“I can’t do it.” Simon leaned forward. “But you can.”
Shock dried Val’s mouth. “I-I’ve never…”
Simon nodded. “I know. I wouldn’t suggest it if I didn’t think you had the skill and the eye to carry it off. But you do, Val. You do. You could work on those shots while I do the Enchant job. Pitch for the contract in your own right, I’ll help you work out the pricing. I’m confident that you can win.”
Val swallowed. I’m not ready, what if I screw it up? “What did you tell him?”
“I recommended you.”
This was it. A chance in a lifetime. If she nailed the contract, she’d join Simon not as a full time assistant, but as a photographer in her own right. The regular income would take the pressure off paying the rent and she could concentrate instead on finally making something of her career. She straightened her spine, and forced the fear down.
“I’ll call him.”
*****
Finn shoved his hands into the pockets of his wool coat as he strode from his BMW to the door of Logan & O’Donoghue. Each exhale produced an icy cloud of breath, and the tips of his ears stung in the chilled air. At least it wasn’t snowing.
A wall of warmth hit as he pushed open the door. A woman looked up from behind the blocky cube of the reception desk. “Good morning, Finn.” Logan & O’Donoghue written large in dark red script decorated the wall behind her.
“Good morning, Anna.” Finn took off his coat and hung it on the wooden coat stand. “Cold one this morning.”
“Sure is. There’s coffee in the kitchen.” No matter the weather, Anna was always in before him, and always started the coffee machine percolating. When they’d interviewed candidates for the job, Connor had been smitten by Anna’s blonde good looks and breezy personality. Finn had wanted someone older, with more experience. Thank God Connor had won that particular fight. Now, he couldn’t imagine anyone better than Anna for the job.
Finn nodded. “Is Connor in?”
“In his office.” The phone rang. Anna turned away to answer it.
Finn poured two coffees, and tapped on the door of Connor’s office.
“Come.” Connor looked up from his computer screen.
“I brought you a refill.” He placed the mug on the desk and sank down on the black leather chair opposite Connor. “I spoke to Simon Wood yesterday. He can’t make it and is sending another photographer instead.”
He frowned. The three other photographers they’d chosen had impressive bodies of work behind them, and stellar reputations. He’d been surprised at Simon’s call, and reluctant to commit to using an unknown in Simon’s stead.
But when he’d learned the replacement was Val…
“Problem?” Simon watched him carefully.
“I know her. It could be difficult.”
“Hang on. The girl?” He’d told Connor about the speed dating night, and that he’d met Val again at the wedding, but hadn’t told Connor about the kiss.
Finn nodded. “The girl. Her name is Val. Wood assures me she’s up to the job, but the fact that I know her can’t influence our decision.”
“Are you involved?”
“No.” Although that could change if they were working together.
“You like her though.” Simon tapped his mug with a pen. “I know you, man. You’re interested.”
There was no point lying about it. “Yes. I like her. I’d like to get to know her better. The complication that she’s now a candidate for the commission is something I could damned well do without. I’m determined not to make it an issue. There’s no preferential treatment. When the test shots are done, I want to see them all without knowing who took what, so we can make a decision on the photographs alone.”
Connor grinned. “Anna can be in charge of all the pictures as they come in. We’ll both be in the dark as to who the photographers are, that way neither of us will be influenced.”
“Great.” Finn ran a hand through his hair. “I’m taking her to Merlin’s Grove this morning, and you are out with another photographer to Phil and Eileen’s.”
“Yes, I’m meeting them there. I’ll make the introductions and leave them to it,” Connor said. “I have a meeting back here at eleven, and I’ll take them out to Merlin’s Grove in the afternoon.”
Ferrying photographers around to their clients’ over the next couple of days would cut into valuable time, but had to be done—two of their clients had been gracious enough to agree to have their houses photographed at short notice. They deserved the courtesy of having Finn and Connor on site.
The fact he had cancelled today’s appointments to ferry Val around to both houses wasn’t worth mentioning.
Chapter Seven
It was so cold, Val wished she’d been able to dress in jeans instead of the moss green wool dress, but going casual wasn’t an option. Not when she had so much to prove. She wore opaque tights under black, high-heeled suede boots, and the charcoal wool coat Mum had bought her on her last birthday. She looked like a professional businesswoman, even if she didn’t feel it.
The spacious offices of Logan & O’Donoghue were in Dublin’s city center. Rent around here was crazily expensive—Finn must be doing okay. The receptionist had directed her to the large leather sofas that graced the open plan reception area. She took in the details: a pile of glossy architectural magazines on a modernistic glass coffee table; thick white shag-pile carpet that must be impossible to keep clean. Val swallowed and crossed her legs.
The receptionist took a call, then looked up. “Mr. Logan will be out in a moment.” Her perfect smile was warm.
Seconds later, a door to the left opened, and Finn walked out. Val stood, and picked up her camera case.
“Come on through.” She followed him into his office. “Have a seat.” She tried not to notice the elegant fit of his dark grey suit. “Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Tea?”
