by Annie Seaton
“How? Why can it be good?” She knew she sounded like a petulant child, but her emotions were in turmoil and she didn’t want him to know how her blood was still zinging around her body from his kiss.
“Life moves on. People change. Our needs change.” The earnest expression on his face was the same as when they’d argued in college. But this time, she was listening to him…just a little bit.
“You have to be honest and really think about what it is you want out of life. Too often we get caught on the work treadmill. I know I did. The move here—reconnecting with my family—has been the best thing for me. When my parents died, I thought making my fortune would fill the gap I felt. But I was wrong.” He shrugged and held his hands out to her. “It didn’t. The move home, back to family, and meeting up with old friends—that’s all shown me what’s important…and what I want. What I need.”
He stretched his hands out to her and she stared at them for a moment before wiping her palms on the front of her dungarees. Her own hands were dirty and her nails were broken from pulling the shingles off the roof. Slowly, she reached out with one of hers, as tentative acceptance of his words. He raised it to his lips, and she couldn’t help the smile tugging at her mouth.
“Let’s take it slow. Let’s start fresh and get to know each other again. No baggage, no past?” Blake tipped his head to the side and he quirked an eyebrow. “We’ve had the truce, now we’ll make a deal.”
“Before we start talking mergers?” She chuckled at the look on his face. “Always the CEO, Blake?”
“All depends on what sort of…er…mergers you are talking about. I can think of a few pleasurable ones myself.”
Her face heated as Blake slid his hands along her arms and pulled her close. She snuggled into his warmth and sighed with pleasure as he leaned his forehead against hers. His warm breath puffed on her cheeks for a moment before he slid his lips slowly down her cheek until they teased at the corner of her mouth. Ana shivered, her lips parted, and she waited for his mouth to claim hers again. The thought of a “merger” sent spirals of heat shooting through her limbs.
Her eyes flew open as his phone rang stridently. Blake pulled back reluctantly and lightly touched her face.
“I’m sorry. I’m expecting a call. I can’t miss this one. It’s really important.” He brushed his lips across hers apologetically. “Hold that mood?”
Ana stepped back and pointed upstairs before he took the call. “That’s fine. I’ll take a shower and get changed. Would you like to stay for some of that minestrone and bread Maria sent home?” He smiled and nodded before turning away to speak into the phone.
Ana went out to the car to bring in the food, and put the gas on low beneath the soup pot. She glanced across at Blake as she headed for the shower, but he was frowning and intent on his conversation.
Standing beneath the hot jets, Ana could barely contain her excitement as she scrubbed at her hands to remove the dirt and dried glue. She quickly rinsed her hair, before exiting the shower and drying herself off. She wrapped the towel around her as she searched for something to wear.
Muttering to herself, she discarded the underwear at the top of the basket in her closet and dug deep for a pink lacy push-up bra and matching panties. A soft pink cashmere sweater and a draping skirt completed the outfit. A quick spray of her patchouli perfume and a dash of lip gloss, and she was ready to go back down. Her stomach fluttered and she looked in the mirror again. Her eyes were bright and her lips were softly parted.
Yes, this is right, and you will give it your best shot.
A merger. Hmmm.
Walking slowly down the stairs, her legs trembled with anticipation and she listened for Blake’s voice but all was quiet—it seemed his call was finished. She hurried into the kitchen and turned the soup down and placed the loaf of bread in the oven to warm.
“Almost ready,” she called.
He didn’t answer. Ana walked into the living room, but the room was empty. Smiling to herself, she opened the front door and called out to the porch. “Are you hungry?”
All was quiet. Mutt lifted his head and flopped his tail on the tiled porch and Sooky ran over and wrapped herself around Ana’s legs, meowing for her dinner.
The space beside her truck where Blake had parked was empty. Disappointment filled her chest as she walked back inside. A note was propped up against the shoe boxes on the table.
SORRY, SOMETHING CAME UP. WILL CALL.
