Okay,
no more or I won't leave."

"Sounds good to me," he said in a low voice next
to her ear. It made her shiver all the way down her body.

"But I have a plan," she said weakly as he kissed
the side of her neck in little butterfly kisses. "I have work."

"Now how much work would you really get done on a
Saturday night?" He said this against her lips right before he kissed her.
She moaned.

"I guess I could leave tomorrow morning," she said
a bit breathlessly as his hands moved to her shirt.

"That's my girl," he murmured. "Before,
earlier, it was you taking care of me in my hour of need."

"And this time?" she wondered.

"This time is going to be pure fun as I take very good
care of you."

"Oh my," she said.

Much later they made it out of bed.

"I'm starving," Holly said. "Is there any
food in this place?"

Jason was getting dressed. "Nope. Let's go out. Any
place we could get a decent meal? I could eat a horse."

"The Diner," she said as she began pulling on
jeans. "The place has been around forever and they have a menu that covers
breakfast to dinner. Plus they stay open late on Saturdays and seeing as
it's--what time is it?"

He glanced at his watch. "Nine. Wow, how did it get to
be that late?"

"If you don't remember..."

He laughed. "Oh I remember. I think we slept some in
there though."

"All right, I'm ready," she announced. "And I
either want a stack of pancakes or a turkey dinner with dressing, not sure
which yet."

"Turkey dinner with all the fixings? Now that would hit
the spot. Let's go."

* * * *

After Holly left the next morning, Jason decided that the
two-story loft apartment would work as his office locally. He called Marla and
she agreed to move down to Sully Point for a week. He planned to have her use
the first floor as her office. Frank Grainger agreed that Marla should stay at
his house for the duration.

After some thought, Jason began to plan out the housing for
the new addition to Sully Point--they were calling it Sully Point West since it
was on the west side of the existing town. Maggie Carter came by to see him to
get information about the project because the family had agreed the town needed
to know what was going on. They already knew they had the Town Council's
approval, but without public support, the project might fail.

Monday evening, he called Holly. "Are you still at
work?" he asked her.

"No…yes. Sort of. I’m at home but I brought files home
to work on here."

"Holly…don't wear yourself out. You are coming here
this weekend, right?"

"Yes--if you plan to stay longer in Sully Point."

"I think I'm going to need to stay for a while, and
there's nothing in the city for me now."

"Jason, it will change. People will want you as their
architect again."

"Maybe. But not anytime soon. Marla got here today.
Maggie came by again. Things are moving along. It makes me not focus so much on
what happened back there."

"Well, just don't get too ensconced in small-town life.
I think you'll be back here sooner than you expect."

Jason chuckled. "Are you saying that because you miss
having me there within easy access?"

"I have to admit that I miss having you," she said
with a laugh.

"Just finish your work so you can come down on Friday.
Come to Sully Point--it's the place to be."

"Is that a slogan? Please tell me no."

He laughed. "It was one of the rejects that came out of
my brain-storming session with Maggie. That girl is pretty impressive. I feel
for her having had her business tank in the city, but she's jumping right into
the Sully Point campaign. It's an admirable trait in someone so young."

Holly said, "She's not all that young. What is she,
twenty-six?"

"No, actually she's only twenty-three."

"I see. Well, it's great she has something to offer.
Will she be staying in town for a while then?"

"Yes, I believe so. I'll probably see her tomorrow at
your Dad's house, along with everyone else. There was talk of grilling chicken
and vegetables for dinner. I'll be following the food."

Holly gave a little laugh. "I'd better get back to
work. I'll talk to you soon."

"All right. Good night, and thanks for getting me to
come here. I can tell already that it was the right thing to do."

He ended the call and realized that it was going to be a
long week waiting for Holly to get back. He frowned to himself. At the end of
the call she really had sounded tired. Aside from his need for her sexually,
she needed to come here for the weekend just to relax.

* * * *

Holly set her phone down carefully on the kitchen counter.
Carefully, because she suddenly felt like slamming it down. What was going on
there? Maggie this and Maggie that, meetings with Maggie, dinners with
Maggie--and she's only twenty-three! Holly went around the bar and into the
kitchen and began pulling pans and bowls out of the cabinet. Flour, cinnamon
and sugar were soon causing a fine mist in the air as she sifted and dumped
ingredients into a large bowl.

Of course it was good that Maggie was enthusiastic about the
project. But why did Jason suddenly sound so chipper? A few Maggie meetings and
he was all cheerful and positive? She began kneading the dough for the cinnamon
rolls, and all at once stopped dead still.

What was she doing? Why was she angry? It couldn't be--no,
of course it wasn't--that would be crazy--she couldn't be feeling--jealous? If
she felt jealous, that would mean she was feeling things she shouldn't be
feeling. Things that went against the spirit of their agreement. It would be
the kind of feeling a person who was involved might feel. Or maybe even the
sort of thing a person falling in love would feel. Which, of course, she
wasn't. So it clearly wasn't jealousy.

With a brief sigh of relief, she resumed working on the
cinnamon rolls.

* * * *

The breeze coming off the water swept Jason's hair back as
he walked along the rocky shore. He had decided to go walking there, to think
about his work on the project. From everything he'd picked up in his meetings
with the family, what they wanted was a kind of livable showcase. New materials
and concepts, different ideas about what a house could or should look like, it
was all very exciting. Yet, he was having trouble with the work, and he knew he
needed to sort out what was holding him back.

He gave a wry grin as he thought about it. It wasn't that he
didn't know what was blocking him. He knew exactly what it was--the image of a
house, the same house over and over in his mind, from all different angles,
that kept intruding. The house wasn't some unknown. It felt familiar and right
to him. It was the house he wanted to design and live in, his own house. But it
was a house to be shared with another person.

