One-Click Buy: September 2010 Silhouette Desire

by Brenda Jackson

  “So what do you think of Dillon and Pamela’s news?”

  Callum’s question cut into her thoughts and she glanced up to meet his green eyes. She swallowed. Was there a hint of blue in their depths. And then there was his dimpled smile that took her breath away.

  “I think it’s wonderful,” she said, suddenly feeling the need to take a sip of cold water. “There haven’t been babies in our family in a long time. With Chloe expecting and now Pamela, that’s two babies to spoil and I can’t wait.”

  “You like children?”

  She chuckled. “Yes, unfortunately, I’m one of those people who take to the precious darlings a little too much. That’s why my friends call on me more often than not to babysit for them.”

  “You could always marry and have your own.”

  She made a face. “Thanks, but no thanks. At least no time soon, if ever. I’m sure you’ve heard the family joke about me never wanting to get serious about a man. Well, it’s not a joke—it’s the truth.”

  “Because of what you witnessed with your brothers while growing up?” So he had heard. Any one of her brothers could have mentioned it, especially because she denounced their behavior every chance she got. “I guess you can say I saw and heard too much. My brothers and cousins had a reputation for fast cars and fast women. They thought nothing about breaking hearts. Ramsey usually had a steady girl, but Zane and Derringer were two of the worst when it came to playing women. As far as I’m concerned, they still are.” Unfortunately, she’d overheard one of Zane’s phone calls that very morning when she had stopped by to borrow some milk.

  “I can clearly recall the times when Megan and I, and sometimes even Bailey, who was still young enough to be playing with her dolls, would be the ones to get the phone calls from love-stricken girls in tears after being mercilessly dumped by one of my brothers or cousins.”

  And they were females determined to share their teary-eyed, heart-wrenching stories with anyone willing to listen. Megan and Bailey would get them off the phone really quickly, but Gemma had been the bleeding heart. She would ease into a chair and take the time to listen to their sob stories, absorbing every heartbreaking detail like a sponge. Even to the point at which she would end up crying a river of tears right along with them.

  She’d decided by the time she had begun dating that no man alive would make her one of those weeping women. And then there was this inner fear she’d shared with no one, the fear of falling in love and having the person abandon her one day…the way she felt whenever she thought about her parents. She knew she had no logical reason for feeling abandoned by them because she was certain if they’d had a choice they would have survived that plane crash. But still, as illogical as it might be, the fear was there for her and it was real. She was convinced there was no man worth a single Gemma Westmoreland tear or her fears, and intended to make sure she never shed one by never giving her heart to anyone. She would be celebrating her twenty-fifth birthday in a few months and so far she’d managed to keep both her heart and her virginity intact.

  “And because of that you don’t ever plan to get seriously involved with a man?”

  She drew in a deep breath. She and her sisters had had this conversation many times and she was wondering why she was sitting here having it with Callum now. Why was he interested? It dawned on her that he probably wasn’t; he was just asking to fill the time. “As far as I’m concerned that’s a good enough reason. Those girls were in love with my brothers and cousins and assumed they loved them back. Just look what that wrong assumption did to them.”

  Callum took a sip of his water, deciding not to respond by saying that as far as he was concerned her brothers’ behavior was normal for most men, and in some cases women. Granted, he hadn’t been around Zane and Derringer while they had been in their teens and could just imagine some of the things they had gotten in to. Now, as grown men, he knew they enjoyed women, but then most hot-blooded men did. And just because a man might be considered a “player” somewhat before finally settling down with one woman—the one he chose to spend the rest of his life with—that didn’t necessarily mean he was a man who totally disrespected women. In fairness to Zane and Derringer, they treated women with respect.

  He wondered what she would think if she knew how his behavior had been before he’d met her. He hadn’t considered himself a womanizer, although he’d dated a slew of woman. He merely thought of himself as a man who enjoyed life and wanted to have a good time with the opposite sex while waiting for the girl destined to share his life to come along. Once she had, he’d had no trouble bringing his fun-loving, footloose and fancy-free bachelor lifestyle to an end. Eventually, the same thing would happen to her brothers and cousins.

  No wonder her brothers thought she was a lost cause, but he refused to accept that. He was determined to show her how things could be if she were to fall in love with a man committed to making her happy.

  In a way, he felt he knew Gemma. He believed that beneath her rough and tough “I’ll never fall in love” exterior was the heart of a woman who not only loved children but loved life in general. He also believed that she was a passionate woman. And that she was unknowingly reserving that passion for the one man capable of tapping into it. The same man destined to spend the rest of his life with her. Him.

  The waitress delivered their food, and they engaged in chitchat while they ate their meal.

  After they had finished eating and the waitress removed their plates, Gemma leaned back in her chair and smiled at Callum. “Lunch was wonderful. Now, about that business proposition?”

  He chuckled, reached over and picked up the folder he had placed on an empty chair. He handed it to her. “This is information on the home I purchased last year. I would love you to decorate it for me.”

