She and her family had all listened to Carlton’s assurances that Keenan’s presence was procedure for any suspicious fire. He had even said that Keenan was very affable and easy to get along with.
When Keenan had arrived, she had estimated him to be at least six-foot-four of hard muscle—the kind someone got from hard work, not a gym. He was big, with large, blunt fingers and hands and a chest that made her think of lying there and resting for a while. His body was also large, although the way he moved was graceful. His shaggy, shoulder-length blond hair had a slight curl and framed a craggy, handsome face. His light green eyes had crinkled at the corners when he’d smiled at Syneca as she’d squared off with him. He hadn’t flinched, and had held the door open for her.
It showed he was a gentleman. He had been quiet as the others had taken their leave. When he’d come to her, she had caught his slight hesitation when he’d spotted her. When he’d opened his mouth to question her, it had been in a clipped, almost accusatory manner. Carlton and Harmon’s assurances that he was affable had been a big, fat lie. Julianne snorted. The man was rude and an ass.
And too damn sexy for my own good.
As soon as it formed, she dismissed the thought. Keenan might be sexy—well, more like panty-soaking scrumptious—but she wasn’t paying any attention to that. All she wanted was him to do his job, to let them know what the problem was, so they could clear the site and get back to work. Julianne laid her head back on her pillow. If she was lucky, she wouldn’t have too much interaction with him. Putting him out of her mind, Julianne sighed. She was feeling the aches from her fall.
“Jules,” a voice called softly.
Opening her eyes, she spotted Noelle and her husband Pierce. Pierce brought over the bundle he carried. Gently, he placed the sleeping child next to her.
Julianne swallowed the lump in her throat, then spoke, “Thank you.”
“I figured you’d want her close to you.” Noelle’s gaze showed her understanding.
Pierce ran his hand gently down the hair of the sleeping girl, then touched Julianne’s shoulder before they left. Julianne studied the precious child next to her, and hugged her gently. Thoughts of the past flashed through her mind.
Being pushed down an empty hall late at night. The aches and pains from the car accident seemed removed from her. Julianne was grateful Syneca was silent as she took her down the hall. She was tired of talking to everyone. There was nothing to be said. The whoosh of the door as it opened was loud. She was placed in front of an incubator. Syneca touched her shoulder gently, then her footsteps moved away from her.
Bracing her hands, she went to stand, hands helping her as she was too weak to do it by herself. Blearily, she glanced to her left, surprised to see Spencer Jacobs. His face was impassive, but his eyes held sorrow. Turning away, she glanced to the right at Syneca. She had the same look as Spencer. Lowering her head, Julianne breathed deeply. Raising it, she glanced at the incubator. Tubes covered the tiny child who, from all they’d told her, should not have lived. At twenty-two weeks, she had less than a ten per cent chance of living. They still believed she wouldn’t. Thus, they brought Julianne to see her before the unthinkable happened.
Julianne’s breath caught. She looked so much like the two of them. Raising a shaking hand, she put it on top of the incubator, over her child. Tears fell from her eyes, blurring them.
“It’s just me and you now, baby. Daddy is gone.” Her voice caught on a sob, then she pressed on. “You are the combination of me and your daddy. He would have loved you so much, baby. You would have been Daddy’s little girl. He was so proud to be having you. We both are. They don’t think you’re going to make it, that you’ll leave me alone. But, little one, I can’t survive without you. Please…don’t leave me. Live for me. And I promise to live for you. Together, we can weather this hurricane. You’re my life now, and I love you, Marissa…Rissa. You are my heart, soul, and life.” She gasped, the tears flowing down her face. “Live for your mommy, Rissa, baby.” She continued to croon to her baby, who was fighting for life.
Julianne’s thoughts turned down to the child she now held. Marissa, whom they called Rissa, had not only survived, she had thrived. She’d had no problems from her premature birth. Rissa was a vivacious and extremely smart eight-year-old. Her baby was in advanced classes, way above the grade she should be given her age. Julianne kissed the top of her head, and tears pricked her eyes. She had almost left her baby. Intellectually, she knew it was a possibility, but to face it was a whole different story.
“Mommy loves you, Rissa, and you are my life. Thank you, God, for letting me stay with my baby.” She sobbed softly, imagining what could have been.
Holding Rissa, she went to sleep.
Julianne reached for the file. She stifled a curse at the aches that made themselves known. Leaning back against her chair, she breathed out—the pain was better than it had been. She’d been browbeaten to stay home. Then again, it hadn’t actually taken that much convincing. She had been feeling out of sorts since her near miss, but spending time with Rissa had got her back to feeling normal again. After two days, she had told her family and friends she was going in to work. Julianne laughed softly. Actually, it was Rissa who had told her she needed to stop hovering and get back to work. Julianne had conceded to let someone drive her.
The buzzer sounded on her desk. “Yes, Andi, I’m taking it easy.”
“I know that’s a lie. If you were, you’d be home resting, as everyone has been telling you that you should be doing,” Andrea Palmer, her assistant, replied.