“No thank you.” She’d drunk so much caffeine this morning she was jittery. Although that could just be the adrenalin coursing through her veins at being here. Or of being in Finn’s orbit again.
“I was surprised when Simon told me he wouldn’t be taking photographs for us.” Finn leaned against the corner of his desk, altogether too near for comfort. If she reached out a hand, she would be able to touch his thigh. “He explained that he had to leave the country on an assignment, but...” His frown was as eloquent as any words.
“I’m prepared.”
“It’s not a question of preparation.” Finn said. “All of the photographers we’ve asked to tender for this job have considerably more experience. It’s a valuable contract. Not one I can afford to compromise on.”
Val smothered her immediate, irritated reaction. He has every right to be cautious. She had a portfolio of work, but he hadn’t seen it. “I’m sure you’ll be happy with my work.”
Finn spoke slowly and deliberately. “The best candidate will win the contract.”
“You mean don’t expect any preferential treatment?”
Finn nodded.
“I wasn’t. I wouldn’t. It’s not as if we have a relationship or anything.”
Finn’s mouth twisted with a wry smile. “You’re the only candidate that I’ve kissed.” His gaze fell to her lips, then flicked back up to her eyes again. “In order that I’m not influenced in any way when picking the winner, my partner Connor and I have decided to do a blind pick. The photographs are to be sent to our office manager, Anna. She will remove all identifying information, and present them to us. That way, the winning submission will not be tainted.”
“I wouldn’t agree to have my pictures considered under any other circumstances,” Val said. “Of course the photographer of the best pictures should win.”
“Good.” Finn walked around the desk. “Now we’ve got that out of the way, we can talk about other matters.”
Other matters? Why is my heart pounding? He can’t mean...
“Like why you called me the other night.”
She could tell the truth. Explain how Maggie had taken the phone from her hand and called his number. But then she’d have to admit they’d been discussing him. She could pretend she wasn’t interested in following up his offer of dinner. Deny the attraction between them. .
Or admit to herself that she’d been intrigued at the thought of having a sex-only relationship with him ever since they’d met, despite his dating practices. When he’d said he would be exclusive for the period of their fling, she’d wondered long and hard if she would let her doomed marriage color her relationships with men for the rest of her life. Having a hot affair with Finn might help her move on. The fact that he didn’t want happy ever after—like her, didn’t believe in love, was a powerful aphrodisiac.
Woman or mouse? Woman. “I wanted to see if your dinner invitation was still open.” It was important to get one thing straight. “I didn’t know about the job offer when I called.”
“But you hung up. And turned your phone off.”
He would have to mention that, wouldn’t he? Val felt her face heat. “I had an attack of nerves.”
Finn walked around the desk. She put her hand in his outstretched one, and rose to standing. She breathed in his scent. Watched the dark centers of his eyes expand, swallowing up the emerald green. “Why?”
Her skin tingled with nerves. “I don’t know.” She cleared her throat. “It wasn’t as though it was a date or anything, it was only dinner.”
He looked as though he wanted to eat her up.
“I think we both know we weren’t talking only about dinner.” He leaned close.
Val wanted to step back, to put space between them. But she couldn’t move. “I don’t want to compromise our working situation. Nothing is more important to me than this assignment.”
“Whether or not you get this contract is down to one thing only—your photographs. There’s nothing either of us can do to influence that. I promise no matter what happens between us, your photographs have as good a chance as any of winning.”
Sharing a man. Taking what he had to offer, and accepting that he would see other women. She never thought she’d even consider it. But she was.
“On a personal level I’d like to spend more time with you. To get to know you better.”
A mental image of a roomful of women lounging around in filmy garments around a sunken pool, like a clichéd painting of a harem filled her mind. Was she going to be yet another woman to service Finn’s every need?
Despite the attraction, she couldn’t. But she had to eat, didn’t she? “We could go to dinner.”
For a moment she thought he would kiss her, but instead, he moved away. “Good. It’s a date. Right now, we should go.”
*****
For one crazy moment, the urge to press his mouth against hers had almost overwhelmed Finn. He’d breathed in her scent, fresh and lemony, and his body had tightened in response.
This meeting, this day, was never supposed to be more than a chance to spend time with the woman who’d invaded his dreams so completely the thought of being with someone else was repugnant. But the moment she’d revealed that she’d called about dinner, and admitted her nerves, he’d had to push further.
After they’d transferred the extra equipment she’d brought from her car to his, they set off for Merlin’s Grove, the home of John and Elizabeth Fitzgerald. It was difficult, thinking about work with her in such close proximity in the car, but Finn kept his hands on the wheel and his gaze on the road as he navigated the curves ahead. “The house is a new build, and the Fitzgeralds are an unusual couple, they’re rather eccentric,” he explained. “Ideally, they would have liked to buy a historic house, but none on the market appealed, so they commissioned something.”
Val smoothed her skirt over her knees. “Do you design a particular style? What makes your buildings unique?” They were good questions, so he thought carefully before answering. “Both Connor and I have a similar vision when it comes to design. We believe homes should be powered by sustainable energy sources.”
