“Good point,” Logan acknowledged.
The coffee had finished brewing, so she refilled the paper cup he’d brought back from earlier that morning. “Anything else?”
“No—” He stopped. “That is, not at the moment.”
Jessica frowned after he left. There had been something unusually intent about how Logan Kensington had watched her. He also seemed to be trying to make a connection. There wasn’t anything creepy about it, but it was enough to make her wonder if he had a hidden agenda.
At the same time, she was reasonably certain he wasn’t interested in her as a woman.
Why would he be?
Logan Kensington was a handsome man who’d photographed some of the most beautiful and sophisticated women in the world. She was a single mom who’d often shopped at yard sales to help make ends meet...just not for Cyndi’s school clothes. Kids could be cruel about that kind of thing and she was fortunate that she could spare her daughter having to deal with it at such a young age. Logan couldn’t possibly understand something like that. If he ever had kids, they’d probably go to private schools and shop at trendy clothing stores.
Yet it really didn’t matter that he was out of her realm of experience. She’d already made too many mistakes with relationships and wanted to focus on making the shop an even bigger success while raising her daughter. Those were the things that counted.
CHAPTER TWO
LOGAN RETURNED TO his office, wondering if he should have initiated the conversation about moving the Crystal Connection. He’d been considering possible openings the entire time he was talking to Jessica. But maybe it was just as well he hadn’t said anything because he still thought searching real estate listings beforehand was a good idea. Also talking with Kevin.
Oddly, Logan hadn’t been able to reach him after several calls and two voice mail messages suggesting they get together. Being out of contact was unusual for the agency’s former owner.
The next day an email arrived from Kevin, apologizing that he hadn’t called back and explaining he was away for a few weeks. His daughter had given birth and he was in Chicago to see the baby and help out, possibly the only thing that could have pulled him from anxiously hovering over his friends and former clients. Kevin McClaskey was a classic overachieving nurturer who wanted to help everyone he met.
Logan sorted through the rental listings he’d compiled. Several were in excellent retail locations, but they had higher rental fees than what Jessica was currently being charged. Surely that would convince her that moving to the rear of the Moonlight Ventures building would be best. That way she’d stay their tenant, expand her retail space, and they could ensure it was well worth her while.
His gut instinct said he should talk with Kevin in person, but Logan wasn’t in the mood to wait. So that afternoon he tucked the listings in his pocket and headed for the Crystal Connection, hoping to find Jessica alone. Instead, two customers were there, picking up merchandise and examining it carefully, then moving on to something else.
“Coffee?” Jessica asked.
“In a while. I’m going to look around.”
He began peering into various display cases so it wouldn’t be obvious that he was just waiting for the others to leave. The customers spent an inordinate length of time deciding which crystals spoke to them. Jessica was friendly as she dealt with their questions, while impatience welled inside of him.
“Do you have to endure that very often?” he asked once the couple had departed with their purchases.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m talking about that sort of customer. You know, looking at everything and all the discussion about healing properties and whether a crystal is speaking to them. I wouldn’t have the patience to put up with it very often.”
Her smile grew stiff. “I’m not putting up with anything. That couple has been coming to this shop since I was a kid. They’re good customers, are awfully nice and attended my grandfather’s funeral because they cared about him and my grandmother. But even if this had been their first time through the door, they were fine. I’ve heard people say a certain photograph or painting speaks to them. Why not a rock?”
Logan could have kicked himself. Despite having grown up with diplomats, sometimes he had a talent for saying the wrong thing. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sure all businesses have aspects that seem odd from the outside.”
“No doubt.”
Her manner was polite, but it lacked the easy friendliness she’d shown on his earlier visits.
“Honestly, I’m sorry. I have a big mouth,” he said, hoping to regain lost ground. “It’s one of the many reasons I didn’t follow in my parents’ footsteps.”
“Not diplomatic enough?” Her tone suggested she was sure of the answer.
“The State Department prefers people who think before they talk so you don’t inadvertently start a war. They also prefer people who don’t have a talent for sticking their foot in their mouths.”
“I see. What kind of coffee do you want today?” she asked.
“A Southwest Twist, please.” He handed her the travel mug he’d brought from his studio condo. Hopefully he wouldn’t be living there for long—though he was accustomed to hotel rooms after being on location most of the year, he was quickly starting to want more space, preferably out of the city.
As Jessica filled the cup, he wondered if he should wait another day or two to talk with her. She hadn’t said anything outright, but he was fairly sure her opinion of him wasn’t at a high point right now. On the other hand, she didn’t seem the type to turn something minor into a major incident.
As he was putting cream into his brew, the door opened. Great. More customers. Then he saw it was Jessica’s daughter, along with Penelope Parrish, which was worse. They might be planning to spend the rest of the day.
“Hi, Penny,” he called. “Hey, Cyndi.”
“Good afternoon, Logan,” Penny said, smiling. “I want to compliment you. The calendar is lovely.”
