Authors: Isabella Ashe
"No," Bryony said. "I'm glad to have such good friends, really. It's just that things are very complicated right now. They'll sort themselves out in the next few days, I think, but until then . . . ."
Kasey nodded. "Fine. But I expect to hear all the gory details eventually. It's the least I can do, considering how hard I worked thinking up the plan to make Zach fall in love with you. Remember that?"
"Of course," Bryony said. She hadn't thought about their silly plan in days, but she hadn't thrown it out, either. "It's in my desk drawer. Come to think of it, I did cook him dinner."
"And did you try number eight? You know, seducing him?" Kasey's eyes sparkled.
"Kasey!" Bryony shrieked. "That's absurd!"
"You did, I know it! But I promised not to press for details." She sighed. "Remind me again of why I made that ridiculous promise."
"Because I said I'd run away from home if you didn't."
Kasey's face grew solemn as a thought occurred to her. "You might want to run away anyway when you hear the news."
"What is it?" Bryony asked, alarmed. "Heart's Desire? Did something happen?"
Kasey shook her head. "No, no. The shop is fine. It's about Kinney's Lagoon. I heard today that the Board of Supervisors
have
scheduled an emergency meeting. They're going to approve the
Mandell
Corporation's Environmental Impact Report."
"An emergency meeting? When?"
"Tuesday," Kasey said, her lips a straight line in her pretty face.
"But why?" Bryony asked. "They weren't supposed to consider that report until their regular meeting next month."
"I know, but the lobbyists are applying all sorts of pressure in Sacramento. I hear they've threatened to locate the resort near Half Moon Bay if their project here isn't approved by the end of June."
"Good! Let them relocate," Bryony said. She was glowering as if a herd of lobbyists and lawyers had suddenly invaded the room.
"It isn't so simple, Bryony. Lots of businesses around here would love to see
Mandell
build Seashore Estates. Besides, there's the Mancini family to consider."
Bryony nodded glumly.
It was a well-known fact around Cypress Point that Frank Mancini was deeply in debt. The cost of his wife's long, drawn-out death from cancer combined with the failure of his trucking business had left him destitute. No one blamed Frank for jumping at the chance to sell his family's land near the lagoon. Bryony knew Frank Mancini hated the idea of a resort, but he had no choice. The
Mandell
Corporation had made the only offer, and Frank had three young children to support.
Bryony sighed again and stared helplessly at her hands. "We'll never be able to organize a real protest by Monday," she said. "I haven't even finished collecting signatures on my petition. That's what the
Mandell
Corporation is counting on, of course. If they speed up the process enough, they can steamroll this thing right through. They've got the money, the lawyers, and the organization. What have we got?"
"Heart and determination," Kasey said, in an attempt at optimism, but it came out sounding weak. They smiled at each other anyway.
"You're right," Bryony said. "It's not
to
late. I'll write a letter to the
Cypress Point Gazette
right away, so it's in the paper Monday. If we can get a decent turnout at the meeting, we'll have a fighting chance." She scanned Kasey's face, which had just fallen even further. "What is it now?"
"That's the other thing," Kasey said. "There will be no
Gazette
on Monday."
"What are you talking about? The paper comes out every Monday and Thursday."
"Not any more, I'm afraid." Kasey studied a lock of her blond hair, located a split end, and gnawed at it nervously. "There was a fire yesterday in the
Gazette
offices. I was there typesetting the classifieds when it happened. It didn't do much damage, and the assistant editor put it out before it spread, but the whole building filled with smoke."
"How did it start?" Bryony asked.
"Faulty electrical wiring, we think. The fire inspector said the whole building would have to be rewired."
"So?"
"So, Mary Dornan decided that was the last straw. The paper hasn't turned a profit in years, not since she took over from her father as editor and publisher. Unless she can find a buyer -- which isn't likely, since she'd been trying to sell the
Gazette
for a year and a half -- Thursday's issue was the last."
Bryony rubbed her eyes with the back of her palms. This was a genuine disaster. What was a town without a local newspaper? And worse, her best friend was out of a job. "I can give you more hours at Heart's Desire," she began.
"That's all right. I'll manage," Kasey said. "I know you can't afford to support a full-time employee, no matter how well the shop has done lately. No, I've had another job offer already. I'm going to work as a teacher's aide up at the elementary school."
"That's terrific," Bryony said. "I know how much you like kids." She tried to show some enthusiasm, for her friend's sake.
"Yeah, it'll be great. Look, I have to go now before your goon of a houseguest throws me out. He warned me not to tire you out, and he'll kill me when he finds out I came in here and gave you all sorts of bad news."
They said goodbye, and Bryony promised to call if she didn't feel up to working the next day. As soon as Kasey was gone, Bryony laid back and closed her eyes. In the past few days, she'd been so caught up in her romance with Zach that she'd forgotten about the town's affairs.
She almost felt it was her fault that so many things were going wrong. If only she'd been paying attention, maybe everything would be different. She cursed herself for being so self-centered, so blind to the things that really mattered. After all, Zach would be gone in two more days. Cypress Point would be her home forever. Her forehead creased with worry and self-blame, and she chewed her lip distractedly.
"All right, what did that flighty blond tell you to get you all riled up?"
Bryony's eyes flew open at the sound of Zach's gruff voice. He had tried for a joking tone, but his eyes flashed with real anger.
She sat up and pushed back her covers, clasping her arms around her pajama-clad knees. "The battle for the lagoon's all but lost, and the local newspaper is closing down," she said. "It feels like the whole town is falling apart."
He stretched out next to her and tenderly cupped her still-fevered cheek in his palm. "You're not responsible for everything that goes on in Cypress Point," he said.