He sighed. It was like he wanted two different things out of
life. On the one hand, he wanted to be back in the city with his business flourishing
again. And on the other, he could see himself living in that house, here in
Sully Point, having a wife and a family. But that wasn't who he was, really.
That was a dream he let go of long ago, after his parents died. No, he'd draw
up the plans for the house, and then tuck it away. It was better to live in
reality, not in dreams.

Chapter 7

Maggie Carter was sitting at the Grainger kitchen table,
having breakfast with Marla Stone. Marla was staying at Frank's house. Maggie
had come over to see her, and cadge breakfast, since Anna had her hands full
that morning with a fussy toddler.

When Maggie had been brought in to deal with the public
relations fiasco of Jason's business problems, she had begun to know Marla. She
liked the woman who stayed so calm in the midst of the crisis, and totally
admired her sense of style. Discovering that Marla would be at Frank's was a
welcome surprise to Maggie.

"So it went well, then? Your meeting with Jason
yesterday?" Marla asked.

"Yes, very well. We talked about slogans for the
project and he gave me more of a sense about the kind of structures he plans to
build. He's fascinating, so passionate about his work."

"Ah, I wondered if you'd get to see that side of
him."

"Frankly, he's a gorgeous hunk, and I had a hard time
focusing on what he was saying. Those green eyes of his look at you and it's
like he knows everything about you. Holly is a lucky woman."

Marla set down her coffee cup and stared at Maggie.
"Holly?"

Maggie reached for another biscuit. "Come on, you have
to know about them."

"I've suspected, yes. But what makes you so sure?"

"When I had dinner with her, when she first invited me
on board the project, she talked about him. Her tone of voice, the possessive
quality, and the way her eyes got all dreamy when she mentioned him, well, it
was obvious."

"So, you think she's in love with him?"

"Absolutely. What I don't get is why they're keeping it
a secret."

"Jason didn't say anything?"

"It was the same kind of deal. Every time he mentioned
her name--which was a lot, by the way--he would get this look in his eyes and
this little smile."

"Interesting," Marla said. "Because I'm not
at all sure that either of them realizes they've fallen in love."

"What?"

"It's true. They're both workaholics, both driven to
succeed. They've focused their entire adult lives on their work. Holly has
perhaps diversified a bit compared to Jason, but even when she's doing good
things here in Sully Point, or helping out a friend, she keeps her businesses
on track, stays focused. I think the last thing either of them is looking for
is love."

"Huh. So, what happens next? How do they figure out
what's between them?"

Marla smiled a conspiratorial smile. "We make sure they
get together. Right now we have her in the city and him here. They need to at
least be in the same town."

"He told me that she'd be back on Friday or
Saturday."

"I'll check with Lana to be sure she doesn't let Holly
book anything in the city for the weekend. You met Lana, right? Holly's
assistant?"

"Yeah, I did. You guys are friends?" Maggie began
to smile. "Friends and matchmakers?"

"Let's just say we like to see true love triumph in the
end."

"Cool. Could you start looking for someone for
me?" She laughed, and then realized Marla was looking at her
speculatively. "Hey, just kidding!"

* * * *

Holly took a box full of cinnamon rolls into her office to
keep herself from eating them. She knew they'd be devoured in minutes by
everyone at work. Lana came in and set a cup of coffee down in front of her.
"You doing okay today?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"You brought in pastry. You only make that kind of food
when you're distressed about something."

Holly smiled. "Maybe I just felt appreciation for the
staff."

"Hmm. Maybe."

"Have we found out yet who bought the Trenton
building?"

Lana nodded. "The Greystone Consortium."

Holly grimaced. "Those guys--we need somebody
different. I wonder...get me Rob Tremaine, would you? I think he might be able
to help, if anyone can. See if he can meet me for lunch at Pauli's."

Lana left to make the call and then Holly began to focus on
her workday. By lunch time, she was ready for a big bowl of pasta and headed
out to Pauli's in a pretty good mood. They made a mean sauce Bolognese that she
loved on their fresh pasta.

Rob was waiting at a table already, so she sat down and
quickly placed her order. "Thanks for meeting me so soon," Holly
said.

"Your assistant mentioned that it's not about Sully
Point. What do you need my help with?"

"Are you aware of the Trenton building, scheduled to
come down in a week?"

"Yes, Greystone bought it."

"Is there any way to get it away from them?"

Rob's eyebrows rose and he leaned forward in his chair.
"Get it away from them? You mean, buy it? I have no idea at this point.
The question is, why do it?"

She proceeded to explain about the significance of the
building to Jason. "You see, because of how important it is to him, I
think he should be the one to design the new building. It would help him and
also get him back in the city where he belongs. But Greystone would never hire him
after the negative publicity."

Rob looked at her thoughtfully. "And why is this so
important to you, Holly? You seem rather passionate about it."

She picked up a breadstick and began nibbling on it.
"We need to get Jason back on track after all the craziness about his
buildings. If we want him to do his best for us at Sully Point's project, he
should be in a good place. I think designing the new building, or knowing he
would be the one to do it in the future, would help him. Isn't that what we all
want?"

Rob nodded slowly. "Yes, of course. But I wonder, is
this because you're in love with him?"

Her head jerked up to stare at him. "What?"

Rob chuckled. "It's fairly obvious. You don't go around
asking me to see about buying a building on a whim. Or even for someone's
mental health. But to make that person happy...maybe then it makes sense of
what you're asking."

"Of course I'm not in love with him! Sure, we spend
time together, but neither one of us has time for an actual relationship."