“I’ll put the footage from this morning together and e-mail it to you,” Steve told Kendall. “Are we still on for tomorrow?”
She nodded. “I have appointments scheduled with two families who lost their homes in the fire.” She felt Ty’s questioning gaze and turned to him. “Do you know about the potential land development deal for the valley? We’re going to talk with some of locals and get their views on it.”
Ty stiffened and she noticed his hands clench at his sides. “A land deal?” His voice was hard.
“Do you think that’s a problem?”
“Not necessarily,” he said but glanced at his watch instead of looking at her. “I need to get going.” Turning to Steve, he extended his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ll let my brother know you remembered him. That kind of stuff makes his day.”
The cameraman shook Ty’s hand. “Thanks for the tour. I’m not a nature buff, but you make it almost interesting.”
One side of Ty’s mouth inched up slightly. “That’s what I’m here for.” He shifted his gaze to Kendall. “I haven’t heard anything about the land deal from my contacts in the area, but I’ll do some digging. Let me know what else you need from me.”
She tried to gauge if he was hiding something, but his eyes gave away nothing. “I’ll walk you to your truck,” she said. “Steve, I’ll see you inside.”
“Sure thing,” the cameraman replied, and he began unloading equipment from the van.
Ty led the way around the side of the building to the front lot. He stopped next to a truck that was newer and nicer than the one she’d crashed into last week.
She wanted to say something that would bridge the distance between them but didn’t know how to make it better without giving him the wrong impression. Which could also be considered the right one, depending on whether she listened to her brain or her body.
“Thank you for your time today,” she said, hoping he would use his natural charm to ease the strain.
“Sure.”
So much for that natural charm.
“I’ll give you a call next week,” she said. “I’d like to get some footage of the volunteer teams working. And maybe something on what’s being done in other areas of the forest to prevent future fires from getting out of control. Would you be available for a couple more trips into the foothills?” She smiled tentatively. “I’ll wear my hiking boots next time so you don’t have to strain your back.”
“No big deal,” he replied, not returning her smile. His tone was so cool it made her wince. He reached into the pocket of his fleece vest and pulled out a set of car keys. “I’ll talk to you next week.”
She watched him unlock the door of the truck and climb in. “Ty?”
He angled his head around the side of the truck’s cab to look at her.
Staring into those penetrating blue eyes, she had no idea what to say. Her emotions were so jumbled she couldn’t keep them straight in her head, let alone make sense of them in the middle of a parking lot. “Thanks again,” she said with another try at a smile.
He didn’t reply, only lifted one hand in a casual wave. He closed the door and started the engine. Kendall moved to the side as the truck reversed out of the parking lot. Ty didn’t look at her as he drove away.
She stood in the parking lot for several minutes after he disappeared from view. Finally, she shook her head and walked toward the building.
She had a long day ahead of her and a lot of work to do.
The following evening, Kendall shifted nervously in her seat at the downtown Denver restaurant where she was meeting her first date. At seven o’clock on a Wednesday night, the place was half filled. The other customers divided their attention between their own dining companions and the table where she sat near the back of the room. She glanced at Steve, who stood behind her, a camera perched on one beefy shoulder.
“Having second thoughts?” he asked, shifting so the camera lens focused on her.
She nodded. “Third and fourth thoughts, too.” Not to mention the fact that she couldn’t get Ty and the way their morning had ended out of her mind. “Are you taping me?”
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
“I’m freaking out,” she confided. “Is it too late to bolt?”
He patted the top of her head like she was a puppy. “You’ll be fine. If you get any sort of weird vibes from the guy, give me a sign and I’ll knock a drink in his lap or something.”
“You’re the best.” Kendall smiled.
Liz hurried over to the table. “He’s here,” she said excitedly. “You remember which one this is, right? Scott Jenkins, thirty-four, hot shot investment banker.”
Kendall rolled her eyes. “I’ve studied his profile and you’ve been lecturing me on his stats for the past half hour.”
“Are you ready?”
Kendall ran her fingers through her hair. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Liz tapped her finger twice on the table. “That’s my girl.” She gestured at Steve. “Come with me. I want to get some shots of his entrance and Kendall’s expression when they first meet.”
Kendall jerked to attention. “My expression? How am I supposed to react? Is there something wrong with the guy that I need to know about?” Liz left with Steve following, ignoring her frantic questions.
She folded her hands on the table and tried not to panic. As it turned out, there was no need for worry. The man walking toward her looked just like his picture, down to the tailored suit and matching red tie.
She stood as he approached the table. “Scott? Hi, I’m Kendall. It’s nice to meet you.”
He took her hand and brought it to his lips, smearing a sloppy wet kiss across her knuckles. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kendall.”
Aware of Steve filming her behind Scott’s back, Kendall kept a bright smile on her face. She pulled her hand from her date’s grasp and gestured to the table. “Have a seat,” she said, wiping her hand on her napkin. It was an effort not to shudder.
