Bid Me Now

by Rebecca Gilise

  Bree bounced upright and headed for the door. “That’s the spirit. I’ll feed her last night’s cold pizza. She’s so damned skinny, a few carbs will do her good.”

  Miri slid down into her bed again. Alex could wait. She might have apologized to Nick, but that didn’t get her off the hook.

  The absurdity of the whole thing was that Alex had been right all along. She’d just accused the wrong company and then turned malicious against Nick.

  Lockart Construction and Marcus. Who would have thought? No one, apparently. She knew nothing about Lockart Construction, except it was a local company. But Marcus she did know, and it still beggared belief that he had been involved. He had done it for her. Because he loved her, or so he said. The irony of it all. The Circle of Life was about retaining core values, and Marcus had shot his to hell.

  Miri reached for her phone to check her messages, her eyes disobediently flicking to the time and date display. Noon of the thirty-second day. Every morning she scolded herself for counting the days. People only counted days when someone had gone away and was expected back.

  Nick wasn’t coming back.

  This was her new normal. Her post-Nick life. Home. Friends. Lying in bed far longer than was good for her. But at least she was on track to buy Jimmy Bob’s, and her lawyer would make the offer tomorrow.

  As for romance…that was over. No involvement with anyone until she was at least thirty. That seemed a sensible age to find someone to settle down with. Someone who would be kind and uncomplicated and comfortable.

  He wouldn’t be tall and dark-haired and oozing sexy. She was done with tall, dark, sexy-edgy types. No, he would be nicely ordinary.

  Of course, he would have to have some sex appeal. That was a given. But not to the extent that her whole body would tighten with desire every time she looked at him. She didn’t need that. And he wouldn’t have big hands that could distract her with a simple caress. Or a mouth that worked beautiful magic every time it found hers. No, those heady things she could do without.

  Miri pushed herself further under her comforter, suddenly longing for the things she could do without. His mouth. His hands. His…

  “Miri!”

  “I’m coming!” Miri sat up, not missing the ambiguity of her words. Dammit, Bree could scream like a banshee when she wanted.

  Slipping into cotton shorts and T-shirt, Miri checked herself in the mirror and didn’t like what she saw. Bree was right, she was pale and sad-looking. And her hair needed washing. What a difference a few weeks could make to a life.

  Scraping her hair into a ponytail and securing it with her old Scrunchie, she went downstairs to find Alex and Bree sitting either side of the kitchen table and eyeing each other over the pizza.

  “There you are, my darling,” Alex exclaimed, jumping up with obvious relief. “Oh, you don’t look well at all.” Alex reached out to embrace her, but Miri made a neat sidestep and headed for the coffee machine.

  Alex pursed her scarlet lips and sat down again. “After all this time, I had hoped that we could put this terrible business behind us.”

  Miri looked at Alex sitting at the kitchen table in a summery pink linen suit that did nothing to conceal the strain on her face. After weeks of being shunned, Alex was here for forgiveness. She was nervous, that was plain enough. But knowing Alex as well as she did, Miri found it difficult to believe she was genuinely sorry. She was, after all, the consummate actress.

  Alex crossed a leg. “It is such a shame that all this happened.”

  Miri snorted. “In your world, a shame is a chipped nail.”

  Bree giggled and pushed the pizza across the table. “Something to eat?”

  Alex stared at the pizza like it was a live grenade. “Don’t be ridiculous, Bree.” Turning to Miri, she tried to smile. “Of course, I was wrong to accuse Nick Brannagh right off. I do regret that.”

  Miri studied Alex’s face, trying to read behind her beautiful cornflower-blue eyes. Maybe she was sorry. “You slandered his company to a major client,” she said gently, deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt, “I’m sorry he didn’t accept your apology, but he did warn you.”

  “But my dear, it was an honest mistake. Of course, right from the beginning I knew he was all wrong for you. A man like that doesn’t care. If he’d cared, he wouldn’t have left.”

  No, Alex wasn’t sorry at all.

  Miri clenched her coffee cup, pushing down the urge to order her out of the house. “A man like what?” she snapped. “By the way, how much is he suing you for?” she added spitefully.

