Love Captures the Heart (Sully Point, Book 3) (7 page)

She wondered how he was getting on with Marla Stone. She
just knew that relationship was going to work. Holly heard Lana come in and
turned her chair back around from looking out the window.

"Someone had a very good night," Lana said.

"Yes, someone did."

"Another hunk, Holly?"

"Well, you know, there are just so many out
there." She felt like a kid hiding a secret from a parent by not
mentioning Jason. It was kind of fun.

Lana sighed. "One of these days you're going to wake up,
and realize that true love is out there."

"I know it's out there. I've seen it with my sister and
brother in their marriages. But I'm beginning to think it's not out there for
me."

Lana frowned but didn't say anything else about it.
"Mr. Tremaine called and would like to meet with you and Jason Earlington
for dinner."

Holly sat bolt upright in her chair. "Mr. Earlington? Tonight?"

Looking puzzled, her assistant said, "Yes, if possible.
I wanted to check with you before I called Mr. Earlington's office."

"I see. All right. Of course it's all right. Tonight is
fine. Terrific. Not a problem."

"Holly?"

"What?"

"Is everything okay?"

"Sure, sure. Everything is fine."

"I'll let Mr. Tremaine know then."

Lana left and Holly stared at the wall. It held a painting
done by Anna, and usually inspired peace within her mind. Not today. Of course,
there really wasn't a problem with going to dinner with Jason and Rob. It was
just that they'd gotten so comfortable together, and Rob was way too observant,
and they did want to keep things under wraps...no, it would be fine.

* * * *

Jason didn't think it was a great idea to be going out to
dinner with Holly and Rob Tremaine. He couldn't pinpoint exactly why it felt
like a bad idea, he just knew that it did. He thought it might be awkward or
strange in some way. But he guessed Holly felt it would be okay since she'd
agreed to go.

"Marla!" he yelled.

"There's a button right there on your phone that you
can push to get me--no need to yell."

"Oh, yeah. Okay. Sorry." He felt relieved when she
smiled at him.

"What did you need?"

"Did Mr. Tremaine's office say where we were going to
dinner?"

"I believe it's the private dining room at
Lavelle's."

"Private dining room. Great."

"Is anything wrong, Jason?"

"No, no. Everything is fine."

"I wanted to know if there is anyone special I should
know about--a girlfriend perhaps, that you want to always have put through to
you if they call."

"Yes. I mean no, no girlfriend. Not at the
moment." He thought about Holly and wondered just what he would call her
if not a girlfriend.

"Okay then, I'm off for the evening if there's nothing
else. You need to head for the restaurant within the next twenty minutes."

"Thanks, Marla. It's great having you here. See you
tomorrow."

She smiled and left his office.

In the cab on the way to the restaurant it occurred to him
to wonder why Rob Tremaine needed to meet with both him and Holly. Could it be
that something was already not going well with the project?

He arrived at the table just as Holly was seated. After all
the greetings, with Mr. Tremaine insisting once again that Jason call him Rob,
they settled down to look at the menu. They ordered and got their drinks before
Rob addressed the reason for the meeting.

"I wanted to see both of you because you'll need to be
working together. I simply don't have the time right now to devote to the
project. Financially, yes, that end of it will be taken care of with no
problem. But anything beyond money will have to rest with other members of the
family. Since you two live here in the city, it seems appropriate for you,
Holly, to be the family point man, or woman as it were. Jason, any time you
need something from the family, get in touch with Holly. Don't get me
wrong--Sam and Anna, Cody and Julia, Frank, even Mrs. Gilchrest--they all want
to help. But I'm afraid there are too many people, and it would confuse matters
not to have a clear cut path of communication. Holly is right here for you to
use as your contact to the rest of the family."

Jason used all his powers of self-control to keep from bursting
out laughing. Rob had just given them the perfect reason to see each other,
legitimizing any contact they might have. Saying that Holly was 'there for you
to use' was a bit much. "That sounds like a good plan, sir," he said.
He grabbed his wine glass, took a gulp of wine and almost choked on it because
he made the mistake of looking at Holly. She had turned an interesting shade of
red and her eyes were looking just a bit wild.

