Treading Water

by Marie Force

  Quinn handed him his messages. “Quite a ruckus, huh?”

  “I guess all that energy bodes well for the hotel.” As he read through his messages, one caught his attention. “What’d Jamie say when he called?”

  “He asked if you could reschedule his conference call with Tokyo because he has something to take care of today.”

  Yeah, my sister, Jack thought on the way into his office. Not that Jamie hadn’t earned a day off after running the business on his own for more than a year. It was how he was spending the day that put Jack on edge. Maybe he should’ve taken Frannie’s concerns more seriously last night. She was right—it would be awful for everyone if things didn’t work out between her and Jamie.

  Andi knocked a few minutes later while Jack was on the phone rescheduling Jamie’s meeting. He waved her in and signaled for her to close the door.

  “Did you sleep well?” he asked after he finished the call.

  “I worked for a couple of hours and then slept like a dead woman. Must be the sea air.”

  Jack smiled but didn’t tell her that he’d tossed and turned for most of the night, thinking about her and his conflicted feelings.

  Quinn buzzed in on the intercom to let him know his coastal resources people had arrived for their meeting.

  “I guess that’s my cue.” Andi got up to leave. “We’re off to the Redwood Library today.”

  “That’ll be a blast.”

  “All in the name of research.”

  He wished they could spend another day together. “Don’t let me keep you. Call me if you need anything.”

  “Thanks, I’ll see you later.” She left him with a dazzling smile on her way out.

  After she’d gone, he sat down and released a long, tortured sigh. He’d spent ten minutes with her, and she’d left him breathless with yearning. He was getting in deep and felt as if he was outside himself watching someone else. A minute or two later, he couldn’t have said how long, Quinn buzzed him again to remind him his guests were waiting.

  Getting up, he ran a hand through his hair and gathered the drawings he needed for the meeting. When he opened the door, Quinn shot him an inquisitive look.

  He walked by her without a word.

  The day dragged as Jack and his staff went round and round with the coastal engineers who were looking to ensure the hotel’s drainage and septic systems had been designed to protect the fragile environment. They worked through lunch and into the afternoon to address the engineers’ lengthy list of requests. Jack made one design concession after another to clear this all-important hurdle in the permitting process. But more than once, his mind wandered elsewhere.

  When all the items on the list had been addressed, Jack stood to shake hands with the engineers.

  “We should be ready to put the final proposal before the coastal council at its next meeting,” the lead engineer said.

  “I’ll be there,” Jack assured them.

  After he had seen them out, he went back to his office. “My God, I thought it would never end,” he groaned to Quinn. “It was like a day-long colonoscopy.”

  She laughed. “Thanks for the visual, Jack. That part should be done after today, right?”

  “We have to take it before the full council next month, but it looks good for approval.” He stretched out the stiffness of the all-day meeting.

  She cocked that eyebrow of hers at him.

  “What?”

  “What’s going on with you?”

  “Nothing.”

  “All righty, if you say so.”

  “I say so,” he retorted on his way into his office where a pile of messages awaited him. He flipped through them and put aside those that could wait until tomorrow. After he returned the calls that needed immediate attention, he gave his email the same quick glance.

  Jack had just returned his attention to the hotel plans when Jamie walked in with a sheepish grin on his face.

  He leaned against the closed door. “How much trouble am I in?”

  Jack crooked his head to give Jamie the once over. His friend looked happy and dopey at the same time. “How much trouble should you be in?”

  “Quite a lot, I suspect.”

  Jack held up a hand. “Do not tell me.”

  Jamie grinned and pushed off the door to flop in Jack’s chair. “I love her, Jack. I really do. I think I always have.”

  “Seriously?”

  “I swear to God.”

  “Wow… After all the crap you’ve both been through with other people, especially her.”

  “I hate to even think about all the time we’ve wasted, but the timing was never right. She was married and then everything with Clare…”

  “Of course I have to give you the ‘if you hurt her, you’re dead’ speech.” Jack lightly punched Jamie’s shoulder on his way past him to close windows he had opened that morning.

  “No, you don’t, because I’m going to marry her.”

  Jack spun around to gape at him. “Did Jamie Booth just use the ‘m’ word? Get the hell out of here! Just like that?”

  Jamie laughed. “It’s been ‘just like that’ for years. We’ve spent a lot of time together since she moved in with you, and I guess something I’ve always suspected was there just finally clicked into focus.”

  “She said she’d never get married again after the last disaster,” Jack warned him.

  “I’ll get her to change her mind.”

  Jack grinned. “If anyone can do it, you can.”

  “Before I ask her, though, I need to know… Is it okay with you?”

  Jack considered making him suffer and then thought better of it. He had never seen such vulnerability on Jamie’s face, and he had certainly never heard him use the “m” word before. “You’re already my brother. Why not brother-in-law, too?” Jack offered his hand.

  The relief showed on Jamie’s face as he shook Jack’s hand. “Thank you.”

  “I just can’t believe this,” Jack said, amazed by the turn of events.

  “It’s crazy, but it feels good.”

  “I’m glad for you—both of you.”