Cyndi eagerly bobbed her head. “Does it take forever to get pictures like that, Mr. Kensington?”
“Call me Logan. Some photographs take quite a while since the animals can be difficult to find. Then you have to wait and take as many as possible, hoping to get the right one.”
“Is it hard to do?”
“Yes and no. Mostly you have to be very, very patient.”
Penny’s eyes twinkled. “You have a whole-hearted admirer, Logan. My great-granddaughter has been talking about photography ever since she saw that calendar and met you. She even pulled out our old family albums and asked questions I didn’t know how to answer.”
“I like old pictures, too,” he said. “But the technology is different now, with digital cameras instead of using film. With digital, you can get an idea of what you’ve captured right away without having to wait for it to develop.”
“I have a digital camera,” Cyndi exclaimed. “Momma gave it to me for Christmas.”
“Good, so you can take plenty of pictures and get the hang of how you want them to look. You can also get books at the library about composition and how to frame a shot.”
In the back of his mind he was hoping the conversation would be a distraction from his less-than-tactful remark about Jessica’s customers. He admired her respect for others and wished he’d voiced the same respect.
Since he wanted to conduct his business with Jessica in private, he went back to his office and spent the next hour evaluating the photos he’d taken of clients that morning down by the lake. Now that he was in the Seattle area full-time, Moonlight Ventures wanted to improve their clients’ portfolios. There was a distinct difference between a standard head shot and a more creative approach that might excite a prospective advertiser.
It was late afternoon when he headed over to the Crystal Connection, the copies of the real estate
listings still in his pocket.
Jessica looked up from where she was unpacking a large box. “I’m sorry. We stop making coffee at three thirty and there aren’t any leftovers.”
“I understand.” He glanced around and was glad to see she was alone. “But there’s something I’ve been wanting to discuss with you. It’s about the space you’re leasing from Moonlight Ventures.”
Her eyebrow lifted. “Is there a problem? Grams told me she’d paid the rent for three months ahead.”
“No, that isn’t it. It’s just, well, you may not have realized that the lease isn’t transferable.”
Her soft complexion went pale and Logan instantly felt like a villain in an old melodrama, threatening the beautiful heroine with eviction.
* * *
JESSICA STRAIGHTENED HER shoulders and injected steel in her spine. She’d survived setbacks before and would again. Besides, there was an option.
“If the lease isn’t transferable,” she said, “I’m sure my grandmother will be happy to continue renting the property. I’ll work it out with her.”
“Please understand, we aren’t trying to throw you out,” Logan said hurriedly. “It’s just that we need to expand the agency.”
“The lease is for another three years.”
And Kevin McClaskey promised we could stay as long as we liked, Jessica wanted to tell him. She was quite certain that Uncle Kevin wouldn’t have had a problem with transferring the lease to a family member. He’d be horrified to learn the new landlords had even mentioned the matter.
“I know what’s in the lease,” Logan said, “but no matter whose name is on it, we’d hoped to discuss an accommodation that might work for all of us. This issue would have been raised, whether or not the ownership had changed. After remodeling we thought our space was adequate, but we’ve realized it isn’t. We planned to bring the matter up before, but given what happened with your grandfather...it seemed best to wait.”
Jessica fought a renewed stab of panic and reminded herself that Grams’s name could remain on the paperwork. She’d known the lease agreement wasn’t permanent, but in the past it had always been renewed automatically. Granted, she’d questioned whether the situation would change now that Uncle Kevin was no longer the landlord, but she’d figured she had three years to talk with the new owners and sort things out. Now, no matter what Logan claimed, it sounded as if he and his partners wanted the Crystal Connection gone much more quickly.
He said it was because they wanted to expand the agency’s space. But she had to wonder. His earlier comments had given her the impression that he had a low opinion of the shop and its customers. Perhaps he felt it wasn’t as highbrow as his talent agency and didn’t want her next door.
Some people thought it was ludicrous to be passionate about crystals, particularly when metaphysical beliefs were part of the attraction. But she knew folks who thought modeling was a skewed and ridiculous business.
“What do you mean by accommodation?” she asked warily.
“For one thing, this is a very large building. It covers the better part of a city block. There’s space down around the end, off the smaller road. The Crystal Connection could move into one of the available rentals for the same rent, with over twice the square footage.”
“Except we have easy parking here. More importantly, the street out front is a busy thoroughfare. Our visibility nets a huge amount of drop-in business.”
The expression on Logan’s face didn’t flicker. “It isn’t a big deal for someone to park and walk around the back of the building. And there are ways to minimize the impact of moving. Signs, advertising, that sort of thing. You must have a contact list for your regular customers.”
Jessica seriously doubted advertising was the solution. She’d already heard new customers saying it was the large display windows that had enticed them into visiting. The back of the building bordered on a one-way street so narrow it almost functioned as an alley. The store would come off like a hole in the wall, hiding from the world. She shook herself and remembered that Logan was waiting for an answer.
