“They’re a lot alike,” Neil murmured. “Being twins.”
“True enough.” Pegeen O’Rourke nodded happily. “It’s sad they were separated as babes, but I’m glad they’ve found each other at last.”
“But even happier they both married into our family,” he added dryly.
Pegeen let out a low, rich chuckle. “Aye. I wish all my children could be as happy as Kane and Patrick.” She shot a significant glance in his direction. “Perhaps it’s time for you to think of finding a wife.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Aren’t two sons in the last four months enough? If we all get married, what will you have to look forward to?”
His mother’s smile reminded him of a contented cat with cream on its whiskers. “Grandchildren,” she said happily.
Lord. He’d set himself up for that one.
“You know how I feel about marriage. Besides, I just got the presidency of a division in the company, and that’s much more fun than changing diapers.”
She patted his hand. “You never know until you try. The company isn’t a great comfort at night.”
Neil shook his head.
A long time ago he’d come to the conclusion you couldn’t have it all. He didn’t even want to have it all. He was too single-minded, too selfish. The one time he’d slipped and fallen in love he’d practically flunked out of college, his focus shot to hell. Then she’d turned out to be more interested in using him to make her rich boyfriend jealous, than marrying a guy still in school.
His mouth tightened momentarily, remembering that long ago humiliation, the incredulous voice saying she might marry someone like his brother, but not someone poor, with no money of his own. It just confirmed what he’d suspected all along; marriage wasn’t for him.
Especially to a woman like Libby Dumont.
She had a body that wouldn’t quit and a Puritan’s soul. Being married to a woman like that would drive a man insane. Why, Libby was probably still a virgin. Of course, there was nothing wrong with being a virgin, all girls started out that way. But making love to her would be like making love to a block of ice.
Wouldn’t it?
An image of how she had looked that afternoon—eyes flashing and angry color flooding her cheeks—went flying through his mind. She was obviously more passionate than he’d always believed.
Not that he wanted Libby as a lover.
Yet Neil shifted uncomfortably, remembering how his body had come to attention from a simple contact with her leg. It was hard to shut the door on old feelings, and she represented the last time he’d lost control—a vestige of high school days, of necking in cars and hoping to get lucky. He’d acted badly, then tried to put the blame on her like an immature kid. Not that it changed anything now; apologies so long after the fact were meaningless.
But Libby was right about one thing, they didn’t get along for a number of reasons, most of them having nothing to do with the past.
“I do wish Libby could have come tonight,” said his mother.
For an instant Neil wondered if she’d guessed he was thinking about Libby—something he was doing far too much—then decided he was being paranoid.
“She said she was busy.”
Across the room Dylan stood talking with Connor, the youngest of the O’Rourke sons, and Pegeen looked at him unhappily. “Do you think someone is courting Libby, and that’s why she couldn’t come tonight? Oh, if only Dylan had asked her out at Kane and Beth’s wedding when they were getting on so well,” she said, sounding thoroughly exasperated.
His nerves tightened. “Libby isn’t thinking about getting married, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“And how would you be knowin’ that?”
Damnation. Why had he opened his mouth? Now his mom would think there was something going on between him and Libby. “We were talking, that’s all, and she mentioned it.”
“Seems an odd thing to just say.”
Neil tugged at the neck of his shirt. He’d removed his tie earlier, but it felt tight, nonetheless. “It isn’t odd. I had to find out what her future plans were since she’s going to be my vice president.”
“What difference would that make?” Pegeen’s question sounded like something Libby would say.
“It’s just…uh, in her new position she’s going to be busy, have a lot to do, and getting married, that would be very distract…” His mother’s wise eyes were crinkled with amusement at his discomfort, so Neil gave up and slumped against the cushions. “Never mind,” he muttered.
Normally he enjoyed family gatherings, but tonight was an exception. It was little wonder, between his matchmaking mom and the edgy tension gripping him.
He was restless.
Charged up.
Ready to dive into running his division of the company and getting things set up the way he wanted them. He couldn’t afford to be distracted, and Libby was turning into one hell of a distraction.
Even when she wasn’t anywhere around.
By the time Neil reached work on Monday he was convinced he’d gotten everything out of his system. All the questions and confusion and mixed feelings. And the temptation.
He and Libby weren’t lover material.
Any interest in changing that condition probably stemmed from his ego. Basically, he was a man who thrived on challenges, and Libby was a challenge from the word go. Working with her would be another challenge, but he could do it. The best plan was to get the project off and running so they could focus on other duties that didn’t involve such close contact.
Stopping in front of Libby’s office, Neil watched for a moment unobserved.
She was outside in the secretary’s cubicle, Dunk’s gaze glued to her as she explained something. Dunk was a tall towhead, with hands and limbs that seemed too big for the rest of him. Though Neil expected to see something break or fly apart at any minute, nothing happened. Dunk even managed to safely pour himself a cup of coffee.
It was only when he turned around that he got nervous, and only when he spotted Neil.
“Mr. O’Rourke, h-hello.”
Mr. O’Rourke?