Bryony gazed into his black eyes, wondering how she ever could have thought them cold and calculating. Now they were so warm and sympathetic that she wanted to crawl into them and pull their darkness comfortingly around her shoulders.
She flashed a quick, shy smile up at him and was rewarded by a gentle brush of his lips on hers. Despite the lingering weakness she felt after a high fever and a day in bed, hot pleasure suffused her body at the touch of his mouth. She kissed him back so eagerly that when he pulled away at last, it was only with great effort.
"If you weren't a sick woman," he said, "well, I'd have to --"
"I'm not that sick," Bryony murmured, grazing the smooth skin on the back of his neck with her fingertips and then allowing her hand to slip down his back and around his well-muscled torso. Zach gasped as her fingers found the bulge in the front of his jeans.
"I can't believe this is the same woman who blushed when I kissed her," he said, shaking his head and moving just out of reach.
"You've created a monster, Mr. Callahan," Bryony said, laughing. "Don't you want me? You did yesterday."
"You know I do," Zach said, his brows coming together sternly as he struggled to hold himself in check. "But one of us has to remember that you're recuperating today. Now, tomorrow, if you feel better --"
Bryony stretched like a contented cat in the sunshine. "If that's not enough incentive to get well, I don't know what is. I'm just not sure how I'll survive until then."
"Why don't you tell me why you're giving up on saving Kinney's Lagoon before you've even started?" Zach said. "That ought to distract you from lusting over my body."
"Nothing could distract me from that," Bryony said, but she explained the situation and the new developments, including Frank Mancini's sad dilemma. When she'd finished, Zach had a look of intense concentration on his face.
"Does the
Mandell
Corporation own the land already?" he asked.
Bryony shook her head. "They have an option to buy it, but Frank won't get a penny unless the Board of Supervisors agrees to change the zoning. If the resort isn't approved, the
Mancinis
will have to look for another buyer. And who would be foolish enough to buy land they can't ever develop?"
"I see," Zach said, looking thoughtful.
"Do you have any bright ideas?" Bryony asked. "At this point, anything's worth trying."
"Nothing definite yet," he said. "I'll think about it some more, though. If I come up with a solution, you'll be the first to know."
"Thank you," Bryony said, without much enthusiasm. She wished she could believe everything would be all right, but it seemed unlikely. Short of a miracle, Kinney's Lagoon would never be the same.
Watching the silent, pensive man who sat at the foot of her bed, she wondered if she would ever be the same either. She'd always told herself she could live without passion and romance. After the last 24 hours, she wasn't sure she could go back to her old, quiet life. Thinking of the sheer joy she'd experienced in Zach's embrace, the extraordinary pleasure of waking up in his arms, she couldn't imagine life without him.
Unfortunately, she wasn't sure she would have a choice.
"Are you sure you feel up to working today?" Zach asked as Bryony emerged from the shower the next morning, wrapped in a huge, soft apple-green bath towel and smelling of lavender-scented soap.
"I'm fine," she said for the fifth time in fifteen minutes. "Really. Maybe a teeny, tiny bit weak, but I'll be fine the minute I eat some breakfast. Besides, I can always call Kasey if I change my mind later, and she'll come take over for me." She finished toweling off her hair and flung it back over her shoulder.
"I guess I was just hoping for your company today," Zach said. He was lounging in her bed, his chest bare above the wine velvet comforter, his hair tousled from sleep.
A broad smile spread across Bryony's face at his boyishly hopeful expression and the hint of a whine in his voice. "Maybe I'll close up the shop a little early tonight," she said, leaning over to plant a kiss on the tip of his nose.
She was deliciously aware that the creamy skin of her breasts spilled over the top of the towel. Zach was viewing her exposed cleavage with serious appreciation.
Her shyness with him had all but dissolved after Thursday's long, languorous lovemaking session. Bryony was surprised to discover how much she enjoyed tempting and teasing him. She'd discovered a new, gratifying kind of power in the way she could make him respond to her body.
Twin fires had kindled in Zach's dark eyes by the time she straightened up again. One of his huge hands enveloped her wrist before she could escape. "I know exactly what you're up to," he said, pulling her toward him so that she lay across the bed. "Standing there in nothing but a towel, tantalizing me with that sexy body, and thinking you can leave for work just like that!" He snapped his fingers under her nose. "I don't think so."
He pulled his hand to his lips and drew her index finger slowly into his hot mouth, caressing it with his tongue. Bryony gasped as her abdomen tightened instantly in response. "I've got to leave soon," she said. "There's no time for --"
"Oh, there is," Zach interrupted, staring deep into her eyes with such dangerous intensity that she dared not deny him, even if she had wanted to. "There's plenty of time." He traced the outline of her lips with the ball of his thumb, taunting her with it until she answered his caress by drawing his thumb into her mouth.
Zach ran the fingers of his other hand lightly along the upper edge of the bath towel, searing a path across the top of her breasts. She braced her hands against his bare, muscular chest and inched closer to him. The green towel crept up her thighs, exposing an expanse of sensitive skin for his touch.
When his probing fingers brushed her most responsive flesh, Bryony almost cried out delight and need. Still Zach refused to leave off his teasing. He used his hands and tongue to bring her spiraling higher and higher. Bryony ached to feel his bare skin against hers, but each time she strained toward him he denied her. When she pressed her body against his, seeking his heat and crying out for his weight on top of her, he laughed softly and moved away.
"How do you like it?" he whispered into her mouth as he rained soft, tantalizing kisses onto her lips. "This is how I felt yesterday, when you were off limits. How does it feel, now that it's your turn?"
"Awful," Bryony said. "Wonderful -- I don't even know."