“Matt, I wasn’t talking about the restaurant.”
Matt shoved his hands in his pockets. “I know what you were talking about.”
“She’ll come around.”
“I don’t think so. And honestly, I can’t blame her if she hates me forever. I’ve done nothing but let her down since I’ve been back. I’ve screwed everything up.”
“And every time you screw up, she forgives you. This is my fault, really. I shouldn’t have stuck my nose in. I should have let nature take its course with you and Em.”
“Nature? Do you mean you knew…”
“That something was going on with you two? Who didn’t? You guys were attached at the hip since you were eight years old. Do you know how jealous I used to get? It was like you two had some secret club I wasn’t invited into.”
“We were just good friends,” Matt said. Until the beach, anyway.
“When you left for college she was a wreck. I knew something happened between you. You made yourself pretty scarce for a long time and she spent way too much energy trying to pretend she didn’t care. I must have asked her to come to California with me a dozen times, and she always said no. Getting you two back together was damn near impossible.”
Matt could hardly believe what he was hearing. “Are you telling me you set this whole thing up?”
“More or less.”
“What about the boyfriend? Was that just part of the plan?”
“No, that part was real. I didn’t know they weren’t really together. I just knew something about it wasn’t right. She wasn’t happy.”
“And the part about him being into something illegal?” Matt asked.
Ty grinned. “Nah, I just made that up. You weren’t looking like you were going to cooperate. I had to give you a good reason to want to help me.”
Matt shook his head. “I fell for it.”
“Yeah, you’re pretty stupid that way. For all your success and your money, you had absolutely no direction. Those people you hang out with, the women you date—it’s just not you. And Emily, man, she’s just been a real pain in the rear since you left.”
“Don’t tell her that.”
“Already did.”
Matt raised an inquisitive brow. “What did you say exactly?”
“Everything that I’m telling you.”
“And you walked away in one piece? How did you manage that? There’s nothing she hates more than to have you and your parents messing with her life.”
“I told her I did it because I was tired of seeing you both so unhappy. And I loved you both too much not to do something about it.”
It wasn’t often he and Ty displayed any kind of affection, and Matt found himself more than a little choked up. “What did Emily say?”
“She punched me in the stomach. Then she started crying and hugged me.”
In the parking lot of Touchdown Matt heard a commotion and saw that the wrecking ball was in position. “This is it,” he said.
“You’re really going to let them do it? You’re going to let them win?”
“It’s not about winning or losing. The truth is, I don’t care what anyone in this town thinks of me. I’m tired of trying to prove myself. I know what I’ve accomplished, and that’s all that matters.”
“What are you going to do next? Build another one somewhere else?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’m thinking of selling off the Touchdown chain. I’ve had a couple of decent offers. I may take some time off. Decide what I want to do next. But the thought of doing it alone…” He shook his head, unable to speak for all the emotion backing up in his throat. He didn’t want to do it without Emily by his side.
Ty clasped a hand on Matt’s shoulder. “Give her time. She’ll come around.”
The foreman called out a warning to be sure the area was secure, and Matt took one last look at the building as the wrecking ball fell.
“How bad is it?” Alex asked from his seat on the corner of Emily’s desk.
“Bad,” Emily said. “If we stretch it, we can make it through to the end of the summer.”
Alex took a slug of his diet soda. “Bummer.”
“Bummer?” she repeated, barely able to contain her frustration. If her hand wasn’t still sore from punching her brother, she would have broken Alex’s nose. “I tell you we’re going to have to close our doors, putting our entire staff out of work, and all you can say is bummer? I’ve been killing myself trying to keep us in business.”
“And despite the odds you’ve done a valiant job. Give it up, honey.”
“I can’t believe you’re being so flip about this.”
“And I can’t believe you still care. Your parents are selling you the property, you’ll have your flower shop soon.”
“Yeah,” she said grudgingly.
“You don’t sound too happy about it anymore.”
She should have been ecstatic. Her parents were putting the property in her name next week on delivery of the first three-quarters of the money; the remaining amount to be paid in installments over the next two years. They were finally taking her seriously. The bank was considering her application, but had already said that with her impeccable credit and sound business plan they didn’t think she would have any problems securing a business loan. She had everything she’d been working for, yet it held no satisfaction.
At first she’d blamed it on Conway. But after her talk with Ty this morning, she was having a really hard time holding on to her anger where he was concerned. Put in the identical position as Matt, she couldn’t say she wouldn’t have reacted as he had. The guy was loyal to a fault, though slightly misguided. And while she would have appreciated it if he’d told her the truth, she understood why he hadn’t. She wanted to hate him for what he’d done. But all these sappy feelings of love kept mucking things up.
So if Matt wasn’t the cause of her trepidation, what was the problem? That’s when she’d realized, she wasn’t unhappy about having a flower shop. She was unhappy about leaving Marlette. As stressful and crazy and frustrating as it could be at times, she loved her job. She worked nutty hours, not just for the money, but because she took so much pride in keeping the nursery on its feet. She was happy there, and even if she wouldn’t be the one at the helm, she didn’t want to leave until she knew they would open their doors for another season.
