Читать книгу From Temptation To Twins - Barbara Dunlop - Страница 10
ОглавлениеBefore his lips even touched Jules’s, Caleb knew he was making a huge mistake. He also knew he didn’t care.
He’d lain awake half the night thinking about her, picturing her on the trail outside her house, reliving her saying she’d had a crush on him. He should have kissed her right then. Any other man would have kissed her right then.
Now her cheek was soft against his palm, warm and smooth. He edged his fingers into her silky hair, and his lips finally covered hers. He kept the kiss soft. He wanted to devour her, but he didn’t want to scare her, and he sure didn’t want her to push him away.
Her lips softened. They parted. He firmed his grip, anchoring her mouth to his, while his free hand went around her waist. Desire pulsed through his body, arousal awakening his senses. He gave in to temptation and touched his tongue to hers.
She moaned, and his arm wound around her, bringing their bodies flush together. He deepened the kiss, bending her slightly backward. His body temperature rose, and he could feel the pulse of the ocean, or maybe it was the beat of his heart.
Melissa’s voice penetrated from outside, saying something about the roof. Her footsteps sounded on the deck. A man’s voice rose in response to her question.
Jules’s hands went to Caleb’s shoulders, and she gave the slightest push.
He reacted immediately, pulling back, her flushed cheeks coming into focus, along with her swollen lips and glazed blue eyes.
He wanted it again. He wanted more. He absolutely did not want to stop.
“I’ve made it worse,” he said, half to himself.
“We can’t do that,” she said, obviously voicing her own train of thought.
“No kidding.”
“I can’t trust you.”
“You could have said no.” This wasn’t all on him.
Her smile looked self-conscious. “I know. I’m talking about more than just the kiss.”
“Tell me why?” He didn’t know why he cared, but he did.
“Why I can’t trust you?”
“Yes.”
She thought about it for a moment. “I can’t trust you, because I can’t trust you.”
He wasn’t buying it. “That’s a circular argument. You’re too smart for that.”
“Okay,” she said, drawing back against the ladder. “I can’t trust you because you’re a Watford.”
He knew he should walk away, but his feet stayed stubbornly still. “You barely know me.”
“I know your family.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“I know you want me to compromise my interests.”
“Not really,” he said.
She cocked her head and sent him a frown of disbelief.
“Only a little bit,” he amended. “But it’ll work in the long run. I know it’ll work in the long run. For both of us.”
“Are you lying to yourself or just to me?”
“I’m not lying.”
“You definitely inherited it,” she said, apparently growing tired of waiting for him to back off. She slipped sideways, putting some distance between them.
“Inherited what?” He watched her go with regret.
“The gift of persuasion. Just like your father and grandfather, you’re confident in your ability to talk your way out of or into anything.”
Caleb wasn’t like his father or his grandfather. At least he didn’t want to be like them. He tried very hard to mitigate his father’s character traits in himself. For the most part, he thought he succeeded.
“That’s not fair,” he said.
“Fair?” She gave a light laugh. “A Watford talking about fair? Let me add to that. A Watford talking about fair while he tries to talk a Parker out of something?”
Caleb knew he’d lost this round. There was no way she was going to listen to reason. At least not right now. The kiss had been a colossal error.
Then again, it was a fantastic kiss. He couldn’t bring himself to regret it. If that kiss was the biggest mistake he made today, it was going to be a good day.
“No comeback?” she asked. “Come on, Caleb. You’re disappointing me.”
“Is there anything I can say to change your opinion?”
“Uh, no.”
“Then is there any chance you’ll go out with me?”
The question seemed to take her aback, and it took her a second to respond. “You mean like on a date?”
“Yeah. You and me. Dinner, dancing, whatever.” He wasn’t exactly sure how they’d separate their personal attraction from their business interests, but he was more than willing to give it a try.
“Is that a joke? Are you trying to put me off balance?”
“Yes, I’m trying to put you off balance.” He took a couple of steps toward her. “But no, it’s not a joke. There’s obviously an attraction between us.”
