Hagen’s mouth relaxed. “As for your offer of a partnership on your subdivision, you’ll want a lawyer to renegotiate the conditions, and we’ll work something out there, but we no longer have a project manager.”
Kell let a cynical smile curl his lips. “If you assume I can fit out shops and restaurants as well as houses, you are assuming I can manage without a project manager.”
Hagen nodded. “Normally we call for written applications. But since Andrew recommended you for the job…what do you say?”
Kell gripped the arms of the chair, his breath suspended. “To the offer of the job as your project manager?”
For a moment, Hagen sat silent. “The starting salary is one hundred and fifty thousand a year. After that, if all works well, you can renegotiate. My father is trusting me on this one, but if you agree, he wants to see you in his office at nine tomorrow.”
“I have the job?” The pulse in his neck thudded.
Hagen nodded. “It’s yours if you want it. As my father said, we can always redeploy you if you don’t work out.”
“I want it.”
Hagen stood. “Welcome to AA & Company.” He moved across to Kell, hand outstretched.
Kell rose to his feet and shook Hagen’s hand. “I’ll walk you out.”
Dazed, Kell stood watching the least outgoing man he had met, but the fastest to make a decision, drive off in his red Porsche. As reality hit him, he punched the air. His first thought was to leap the fence and tell Calli his dream had come true. His second was to slow down. Now almost nine in the morning, she was expecting a sometime bed partner, full-time tradesman to drop by and tell her the land agent’s estimate of the value of his house. He had half expected to be saying his final goodbye to her this morning. The last thing she would want would be to have him swing her off her feet and ask her to marry him.
He had the job of his dreams, not one that he had ever imagined on his résumé. If he could do that, perhaps he could have the woman, too.
* * * *
Calli dressed for gardening in old jeans and the khaki work shirt that had been washed often enough to form soft creases. The judge would be back at the end of the week, and she would be moving out. She would only have a week of not seeing Kell in the doorway, idly stroking the cat, instead of grabbing Calli into his arms. Even she knew that a quick break was the best.
The small hand on the kitchen clock moved to nine. She hadn’t promised to wait to hear what the land agent said, but she had heard his car leave five minutes ago. At least she had only known Kell for three months, which should not be long enough to cause her any lasting distress when he moved on. She might sob into her pillow for a month or two, but that would serve her right for thinking she could have a purely physical relationship with a man.
Of course she would have to like him a whole lot to virtually cohabit with him for months, and she liked him more than anyone she could think of at this moment. She would be hard put not to assume she loved him so much that when he left, her heart would be well and truly broken for the very first time.
Neither had expected any more than a sexual relationship and initially she would have settled for that, but the ache in her heart said Kell was different. He had been there for her when she needed him, unlike her sensible choices. He had helped her whenever she needed help. She would need to accept the fact that she had met him on a working holiday, and that was all.
Easing the tension in her back, she practiced the light-hearted smile she would offer him as he left. The hurt of not being the one for a man who was definitely her one was too much to handle. This time, she would square her shoulders, smile blandly, and walk off into a perfect sunshine.
Hobo rubbed against Calli’s shins. She bent down and collected the cat in her arms for comfort. Hobo struggled herself into a position where she could lie on her back and pat Calli’s face with a soft paw, like there, there.
“I hope you won’t miss him too much,” Calli whispered onto Hobo’s belly fur.
Hobo purred, apparently quite confident that her life could be complete without seeing Kell again. She put a paw on either side of Calli’s head and rubbed faces.
Accepting the gentle caress, Calli said, “I’m going to have to leave for work any minute, but I’m just waiting to see him one last time. You don’t begrudge me that, do you?”
Hobo gave her a sympathetic glance, her purring vibrating through her soft little body as light footsteps disturbed the crushed granite path outside.
“Shoulders straight,” Calli whispered to the cat as she placed her on her own four paws. She opened the door. “How did it go?” she asked Kell.
He stood there, glancing warily at her. “Pretty good.”
“Are you going to talk to other land agents, or was that it?”
“I’m going to talk to a couple of land agents, yes.” He touched his tongue to his bottom lip. “First, I—”
“I’m off to work now, Kell. Let’s not worry about any parting speeches. I’m glad the house pleased the agent, but I knew it would. Tiggy always does a fantastic job, but you had the bones there. I know you will send the furniture back to the warehouse when the time comes because I know you are utterly reliable.”
He drew in a breath. “Thank you for your faith in me, but I don’t have a parting speech prepared. I’ve been offered more than the opportunity I wanted, Calli.”
“And you’re moving on. I know. I’ve always known. I’m moving on, too. It’s been wonderful, these last few months, the sex, I mean. You’re the best lover I’ve ever had but I have places to go and jobs to do.”
A crease formed between his eyebrows. “I’m sure you do.”
She waited for him to turn and leave. “I’m not in debt any longer, and I can get out of here and start enjoying life.”
“You haven’t enjoyed life here?” He folded his arms across his chest.