Julianne refused to rise to the bait. She’d heard she was being stubborn enough—everyone had decided it was their business to tell her so. Her partners had even taken over the events she had scheduled. Their assurances that she could use the time to catch up on paperwork and other things hadn’t pleased her. But she would go along with it, at least for now.
“Is there a reason that you’re calling me?”
“Yes, oh grumpy one. Margo at main reception has informed me that there is a Fire Marshal Keenan Callaghan wanting to speak with you. Are you available?” Andrea asked.
Julianne hadn’t heard from him since he’d interviewed her at the hospital a few days ago. The rest of her partners had mentioned he was very nice and had been easy to talk to when they had spoken with him. Reid and the others who had also talked to him agreed. With all their comments, she had wondered why he’d acted so rudely when he’d interviewed her.
“Sure. Send him in,” Julianne said.
“Will do.”
A few moments later, a knock sounded at the door.
“Come in.” Julianne stood, coming around the desk.
Andrea came in first. She frowned, glancing at Julianne pointedly. Julianne ignored her. She walked over to meet Keenan, extending her hand. “Mr Callaghan.”
“Keenan, Miss Locke.” Keenan took her hand, shaking it briefly, then let it go.
“Call me Julianne. Can we get you something to drink?” Julianne offered.
She led him to the round table and Keenan pulled out a chair for her. Julianne sat.
He’s a gentleman. Wonder how gentlemanly he would be in bed? Julianne stilled at the thought.
The first time, in the hospital, she had dismissed it as just an acknowledgement of his attractiveness, just seeing a man who captured her attention, but knowing she would not act on it. This thought took it further. It wasn’t something she ever thought of. Not since… She cut off the train of thought and focused on Keenan, who had taken a seat next to her. She was grateful the table was mid-sized so he wasn’t too close to her. Yet, that didn’t stop his scent from reaching her. It was fresh—herbal mixed with musky, and ever so tempting. Julianne put her hand in her lap and clenched the fist.
Get control of yourself.
“No, I’m good.” Keenan’s deep tone brought her attention back to him.
It took a second for Julianne to understand what he was referring to.
Once she did, she replied, “And nothing for me, Andi. Thanks.”
Andrea left, closing the door behind her.
“Have you finished your investigation?” Julianne asked.
“Yes. It was an accidental fire. From what I could determine, it was due to some faulty wiring.”
She nodded. His confirmation of what she’d suspected was both a good and bad thing. Good that they could move on with the project. Bad because Reid and Sampson would be pissed off and on the warpath with their subcontractors, which could possibly delay the completion date. Not that she wasn’t peeved, too, and wanted whatever carelessness had caused the fire to be dealt with. But ultimately she needed the building work finished so that the events they already had scheduled wouldn’t have to be changed.
“Well, that’s good to know. I didn’t think it was arson.”
“You’d be surprised how many times I’ve heard that,” Keenan replied.
“I probably would.” Julianne imagined that would be the case, since she’d seen a few stories on the news that stated a fire was an accident then later changed to arson or suspicious circumstances.
“Anyway, you can let your builders know the site is now cleared, so they can continue building.” He paused briefly then spoke again, “I did want to apologise for my being abrupt the day when we talked.” Keenan’s look was intent.
“It’s okay. It was late.”
“No. That didn’t have any relevance to my behaviour. I’m usually not so gruff.” Keenan smiled widely.
Julianne’s breath caught. The smile made him seem boyish and more relatable. She hadn’t expected him to apologise. That he had both surprised and impressed her. Attraction to him she could handle and even dismiss, but respect was something that would lead her down a path she did not want to go. Holding him in high esteem would make her vulnerable to stronger feelings and that she could not…would not dare let herself experience.
“If that’s all, Keenan, I have some work that needs my attention.”
Keenan didn’t move, his smile widening further. “I didn’t expect to find you at work.”
“Then why did you come to see me?”
“I was visiting Harmon when he mentioned you’d returned to the office. So, I decided to swing by.”
Julianne nodded. She’d heard that he and Harmon had grown up together, but lost touch. Their history proved that it was a small world. Singleton felt like a mix of big city and small town, even though they were in New York. The number of people living there wasn’t as much as in some of the other New York towns, but people could still go without running into others they knew, unless seeking them out. The mix was why she loved Singleton so much, and it was the reason most of the Locke family still lived and had businesses here. Even those who weren’t able to live here full-time had homes on the family estates.
“Well, it’s good you all have gotten to reconnect with each other.”
“Yep. Harmon and I were close. Got to make sure we don’t lose touch again. You all have quite a set-up here.”
Julianne inclined her head. “We do. It works out well.”
Julianne was pleased she and her partners had managed to build such a great place for their business, with room for everything they could need and more. Moments had the most space on the property and they were farthest from the entrance of Kindred Place. The two-floor antebellum mansion design had been built to their specifications, and the lush scenic grounds, also. The combination made them a sought-after venue for many upscale events, as well as more intimate gatherings. The sweeping staircase at the front was a favoured spot for pictures. The inside was set up splitting the house similar to how Moments Deuce was laid out. Not having other events interfering with each other was a high priority for them.