“We have nothing in common.”
“I like kissing you.” And he was pretty confident that she liked kissing him.
Her expression didn’t soften at all. “I bet you like kissing a whole lot of women.”
Not as much as he liked kissing her. But the accusation was fundamentally true. And he didn’t want to lie to her. “I suppose I do.”
“Then take one of them out on a date.”
“I’d rather take you.”
“You’re too much.”
“You’re stubborn.”
“Give the man a gold star.”
The answer surprised him. “You admit to being stubborn?”
“Oh, yes.” She jabbed her finger against his chest. “And you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
He trapped her hand, holding it against his heart. “Fightin’ words?”
“You said it yourself. We’re both going back to our corners now to come out swinging.”
Her eyes were alight, her cheeks still flushed, her lips were still swollen from his kisses, and he could see a little pulse at the base of her neck. She was the sexiest woman on the planet.
“Don’t you dare,” she said, snatching her hand from his grip.
He couldn’t help but grin. “I’m not going to kiss you again.”
“You better not.”
“I’ll make you a deal.”
She shook her head.
“Not a business deal. A personal deal. Next time, you have to be the one to kiss me.” Even as he said the words, he feared he was making a mistake.
She might never decide to kiss him. But he had no choice. He couldn’t take the chance of misreading her signals.
Melissa bounced through the doorway, enthusiasm in her expression and in her tone. “Jules, this is Noah Glover. He’s offered to help us with the renovation.”
Jules expression immediately neutralized, erasing their kiss, their argument and everything else. Noah Glover had walked in, and she’d given him a brilliant smile that made Caleb jealous.
Noah was tall and brawny, with an unshaven face and a shaggy haircut. He looked like the kind of guy who worked all day out in the weather.
Jules smoothly closed the space between them. “Nice to meet you, Noah.”
They shook, and Caleb felt another shot of jealousy. He gave himself a ruthless shake. It was one thing to want to kiss her, even hold her, even strip her naked and make love to her—which he did. But it was something else altogether to be jealous of a man shaking her hand. He wasn’t about to let that happen.
“I hope Melissa warned you we’re on a tight budget,” Jules said to Noah. “We want to do as much of the work as we can ourselves.”
“I can work with a budget,” Noah said. “And as much work as you’re willing to do is fine with me.”
“That sounds perfect.” She was still shaking his hand.
That was it? The entire interview? They were going to hire the guy right here and now? What about reference checks?
Caleb stepped up and stuck out his own hand. “Caleb Watford. I’m a neighbor.” He wanted this Noah guy to know he couldn’t simply stride in and take advantage of Jules and Melissa.
“Nice to meet you,” Noah said.
His grip was firm. Of course his grip was firm. He was a carpenter. But Caleb was no slouch. From what he could see, they were about the same height. Caleb could bench press one-eighty, but Noah had a lot more calluses.
“And our sworn enemy,” Jules said.
Caleb slid her a look of annoyance. Did she have no idea that he was trying to help?
“What happened while I was gone?” Melissa asked, glancing from one to the other.
“Nothing,” Jules said quickly. “Well, more of the same.”
“I’m happy to get started tomorrow,” Noah said to the women. “If you pull together your budget, I’ll get going on some estimates, and we can see what we have for options.”
His voice was deep. Caleb wasn’t crazy to learn that. He’d heard women liked men with deep voices. It was supposed to instill a sense of confidence. He didn’t want Jules feeling overconfident with this stranger.
Caleb had never heard of Noah Glover. Was he local to the Whiskey Bay area? Was he passing through? His truck outside was old and battered, and he wasn’t exactly a poster child for professionalism. Caleb was definitely going to check him out.
“I’m up for that,” Melissa said. “I’m excited to get started.”
Noah gave her a nod. “Until tomorrow, then.” He gave a parting smile to Jules before he left the building.
“He really seems to know what he’s doing,” Melissa said as she watched him leave.
