by Ava Miles
“Lucy, I know what composition means,” he informed her, nudging her in the shoulder. “I was trying to get you to lighten up. You’re all tense.”
“I’m allowed.”
They clicked through the rest of the photos, and her insides shriveled at the poor quality. Sure, she’d managed to capture some heartfelt emotion, but the photos didn’t have the clarity or crispness she was used to with her Leica.
“These are really great, Lucy,” he said softly when they reached the end. “Do I really look like that when people mention Kim to me?”
“Yes,” she said, handing him the phone so he could take a better look. “You loved her, and now she’s gone. How did you expect you’d look?”
He gave her back the phone like he couldn’t bear a further viewing. “I don’t know. I guess I hoped I’d look peaceful. I don’t… God, I don’t want Danny to see me like that. He’s only a kid.”
“But he lost his mother too,” she said, putting her arm around him this time. “He probably doesn’t have many memories of her. Am I right?”
He was silent for a long time. “No, and it breaks my heart. I tell him stories and keep her picture around…”
“I expect he’s more aware that he doesn’t have a mom like the other kids since he’s in school. Do moms still bring in cakes and cookies for class?”
“Yeah.” He cracked his neck. “It’s the bane of my existence. And PTA meetings are pure torture. It’s usually just me and the mommies, although some of the other dads show up. Weird doesn’t begin to describe it.”
She hadn’t thought about those ongoing aspects of being a single parent. “Is your courage flagging, Hale?”
Just like she’d hoped, it was enough to add some steel to his posture. “Never. He’s my kid.”
“A bunch of mommies aren’t going to intimidate you,” she added, dropping the phone onto the bed and putting her hands on her hips, mimicking a tough guy.
“Usually,” he said with a sardonic twist to the mouth. “But I maintain the right to be terrified by the mommies who want to set me up with their single or divorced friends or the divorced mommies who have a kid in Danny’s class.”
He’d told her about the agreement he’d made with Natalie, but he obviously wasn’t ready to date yet. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be on your own after what happened,” she said. “If you ask me, the world would be a lot happier if love found people instead of people chasing it down by trolling bars or the Internet.”
He bit the inside of his cheek. “You’ve never mentioned anyone special in all these years. I’ve wondered…”
“What?” she asked, feeling her familiar defensiveness rise. “If I’m a lesbian?”
“No!” he answered, clearly horrified. “Not that it would be a problem, but…”
“How about that I have commitment issues?” she continued, her mouth flattening. “I’ve heard them all. I’ve dated a string of men over the course of my time overseas. Most of the relationships were short given the nature of our work. There were a few who had longterm potential, but we all had our individual careers. Once we left the country, things fizzled.”
She’d tried to meet up with a few of the guys she’d liked in places like Rome or London between assignments, but that hadn’t worked out well either. The honest truth was she hadn’t cared enough about any of her past flings to change her schedule for them.
“There was another guy—an agricultural specialist I met in northern Uganda. He wanted me to give up my work and settle down with him on a ranch in Idaho.”
“And you’d never settle down,” Andy said, his tone deeper than usual.
They shared a look. She went for the truth after all these years. “It’s why I never let things get romantic with you in high school. I didn’t want to stay here, and we both knew it.”
“So you had thought about us back then,” he said, softly. “I always wondered.”
Her throat thickened. “I guess we both did. You know, it’s not that I don’t want to have someone in my life. If I met a man who understood how much traveling is a part of me, I would consider marriage.”
He looked away. “Marriage might work with your job, but kids wouldn’t.”
“You’re wrong,” she told him flatly, feeling defensive again. “If I wanted to have kids, which I do if the right situation presents itself, I would adjust my travel schedule to accommodate my family. Why do we have all these rules about what it means to be a wife and mother? Men travel for business all the time. Why do you think I left Dare Valley? There was no room for what I wanted here.”
She’d gotten so impassioned, her heart was racing. She took some deep breaths to relieve the pressure in her chest, not sure if it was from defending her position or from hearing them both admit to the way they’d felt back then.
“I knew you felt trapped here,” Andy said, sliding off the bed and reaching for his shoes, “but until right now, I never knew how much.”
She watched him put his shoes on, his back taut with tension. “Are you mad at me because I didn’t want what you wanted? I told you I wanted to see the world and take pictures. It’s who I am.”
“I know,” he said, but his voice was sad this time. “I only wish you would have realized you could let someone love you and still be what you wanted.”
He might as well have struck her. “Are we talking about you?” How had they gotten to this?
“No, we’re not talking about me. You made it clear in high school that you were going on to bigger and better things. And I knew what I wanted. To be a doctor, have a wife and kids, and live in Colorado close to my family.”
He was making it sound like she thought she was better than him. “I was going on to different things, Andy. Ones that mattered to me.” She slid off the bed and stood. “Why are you this upset?”
His scowl was as wide as the Serengeti. “I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do,” she said, getting in his face. “What is it?”
“You’re going to leave again,” he said, his eyes flashing with an unusual fire. “And dammit, I don’t want to start caring about you all over again and looking forward to hanging out with you at Merry Cottage. And I damn well don’t want to start liking you like a girl again.”