And that was why they would never be any good together, she thought sadly. Business had always come first with Blake—and it always would. He couldn’t even wait for her to come downstairs to tell her he had to leave.
Three days passed and there was no call or visit from Blake. Ana tried to tell herself she didn’t have time to think about it, that she didn’t care.
On Monday, she and Sienna met with the Bennetts and came to an agreement for two more restoration jobs, and came to a decision. On Tuesday, they spent the day at the houses, measuring and making lists. Today, she and Sienna were back at her cottage, planning out their work and ordering the supplies they would need.
Ana moved to the table, which was now clear of shoe boxes, and picked up the new order book. She’d dropped the boxes at Georgie’s house on Sunday night and asked her to take them into the store for her. It was worrying about the business keeping her awake at nights and waiting for the phone to ring through the day.
And constantly checking that her phone was not turned off.
Nothing to do with Blake.
She was waiting for jobs to come in. That was all.
“We can only order exactly what we need from now on,” Sienna commented. They were at Ana’s cottage and stood at the window looking out over the bay. “We won’t have the luxury of everything at our fingertips anymore.”
“I hadn’t realized how much we took for granted, you know.” Ana looked out the window, deep in thought. “Being a business owner might be a bit more challenging than working for someone else. Maybe I was a bit hard on Blake. When you’re in charge, maybe there are times when you have to make the hard calls.”
She’d begun to realize how good they’d had it when their business was part of the store. Blake had a point. If it hadn’t been for Joe subsidizing the projects, and paying them a steady salary, there was no way they could have kept the business going. She glanced down at the phone and resisted picking it up to check for messages.
Sienna looked at her quizzically. “So what’s going on between you two?”
“Nothing.” Ana cursed her fair skin for the flush that was running up her neck to her cheeks.
“So you’re okay?”
“Yes, why?”
“I thought you’d be happier.” Sienna looked at her expectantly.
“Why?”
“Oh, just that Maria was telling Georgie about the hunky guy who came to see you when you were fixing Aldo’s roof.” Sienna tipped her head to the side. “And he gave you flowers?”
Ana looked at the posy of violets on the kitchen windowsill. They were starting to wilt. “Oh that? Blake just stopped by to say thanks. For helping him out.”
She’d been all excited about telling Georgie and Sienna how things were panning out with Blake until he’d disappeared. Now she wasn’t game to put what she felt into words. She was sure he’d been about to open up to her about his feelings. But she’d been wrong.
“Yes. And?”
“And nothing. Why should there be an ‘and’?”
“Because I know you very well and there’s something bugging you. Is it because Blake’s gone away?”
Ana’s head flew up. “Gone away?
“Yes, he went to New York the other night. The takeover’s been put off for another week. Didn’t he tell you?”
“He doesn’t have to tell me anything. I don’t work there and I’m nothing to him.”
Obviously.
“Ah…so that’s the way the wind blows.” Sienna smiled. “Georgie will be upset if you
beat her to a wedding.”
“Oh for goodness’ sake, Sienna. You’re full of it.” Ana pushed some catalogs across the table to her friend, who was looking at her too intently. “Sit down and start looking for some ideas for the Bennetts’ beach house. If we are going to make this business a success, we have to make this project spectacular.”
Sienna looked at her from under her lashes. “And if we are going to make this business a success, you have to do away with shoe-box accounting.”
Ana swatted one of the catalogs in her direction and laughed when Sienna ducked.
Chapter Thirteen
Blake stood outside Mike’s executive suite in the Manhattan building and cursed himself for the umpteenth time. He couldn’t believe he’d left his cell phone in his car at home before he’d caught the cab to the airport. He’d tried everything he could think of to find Ana’s number, but none of his attempts had come to fruition. He couldn’t call Joe’s store and ask for her number because negotiations were at such a delicate stage, he didn’t want Joe to get wind of him being in New York. He’d be worried enough with the takeover being pushed back. He didn’t know Georgie and Sienna’s last name so he couldn’t look them up. And Ana’s number still wasn’t listed, just as it hadn’t been ten years ago. Damn it all.