“You just met him,” Caleb said.
Both women looked at him in surprise.
“How can you judge his competency?” Caleb doubted either Jules or Melissa had any expertise in construction.
“He seemed open and straightforward,” Melissa said. “Talked in plain language. He came highly recommended.”
“Did you check his reviews?” Caleb asked.
“Melissa has a business degree,” Jules said.
That was news to Caleb. He didn’t know why it surprised him.
“Of course I checked his reviews,” Melissa said. “I am aware of the internet.”
Caleb wasn’t sure whether to backpedal or press forward. “I only meant...”
Jules’s voice turned to a sarcastic purr. “That sweet li’l young things like us might not know how to manage in the big bad world?”
He frowned at her. “I wondered why you’d trust him in a heartbeat and be so suspicious of me.”
“Experience and good judgment,” she said.
“That’s not fair.”
“I told you before, Caleb. You’re a Watford. There isn’t a reason in the world for me to be fair to you.”
* * *
“He really is hot,” Melissa said two days later.
Jules looked up from where she was stripping varnish from the wooden bar, expecting to see Caleb walk through the door. But he wasn’t there. At least, she couldn’t see him.
Melissa was pulling down the window trim, while Noah was outside setting up a survey level on a tripod.
Jules was momentarily confused and, she hated to admit, a little disappointed. Caleb might be annoying, but he was also interesting. He energized a room.
“You mean Noah?” she asked her sister.
“Who else would I mean? Look at those shoulders and those biceps.”
“He does seem to be in good shape,” Jules agreed.
She hadn’t thought of Noah as particularly hot, although she supposed he was fairly good-looking in a rugged, earthy kind of way. He was dressed in a khaki green T-shirt and a pair of tan cargo pants. A tool belt was slung low on his hips, and his steel-toed boots were scuffed and worn. He had sandy-blond hair, thick and a little shaggy.
“I can’t stop staring at him,” Melissa said.
“I wouldn’t have pegged him as your type.”
The men Melissa had dated in college had been mostly preppy intellectuals, sometimes even poets. Occasionally, she’d talked about seeing an athlete. There was one basketball player she’d stayed with for a couple of months.
“Hot and sexy? Whose type is that not?”
Jules smiled, taking another look at Noah through her safety glasses. “So you mean as eye candy.”
Personally, she found him a bit dusty for eye candy. But if Melissa found him entertaining while she took on the drudge work of renovating, Jules was happy for her.
“Don’t let him slow you down,” Jules said.
“I can look and rip trim at the same time.”
“Make sure you don’t stab yourself with a nail.”
“They’re finishing nails, teeny-tiny finishing nails. Do you think if it gets hot enough he’ll consider taking off his shirt?”
“I think if you ask him we get sued. Sexual harassment goes both ways, you know.”
“I won’t ask him, at least, not flat out.”
“You can’t ask him at all. You can’t even hint.”
“I can hope.”
“I suppose there’s no such thing as the mind police,” Jules said.
Melissa grinned. “That’s a good thing. Because what I’m imagining is probably illegal in most states.”
“Please don’t tell me.”
“You’re such a prude.”
Jules scrunched her eyes shut, not allowing any untoward mental pictures to form. “Pink fuzzy bunnies. Pink fuzzy bunnies,” she chanted out loud, bringing the harmless image into her mind.
Melissa laughed at her antics.
“I obviously missed something.” This time it was Caleb.
Jules popped open her eyes to find him standing in the doorway again.
Talk about hot and sexy. He wore blue jeans, an open-collar white shirt and a midnight blue blazer. He looked casual and classy all at the same time, putting the rest of the male world to shame.
“Pink fuzzy bunnies?” he asked with a raised brow.
“Inside joke,” Melissa said. “It’s our mantra to keep nasty images at bay.”
Caleb glanced around. “Is there something nasty?”
“Not at all,” Melissa said, her blue eyes flashing mischief before she looked out the window again.