  “Best thing to ever happen to me, that’s for sure. What’s going on around here?”

  “Nothing much. Just tweaking the hotel plans a bit.”

  Jamie had headed for his office when another thought stopped him. “I forgot to ask if you got a chance to talk to Tokyo today?”

  Jack rolled his eyes. “It’s all set. I convinced them your personal emergency was unavoidable.”

  Jamie winked. “Thanks, I owe you one.”

  “No, you don’t. Five years from now I’ll still be paying you back for all you did around here when I was gone.”

  “No, you won’t.”

  When he was alone, Jack picked up the business card Andi had given him and flipped it back and forth between his fingers, debating whether he should call her for dinner.

  But then he thought of Clare and how she’d looked that morning in the hospital bed. Tossing the business card on his desk, he left the office and went home to have dinner with his daughters.

  Chapter 8

  Jack was bent over the hotel plans on his drafting table the next afternoon when Andi tapped him on the shoulder.

  “How goes it?”

  Ridiculously happy to see her, he smiled. “Hey, I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “I was spying on you. I like watching you work. You’re very intense,” she said, making a serious face. “What’re you doing?”

  “Some fine-tuning, nothing major. What’ve you been up to?”

  “We just went through the Tennis Hall of Fame. It was wonderful. What a city this is! There’s so much history to draw from. The suites will be amazing.”

  “I’ll bet you can already picture them.”

  “But of course. I sent the others on to Hammersmith and St. Mary’s for the Kennedy tour.”

  “I thought you’d like the Hall of Fame. Was anyone playing on the grass courts?”

  “We wa
tched two matches before we dragged ourselves back to work.” She consulted her watch. “I have meetings with some artists today. Commissioning local art is a big part of our site visits.”

  “I remember the lady in Alaska with the triplets.”

  She groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

  “After we talked about that, I was thinking you might want to look at some of Frannie’s stuff. She’s an amazing artist, and since she moved here, she’s done a lot of local work.”

  “I had no idea! I’d love to see her work. Can we do it now? I have about ninety minutes until my next meeting.”

  “Sure, I’m done here.” He rolled up the plans that were scattered about on his drafting table. “At this point, I’m just obsessing anyway. Let’s go.”

  “Oh, Frannie, these are amazing!” Andi declared as she flipped through the stack of canvases propped against the wall in the former tool shed Jack had converted into a studio for his sister.

  “You’ve been busy, Fran.” Jack leaned over Andi’s shoulder to get a look at some of his sister’s recent work for the first time. “They’re great.”

  “Thanks. I’ve had more time with the girls on vacation, so it’s been a productive summer.”

  “I’ll say!” Andi went through the canvases again. There were scenes of boats under sail in Narragansett Bay, a few of the mansions at unique angles, tennis players at the Hall of Fame, and children frolicking in the surf. “What’re you planning to do with them?”

  Frannie shrugged. “I haven’t gotten that far. I’ve been meaning to talk to some of the local galleries about a show, but I’ve been so busy.”

  Jack felt a pang of guilt over how much she’d sacrificed to help his family.

  “What if I told you I’ll take them all for the hotel?” Andi stood to face Frannie and named a high six-figure price that made the siblings gasp.

  Frannie’s mouth fell open in shock. “For real?”

  “Your work is magnificent and brings just the local flavor we seek for our hotels. I can’t imagine why I’d look any further.”

  Jack hugged Frannie. “Congratulations!”

  “Who represents you?” Andi asked.

  “Um, I do.”

  “That makes things much simpler. I’ll take everything here and will commission about ten more specific pieces. I’ll talk to you about them once I get back to Chicago and we confirm the final plans for the suites.”

  “I can do that,” Frannie said.

  “You two sure have artistic genes, don’t you?” Andi asked.

  “Just don’t ask our father about that,” Jack said. “He has no idea where the two of us came from.”

  Frannie smiled in agreement.

  After they cemented their plans, Frannie hugged Andi. “I can’t thank you enough for this.”

  “I should be thanking you—I’ve stumbled upon the best there is on my first stop. Which reminds me, I need to cancel my afternoon appointments.” Andi started to go but turned back. “You aren’t planning on having triplets in the near future are you?”

  Jack laughed.

  Frannie looked at Andi like she was crazy. “Ah, no plans for triplets.”

  “Excellent, you’re hired,” Andi said and went to the pool deck to make her calls.

  After she walked away, Frannie jumped up and down with a whoop and threw herself into her brother’s arms. “Oh my God, Jack, isn’t this crazy?”

  “I’m so happy for you, Fran. You deserve it.”

  “I can’t wait to tell Jamie. Oh, and what’d she mean by triplets? I don’t get it.”

  “They lost the last artist they hired to pregnancy with triplets.”

  Frannie shuddered at the thought.

  “Go celebrate. Have a good time.”

  “You, too.” Frannie looked over at Andi, curled up on a lounge chair as she talked on her cell phone. She had kicked off her sandals and appeared relaxed in the late afternoon sunshine. “We need to talk one of these days. A lot’s happened.”

  “Yeah, but not today.” He nudged his sister toward the house. “Go tell Jamie your news.”