She froze in place. She didn’t answer right away, giving the smell of gunpowder in the air time to disappear. He kicked at the floor again.
“If your eye gets better, you’re going to head back to those dangerous places.” He paused. “You’re so damn tough you might do it even if your eye doesn’t recover. Lucy, you could get hurt again. Or worse.”
“Andy,” she said softly.
He looked up, breathing hard. She could tell he was thinking about Kim and losing the people he loved. He was scared to lose her too, but she didn’t have the words to soothe him. The only thing she knew that would help was a hug. So, that’s what she did. She wrapped him in her arms and squeezed him tight.
The rigid muscles and locked frame of his body eventually relaxed. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “It’s not you. It is, but—”
“I know,” she said, rubbing his back.
He edged away to look at her. “It’s only… Lucy, you really mean a lot to me, and I’ve missed you. I don’t want to see you hurt again. Not even for something you love.”
Their eyes met as he reached up to push the hair behind her ear. The hands holding her suddenly felt warm. Awareness rolled through her again, unwelcome and alluring all at once.
A man’s hands were holding her in a way she enjoyed. More shocking was the realization that they were Andy’s hands. No, no, no, she thought. This could not be. It could never be. He was still in love with his wife, and she still planned to leave Dare Valley again.
“It’s getting late. You need to pick up Danny, right?” She stepped out of his arms and crossed the room to put on her own shoes. It didn’t matter that she didn’t plan to leave the house. It occupied her hands and kept him from seeing her face.
She stood and shook her head, striving for as normal an expression as possible. “We’re fine.”
He glanced at the watch on his wrist. “I have another half hour before I need to pick up Danny.”
As a dare, it was a good one. He was essentially saying: if it’s not weird between us, then you won’t mind me staying.
But she did. She couldn’t seem to have control over herself right now. Her eyes were seeing his body in a new light—or an achingly familiar one. He’d always been in top shape as a runner, but for some reason, his muscles looked more manly, more lust-inspiring than ever before. His broad chest filled out his shirt, and his shoulders looked like they’d been carved from granite. Her brain wanted her to assess more, but she wouldn’t let it.
She could control herself. She’d always been able to control herself. This awareness was only something she needed to block out. He was right—she was planning to leave Dare Valley. It would hurt them both if they did something stupid and gave into these odd moments of attraction. It would ruin their friendship forever.
She told herself not to make too big a deal of these sparks between them. He was handsome. He always had been. It was a simple fact. Like one plus one equaling two.
Once she was used to being around him again, his muscles and all that handsomeness would become as normal as the awe-inspiring mountains surrounding Dare Valley.
“Okay, let’s finish our beers,” she said, pasting a smile on her face.
His gaze dropped to her lips. Was she imagining it? Clearly she had lost her mind, so she hustled past him to the kitchen, trying to control the panic rising inside her.
She was not going to become attracted to her best friend again.
Chapter 11
Moira cruised to her cousin Jill’s house for happy hour in what she was now calling her old car. Once she landed her big new job, she was going to splurge on a Range Rover. It was easy on the eyes and good on the road. Another thing to look forward to now that she’d decided to make a change.
Cleaning out her office on Friday had sucked. A few of her colleagues had teared up, both because she’d be missed and because no one wanted to lose their buffer from Taylor. Everyone had wished her the best, though, and more than one person had whispered she was brave to leave. A few had asked where she was going, but she’d only given them a mischievous wink and said she’d be happy to share the news as soon as she was able. There was no way she wanted anyone outside of the family to know she was still looking.
She needed to focus on her job hunt more. She had the final version of her resume ready to go. She’d talked to a headhunter. Everything was gelling. And it felt nice to have a little break—some time to reflect on what she wanted next. For the first time in years, she was waking up without an alarm. Plus, she was having a good time staying with her mom and hanging out more with her family—especially her cute-as-a-button nephew. Her mother hadn’t stopped hinting that she should look for a job locally, and Moira had to admit it would be nice. But she wasn’t holding her breath.
One thing she would have liked to do was spend more time with Lucy, but Andy’s message had come through loud and clear. She wasn’t going to push things. Andy knew better than anyone what Lucy needed right now, and if it was time to settle, Moira was going to give it to her. There would be plenty of opportunities for them to get to know each other better.
Besides, Moira was plenty busy too. There was a lot of groundwork to do for her job search, and she was hanging out more with her cousins. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d spent an afternoon with just Jill, so when Jill had asked her to swing by her house to have a drink—just the two of them and the twins—she’d been excited. At family gatherings, everyone took turns playing with Jill’s adorable girls, but today they’d be all hers.
When Jill answered the door with a gurgling Mia in her arms, Moira couldn’t help but laugh. They were both wearing matching purple tutus.
“I love the look,” she said, patting the puffy tulle around Mia’s chubby baby waist. “Did you have them made?”