Jules told herself to stop ogling Caleb. “Can we help you with something?”
“I’ve been doing some research on your project,” he said as he stepped inside.
She adjusted her gloves and went determinedly back to working on the varnish removal with a paint scraper. “You’re just the Energizer Bunny, aren’t you?”
He kept moving toward her. “You’ve obviously got a rabbit theme going here.”
“Stay back,” she warned. “This stuff is dangerous.”
He stopped but frowned. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“Yes.” She dug the blade into the tacky solution and scraped it off in a layer.
“Have you done this before?”
“I watched a YouTube video.” She wiped away the goo with a rag and started on another strip.
“So, your answer is no.”
“My answer is ‘it’s none of your business.’”
He seemed to find her response amusing. “You’re very prickly.”
“And you’re a cocklebur.”
“A what?”
“A prickly plant. Something that digs in and sticks to you and won’t let go.”
“Oh. Okay, my mind went to a completely different place with that.”
Jules struggled not to smile. She didn’t want to encourage him. Or maybe she did. She didn’t like that he felt so free to interfere in her life, but she’d admit he was at least as entertaining for her as Noah was for Melissa.
A low clatter sounded from the window where Melissa was working. She swore.
Jules quickly glanced up. “You okay?”
Caleb was there before Melissa could answer, removing an L-shaped piece of window trim from her hands and untangling another piece from around her feet. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” Melissa said. “I just got distracted for a minute.”
“Where are you putting all this?” Caleb asked.
“There’s a disposal bin in the parking lot.”
Caleb spotted a pair of work gloves in a box by the door. He helped himself and gathered up a full armload of discarded trim.
“You’re not dressed for work,” Jules felt the need to point out to him.
“Not exactly,” he agreed. “But I might as well help a bit while we talk.”
“We’re not done talking?”
He didn’t answer, just shook his head as he left through the door.
“You’re as bad as me,” Melissa said.
Jules realized she was watching Caleb’s backside as he walked away. “Is it that obvious?”
“It is when you start drooling.”
“You’re such a comedian. I’m trying to figure out what he’s doing here.”
“That’s not what your expression says. But, okay, let’s go with that. What do you suppose he’s doing here?”
“He said he’d done some research on our project.”
“What does that mean?” Melissa asked.
“I’m assuming more on why we should remove the noncompete clause.”
“That seems likely. He’s coming back.”
“I see that.”
Caleb gave Noah a curt nod of acknowledgment as he approached the restaurant doorway.
Jules found the view of him equally pleasant from the front. She didn’t have to like him to admire the breadth of his shoulders, the swing of his stride, and the square chin and neatly trimmed dark hair that made him look capable of taking on...well, anything, including her.
A wave of heat passed through her body and sweat tickled her forehead. She swiped awkwardly at her hairline with her bare forearm as he walked back inside.
He looked around the open space. “What else needs doing?”
“Your work is done,” Jules said.
He might be pleasant to watch, but she was coming to the conclusion that it might be dangerous for her to spend much time around him.
He removed his jacket and set it aside, rolling up his sleeves.
“You have got to be kidding me,” she said. “You’re going to ruin that shirt.”
He shrugged. “I have other shirts.”
“It’s white.”
He glanced down at himself. “So it is.”
“Say whatever it is you came to say, and get out of here. Go back to your regularly scheduled life.”
He put a mock expression of hurt on his face. “I don’t know how to take that.”
“Yes, you do. You’ve got your own construction project to worry about.”
“That’s the thing.”
“Here we go...” She lined up to scrape off another strip of varnish.
“I want to show you some of the numbers from my other Neo locations.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him look into their small toolbox. “Showing off your profits?” she asked.
He ignored her gibe. “And the plans for the new location.” He selected a claw hammer. “What’s your seating going to be here?”
“None of your business.”
“Jules.” There was exaggerated patience in his tone. “We’re not going to be able to work this out if you’re going to be hostile.”