And Alex didn’t seem to give a damn.
“Think big,” Alex said, leaning closer. “If you could have anything in the world, any job, what would it be?”
She said without pause, “I would want a nursery like Marlette.”
“Suppose you had a chance to buy Marlette? Would you?”
She could only dream it. It was completely out of her financial realm of comprehension. “I could never afford it. And even if I could, I’d be out of business before I started. We just don’t have the clientele we used to.”
“Suppose you had enough contracts lined up to keep you in business?”
“Alex, we both know that we’ve lost practically every bid this year. There are no guarantees.”
“What if there were?”
He was leading her somewhere, and she wanted to know what he had up his sleeve. “Okay, what’s the deal? What are you getting at? Do you know something about the lost bids?”
Alex grinned down at her. “Think about it, Em. How do you suppose I knew your millionaire didn’t go to any other nursery. Who had access to all that information in those bids we lost?”
“It was you?” she asked, feeling as if she’d been poleaxed. “You were the one leaking the information?”
“I can’t believe you didn’t figure it out before this.”
The betrayal she felt was so stark, so deep, she was numb with it. “Why would you do it? I worked so hard—”
“A business is always a better buy when it’s about to go under. My mother is fed up and she wants to sell. You’ll get it for a steal.”
“Me?”
“Yes, y
ou. You’re going to buy Marlette.”
“Are you telling me that you deliberately almost bankrupted the business just so I could afford to buy it?”
“I told you, I’m not as incompetent as you think.”
“Are you nuts?” Emily could barely comprehend what he was telling her. And she couldn’t believe he would do that for her. Marlette was his livelihood. His legacy. “What will you do? Where will you work?”
“Anywhere else. I’ve hated this God-awful business since the day my mother bought it. The only thing that kept me here this long is you and your passion for keeping it going. But I’ve had enough. I’m ready to move on.”
She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t even believe it was real. “But, is that fair to your mother?”
“My father left her a fortune when he died. She’s not going to be hurting for money.”
“But, what about clients?”
“I’ve got a dozen new clients contracted for the spring,” he said. “So, what do ya’ say?”
“Yes,” she said, but it came out more like a squeal. She covered her mouth to contain a bubble of laughter. “Yes, I’ll buy it.”
“I’ll let my mother know and get the ball rolling.”
She was going to own Marlette Landscape. It could be Douglas Landscape or anything else she wanted to call it. It would be all hers. She could barely suppress her excitement. Her office walls were the only thing keeping her from going in a dozen directions at once. She could hardly wait to tell Matt—
And just like that, her bubble burst. She wouldn’t be seeing Matt again. Not even as friends. It would be too hard, hurt too much. She’d already decided it would be best for them both if they cut all ties. Even if she could forgive Matt, which she was sure she could, they would never have any kind of life together. She had a business tying her to Chapel and he had a life—superficial as it was—in California. Business would forever dominate his time, and she would always feel as if she were in second place. She was finished compromising herself. For once in her life, she wanted to be number one.
There was no point in dwelling on it any longer. She had a nursery to run. From this day forward, Matt was out of her life.
“I’ll have to call my parents, tell them I won’t be needing the property—” She gasped and shoved herself up from her chair. “Oh, no!”
“What?” Alex shouted, nearly falling off the edge of her desk. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t need the property. Oh my God, what time is it?”
Alex checked his watch. “Three-fifteen.”
She fumbled in the file cabinet for her purse. “I have to hurry. I have to stop them.”
“Stop who?”
“The demolition crew! They’re going to tear it down today. Matt can buy the property!” She found her purse and rummaged through it. “Oh, where are my keys?”
Alex hopped off her desk and yanked his keys out of his pocket. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but it sounds exciting. I’ll drive you there.”
Fourteen
She was too late.
By the time she got there, Touchdown was gone. The only thing left was an enormous pile of rubble. And even that was fast disappearing as a crew dumped the remains in enormous trucks to be hauled away.
“That’s one big heap of garbage,” Alex said, shaking his head. “What a waste.”
“You missed the show.”
Emily turned to see Ty walking up behind them. “When did they do it?”
“Noon.”
“How is Matt taking it?”
“Why don’t you ask him yourself? He’s at his hotel packing.”
Emily squelched the sudden rush of panic rising up in her at the thought of Matt leaving Chapel forever.
It’s over, she reminded herself yet again. He couldn’t stay and she couldn’t go with him. It was hopeless.
Ty nodded to Alex. “How’s it going?”
Alex returned the nod, adding a touch of flair. “It’s been better, and you?”
“You know,” Ty said with a shrug, then added, “So, you’re gay?”
Alex’s brow quirked up with surprise at the blatant question. “Why, you interested?”