He pushed open the door of Mike’s suite. The secretary gestured to a chair. He felt bad about leaving Ana’s place while she was in the shower. The note he’d left for her had been brief, but when the call came in from Mike, he’d only had an hour to get to the airport. His whole attention had to be on the meeting ahead—any chance of a future with Ana hinged on the next few minutes. If things went as planned, he would have plenty of time to make up for the way he’d left her. He’d finally admitted to himself that he was falling for her. The timing of Mike’s call had sucked. He’d been about to tell Ana how he felt about her, but with so much at stake he’d had to leave.
She’d be fine.
She’d forgive him.
He hoped. This meeting with Mike would make all the difference in more ways than one.
“Come on in, Buchanan.” Mike’s voice boomed through the door and his secretary jumped. “Are you waiting for an invitation?”
Hmm, not son today.
Mike sat behind his huge cherrywood desk and glowered at Blake as he entered the office. Being called by his surname did not bode well. Mike steepled his fingers in front of his chin and stared at him.
“Sit down.”
Blake nodded at the man who had been his boss for the past three years. “Thanks for seeing me at such short notice.”
“I’m disappointed in you, Blake.”
“I appreciate your considering my proposal, Mike.”
“I think you’re crazy, you know. You had a bright future with this company.” Mike shook his head. “In fact, I’d even hoped you might take over ownership when I was ready to retire. That son of mine doesn’t want it.”
“You never know, he might change his mind,” Blake responded kindly, though in truth he knew Jack was happy at the gallery in Monterey.
Mike reached over and stabbed at the buzzer on his desk. When there was no response, he yelled through the open door. “Grace, bring those papers in here.” Then he stood up and called out loudly, “Please.”
“Of course, sir.” The secretary walked in and placed a file on Mike’s desk. “Will there be anything else, Mr. Montgomery?”
Blake smothered a smile. It wasn’t just him who found Mike difficult. Grace went back out to her desk.
“Coffee, Blake?”
“No thanks. I’ve got a plane to catch.” He’d been away too long already.
“Don’t know what’s gotten into you, boy.” His soon-to-be-former boss shook his head and hollered through the door again. “Grace. Get Jim to come up, will you. We need an attorney to witness this.”
Ten minutes later as Blake walked to the door, Mike stood and threw his arm around his shoulder.
“Anytime you want to come back here, there’ll be a position at the New York office for you.”
Blake punched Mike playfully on his burly shoulder. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I’m pretty settled out on the West Coast now. And any time you want to come and visit, I’ve got that great big house on the cliff down at Nebbiton. Lots of guest rooms.”
Mike turned to him, his face somber. “Seriously, I hope it all works out for you. You never were one to take things slow. And I guess Helen will want to go out and visit Jack at this art gallery the silly young fool has bought, so I might take you up on that offer one day.”
Blake stepped out on the street and whistled for a yellow cab. As he headed to the airport for his return flight, he felt lighter than he had in years.
Ten years, to be precise. And it felt so good, it was worth the wait. And his life was about to get even better.
Two more days passed after the meeting with Mike, and then Blake had another meeting with his own lawyer in San Francisco before he headed toward Half Moon Bay just after dawn. The final contracts had taken longer than he’d expected and he was itching to get to the store and start things moving. He grinned as the coastal vista opened up in front of him and the salty air rushed in the open window. Ana would be so happy with the way things had turned out…or at least he hoped she would. He knew he had been wrong in not trusting her. His experiences had left him jaded, but that was gone. Meeting up with her again and looking forward to becoming a part of this community had reinvigorated him.