Melissa spoke up. “Thirty-four at the tables, twelve at the bar and another eighteen on the deck.”
Jules glared at her.
“What?” Melissa asked. “It’s not exactly a state secret. All he has to do is pull a copy of the business license.”
“Neo will have one-seventy-two on two floors, plus fifty seasonally on the patio. We’re not your competition.” He approached the window opposite Melissa and wedged the hammer under the trim.
“I agree with that,” Jules said. “It would be no contest at all.”
“Why would anyone choose the Crab Shack?” Melissa asked.
“They wouldn’t,” Jules said.
“Because they love seafood. And because nobody wants to eat at the same place all the time. And because if they came to Neo, they’d see the Crab Shack and maybe become curious.”
“Or maybe they’d come to the Crab Shack and learn about Neo.” Jules didn’t know why she tossed that out. It sounded ridiculous even to her.
“Sure,” Caleb said.
“Don’t patronize me. We both know that’s not going to happen. What you’re offering us is your leftovers.”
“Neo is a nationally recognized chain with international awards and a substantial marketing program. I’m not going to apologize for that.”
“Fancy it up all you want, but the result will be the same. Neo wins, the Crab Shack loses. We’re far better off being the only option at Whiskey Bay.”
“Can I at least show you my floor plans?”
“Sure,” Melissa said.
“Melissa.”
“What’s the harm in looking, Jules? Aren’t you even a little bit curious?”
Jules was, but there was no way she’d admit it. “Go ahead and look if you want. I’m not interested.”
“I’ll bring them by later on,” Caleb said as he ripped down a long strip of window trim.
“He is not changing our minds.” Jules put complete conviction into her tone, even as she struggled to drag her gaze from Caleb.
* * *
Due to the curve of the shoreline, Caleb could see the Neo construction site through the window of his great room. He could also see the Crab Shack, where lights were on tonight. And he could see the Parkers’ house—all dark there.
“Jules wouldn’t even look at the plans,” he said turning back to his lawyer, Bernard Stackhouse.
“What did you expect?” Bernard asked in an even tone.
“I thought she might look. I hoped she’d look. I hoped she’d see reason and stop being so stubborn.”
“And then do things your way?”
Bernard was sitting in one of Caleb’s leather armchairs. His suit was impeccable as always, and he looked distinguished with a touch of gray at his temples. He could flare into passion in a courtroom when the need arose, but Caleb knew it was an act. He wasn’t sure Bernard even felt emotions. But the man wasn’t shy about using sarcasm.
“I absolutely want her to do things my way.”
His way was the closest they could get to a win-win. But Jules wouldn’t take that. She wouldn’t even consider it. She insisted on going for a win-lose.
“Her sister, Melissa, seems a whole lot more reasonable,” he said.
“Can she change Jules’s mind?”
“I’m not sure she’s trying. But she did like my restaurant plans.” Caleb’s gaze was drawn back to the still, silent darkness of his construction site.
He could picture the finished building in his mind, the exterior, the interior, all the people they’d employ and the happy diners enjoying the picturesque waterfront. He was growing more and more impatient to get there. Every day he had to wait he couldn’t help calculating the cost: the leased equipment, the crew on standby, the delay in opening that was going to cost him money. If this had to end in a win-lose, he wanted to make sure it wasn’t him on the crappy end of the deal.
“I did find an interesting new option,” Bernard said.
Caleb turned. “And you’re just speaking up now?”
“I thought you wanted to vent.”
“I did want to vent. But I want a solution a whole lot more.”
“Why don’t you sit down?” Bernard asked.
“Exactly what kind of an option is it?” Was it so shocking that Caleb couldn’t be trusted to keep his feet?
“My neck’s getting sore from looking up at you. Sit down.”
Caleb thought better on his feet. But he was curious enough to go along. He perched on the arm of the sofa.
“You look like a coiled spring,” Bernard said.
“You drawing this out won’t make me less coiled.”
“This isn’t a five-second explanation.”