Ty’s eyes widened and he took a step away. Emily had to bite her lip not laugh.
Alex rolled his eyes. “A homophobe. Great. Don’t worry, fly boy, my heart belongs to another.”
“Behave,” Emily said, and turned to her brother. “When is he leaving?”
“When is who leaving?”
“Matt.”
Ty frowned. “Matt’s not leaving.”
“But you said he was packing.”
“He is packing, to move into his rental house.”
Emily suddenly felt dizzy, as if the world had shifted on its axis. “Rental house?”
“I found him a place this afternoon. He’s decided to stay in Michigan for a while.”
It doesn’t mean anything, she told herself. Not a single thing. He would leave eventually. He had a business to run. A life in California.
When she didn’t acknowledge him, Ty added, “He’s even talking about selling the Touchdown chain and taking some time off.”
“Oh.” She tried to swallow, but all the moisture in her mouth had evaporated.
“Is that all you can say? ‘Oh.’”
Right now, she couldn’t say anything. Her heart was beating way too hard and fast for her to think straight.
“It’s been five days,” Ty said, draping an arm over her shoulder. “Don’t you think you’ve tortured the guy enough? He wants a reason to stay. He loves you for cripes sake.”
“But what if he decides to go back? What then?”
Ty shrugged. “You’ll work it out.”
“Though it pains me to say it, I’m afraid I have to agree with your brother,” Alex said. “At least go talk to him.”
Matt might not be going back to Los Angeles. He might be selling his restaurants. He’d told her he loved her, that she was what was missing in his life.
Could the message be any clearer?
“Alex,” she said. “I need your keys.”
Matt dropped his bags in the doorway and looked around the foyer of his rental house. Rental cars, rental houses—he really needed to get some permanence in his life. Tomorrow he would go out and buy a car. And if anyone gave him a reason to stay in Michigan permanently, he might look into having a house built. Something that wasn’t a mansion.
But as rental houses went, this one wasn’t too bad. When his furniture arrived, it would be downright livable.
“Kind of small, isn’t it?”
Matt spun around and almost tripped over his luggage. His heart did an end-to-end flip when he saw Emily in the doorway, a potted fern hanging from each hand.
“You think it’s too small?” he asked, following her gaze up the vaulted ceiling in the great room, over the stone fireplace and slate mantel and beyond to the formal dining room.
She took a few steps in, looking around. “Are you kidding, I have closets bigger than this.”
A twenty-two-hundred-square-foot closet? Even he didn’t have one that big. He nodded to the ferns. “Friends of yours?”
“Oh.” She looked down, as if she’d forgotten she was holding them. “These are for you. I heard you might be in town for a while and thought you might like the company. You know, someone to talk to.”
She was fishing, big-time. Pumping him for information. Let her sweat a little, he decided. God knows she’d made him sweat his share this past week. “Thanks. They’ll look great in the kitchen.” He took them from her, his fingers brushing hers in the process. It was all he could do not to drag her into his arms and never let go.
He set the plants on the brick floor leading into the kitchen. “I heard from Ty that you talked with your parents. How did that go?”
“As well as can be expected, I guess. I’ve promised to be honest with them and they’ve promised not to nitpick and stick their noses in where the
y don’t belong. It may take some time, but I think they’re coming around.” She took a few more steps in, wedging her hands into her shorts pockets. “It’s really beige in here, huh?”
“Yeah, rentals are funny that way. I figure I won’t be here long enough to paint, though, so I’d better get used to it. I only have a three-month lease.”
That wasn’t what she wanted to hear, though she was trying damned hard not to let her disappointment show. She took a step back toward the door. “So, you’ll be going back to California?”
“Maybe, maybe not. It just depends on whether or not I have a good reason to stay.”
“Like…a job?”
“Maybe.”
She nodded, looking thoughtful. “I hear they’re hiring at the Dairy-O on Main Street.”
“Really. Sounds…challenging.”
“Of course, that’s only seasonal. They shut down during winter.”
Grinning, Matt took a couple of steps toward her. “I was thinking of something a little more permanent than that. Something with an emotional attachment.”
She took a few steps in his direction, her brow crinkled in thought, then she brightened. “I know. You could get a dog. Or a cat.”
“I could do that.” He closed the last few spaces between them, and gently pulled her to him. She just about melted into his arms. She smelled so good and felt so right, he didn’t know how could have missed it before. “Or, I could get a wife.”
Head against his chest, she nodded. “You could get one of those.”
“And maybe a couple of kids?”
She looked up at him, eyes narrowed. “I don’t know about that.”
“Not necessarily right away,” he added.
“So there’s no confusion here, you are talking about us, right? Because I’m going to feel really stupid if some supermodel pops out of the kitchen.”
He couldn’t stop the goofy grin from spreading over his face. He’d be damned if this wasn’t exactly where he wanted to be. “I’m definitely talking about us.”
The Seduction Request Page 14