  Alex’s Chanel-blushed cheeks turned a shade brighter. “Well…that’s something I can’t discuss at the moment.” That evasive response could only mean one thing. Nick was suing her for millions. “But my lawyer is very confident of a reasonable settlement.”

  Alex didn’t look anything close to believing that. She was really hurting. A rare sight. Kind of like watching a comet that wouldn’t be back for a hundred years.

  Miri sat down in a chair and tucked a foot under her butt. “I doubt it will be reasonable. You know you deserve it, don’t you?”

  Alex looked surprised. “‘Deserve’ doesn’t come into it, my dear. I was right about the bids. How could I know it was Lockart and…well, that Marcus was involved?” She fidgeted with a loose strand of hair. “Poor Marcus, he feels so terrible about the whole thing. Of course, he’s offered to pay the lawsuit damages, but the poor dear won’t have anywhere enough to cover it. He only did it because he loves you, so I can forgive him. Maybe in time, my darling, you two can work things out…”

  Miri sprang to her feet so fast that Alex reared back in sheer fright. Her eyes rounded in shock when Miri’s fist slammed the table. “For God’s sake, listen to yourself. You can’t stop meddling. You seem to think this whole thing is nothing more than a piece of broken china to be fixed. You slandered Nick to the Spanway people out of pure spite. And for what? Because he got the better of you that day in your office? Because you thought Marcus would make the right husband for me and Nick was in the way? Well, this is the last time you will ever interfere in my life. If you do, you will never be welcome in this house again. Are we clear?”

  Alex looked so stunned that Miri’s chest filled with a sudden, terrifying guilt. Alex had been her beloved mother’s friend. After the accident, it had been Alex’s tireless support that had got her through the months of despair. Had helped with her exhibitions. Loved Miri as if she were her own child.

  She felt Bree’s arm slip around her shoulders. “I’m fine, Bree,” she said quietly, blinking away her own shock. She tamped down her instinctive urge to apologize to Alex. To make things right. This couldn’t be put right. Not for a long time, anyway. “Now I’m going to take a very long soak in the tub. Alex, please leave.”

  Not waiting for a response, Miri walked out to the hall and started toward the stairs, pausing when she heard the scrape of a kitchen chair being pushed back, followed by Alex’s voice.

  “Do you think she’ll ever forgive me, Bree?”

  “Maybe. After she stops blaming herself.” Bree’s voice dropped to a whisper, but the words still carried to Miri’s ears. “And after she’s forgiven herself for falling in love.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Miri felt almost new.

  Lying in her most comfortable garden lounger under the shady, wisteria-covered pergola that ran the length of the studio’s outside wall, she closed her eyes and savored the scents and sounds of summer: roses and lavender, the drone of bumble bees, the soft, rhythmic swish of Mr. Johnston’s water sprinkler next door.

  The tension in her muscles had all but gone. Fresh from the tub, wearing her short-shorts and a bright red bikini top, her hair hung clean and vanilla-scented around her shoulders, her skin glowing warm from her favorite body lotion. She hadn’t felt this good in…well, a long time.

  She opened her eyes to scan the garden. Maybe it wasn’t too late to plant a row of petunias. Or do some sketching. Or s
tart on a tan. Maybe she would take her sketchbook and spend tomorrow at the beach.

  Maybe if she got off her butt, she could start on those rolls of copper sheeting gathering dust on her studio floor. The library sculpture was weeks behind schedule, and sometime in the next few days she would have to call the client with the news.

  She slipped further down into the lounger, letting herself relax a little more. Work could wait. Besides, it was Sunday afternoon, Alex had long since gone, and if the faint sounds coming from the kitchen were any indication, Bree was fixing cold drinks and reheating the pizza.

  She was almost asleep when she heard the soft click of the studio door.

  “Hey, sleepyhead, you’ve got a visitor.”

  Miri kept her eyes closed and silently prayed that Alex hadn’t come back. She couldn’t bear another dose of Alex.

  “Miri.”