As he sat down, it struck her that the last time she’d sat at a table across from a man was during her breakfast with Ty. Right now she needed to stop wishing Ty was with her on this date and start focusing on the man in front of her.
The man whose eyes were currently roaming all over her body. “You’re even better looking in person than on television.”
Kendall couldn’t quite hide her surprise at his blunt remark. “Um, thank you.”
He leaned forward and stared into her eyes. “I mean it,” he told her earnestly. “They say the camera adds ten pounds and you look about perfect on TV so I thought you’d be scrawny in real life.” He winked. “But you’ve got curves where it counts.”
Kendall’s shocked gaze darted to Steve and the camera. He gave her a questioning glance. Almost imperceptibly, she shook her head. “Tell me a little bit about yourself, Scott,” she said, trying to redirect the conversation. “I understand you’re an investment banker.”
He gave her a knowing smile. “That’s always a hit with the ladies. Let’s just say, I’ve got a good-size bulge where a man needs it.”
“Excuse me?” she sputtered, hoping she’d misheard him. If she hadn’t, she’d be going on one blind date instead of two. This one would be left on the cutting room floor. Even when Ty had been flirting with her, he’d been a gentleman about it. That was something she was appreciating more by the second. Once again, she tried and failed to stop thinking about Ty.
“In my wallet.” He laughed. “Thanks to my job, I’m never short on cash.” He pointed one finger at her in mock accusation. “You, little lady, need to get your mind out of the gutter. We’ll save that sort of thinking for the end of the evening.”
An end that couldn’t come soon enough. She stared in abject horror at the lounge lizard in banker’s clothing sitting across from her. She’d reviewed the bios of each of the gu
ys she’d be dating for It’s Raining Men. Like the other men, Steve had looked perfect on paper, but that didn’t matter when he was such a jerk.
Her mind drifted to Ty once more. She’d tried to ignore the spark she’d felt because he was a complication she couldn’t handle. But she was quickly coming to understand how rare that kind of a connection could be. Did she really want to let him go?
Right now she had to figure out how she was going to make it through this date without strangling Scott Jenkins. She gestured to the waiter hovering near the table. “Could we get a wine list, please?”
Kendall pulled to a stop in front of the cozy brick house nestled in a recently gentrified neighborhood not far from downtown. She rested both hands against the steering wheel and propped her head against them. The digital clock on the dashboard shone brightly against the Jeep’s darkened interior. It was almost ten o’clock.
Had it really only been two and a half hours since her disastrous date with Scott Jenkins began? She couldn’t stand to think any more about that lecherous cheese ball. A cool gust of night air washed over her as she opened the car door and got out. One lone streetlight glowed dimly overhead, illuminating large trees that were just beginning to bud. The night was clear, the street silent but for the hum of cars in the distance.
She walked up the short concrete path that led to the house’s oversized porch. A wooden swing hung from the rafters on one end, while several empty flowerpots huddled in the corner on the other side.
Was this a mistake? Of course it is, her rational inner voice advised. She ignored the voice and rang the doorbell before she lost her nerve. Being on the date had made her feel lonely, even in the middle of a crowded restaurant with a camera filming. Her empty condo held no appeal tonight, and of all the places she could go, this was where she wanted to be. The porch light flicked on, bathing her in an iridescent glow.
The door swung open, and Ty peered out at her behind the mesh screen, his usual unreadable expression darkening his striking blue eyes.
“Hi.” She smiled. “I was totally not in your neighborhood and decided to stop by.”
A slow grin spread across his face. He pushed open the screen. “Come on in.”
“Sorry it’s so late,” she said as she scooted past him into the entry.
The screen door banged behind her, and she jerked around. Ty stood in the doorway, his gaze still enigmatic. “The kitchen is straight ahead. Would you like something to drink?”
“Sure. Thank you.” She walked forward, studying his home as she went. Shelves overflowed with books in the living room and a small table held a TV and stereo equipment. The furniture was overstuffed and comfortable. Framed prints of black and white landscape scenes hung in a row above the leather sofa.
“How long have you lived here?”
“A few years. I’m kind of remodeling it in stages.”
“The house fits you.”
“Thanks. I think.”
She heard the smile in his voice. “Yeah, it’s a compliment. Don’t let it go to your head.”
He laughed.
The kitchen she stepped into was warm and inviting. Dark cherry cabinets contrasted with the soft yellow walls. It was a room that made her want to sit down and stay a while.
“Did you redo this room yourself?” Kendall asked, sliding her hand over the smooth granite countertops.
Ty walked to the stainless steel refrigerator. “For the most part. I meet a lot of contractors in my line of work so I had some help with the plumbing and electrical. Jenny picked out the yellow,” he said, gesturing to the walls. “She swore it wasn’t too girlie and it’s grown on me. What can I get you to drink?”
“A glass of white would be nice.”
He rooted around in the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle. Silently, he removed a wine glass from one of the upper cabinets and poured. He set it before her and turned back to the refrigerator. Kendall watched the muscles of his legs flex under gray gym shorts as he squatted down to grab a beer bottle from one of the lower shelves.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked. He propped one hip against the counter and took a long drink of beer.