“I’m a garden designer. I don’t mind weeding and planting, but I don’t want to make a career out of laboring for someone else. It does no favors to my skin.” As her voice grew snootier and snootier like every mean girl she had ever met in her life, her heart was breaking. She glanced at her rough hands, which trembled.
“I understand. I don’t want to cut lengths of wood forever, either. I have the opportunity to—”
“I know. We both need to move on.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “I love you, Calli.”
“Loveable Calli, everyone’s best friend, everyone’s best bet not to make a scene. Yep, that’s me,” she said with bitterness in her tone. “And now I’m going to have to hear that this morning, or even last week you met the one.”
“I met the one a few months ago.”
“Isn’t that par for the course?” Her eyes prickled. “How would she feel if she knew you’d been bonking me with so much enthusiasm all that time?”
“Are you planning on telling her?” His lips formed a thin line.
“Unlikely. What’s that saying? What happens on holiday, stays on holiday.” Hobo tapped her leg. She glanced down. “No, not you. You’re a keeper,” she said in a voice husky with suppressed tears.
Kell swooped up the cat. “Are you taking sides?” he asked Hobo, frowning.
The cat shook her head. Kell leaned lower to hear the cat’s whisper. “But she won’t let me,” he said in answer to Hobo’s silent comment. “I told her I love her, and she seems to think I said something else.”
“Put my bloody cat down.”
He faced her. His mouth curled into a reluctant smile. “She loves me. She has from the start. Strays tend to fall for me.”
“No, we don’t.”
“You’re hardly a stray.” He reached out, gently cupping the side of her face, as Hobo had done, his smile tentative.
“That’s all you know. I’ve had a very hard life. My parents love me, my siblings are kind to me. I’ve had the education I wanted, and all the men running after me who wa
nted my father’s influence used in their favor. I had monetary help in buying my first house, which I lost because I’m prone to judging people on their looks. For example, I thought you were tall, dark, and handsome.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I am. Everyone says so.”
“See?” She sniffed back a tear.
“I do see. I’m insane about you, Calli. You must know that.” He wiped his thumb across her cheek.
“But you’re moving on.”
“I have to take the opportunities as they present. I have worked hard for the chance to have this one and even harder because I know you are Alexander Allbrook’s daughter. I didn’t know if he knew about you and me, or not.”
“You know? You know?” She blinked hard, trying to absorb any sign of tears. “He didn’t. Know.” Her throat ached, but she managed to woman up. “And I made darned sure he didn’t by not accepting your offer to support me at the funeral.”
“So, I got this job on my own merit?”
“What job?”
“Your brother Hagen has offered me a job at AA & Company.”
“When did you talk to Hagen?” She placed her fists on her hips.
“A few minutes ago. He inspected the house and said the company would come in with me on the next build, and then he offered me the full-time job of project manager for the company.”
“That’s quite a deal.” She glanced at him, wishing he would leave. “And now you have what you want. I had no hand in it. I needed to make sure we were together because you liked me for myself.”
“I know.” His hand shifted to her shoulder.
“You couldn’t possibly know,” she said crossly. “Being Alexander Allbrook’s daughter quite often makes me attractive.”
With the cat still resting on his arm, he moved closer to Calli, a breath away, staring down at her. “Exactly how attractive do you need to be?”
Her mouth curved into a cynical smile. “When did you find out who I am?”
“When I saw your photo in the paper attending the funeral of your brother’s wife.” He sighed. “The same brother I met this morning, next door, who offered me a contract based on my work in the house, my work and yours.” His gaze met hers. “That’s what we’ve been doing for the past three months—working toward a common goal. I didn’t realize that until the woman who spoke to me at Maggie’s party said so.”
“That was my mother.”
“Tell me you’re joking.” He examined her expression.
She shrugged. “She thinks that’s what makes marriages successful. Hers and Far’s is blissful sometimes, noisy sometimes, but no one would ever doubt they are crazy about each other, and they’ve worked together since day one.”
“Whereas, I’m crazy about you and you are not so crazy about me. You want me to rack off.” He dropped his hand from her shoulder, tilting his mouth wryly. “You used me and now you’re moving on. I’m not good enough to be with the daughter of Alexander Allbrook, despite being good enough to share her bed.”
She glanced up at him, slightly shocked. “You mean ‘used’ as in connection to sex? Well, isn’t that just like a man? I was in that relationship, too, you know.”
“If you’re attractive because of your family’s influence, I’m unattractive when a woman finds out I’m a tradesman.”
“You’re accusing me of being a snob.”
“And you’re accusing me of only being interested in your family’s influence. I made as sure as possible that I kept our relationship quiet.”
“So did I. Tiggy might have suspected something, but I said don’t ask and she didn’t.” Her voice quavered.
He drew in a long deep breath, offering her a half smile. “I fell for you the moment you accused me of running a meth lab. You knew you were wrong, but you wouldn’t give in. And you don’t. That’s a quality to love, and I’m in love with you, Calli. I’m crazy enough about you to want to marry you.” He stared right into her eyes.