  She looked around, her eyes momentarily confused as they registered who it was. Nick filled the doorway of her studio. Dark business suit. A soft, sad smile that had her heart missing beats.

  She blinked several times to reassure herself that it was him. “Nick? What are you doing…?” she started to ask, then stopped. Five seconds in, and she was interrogating him.

  “I’m going to Abe’s. Do you need anything?”

  “Oh, no thanks, Bree.”

  “Well, I’ve left the pizza heating in the oven, and I’ve made the lemonade. See you later.”

  Bree closed the door without waiting for an answer. Miri sat frozen, feeling as if she was in a dream and terrified she would wake up at any second. She watched Nick shrug off his jacket and set it down on the studio sofa before walking out to the terrace, his gaze sweeping around the garden before settling on her. But her joy at seeing him quickly tumbled when she saw the strain on his face, the faint lines between his brows deeper than she remembered. She was the cause of his hurt.

  Yet, he was here.

  Nick dragged a chair close to hers, his expression somber as he sat down to face her. “You’re pale, Marisa. Far too pale.”

  “I know, so I’m starting on a tan.” She ghosted a smile, but it faltered a moment later when he didn’t laugh. “You look so…businesslike.”

  “I arrived in New York this afternoon and came straight here.”

  “Did you drive up?”

  “No, helicopter.”

  “Oh.” She shouldn’t have been surprised, but she was. “Do you have a helicopter?”

  “Of course. Doesn’t everyone?” He raised a brow in humor, but it fell to a frown a moment later. “Are you doing okay?”

  Miri nodded her lie. “And you?”

  “I’m so sorry, Miri.”

  Miri opened her mouth to speak, but when he drew a deep breath as if to say more, she closed it again and waited.

  He stared down at his hands, not speaking for endless moments, and Miri longed to reach out and touch him. “I walked out on you.” He paused to close his eyes for a moment. “I was a bastard…am a bastard.” The word tore from his throat, making her heart ache.

  Miri shook her head firmly and fought the first prick of tears. “No. You had every right to be angry.” This was her guilt, and she wasn’t about to share it with Nick.

  He reached across the space between them and took her hands. “But not with you.” His grip relaxed on her fingers, as if expecting her to pull away. His head went down again, and Miri heard the misery in his voice. “Every day I wanted to call you, but I was stubborn. And fucking stupid.”

  Miri stared at the top of his dark head, bent so low that she could see the spiky dark hairs on the back of his neck. Tears welled, but she swallowed them away. She had to say this. “No, it was me. I was the stubborn one.”

  He looked up, and for a moment a ripple of sad amusement passed across his face. “You, stubborn? No way.”

  Not even his tease could stop her tears now. They spilled down her cheeks and over her chin, but there was no way of wiping them away with Nick holding her hands, and she couldn’t bear to lose his warm grip.

  “Nick, don’t you see? I caused all of it. It was because of me that Ale…” She stopped, not wanting to say the name. “She did it all because of me.”

  He stood and pulled her to her feet, gathering her in his arms. Miri closed her eyes and let her body sink into his, crying into his shirt, needing his strength to hold her up. “It wasn’t just Alex. There’s so much you don’t know. Marcus…”

  “I know.”

  “How?”

  Miri felt his chest move against her face as he shrugged. “Just figured it out. As soon as we knew it was Lockart Construction, we put it together. Lockart’s built the medical center, and that was the link to Carter.” She felt a soft, humorless chuckle against her face. “I knew I should’ve flattened the guy when I had the chance.”

  “But he knew all the time, and he said nothing because of me. Don’t you see? It’s my fault.”

  Miri felt his hand slide up to stroke the back of her neck, so she angled her face deeper into the wet patch she’d made on his shirt, her body instantly warming to his caress.

  “Look,” he breathed down into her hair, “if we keep apologizing to each other, we’ll be here all week. Besides, I have to tell you something.”

  “What?” she whispered, terrified he was going to talk about Alex. She didn’t want to know. Not anymore.

  “That I love you, Miri. So much.”