“So things like solar panels?”
“Solar, wind, sustainable heating methods using heat pumps and wood pellet heating systems. With electricity and oil becoming ever more expensive we want to reduce the costs of living in our houses. Connor and I believe every house we design should be beautiful as well as functional. Many of our houses have been built in the countryside. The house that may be featured on Wonderful Houses is semi-circular and built into a hillside.”
“That sounds amazing.”
“Your home should be the one place where you can be yourself. An expression of your personality. So, no. I can’t say that I have a particular style of design, because in every case I work with my clients, and try to give them what they want in their home, rather than impose my ideas on them.”
“I agree with that wholeheartedly. I share a flat with a friend, and it’s my refuge. I’ve done all the decoration.”
“Chintz and leather?”
“You have the leather right, but I guess I go for more homemade than chintz. I like patchwork.”
Finn couldn’t imagine her sitting down with a load of tiny fabric squares, and said so. She smiled. “You’re right. I don’t make things. I collect. I started young. When I was five or six I had a thing about china horses.”
Finn winced.
“I’ve grown out of that,” Val assured him. “Nowadays I collect antique patchwork quilts and restore old family photographs.”
He glanced over. “From your own family?”
“Yes. My father had a suitcase full of old photographs of his relatives. After he died I rescued them from boxes my mother had put out to go to the charity shop.” There was a trace of sadness in her tone.
“How old were you when he died?”
“I was two. His things stayed in the attic until my mother married again when I was six. Then I guess she thought it was time to let go of the past. I rescued the photographs and hid them under my bed. Many are scratched and faded, so whenever I have free time I work on restoring them. The most interesting ones find a home on my wall. I guess I like being surrounded by the past.”
“My parents are still together. Rather sickeningly so, in fact. They’re inseparable.”
From the corner of his eye, Finn saw Val interlace her fingers on her lap. “I think my parents would have been too, if Dad hadn’t died. My mother certainly believes he was the love of her life.”
“But she found love again with your stepfather.”
“Marrying again turned out to be a mistake. Both times. But it hasn’t deterred her from searching for love. At the moment she’s in the throes of passion with a toy-boy who I don’t think has started shaving yet.” She tucked a lock of black hair behind her ear. “I keep trying to persuade her that there’s nothing wrong with lust for lust’s sake. It doesn’t have to be love, marriage, and forever.”
My thoughts exactly. “But it does have to be exclusive?”
“Yes.” Val twisted her hands in her lap. “I don’t want to share.”
“I don’t want to share you with anyone either.” Finn laid his hand on her leg, feeling his body respond to the heat of her under his palm. “You’ve never felt the urge to marry then?” They were approaching Merlin’s Grove now. Finn indicated and turned up the long bleached lime avenue leading to the house.
“Oh, I’ve felt the urge. I’ve even acted on it.”
*****
Merlin’s Grove was a fantasy made real in cut stone. It looked as though it had been part of the landscape forever. As they drove around the gravel-covered circular sweep, the front door opened and an elderly man dressed in worn corduroys and a jumper that had definitely seen better days strode out towards them. In his wake trailed a stiff-legged golden Labrador.
Finn turned to her saying, “John Fitzgerald.” He left the car and walked over to their host.
Val followed.
“Morning John.” Finn bent to rub the old dog behind the ears. �
��Thanks for letting us plague you.” He turned. “This is Val, she’s the first of the photographers coming to take pictures.”
John clasped Val’s hand. “Delighted.” His thick grey hair was bushy and overlong, and he wore a plaited leather necklace around his neck. He looked like an elderly hobbit, minus the super-sized feet. “Come on in. Elizabeth’s inside.”
“The place is looking good.” Finn glanced around. “I can’t believe how much the plants have grown since I was last here.”
“Well, it’s been four years.” It was incredible to think that this place was only that old; it looked as though it had always been here. “Elizabeth is the gardener,” he explained to Val. “We love nature, and Finn suggested we surround the house with plantings from the get-go. It was a policy that definitely worked.” The front of the house was covered in the dark red leaves of a creeper which reached to the roof. A large herbaceous cottage garden surrounded the house on all sides—the plants untrimmed from last summer’s luxuriant growth, mere skeletons of what must have been a vibrant display. The last roses of the year still held a faded vestige of color as they rambled against the side of the house.
Inside, Val was introduced to Elizabeth and offered a cup of herbal tea. She opted for peppermint, and carried it with her as John and Elizabeth gave her a tour. Finn left them to it and brought in her camera equipment from the car.
The south facing windows cast a warm daylight into the hallway, and as she ventured further into the house, Val saw more and more that piqued her interest. John proudly opened a little door under the stairs. “This is the clever bit.” He pointed at equipment. “We have a heat recovery ventilating unit, which takes the heat from the stale air and transfers it to the fresh air coming into the house. I have data loggers that reveal the energy usage. When Finn suggested all this stuff, I was skeptical…”
Logan 02 Three Minutes to Happiness Page 6