“Is that a proposal?”
“Darned right, it’s a proposal. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you.”
“Please, put the cat down.”
“Not quite the answer I was hoping for.” With a wary smile he let the cat bound onto the floor where she sat glancing up as if also waiting for an answer, too.
“The answer is…” she flung her arms around his neck, “… yes. Yes, yes, yes.”
He held her close. “We could get married as soon as we can get a license,” he murmured into her ear.
“Did I tell you I love you, too?”
“I was hoping that’s why you decided to marry me.” He kissed her lips, once, twice.
“Hobo will be pleased. She was asking this morning where I intended to go.”
“You can move into the Tudor with me.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s hope it doesn’t sell too fast. If it does, I’ll find somewhere, don’t worry.”
“She was quite happy when I suggested asking my father for one of the houses he has sitting around waiting for renovation.” She glanced at the cat. “Right, Hobo?”
He remained silent for a moment. “He rents them?”
“Yes, but I’ll be working for him again, and we could take one that needs the garden redone.”
“No handouts, Calli.”
“Of course not. But it makes perfect sense to help him out.”
“I’m guessing this is my first lesson in how to compromise,” he said into her hair. “Do you have to leave for work?”
She backed into the cottage, dragging him with her. “It’s not every day a girl gets a marriage proposal. I’m sure my client will see reason.” When she started kissing him, she couldn’t stop, but he wouldn’t let her, because he showed her with his soft kisses and his hard kisses and his passionate kisses how much he loved her.
Finally, he leaned back and stared into her eyes. “I’m meeting your father tomorrow,” he said, straightening her shirt collar. “What’s the protocol? Should I tell him I’m going to marry his daughter before or after he makes me a formal offer for the job.”
She brushed his cheek with her fingers. “Don’t say a word to him. I’ll call Ma in the morning and make a time for us all to meet.”
If her father had found out who the tradesman next door was, and if he had offered Kell the job because his daughter loved him, she hoped Kell would never find out. She hoped she would never find out either, but even so, her father now had the perfect son-in-law. He needed a man like Kell in the company.
* * * *
At nine the next morning, she called her mother and told her she was about to have a son-in-law. “He’s being inducted into the company by Far this morning. I thought it would be a nice idea if you met him, too. You’ll be the only member of the family who hasn’t.”
“He’s being interviewed for what job?” her mother asked in a suspicious voice.
“Project manager. Does Far know?”
“That he’s about to employ the man who is his prospective son-in-law? No. We both decided not to check up on you. This is very good news, darling, and I did like him when I talked to him at Maggie’s engagement. We’ll have to have a very makeshift celebration in the staff room.”
“Let’s meet there at ten o’clock.” Calli knew her mother would come armed with food, but the employees would be pleased to have an excuse to eat more of her offerings.
Calli took the day off work, promising herself to finish Mrs. Haslam’s garden during the week. By the time she arrived at AA & Company, the tables in the staffroom groaned with sweet pastries and pink roses. Kell looked bemused as he walked in with Far. Hagen came behind, and Tiggy followed.
She smiled at him. “Hi. I couldn’t be nice to you when I was staging your house because I didn’t exactly know what you meant to Calli. She refused to say, which is often a bad sign. If you were going to be a rat, I wasn’t about to be friendly. But I can now that we’re going to be related.”
Hagen looked at him, blinking, and he slowly nodded. “Your garden was Calli’s work. I should have realized.” He touched his earlobe, a habit that he adopted when he was thinking. “I knew I had seen that art deco lounge suite before.”
Tiggy laughed. “It used to be in your office, but it was burgundy then. I had it reupholstered.”
“Lovely to see you again,” Ma said, presenting her cheek to be kissed by Kell. “Have you settled on a wedding date?”
Kell laughed. “We only settled on a wedding yesterday. Calli doesn’t want to wait. Nor do I. I’ll apply for a license as soon as I get a spare moment.”
“A Greek wedding would be too big, and a Nordic wedding too sparse,” Ma said, passing him a glass of champagne. “You’ll want something in between,” she told Kell.
“The registry office would do me.”
“Now, now,” Ma said, patting him on the hand. “Calli is my first daughter to marry. I’ve always known I will have to restrain myself because both my girls have too much Nordic caution in them to tolerate the enormous wedding I had. But like Christmas, weddings are just as much for the family as for the happy couple. We could keep the guest list to a hundred or two if we tried.”
“Try, Ma,” Tiggy said earnestly. “Because we don’t want to scare Kell off before we’ve quite got him. I say fifty or sixty. Have you made a list, Calli?”
Calli shook her head. “We have thirteen close relatives between us, and three grandparents. That’s sixteen before we start counting. I have a few friends who must be invited, and so does Kell. Sixty would work.”
Kell looked horrified. “Whatever Calli says.”
“Right. What theme are you planning?” Tiggy glanced at Calli. “You don’t want Greek—are you going to grow your hair?”
Perfect Scents Page 20