Now excitement zinged through him and the miles down through the small townships dotted along the coastal highway seemed to take forever. He was meeting with Joe and some of the staff who’d indicated they were looking to retire, and he knew he had to tell them the news first; it would be unethical to tell Ana what was happening before them. Having to leave her the way he had when Mike called had been unavoidable, but he’d had no choice. Mike had been waiting for him in New York, and once he shared his news he knew Ana would forgive him for taking off. A little doubt niggled in his head. Maybe he should have called her, but he didn’t want her to have any inkling of what was going on. He wanted to see her face when he told her. But in the meantime, he had to meet first with Joe.
The last six miles from Half Moon Bay to Nebbiton was interrupted by roadwork, and Blake glanced down at his watch. Joe had organized to meet with him before the store opened and then he had back-to-back appointments with individual staff members.
The street was jam-packed with cars when he pulled up outside the small hardware store. Stepping from the car, he avoided the puddles at the curb, and even that made him think of Ana and the wet shoes she’d carried into his place only a week ago. He schooled his face into a pleasant expression as an elderly man in a suit stepped from the store with his hand outstretched.
“Blake Buchanan?”
He took the proffered hand and shook it, appreciating the strong grip that grasped his hand in welcome. “Joe Hickey? Great to finally meet you in person.”
And immediately his professional confidence came back and he breathed a sigh of relief. It was time he got over this mooning around and focused on the job at hand. It was even more critical now that he could call the shots.
Joe chatted to him as they made their way up the stairs to the office overlooking the store. The walls only went halfway to the ceiling and the noise of the store as the staff prepared to open for the day drifted up to them. A small motorized trolley purred along one aisle, and an elderly man swept with a straw broom, stirring up clouds of dust.
“We’re very lucky here.” Joe looked at him from beneath beetling brows. “When I told the staff you were coming in this morning, they all came in early so the store would be shipshape.”
“Great.” Blake rubbed his hands together briskly and peered down into the store. It was cool up here in this open-walled office and there appeared to be no heating in the old building. A quick glance down to the store below showed no sign of Ana yet.
“Here�
��s the list of the staff. I put out the redundancy offer this morning and those who want to meet with you are marked.” Joe handed Blake a handwritten list of names. “Some of the staff want to go home and think about it, of course, and I assured them that wouldn’t be a problem.”
“That’s fine. Totally understandable now that there has been a change in plans.” Blake ran down the list twice but he didn’t see Ana or Sienna on it. “This all of the employees?”
“Yes, I hope you can read my wife’s writing. She doesn’t like to use a computer much—says they’re too impersonal.”
“And it’s complete?” Blake went through the names one at a time.
“Yes,” Joe replied. “Two of our staff resigned yesterday so we haven’t included them.”
The damp seeped through her jeans as Ana kneeled on the wet earth. She’d left her gloves in the shed and had intended to use the garden fork to turn over the soil in her vegetable garden. But the weeds had beckoned and now she sat back on her heels with wet knees and black soil covering her hands. Breathing in the smell of rain, she tipped her head back and let the light mist caress her face. Despite the weather, it was restful being outside catching up on her chores. The garden had been well and truly neglected since they’d started work on the Bennett house, and the weeds had overtaken the vegetable patch. She grinned to herself. It was usually only the inside of her cottage that was chaotic.
And with the way things had turned out, her garden was going to be even more neglected from now on. With Georgie staying at the store, and she and Sienna going out on their own, they were going to be busy. It might be a little slower as they waited for materials instead of using the store’s inventory, but they would still have plenty of work. And they would have to watch the finances a lot more closely. She was understanding more of Blake’s ideas every day.
Some of them, anyway. She was still sad things had to change. In a way she wished he’d never come back into her life.
In one way.
She hummed to herself as she worked until the sound of a car coming up the drive interrupted her thoughts. The sound of Blake’s car was becoming very familiar to her, and she had to ignore the excitement in her belly every time she heard it. She wiped her hands on her jeans and wandered over to wait by the side of the driveway as Blake parked next to her old truck.