Libby was right, that did sound stuffy.
“Hi, Duncan. Please call me Neil.”
Dunk’s face was dubious. “Yes, sir. Thank you. I will…yes.” He edged away and hurried down the corridor.
Sir?
Great, that was certainly an improvement.
Neil looked at Libby in time to see her wipe a smile from her lips. “Good morning,” she said cheerfully.
At least she hadn’t called him Mr. O’Rourke, as well.
“Good morning. Did you enjoy your plans on Friday?”
She looked at him blankly. “Plans?”
“The reason you couldn’t attend my nieces’ birthday party.”
“Oh, fine.” Libby thought about her quiet Friday evening. She’d spent it scribbling down notes for the bed-and-breakfast proposal. Real exciting stuff. The biggest adrenaline rush of the entire weekend was when she’d dreamed something utterly inappropriate about Neil, but she couldn’t mention that. “How is your mother and Dylan and everyone?”
“Dylan?”
Libby frowned at the odd look on Neil’s face. Honestly , he got stranger by the hour. “Yes, Dylan and the rest of the family.”
“They’re fine. Mother said you and Dylan visited for a long time at Kane and Beth’s wedding reception.”
Her frown deepened. She had talked with Dylan at the reception, though hardly for hours and hours. “He was being friendly since I was there alone and didn’t know many of the guests,” she said finally.
“Is that all?”
All?
“Your brother is very nice,” she said, bewildered by Neil’s intense expression.
With any another man Libby might have guessed he was jealous, but Neil wasn’t the jealous type, and there was nothing going on between them, anyway. Well…not much. He’d announced he was still attracted to her, supposedly as a way to get every
thing out in the open. As if that meant anything.
“Kane’s nice. Dylan is nice. But you never said what I was,” he mused.
Oh, right.
Like she was going to hang herself on a few choice words. Neil was the brother of the CEO, and clearing the air didn’t mean she could say whatever she wanted. Yet a tantalizing thought occurred to Libby, namely that a second kiss might clear the air better than words. After all, they could get any lingering attraction out of their system that way and second kisses were often complete duds. Her not-so-inspiring love life largely consisted of dull kisses and boring evenings with men consumed by their stock portfolios.
“Libby?”
She blinked and drew a steadying breath.
Some ideas were dumber than others, and kissing Neil again was the dumbest of them all. She was better off with her boring evenings.
“I…uh, I’ve done more research and compiled a list of properties throughout Washington and Oregon that we could consider for acquisition.”
“Changing the subject?”
“It seems like a good idea,” she said through gritted teeth, holding out the neatly bound material she’d assembled.
“You must have worked over the weekend.” He sounded surprised, which made her want to kick him…a common impulse when it came to Neil. There was nothing remarkable about her working Saturdays, though she usually spent Sundays in Endicott with her parents, helping out.
“Yes,” she said shortly.
She tried not to watch as he flipped through the report, but it was difficult when she didn’t have anything else to do.
Lord, he was nice to look at.
He wore a designer suit, the kind she saw on models, but no model had ever looked that good. His shoulders were broad and his stomach flat, with tapered hips and long straight legs. It was so irritating. Neil had looks, intelligence, talent, a Harvard education, a great family, and still managed to be the most impossible man ever born.
“I’m impressed,” he said after a moment, his brow creased. And even that was gorgeous on him; most people just looked cross when they frowned. “It’s very comprehensive. We’ll be able to work off this when we go out scouting.”
“You still plan to do the scouting yourself, then?”
His eyebrows shot upward. “I’m planning for us to do it, yes. You’re the one who said my approach lacked the personal touch Kane wanted for the project.” There was a slight edge in his voice—Neil O’Rourke wasn’t accustomed to criticism.
Libby tried not to look intimidated.
Or apologize.
“I appreciate the work you’ve done,” he said, gesturing with the hand that held the report. “The sooner we get the ball moving, the sooner we can move on to other projects.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it, deciding she shouldn’t say anything. Once the bed-and-breakfast line was running, the whole project would most likely be moved to another division. If Neil knew she wanted to stay involved, he’d probably say something sarcastic.
He dropped the report in his briefcase. “Has Kane mentioned moving into your new office?”
She blinked. “My new office?”
“You’ve been assigned the executive suite next to mine. Temporarily, at least, until everything is decided on the reorganization.”
“Oh.”
Wasn’t that terrific?
Next door. Right at Neil O’Rourke’s beck and call.
“I’ll send someone up to pack up your things.”
Was he offering because he didn’t think she was capable, or because…Libby sighed and shook her head. She couldn’t keep assuming the worst about him. He had tried to be nice to Duncan Anderson, which was a lot more than he’d ever done before, and he was asking her opinion on things she’d never expected to have a say about.
“I can manage.”
“Good. I’d like to present Kane with a strategy on the bed-and-breakfast inn project within a few days, and we should also develop a plan on establishing the new division to give him.”
She cocked her head. “You mean you don’t have everything decided and mapped out already? What’s wrong, weren’t you feeling well? You had the entire weekend.”