  Callum saw how her eyes lit up. She loved her work and it showed in her face. She opened the folder and carefully studied every feature, every detail of the house. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was giving her 9,200 feet of house to do with as she pleased. It was an interior designer’s dream.

  She lifted her gaze with a look of awe on her face. “This place is beautiful. And it’s huge. I didn’t know you had purchased a house.”

  “Yes, but it’s still empty and I want to turn it into a home. I like what you did with Ramsey’s place and thought you would be the ideal person for the job. I’m aware that because of the size of the house it will take up a lot of your time. I’m willing to pay you well. As you can see I haven’t picked out any furniture or anything. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

  Now that much was true, Callum thought. What he didn’t tell her was that other designers had volunteered to decorate his new house, but he had bought it with her in mind.

  She glanced back down at the papers in front of her. “Umm, eight bedrooms, six bathrooms, a huge kitchen, living room, dining room, family room, theater, recreation room and sauna. That’s quite a lot of space for a single man.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, but I don’t plan on staying single forever.”

  Gemma nodded, thinking that evidently Callum had decided to settle down and send for that girl back home. She glanced down at the papers again. She would love taking on this project, and he was right in thinking it would take up a lot of her time. But then she definitely needed the money.

  “So, what do you think, Gemma?”

  She glanced back up at him and smiled. “I think you just hired yourself an interior designer.”

  The smile that touched his face sent a tingling sensation flowing through her stomach. “I can’t wait to see it.”

  “No problem. When can you get away?”

  She pulled out her cell phone to check her calendar and her schedule for this week. Once she saw the place and gave him an official estimate, she could ask for a deposit, which would make up some of what Niecee had taken from her. “What about tomorrow around one?”

  “That might be a bit of a problem.”

  “Oh.” She figured he wou
ld probably be tied up at Ram’s ranch doing something at that time, so without looking up she advanced her calendar another day. “What about Wednesday around noon.”

  He chuckled. “Twelve noon on Monday would be the earliest availability for me.”

  She nodded when she saw that time was free for her, although she wished she could see it sooner. “Monday at noon will be fine.”

  “Great, I’ll make the necessary flight arrangements.”

  She put her phone back into her purse and glanced over at him. “Excuse me?”

  “I said that I will make the necessary flight arrangements if we want to see the house Monday at noon. That means we’ll need to fly out no later than Thursday morning.”

  Gemma frowned. “Thursday morning? What are you talking about? Just where is this house located?”

  Callum leaned back in his chair and gave her one kilowatt smile. “Sydney, Australia.”

  Two

  Gemma didn’t have to look in the mirror to know there was a shocked look on her face. And her throat felt tight, as if sound would barely pass through it if she tried to speak. To prove the point, she tried to utter a word and couldn’t. So she just sat there and stared across the table at Callum like he had lost his ever-loving mind.

  “Now that that’s all settled, let’s order some dessert,” Callum said, picking up the menu.

  She reached out, touched his hand and shook her head. “What’s the matter?” he asked. “You don’t want dessert?”

  She drew in a deep breath, made an attempt to speak once more and was glad when sound came out. But to be absolutely sure he understood, she held up her hands in the shape of a T. “Time-out.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Time-out?”

  She nodded. “Yes, time-out. You lost me between the flight on Thursday and Sydney, Australia. Are you saying this house that you want me to decorate is in Sydney, Australia?”

  “Of course. Where else would it be?”

  She fought hard not to glare at him; after all, he was a potential client. “I thought possibly in the Denver area,” she said in what she hoped was a neutral tone.

  “Why would you think that?”

  She couldn’t hold back her glare any longer. “Well, you’ve been in this country for almost three years now.”

  “Yes, but I’ve never said or insinuated to anyone that I wouldn’t return home. I was here helping Ramsey out and now that he has the hang of things, I’m no longer needed. Now I can get back home and—”

  “Get married,” Gemma supplied.

  He chuckled. “As I said earlier, I don’t plan on staying single forever.”

  “And when do you plan on marrying her?”

  “Her who?”

  Gemma wondered why some men suddenly went daft when their girlfriends were mentioned. “The woman waiting for you back in Australia.”

  “Umm, I didn’t know there was such a creature.”

  Gemma stared at him in disbelief. “Are you saying you don’t have a fiancée or a sweetheart back in Australia?”

  He smiled. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Where did you hear something like that?”

  Normally Gemma wouldn’t divulge her sources, but typically, Jackie knew what she was talking about, and that wouldn’t be anything the woman would have made up. “Jackie Barnes. And everyone figured she got the information from you.”

  Callum shook his head. “She didn’t get that from me, but I have an idea where it came from. Your brother, Zane. I complained about Jackie making a nuisance of herself and he figured the best way to get rid of a woman like Jackie was just to let her believe I was already taken.”