  The rest of the week flew by in a flurry of brainstorming sessions and planning meetings. Most of the advance decorating work would be done from Chicago until about two months before the opening when a headquarters team would be dispatched to Newport to put the guest rooms and suites together. Andi told Jack she didn’t relocate for final setup at new properties anymore because it required too much time away from her son. However, she expected to make frequent short trips to keep tabs on the work.

  Knowing he was unlikely to see her again for quite some time, Jack experienced a growing sense of desperation as her departure time drew near. Over the course of the week, they’d worked closely together, shared many confidences, and forged the start of a promising friendship. Every time he was with her, he walked away craving more, and he had a sinking suspicion he’d regret letting her leave without trying to find out if she felt the same way.

  Before he could chicken out, he ventured into the office they’d given her to use for the week.

  “Need any help?” Jack asked from the doorway.

  Looking up, she flashed the smile that made his knees go weak. “I’m just about done.”

  Now or never. Stepping into the room, he closed the door and leaned back against it. “I was just wondering…”

  She sifted through a pile of folders and jammed them into her already overstuffed briefcase. “About?”

  While he waited for her to look at him again, he lost his nerve. “I was going to ask if you need a ride to the airport.”

  As she came around the desk, her lips quirked with amusement. “If that’s all you wanted, why’d you close the door?”

  “I, um…”

  She folded her arms and looked up at him with those gorgeous eyes. “What’re you wondering?”

  “Just, ah…” His heart pounded like a jackhammer, and his mouth went dry as dust. “Well, I wanted to know if it’s, you know…serious…with the guy you’re seeing in Chicago.”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “Could be?”

  “I suppose, down the road, maybe.”

  “Oh.”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “If you’re happy with him, then it doesn’t matter.”

  She took a step closer, until only a foot separated them. “What if it matters to me? I’d like to know why you asked.”

  Swallowing hard, he forced himself to continue. “If you were unattached—hypothetically speaking, of course.”

  “Of course.”

  “I might’ve asked if you’d consider coming back some time.”

  “To work on the hotel?” she asked with a coy smile.

  Exasperated, he said, “You’re enjoying this far too much.”

  “I’m sorry.” He watched her make a futile attempt to curb her amusement. “You were saying?”

  “Would you? Consider coming back? To, um, see me? If you were unattached. Hypothetically.”

  Taking the final step to close the distance between them, she reached up to caress his face.

  “Andi…”

  “Yes, Jack?”

  Suddenly, he couldn’t seem to get air to his lungs. “What’re you doing?”

  She wound her arms around his neck to draw him down to her. “This.”

  At the instant his lips connected with hers, he was lost.

  The sensation of her tongue caressing his made Jack feel light-headed and empowered at the same time. Leaning back against the door, he put his arms around her and lifted her for a better angle. “This is so crazy, but I can’t resist you.” He tipped his head and went back for more, nearly imploding from the heat of the sensual kiss.

  In desperate need of air and searching for sanity, he nuzzled her neck, breathing in the scent that was so uniquely hers.

  “Jack—”

  “Come back,” he whispered. “Not for work but because you want to see me. Come back, Andi.”

  �
�When?” She sounded as breathless as he felt.

  “Soon. Next weekend?”

  “I don’t know.” Her hands moved to his chest. “I’ll have to see what’s going on at home.”

  “I want to see you again.”

  A knock on the door startled them.

  “Ready to go, boss?” Andi’s colleague, Michael, asked from the hallway.

  She rubbed a trembling hand over her swollen lips. “I’ll be right there.” Looking up at Jack, she studied him for a long moment. “I need to think about it.”

  “Okay.” Jack rested his hand on the doorknob while she collected her briefcase and belongings. All the while, he watched her, memorizing every detail.

  As he was about to open the door, she stopped him. Going up on tiptoes, she pressed her lips to his cheek. “I’ve never kissed him,” she whispered.

  Somehow he managed to open the door. Somehow he managed to let her walk away. Somehow he managed to start breathing again.

  Jack thought endlessly about that kiss. He replayed every nuance of his last minutes with her. When he was supposed to be working, he thought about the kiss. When he was supposed to be paying attention in meetings, he replayed the kiss and pondered the meaning of her parting words. When he was supposed to be sleeping, he thought about how it had felt to hold her. He’d kissed his share of women, but no other encounter had ever rocked his world quite the way this one had—a realization that filled him with giddy hope and crushing guilt. What was wrong with him that he was thinking so much about another woman while his wife lay comatose and helpless?

  Quinn stepped into the office and cleared her throat to get his attention.

  “Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”

  “I might ask you the same thing. Where the heck are you this week?”

  “Nowhere. Here.”

  “Is something wrong? Is it Clare?”

  “No,” he said, once again filled with guilt. No, he wasn’t obsessing over his sick wife—not anymore. “Nothing’s wrong.”

  She studied him for a second or two and then handed him several files. “The weekly conference call with Infinity is in twenty minutes. Do you want me to reschedule?”

  His heart beat faster at the reminder that he’d get to speak to Andi again. Soon. “No need.”