Rob patted Jason on the back. "There, are you
okay?"

"Yes sir, I'm fine. Went down the wrong way."

The older man turned to Holly. "I know this may be a
lot to ask with your schedule but--"

She waved a hand. "No, no I don't mind."

Jason thought of last night and fought down a grin. No, she wouldn't
mind at all.

"That's good of you, Holly," Rob said. "Tell
me Jason, do you have any idea what you'll start with in the first phase of the
project?"

Jason quickly gathered his thoughts of Holly's naked body
and tucked them safely away in a corner of his mind. "Yes sir, I have some
thoughts on it."

The conversation remained fully on discussion of the project
plans from that point forward. A dollar figure for the first phase was put
forth and Rob didn't blink an eye at the cost. Jason still wasn't clear on who
had the most money in this endeavor, but that didn't matter. It was a relief to
be dealing with a group who knew what they wanted and were willing to pay for
it. Jason always insisted on top quality materials--especially today in the
world of new materials science. Compatibility between materials became more
serious when the composition of one could be affected by another. Both Rob and
Holly agreed that the family wanted only the best materials used, even and
especially in the case of the low cost housing. One section of that type of housing
would be included in Phase One.

"What about publicity?" Jason asked.

Rob looked at him blankly. "What about it?"

"It seems to me that publicity enters into this in two
ways. First, in Sully Point itself. We want the town behind the project.
Second, here in the city. Given the fact that my buildings are somewhat popular
at the moment, anything I'm involved in will generally be talked about. Once
people here realize I'm working on a smaller project in a small town away from
the city, they're going to wonder."

"Questions won't bother us," Holly said
confidently. "I suggest that you turn over publicity requests to Mrs.
Stone to handle in coordination with Lana in my office. If we need to put a
spin on it we will."

"The biggest problem I can see is that some city-dwellers
are going to want to move to Sully Point when this whole thing is finished. It
will become an ideal place to live," Rob said. "Part of our goal is
to bring in new business to the town, but we also don't want it
inundated."

"If we need to, we can bring in Maggie Carter."

Both men looked at Holly blankly.

She smiled. "Maggie is Sam's sister and she's in
publicity. She does some P.R. for his books, and has other clients as well. She
moved here about a year ago, but has been so busy we hardly ever see her. Sam
has mentioned the project to her, and I know she was interested in helping out
if we needed her."

Rob said, "I knew Sam had sisters but I didn't realize
one was living here in the city. We'll have to all get together for
dinner."

The dessert had been delivered to the table and Jason
finished up his piece of chocolate cake quickly. He saw Holly frown at her
plate. "What is it? Is something wrong with your cake?"

"Yes, it's not my recipe. This really doesn't compare
to the chocolate cake we do at the bakery. I should seriously think about
bringing the bakery into the city."

Rob laughed. "Holly, I don't see how you would have the
time. But I do agree that your chocolate cake is better than this."

Jason shook his head. "If it's better than this, I'm
not sure I should ever have any. I'd probably become addicted in no time."

"I miss baking, but I'm so busy these days...I suppose
you're right, Rob. Starting the bakery here in the city would be a major
undertaking."

"Let me get this straight," Jason said. "When
you opened your bakery in Sully Point, you were the baker? You didn't just
operate it as a business, but you were in the kitchen?"

"Yes, of course. After my mother died, my father took
over in the kitchen. I would join him and learned how to cook. I began
experimenting and it turned out I had a flair for baking specifically. When I
got out of college I decided to open the bakery. Even though it was crazy hard
work in the beginning, I do miss it."

Jason thought about the tenacity it took to start a business
like that from nothing. He found himself admiring her for more than just her
body as he watched her talking to Rob. She was a complex woman.

The evening drew to a close, and they said good-bye to Rob
as his car pulled up in front of the restaurant entrance. Jason said, "A
car and driver. That is a man to emulate."