The entire property all the businesses on Kindred Place occupied surprised people who hadn’t seen it before. All the building and maintaining of the property were in-house, which was the best advertising for the interior design, architectural, landscaping and security firms on the property. Each business had its own style based on various structural designs of homes, thus making it seem more like you were visiting someone rather than going to a business. The individual companies were on their own space, making it so that they didn’t interfere with each other’s business.
“You all must be doing well. You have a lot of partners in Moments, don’t you?” Keenan commented.
“And you’re curious…why?” She smiled.
“I get that there are eight of you handling various things. But not the ‘why’ behind the arrangement.”
“It used to be just me and Regina, at first, but then it got too much for us. And we wanted to expand, so we asked some of our friends—well, they’re more like family to us—to be a part of our business. Regina and I handle the actual event planning and meeting clients. Then we let the other partners who are in their own sections know what we need in the form of photography, flowers, food, pastries, staffing for events and security. Having separate people for that works. You’d be surprised how much work can go into the smallest event. Is there a reason you are asking about our set-up? Do you have an event you’re planning?”
“No. Just wanted to know more about you.”
Julianne controlled her expression, not wanting him to see her shock. Keenan’s smile, that same damn affable one, made her know that he was aware he’d unsettled her. She didn’t like it one bit. His hands rested on the table. Her mind flashed, imagining his fingers on her skin. Julianne stiffened.
“Well, now you know a bit. I would offer you a tour of the place, but I really need to get to work.” Julianne stood.
She gasped as Keenan moved to hold out her chair for her. For such a big man, he was fast.
“Thanks. Let me see you out.” She strode towards the door and reached to open it.
His hand on her arm stopped her. Julianne held in the shudder at his touch. She closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them she’d blanked her face into the business persona she used with a difficult client. It kept them at bay and offered her a shield of control. She glanced at him with a cool look. “Is there something further?”
“Trying to put up a barrier against me won’t work.”
“I don’t have any idea what you mean.” The lie rolled off her tongue easily.
Internally, she cursed. She was usually blunt and able to handle things.
“You do. It was the same reason that I was so rude at the hospital when I spoke with you. There’s a spark between us, Julianne.” Keenan’s smile was gentle and his look knowing.
The sound of her first name in his sexy voice was almost her undoing. Julianne refused to let him affect her—she pulled her arm away from his. Keenan stroked her skin before her released her.
“All we have is business. And, since that’s done, we have nothing further to say,” she replied.
“We had business. I didn’t want to pursue anything while I was doing my investigation. Now that it’s complete, there’s a lot for us to discuss. I want to get to know you better, Julianne. Have dinner with me?” Keenan’s light green gaze was intent.
“I don’t date,” she said, firmly.
“Why?” he fired back.
Julianne gritted her teeth. It figured he would push the issue and question her. “None of your business. Even if I did date, I don’t like aggressive men.”
“That’s good to know, since I’m not aggressive.” Keenan grinned affably.
“Could have fooled me,” Julianne muttered.
“I do go after what I want,” he said softly.
Julianne was caught by the look in his eyes. It was tender and possessive. She clenched her fist. He had no right to have such an expression. They didn’t know each other.
But you want to, her inner voice goaded.
No, I don’t, she countered.
Keep lying to yourself. You want to go out with him, the infernal voice said.
No, I do not. He’s already driving me to talk to myself. I do
n’t need the hassle, she told herself firmly.
Julianne wrenched open the door, gesturing for him to leave. Keenan took her silent urging and passed her. Julianne followed. He turned suddenly, crowding her. Gasping, she stepped back instinctively before she caught herself and stood her ground. Scowling, Julianne glared at him.
“I unsettle you.” His grin was smug.
“You startled me,” she retorted.
“Deny it all you want, but you’re intrigued by what there might be between us. I’m a patient man. I can wait until you come around. You have my number. Call me when you change your mind.” Keenan shrugged, turning, then strode away.
Julianne followed behind him. She waved Sid, the private receptionist she shared with another of her partners, back to his seat. Julianne followed Keenan down the hall. She fumed at his arrogance, that he would believe she would change her mind about going out with him. Unconsciously, her gaze lowered. The jacket he wore covered his ass, but she imagined what it would be like to cup it—firm, probably, and she flexed her fingers.
Stop that. You don’t date, she reminded herself. Julianne moved forward so she walked beside him as they crossed the lobby area. Close to the front receptionist’s desk, she paused.
“Thanks for coming by.” She put out her hand.
Keenan studied her before sliding his hand into hers. She locked her legs and controlled the shiver.
“I’ll be waiting for the call,” he said softly.
Julianne frowned at him.
“Mom?” a young voice said.
Julianne looked towards the front door at Rissa and a smile curled her lips. Rissa stood with Reid, who had gone to pick her up from school. She wore a pale yellow dress, the same colour as the one Julianne wore. Rissa loved clothes, just as she did—clothing that both looked good and was comfortable. Julianne turned back to Keenan.
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