  She gasped, and for a split second Miri was sure her heart actually stopped. “I love you, too, Nick,” she whispered, loving the words on her lips.

  “Oh…” The word rumbled from his chest, and Miri pressed her cheek to the sound. Then he was easing her back, looking down at her with eyes so tender, her tears flowed harder.

  “Does all this crying mean you’re happy?” His brow was arched in question, but he was smiling.

  When she nodded dumbly, Nick wrapped his arms around her again and lifted her up to his height, his arms under her backside. “Well, that’s a relief, because I’m never leaving you again, my love. You’re stuck with me now.”

  “Stuck,” she sniffled, slipping her arms around his neck and gripping his shirt collar.

  Nick kissed her, and Miri parted her lips to welcome him. He’d kissed her hundreds of times, but this was the sweetest kiss ever.

  The kiss of a lover. Her lover.

  When he took his mouth from hers, she whispered into his cheek, “Do that again.”

  He grunted and smiled. “Okay.” He kissed his way over and around her cheeks, nose, and chin before finding her mouth again. A million heartbeats later, he drew back. “I have something of yours,” he said, still holding her up like she weighed nothing.

  “What?”

  “Lust.”

  “You don’t mean…?”

  “Uh-huh. Cate bought it for me. It’s in my London office. A real conversation piece for the clients.”

  “The auction house said it went to an anonymous buyer.”

  “It’s beautiful. You’re a wonderful artist. How’s the library commission coming along?”

  “Slowly. Am I getting too heavy for you?”

  He laughed. “Hardly, but I’ll take the hint.”

  Nick set her down before she could protest, so she looped her arms around his waist and snuggled close.

  “Miri, there’s something else I need to tell you.”

  He sounded so serious, Miri felt a stab of fear at what was coming. “What?” she whispered into the tear-stained patch on his shirt, squeezing her eyes shut as if to prevent the words.

  “Fitz called last night to say the developer wants out of the mill deal. Probably scared off by the bad publicity and the town’s resistance to pulling it down. I know how this must look to you.”

  Her fear receded. “How it must look? What do you mean?”

  “That the mill is suddenly available.”

  Miri leaned back to look up into Nick’s face, puzzled that he was so worried. “But there was a contract. You
couldn’t do anything about it.”

  “No, I couldn’t. The developer threatened to sue us. Anyway, now Fitz wants to sue the developer for breach of contract. The thing is, I want you to have the mill. But I’d understand if you no longer wanted it. Not after everything that’s happened.”

  “I don’t know what to say…I can’t believe it.”

  “If you’ve found somewhere else, Fitz will offer it to one of the other bidders. Anyway, it’s yours if you want it. Please think about it.”

  Miri thought for all of two seconds before making up her mind. “I’ll take it. And I’ll pay you twenty thousand over what you paid,” she said, laughing when his eyebrows went up.

  A moment later his eyebrows fell to a deep frown. “You understand that I bought the mill to make a profit, Ms. Jamieson?”

  Miri angled her head coyly. “Well, there must be something I can offer you to change your mind.”

  Nick’s throaty laugh had her sizzling. “I’m sure there will be.” He lifted her chin. “Seriously, would you accept the mill as my gift to you?”

  Miri shook her head firmly. “No, I have to pay for it.”

  “Well, whatever you want to pay will be fine. Or I could leave the money in as an investment.”

  She smiled. “That might work. I’ll think on it.”

  “You know,” he murmured, bending low to her ear, “I think I smell something burning.”

  “Hell!” Miri unwrapped her arms from his waist and scooted for the kitchen. “Want some pizza?” she called over her shoulder.

  She grabbed an oven glove and bent to take the pizza from the oven, conscious of Nick looking at her short shorts as he followed her. Oh, sweet joy. After dropping the hot pizza tray on the countertop, she picked at a lump of burnt mozzarella. “It doesn’t look very nice, does it?”

  Nick came to stand beside her. “Nope. Can’t say that it does.”

  “What about some of Bree’s lemonade?”

  “Sure. Anything I can do?” he asked, turning his sleeve cuffs back to reveal his strong forearms.