Holly replied, "He's a good man too, which is rare to
find in the world of high finance."

They continued looking down the street and not at each
other. "It was a nice evening," he said.

"I agree."

"It could be even better."

"I was just thinking that."

"Your place or mine?"

"Yours. You've already seen mine."

Jason hailed a cab, still without looking at her. He
suddenly wanted her so badly that he knew he'd grab her right there on the
street if he glanced at her.

"Once a week isn't going to be enough is it."

"Not nearly enough," he replied forcefully.

* * * *

Holly was not surprised to discover that Jason lived in the year-old
Golden Dome building. It had another name of course, but nobody used it. It was
a complex of several buildings surrounding a tall structure with a dome that
glowed golden in the sun. It was a striking landmark in the city. It used some
kind of new material that wasn't blindingly bright, but instead seemed to glow.

He didn't live on the top floor. He laughed when she asked
him about it. "No, those levels are for the very, very rich. I'm just fine
at my middle level place, and in fact I could live anywhere because I'm
normally not home much."

His apartment was roomy, and clearly decorated by an
interior designer. It looked like it belonged in a magazine. "You don't
live here much, do you," Holly said. "It doesn't have that lived-in
look."

He laughed. "Let me show you my study." He led her
to another room off the living area that was filled with a drafting desk,
papers, books stacked on the floor and chairs, all of it in a jumble. "Now
this looks lived in," she said with a smile.

As they walked back he asked, "Would you like a
drink?"

"Yes, please. Some water would be good."

They moved to the very modern kitchen. "Wow, I could do
some serious baking in this kitchen. Look at that counter top."

He shrugged. "And yet, it never gets used by me. I only
heat things up in the microwave."

She shook her head, blond hair spilling across her
shoulders. "That is a shame. Scones, that is what I would make first
here."

"Scones? You can make those? My grandmother loves tea
and scones. Hey..." His eyes opened wider. "Could you make some? For
her? Not right now of course, but--"

"I'd love to," she said, warmth in her voice. The
idea of baking for someone like his grandmother appealed to her.

"You can even do it here. Just tell me what to have on
hand and you can use this kitchen."

"Okay, you've got a deal. But not until Saturday. I'm
too swamped with work until then."

"Great, Saturday it is."

She sipped her water and felt a little bit awkward. Somehow
the idea of sex had slid to the back burner. She glanced at him and found his
knowing green eyes looking at her.

"You don't have to stay, you know. I know our agreement
was only for once a week."

"Or more. No, I just got distracted and now..."

"Oh, I see." He moved closer to stand in front of
her. "You aren't quite in the mood now, is that it?" His voice had
gotten deeper and he reached a hand out to lift a tendril of hair away from her
face. "I can understand that. It has been a long night." His hand
trailed down her arm, and found her hand. He began slowly rubbing his thumb
over the same spot in her palm, which she was shocked to discover had a direct
connection to other places deep within her body. "A tour of my place isn't
that sexy an activity, it's true." He bent his head so that his lips were
against her ear. "But you haven't seen the bedroom yet."

That did it. A shiver ran through her body and she wanted
him right there.

"You are," she whispered. "So damn good at
this." Her arms came up and around his neck. His hands were running down
her back, pushing her body against his. "I'm suddenly very in the
mood."

"I thought you might be," he said with a low
chuckle in her ear.

Chapter 4

The next morning Holly woke up in her own bed. She'd taken a
cab from Jason's late at night because she hadn't brought any clothes with her.
They had discussed possibly leaving clothes at each other's apartments. As she
recalled, the discussion had been derailed by Jason's kisses on the side of her
neck that had migrated downward.

Stretching, she felt a muscle twinge. What she needed was a
hot shower. In the middle of shampooing her hair to the scent of wild fruits
she remembered the scones. Sometime last night she'd agreed to make scones for
Jason's grandmother--at Jason's kitchen on Saturday. The idea seemed different
in the light of day. Was it too much involvement? She wondered. But what could
it hurt really, making a few scones for a nice old woman?