  “Oh.” She could see Zane doing something like that. If for no other reason than to shift Jackie’s interest from Callum to him. Her brother was a womanizer to the nth degree. And Derringer wasn’t any better. It was a blessing that the twins, Adrian and Aidan, were away at college, where the only thing on their minds was making the grade. “I assume Zane’s plan worked.”

  “It did.”

  “In that case you were lucky,” Gemma decided to say. “Some women would not have cared that you were spoken for. They would have taken it as a challenge to swing your interest their way.”

  Callum couldn’t help but think of just where his interest had been for the past three years and knew no one could have succeeded in doing that. The woman sitting across the table was the one he intended to marry.

  “And you actually assumed I have someone of interest back home?”

  She shrugged. “Hey, that’s what we all heard and I had no reason to assume differently. As far as I knew, you weren’t dating anyone and whenever we had events you always came alone.”

  And tried hanging around you every chance I got, he thought.

  “You were almost as much of a loner as Ramsey,” Gemma added. “If your goal was to keep the women away, then it evidently worked for you.”

  He took a sip of his drink, wondering if the reason she had yet to pick up on his interest in her was because she figured he was already taken.

  “Callum, about this trip to Australia?”

  He knew where she was about to take the discussion and was prepared with a spiel to reel her in. “What about it? If you’re having second thoughts, I understand. No sweat. I’ve already contacted a backup in case you couldn’t do it. Jeri Holliday at Jeri’s Fashion Designs has indicated she would love the job and will have her bags packed for Australia before I can blink an eye.”

  Over my dead body, Gemma thought as she sat up straight in her chair. Jeri Holliday had been trying to steal clients from her for years.

  “I think she liked the fact that I’m offering $50,000, and half of that upfront.”

  His words froze her thoughts. “Come again?”

  He smiled. “I said, considering that I’m asking the decorator to give up at least six weeks, I’m offering $50,000, just as a starting price.”

  Gemma could only stare at him once again in disbelief. She leaned closer to the table and spoke in a hushed tone, as if anyone sitting in close range could overhear their top-secret conversation. “Are you saying that you’re paying $25,000 on acceptance of the job and the other half on completion; and that $50,000 does not include any of the materials? That’s just for labor?”

  “Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”

  Gemma began nibbling on her bottom lip. The $25,000 would definitely boost her bank account, replacing what Niecee had stolen. And then to think there would be another $25,000 waiting when she completed everything. However, as good as it sounded there were a few possible conflicts.

  “What do you see as the time line for this project, Callum?” she decided to ask him.

  He shrugged wide shoulders. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Jeri. I think it will take a month to six weeks to take down all the measurements and get things ordered. I’d also like that person there to coordinate the selection of all the furniture. However, there’s no rush on that.”

  Gemma began nibbling on her lips again. “The reason I asked is because there are two babies who will be born within a few months of each other and I’d like to be here for both births. If I can’t make it back at the time of delivery then at least within a few days.”

  “No problem. In fact, I’ll spring for the flight.”

  Gemma couldn’t help but wonder why he was being so generous and decided to ask him.

  “I’ve always believed in being fair when it came to those who worked for me,” he said.

  “In any case, I’m going to need to return myself to help out because Ramsey will be busy with Chloe and the baby,” he continued. “I don’t want him to worry about the ranch during that time, so I’ve already promised him that I would return. And although Dillon probably won’t need me to do anything, he and Pamela are like family and I want to be here for their baby’s arrival, too.”

  Gemma felt relieved. But still—Australia? That was such a long way from home. And for a month, possibly six weeks. The only ot
her time she’d been away from home for so long was when she left for college in Nebraska. Now she was considering trekking off to another country. Heck, it was another continent.

  She was suddenly filled with an anticipation she’d never felt before. She’d never been a traveler, but if she took Callum’s job offer, she would get to see a part of the world she’d only read about. That was exciting.

  “So are you still interested or do you want me to go with Jeri Holliday?”

  She didn’t hesitate. “I don’t have a problem traveling to Australia and will be ready to fly out on Thursday. I just need to get my business in order. I’ll be gone for a while and I’ll need to let my family know.”

  It then occurred to her that her family might not like the idea of her going so far away. Ramsey had a tendency to be overprotective. But he had his hands full with Chloe expecting their baby at the end of November. He would be too busy to try to micromanage her life…thank goodness.

  “Terrific. I’ll make flight arrangements and will let you know when I have everything in order.”

  “All right.”

  Callum lifted up his soda glass in a toast. “Here’s to adventures awaiting you in the outback.”

  Gemma chuckled as she lifted her glass in a toast, as well. “Yes, here’s to adventures in the outback.”

  A few hours later back at her house, despite her outer calm, Gemma was trying to keep things together on the inside while she explained everything to her sisters, Megan and Bailey, as they sat together at the kitchen table. Megan was the oldest at twenty-six and Bailey was twenty-two.

  “And why didn’t you file a police report? Twenty thousand dollars isn’t a little bit of money, Gem,” an angry Megan wanted to know.