Jill gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. “Yep. A woman in town sewed them for us. Brian is praying for a boy next time. I told him he has a whole lifetime of girly stuff ahead of him, so he’d better get used to tutus and glitter and ribbons.”
“Brian’s a good egg,” Moira said, following Jill inside.
Violet, cute as a button in her own matching tutu, screeched when they entered the kitchen. Moira smiled at the woman holding the toddler and then shifted her gaze to the famous billionaire beside her. Well, surprise, surprise. They had company.
“Hey, Margie,” Moira said casually. “I’m going to come by the bakery tomorrow morning for another one of your fabulous cinnamon rolls. They’re an integral part of my mental health program while I’m looking for a new job.”
Jill’s former barista at Don’t Soy With Me, now the owner of Hot Cross Buns Bakery, gave her a brilliant smile. “We appreciate your patronage. Moira, have you met my fiancé?” she asked, setting the toddler down on the floor. “Wow, I still can’t believe I’m calling you that.”
The man in question ran his hand down her short black hair and gazed at her adoringly. “It’s currently my favorite word in the English language.” He crossed the room and extended his hand to Moira. “Evan Michaels.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said, trying to keep it cool. She couldn’t very well say, So, you’re the billionaire everyone is talking about. “The endowment you gave Emmits Merriam for the new inventor’s center is very impressive.”
“It’s going to be so much fun,” he said, looking young and playful. It was obvious he meant it.
Moira suddenly remembered she and Evan were the same age. And didn’t that make her feel like a bit of a loser. Here she was cruising for her first six-figure job while this guy had made billions with his top-secret inventions for the military.
“What can I get you to drink?” Jill asked in an odd tone. She was crouching on the floor, pretending to play with the twin’s blocks as she covertly watched the rest of them.
Moira’s radar went on. Jill had lied to her about it being just the two of them this afternoon. Something was up.
“Jill, you have the L upside down,” she said dryly, gesturing to the letters her cousin had placed together to spell Love.
Her cousin corrected it immediately. “Oops. Brian and I are trying to teach the twins special words.”
Moira narrowed her eyes and walked over to her. Kneeling down, she pulled over the blocks she required. “T-R-U-T-H. Truth.”
Mia clapped her baby hands while Violet grabbed the H and started gumming the corner, drooling everywhere.
“Am I that obvious?” Jill asked.
Moira gave the red curls falling over her cousin’s shoulder a good-natured yank. “As your hair.”
“She did it for me,” Evan said, crouching down beside them. “Jill thought you might be able to help me.”
“Help you?” Moira asked, so surprised Mia managed to unbalance her by climbing onto her leg.
He gave a lopsided grin. “Yeah. You know about my Artemis Institute of Innovation. That saves a lot of explanation.”
She stayed where she was, sitting on Jill’s kitchen floor as Mia snuggled in her lap. “Hard not to. It’s the talk of the town.”
“Right!” He grabbed one of the blocks. “I’ve been thinking about who I need to hire to make it work, and Jill explained how Mac Maven specifically recruited her for his new hotel because of her local knowledge and connections.”
Moira suddenly knew where this was going.
“Jill told me you’re a successful human resources director at a top Denver engineering firm who’s looking for a new job, and she got to thinking—”
“I’ll bet,” Moira said, and the poor guy froze for a moment. “Please continue.”
“I ne
ed someone to manage the center. I’m not talking about the finances or anything. This person will act as the director—they’ll be in charge of hiring and managing staff, meeting with clients and press. The scope will be beyond human resources, but Jill says you’re a jack of all trades and good with people. And I want the person to be young. There will be a lot of students involved. I’m hoping to include more budding inventors over time. It’s important to me to foster a creative, hip environment for inventing.”
Moira had to blink a few times before she answered. “You think I might be that person?” Her mind reeled. This job would be in Dare Valley, like her mom had been hoping. Had she and Jill dreamed this one up together?
“I’d like to talk to you more about it, and I’ll need to see your resume and have my CFO, Chase Parker, interview you, but yes, I’d like to see if it would suit both of our interests.”
Margie was standing behind him from his position on the floor, nodding and giving her an encouraging smile. “You’ll like Chase, Moira. He runs Evan’s company.”
“So I can focus on my inventions,” he added.
“I’ve read about Chase in Fortune,” she said. The man had radiated power in the photo on the cover of the magazine. “He’s well regarded for taking your company into the billionaire club. Not that your inventions wouldn’t have done that on their own.”
Evan laughed. “Oh, I like you already. Jill said you were balls-to-the-walls honest. Chase will like that too. Oops. Can I say that in front of the kids?”
Jill shrugged. “They know the word ball. Just not in the way you meant.”
Evan cleared his throat. “That’s…good. Sorry about that, Jill. So, Moira, are you interested?”
It would be crazy not to consider it. She’d been hoping for more management responsibility, and this position would launch her into a whole new realm. “Of course, I’d need to hear more about the position, salary, and benefits. Do you have a job description?”
“Nope,” Evan answered unabashedly. “That’s why we need you. Just kidding! I’ll talk to Chase and have our people hammer out something to send you. What’s your contact info?”