Kendall rolled the stem of the wine glass between her fingers. “I had a date tonight.”
Something flashed in Ty’s eyes. “Shouldn’t you be having this conversation with one of your girlfriends?”
“Probably.”
“So how was it?”
“Awful. It was for the dating show and a complete disaster. The guy threw out every bad line in the book. It’s a wonder he didn’t ask my sign. I didn’t take one bite of the food. It was all I could do not to gag every time he opened his mouth.”
“That bad?”
She nodded. “Do you know the worst part?”
“What?”
She took a long sip of wine and met his brooding gaze. “The entire date, all I thought about was you. Even before I met the guy tonight. I was waiting at one of my favorite restaurants and I sat there wanting you to be walking toward me.” She laughed. “I have two more dates for the show, and I want you on each one.”
“I like the sound of that.” He took another swallow of beer. “Why do I think there’s a but in my future?”
“There are a number of buts,” she agreed. “I’ve told you most of them. But you’re not my type, but I don’t have time for a relationship, but my career takes too much time and attention. If things go as planned I’m going to be moving to New York in a matter of months.” She shook her head. “I should not be here, but when I got in my car after tonight’s fiasco, I wanted to be with you. I like the way I feel when you’re around. You make me feel so . . . real. Anyway, I dug out your resume to find your address and here I am.”
She looked away from the intensity in his expression, embarrassed that she’d revealed so much. “How pathetic is that?” she asked weakly.
Ty ate up the distance between them in three long steps. He cradled her face between hands that were cool and slightly damp from the beer bottle. He tilted her head until she was forced to meet his gaze. “It doesn’t sound pathetic at all,” he murmured. “It sounds like the nicest thing I’ve ever heard.”
He brought his mouth down to meet hers. The kiss was slow and gentle and tasted faintly of beer. This is what she’d imagined all night. The thought of Ty’s lips against hers had kept her sane through the dreadful dinner.
But reality was so much better than any fantasy she’d created in her mind.
Her head spun, her knees went weak, and her stomach growled like an irate lion. “Oops,” she said against his lips.
She felt his mouth curve into a smile. “I seem to have that effect on your stomach,” he said, drawing back his head.
She flashed a grin. “What can I say, you make me hungry.” It had been a long time since she’d flirted so openly, and she felt the heat rise to her cheeks again.
Ty’s eyes darkened before he tucked her hair behind her ears and dropped a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. “First, let’s get you fed,” he told her, his tone gentle. “Then we’ll do something about your hunger.”
“Ok,” she squeaked in response.
He smiled. “How do you feel about s’mores?”
“Those things you make over a campfire?”
He nodded.
“I’ve never had one.”
He gave her an incredulous look. “You’re kidding, right?”
She shrugged. “I’ve never been camping. It’s not really my style.”
Ty began opening cabinets, pulling out ingredients. “But you live in Colorado. It’s an unofficial state law that you must like to camp to move here.”
“What can I say? Maybe I’m the only person who ever moved here who’s not into the outdoors. I don’t like dirt and bugs.” She thought about how he spent his days and cringed. “No offense.”
“None taken.” He turned to her, holding a box of graham crackers, a bag of marshmallows, and a large chocolate bar. “We’re going to broaden your horizons, darlin’.” He grinned. “When I’m through with you, you’ll be begging me to backpack with you through the Rocky Mountain wilderness.”
She thought about reminding him that when they were through, she’d be getting on a plane bound for New York City, but decided against it. There was plenty of time for reality to rear its inevitable head. Tonight she wanted to forget about the rest of her life. “Why do you have all that stuff?” she asked. “Are you some kind of Boy Scout troop leader?”
“Hardly.” He laughed. “Jenny’s son, Cooper, spends the night every so often. Making s’mores is part of our ritual.” He balanced the boxes and bag in one hand and opened the French doors that led off the kitchen toward the back of the house.
“What’s the deal with you and Jenny?” she asked, as she followed him onto a large deck attached to the house.
“Why, Ms. Clark, are you the jealous type?”
“Of course not,” she answered too quickly. “You two seem close. I was simply wondering if there’s a history there. She’s very pretty.”
The only light in the backyard came from the kitchen window so Kendall couldn’t see much past the wooden rail of the deck. Ty set the packages on a wrought iron table and disappeared into a darkened corner of the deck. As her eyes adjusted to the night, Kendall could make out his silhouette bending over a large stone fireplace built into one side of the patio.
“Jenny’s pretty,” he agreed. “But she’s like a little sister to me. Her mom worked as my family’s housekeeper so we’ve been friends since we were little. Her dad was a gardener so she knows a lot about planting. I worked summers for Mr. Castelli in high school. Jenny was the first person I hired when I started my business. She’s been with me ever since.”
Her eyes widened. “Your family had a housekeeper?”
His shoulders stiffened. “Let’s not go there. Please.”
The please got her. “For now,” she agreed. “What about Cooper’s father?”
Kissing Mr. Right Page 10