Contrary to what she expected, Neil grinned. “I would have, but Kane wants us to practice team management.”
He sauntered out, looking his usual confident self, but it didn’t annoy Libby as much as usual. It was hard to imagine them ever becoming friends, but she supposed that sooner or later they would end up getting along…or killing each other.
She spent the next hour packing her personal belongings and overseeing the transfer to her new suite. When she arrived at Neil’s office he was talking to Margie Clarke, who looked positively desperate as she took notes between answering the phone and nodding her head at his rapid-fire instructions. Libby gave her a sympathetic smile.
“Maybe you could give her a crash course in multitasking,” Neil muttered as he closed the door behind them.
“Maybe you could lighten up and give her a chance to settle in.” Libby wanted to tell him about Margie’s sick daughter, but hesitated. If Margie wanted Neil to know, she would have said something to him about it herself.
He dropped onto his couch. “And maybe you were right about Tam Tam the Barracuda being right for the job. She’s really very good. I’m considering bringing her back.”
“You…are?”
A stab of jealousy caught Libby by surprise.
Tami Berkut was nice enough—a little confused about what she wanted out of life, but she wasn’t the only one. Libby knew she wanted something more herself; she just didn’t know how to get it.
“Mrs. Clarke isn’t working out as well as I’d hoped,” Neil said, tapping his fingers on his desk.
“Margie just needs some time.”
“Perhaps.” He leaned forward, fixing her with one of his amused, all-knowing looks. “In the meantime we need to start looking for our first bed-and-breakfast inn. I’ve taken a look at your list, and found three prospects in a little town called Endicott. Ever hear of it?”
Libby fought to control the familiar warmth in her face. Okay, so she’d decided to include Endicott on the list. Was it fair to ignore a favorable location just because it was her hometown?
“Of course I’ve heard of it.”
“Yes. According to your personnel records, your parents live there.”
“I grew up in Endicott,” Libby said, an edge to her voice. “It used to be a prosperous vacation town in both summer and winter, but that was a long time ago. Wealthy Seattle families used to build summer places in the area.”
His smile was infuriating. Knowing Neil, he’d already checked the whole thing out and was just yanking her chain for the fun of it.
“Why were you reading my personnel records?” she added.
For the first time that she could remember, he looked uncomfortable. “Curiosity.”
Yeah, curious how he could annoy her even more.
Maybe he was hoping she’d get tired of it, or be scared off, or otherwise ask Kane to change his mind. Well, too bad. He’d have to learn that country girl or not, she didn’t scare so easily.
“I realize Endicott is a little rural for your tastes,” she said edgily. “But there are a number of properties close to the Interstate corridor that might interest you.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t interested. It sounds like a nice enough place, and since you have contacts in the town, we might as well start there. Are you ready to go?”
Her jaw dropped.
He sounded serious.
“You want to drive up there today?”
“You think I can’t find the way without a trail of breadcrumbs? You’ll be along as a guide, so we won’t get lost in the wilds of Washington.”
“Yes. I mean, no. That is, it’s not hard to find. You just head toward Mount Rainier.”
Neil grinned at the nonplussed look on Libby’s face. He loved how flustered she got, though apparently it
was mostly with him because people were always talking about how calm and unflappable she was in a crisis.
“It’s a long drive.”
“Not that long, we can be there well before noon. We won’t have to stay overnight, though eventually we’ll need to on some of our scouting trips.”
“Overnight?”
“Yes. Business trips can go overnight.” Neil shifted uncomfortably, trying to resist the urge to explain himself. Could Libby be so innocent she was reading something inappropriate into the idea of them traveling together? It wasn’t as if he’d suggested they share a room. Yet even as he wondered, he realized his voice had dropped to a husky murmur when he said “overnight.”
Damn.
He’d never had so much trouble with a female colleague. But then, none of them had been Libby Dumont. There was a feeling of unfinished business between them that made things awkward. Of course, Libby would say it was the male perspective making him think that way, but he wasn’t so certain. On some level she was aware of him as a man, whether she was willing to admit it or not.
“Are you afraid to be alone with me in a car?” he asked. “Maybe you’re thinking about the last time we went somewhere together and—”
“That’s ridiculous.” Libby slapped her pad of paper down on the corner of a table and stood up. “I’ll get my things and be right back.”
“All right, I’ll call the real estate office to be sure they can show us the properties today.”
Neil hid a smile as she hurried off; he wasn’t the only one who responded to a challenge. Yet his amusement faded as he remembered questioning her about Dylan. His brother had enjoyed Libby’s company, he’d even asked about her a couple times since Kane’s wedding.
But what bothered Neil for some reason was the idea that Libby had liked Dylan.
Chapter Four
Libby’s pulse pounded as she hurried past Margie Clarke’s desk. She suspected Neil was trying to manipulate her, but couldn’t accuse him of it without starting another argument.
He was rotten.
Maybe she wasn’t cut out for big business. How could you survive so much stress? Of course, her stress mostly came from the man she was supposed to be working with.
The Bachelor Boss (O'Rourke Family 3) Page 4