“We don’t have a contact list. Not yet. My grandparents didn’t do mailings or promote on the internet. I put out a sign-up sheet last week, but it’s just a start.”
“The move wouldn’t have to be done immediately. If you’re interested, I found rental listings for other locations, too.”
Jessica wasn’t interested; she was insulted. So he’d found a few available rentals. How very patronizing of him. Not to mention presumptuous. It was as if he expected to snap his fingers and have the whole situation resolved to his satisfaction. Moreover, with either solution, the Crystal Connection would be neatly tucked out of his tender sight. He might not even lose sleep if she went out of business altogether.
She gave him a tight smile. “It’s early to be looking at other rentals, and if needed, I can certainly find them on my own.”
His cool brown eyes were unreadable. “Yes, naturally.”
“As for a contact list,” she continued, “while I think it’s a good idea, it has no relationship to walk-in traffic. Location is everything.” Still annoyed, Jessica felt another wave of anxiety. She had three years before she had to do what Logan and Moonlight Ventures wanted, but they could make life miserable for her in the interim.
Her gaze fell to the counter by the cash register. The wood was warmly burnished from years of use and polishing, and there were various dents and grooves. Decorators would likely call it “distressed.” It was a part of her childhood. As a little girl she’d perched on it and watched her grandparents unpacking merchandise. Sitting on a stool, she’d leaned over its wooden surface and drawn pictures or strung crystal necklaces with her grandmother.
On one of her summer-long visits with her grandparents, she’d written numerous letters to her parents on that counter. Back at home, she’d found them with the junk mail, never opened. Her folks hadn’t meant to be uncaring—from their perspective, they’d been working for their family’s security, providing a large home, putting money away for college and building a diversified financial portfolio. Though hurt, she’d gathered up the letters and put them in her memory box.
A group of customers came in and Logan moved aside, appearing to study a display of books on crystals, geology and rock collecting. His expression suggested poorly concealed scorn at their enthusiasm, though she tried not to read too much into it. When it got right down to it, he might feel that way about everything. But as far as she was concerned, true sophistication included an open appreciation of the world.
Once the shoppers were busy looking at merchandise, Logan returned to the counter. “What do you say?” he asked in a low voice. “Is it all right if we discuss this further?”
She couldn’t refuse and risk antagonizing one of the building’s owners. “I suppose, provided you know I haven’t agreed to anything. I don’t want to make a decision too quickly.”
“Naturally.” He gave her a crooked grin. “My friends and I talked and planned for years before changing our careers. Of course, we hope to resolve the situation faster with you.”
“I understand,” she said in a neutral tone.
“Could I take you to dinner Thursday night? That way we can have some uninterrupted time. If you have plans for Thursday, what about the evening after?”
She didn’t have any “plans” to coordinate around, no appointments and certainly no dates. Being a single mother made socializing tricky. Now that she lived next door to her grandmother, childcare wouldn’t be a problem, but she wasn’t eager to explore love again. And she hadn’t been in the Seattle area long enough to have much else on her social calendar except for her committee work to get an urgent care medical clinic started in Regen Valley.
“Thursday should be fine,” she said, “provided Grams is available to watch Cyndi.”
“I’d suggest bringing your daugh
ter along, but it would be better to talk business with just the two of us.”
“Right.”
Privately she wondered what Logan’s attitude might be toward single mothers. She’d met more than one guy who had personal rules about not dating a woman with “encumbrances.” That was fine with her. Even if she’d been interested in finding someone, she wouldn’t get involved with a man who saw children that way.
“By the way,” he said, “to keep things simple, I’ll be the only one at Moonlight Ventures discussing this with you. We thought it was best to have a single contact point, also to limit mix-ups in communication.”
“That makes sense.” It was the best solution and Jessica wouldn’t have to dread the subject coming up whenever one of the other Moonlight Ventures partners came into the shop. She didn’t want this to impact how she felt about them...which was decidedly negative at the moment, so maybe the most she could hope for was cordiality.
A customer approached the counter with a basket of items and Jessica went to ring up her purchases.
“I’ll check with you when I come for coffee tomorrow,” Logan said after the woman had left. “Is that all right?”
“Sure.”
Jessica breathed easier when she was alone again, but only a little. Logan Kensington had unloaded a potential nightmare for her. With so much to consider, she suspected she wouldn’t get much sleep that night.
* * *
“I’VE BROACHED THE subject with Ms. Parrish. We’re supposed to have another discussion on Thursday,” Logan explained to his partners at a meeting an hour after his chat with Jessica.
“Is she open to what we’re proposing?” Rachel asked.
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t call it open. Although it upset her, she didn’t completely reject the idea. Presumably the store operates on a narrow margin, so she has a good deal to consider.”
Adam grimaced. “We don’t want to hurt her business.”
“Her grandparents have leased that location for over thirty years,” Rachel added. “This must be the last thing she expected.”
Finally, a Family--A Clean Romance Page 3