“I hope not, because you’ve already used up two minutes in the preamble.”
Bernard smiled. “You’re a lot like your father.”
“You’re just going to pile it on, aren’t you?”
“There’s an easement,” Bernard said.
Caleb heard the side door to his house swing open. He knew it would either be Matt or TJ.
“In here,” he called out.
“Do you want me to wait until we’re alone?” Bernard asked.
“Why would I want that? Is it a secret option? Is it illegal?”
“Is what illegal?” Matt asked as he strolled into the room.
“Yes,” Bernard drawled. “As your lawyer, I feel it’s my duty to advise you to break the law.”
“That’s a first,” Matt said, taking another armchair. “What are we drinking?”
“I’m considering tequila,” Caleb said.
Matt rose again and headed for the bar.
“Keep talking,” Caleb prompted Bernard.
Bernard exhaled an exaggerated sigh of impatience, like he was the one who’d been kept waiting.
“There’s an easement,” he repeated, producing a map from his briefcase and unfolding it on the coffee table between them. “The access road for the Crab Shack crosses your land.” He pointed. “Right here.”
“You mean TJ’s land.”
“No. All four residential lots were originally a single parcel. TJ’s, Matt’s and the Parkers’ lots were carved out at minimum size, and the remainder stayed with the parcel your grandfather purchased. The effect is a peninsula of land owned by you that runs in front of each of the other properties. Nobody pays attention to it, because it’s mostly the sheer face of a cliff. That is, except for the access road.”
Caleb leaned forward to study the map lines.
Matt returned with three glasses of tequila.
“I thought you’d know I was joking,” Caleb said to Matt. He’d expected Matt to open a few beers.
“Too late now.”
Caleb wasn’t a big tequila fan, but he accepted the glass anyway.
If he was reading the map correctly, where the Crab Shack driveway branched off the access road, it crossed his land for about two hundred yards.
“On one side of the driveway is a cliff,” Bernard said.
Matt crouched on one knee. “And the other is too close to the high water mark. It’s vulnerable to tidal surges if there’s a storm.”
“Is it possible for her to reroute along the shore?” Caleb asked.
“I talked to an engineer,” Bernard said. “In effect, she’d have to build a bridge.”
“They’re on a budget.”
“Then, there’s your answer.”
Matt gave a whistle. “That’s playin’ hardball.”
“I’m losing ten thousand a day in idle equipment rental.”
“So, you’d bankrupt her?”
“I’d use it for leverage.” Caleb straightened to contemplate.
He’d already tried the carrot. Maybe it was time for the stick. He’d show Jules that if they didn’t work together, it would mean mutual assured annihilation. Surely she couldn’t be so stubborn as to choose that option.
Caleb’s front door opened again, and TJ strode in from the hall. “We ready to go?” There was an eagerness in his tone.
The three men had agreed to hit a club in Olympia tonight. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. But now Caleb was regretting the commitment. He’d rather stay home. He didn’t plan to confront Jules with the threat of canceling her easement tonight, but he wasn’t in the mood for dancing and inconsequential conversation with random women either.
“Is that an ambulance?” TJ asked, gazing out the window.
Caleb turned as he stood, immediately seeing the flashing lights closing in on the Crab Shack.
“That’s not good,” Matt said, rising to his feet.
Caleb was already heading for the door, with Matt and TJ at his heels.
The fastest way to the Crab Shack was along the footpath. Caleb broke into a run. He knew every inch of the pathway, and it took him less than five minutes to get to the peninsula, his mind going over all the possible scenarios where Jules might have been hurt. Had she fallen off the ladder? Had she burned herself with the paint stripper?
Matt stuck with him, with TJ falling a bit behind. Caleb had no idea whether or not Bernard had even bothered to come along. As he ran up the gravel driveway, he could see the paramedics moving a stretcher. He put on a burst of speed.
Then he saw Jules under the lights. She wasn’t the one on the stretcher. He felt an immense surge of relief. But then his fear was back. If it wasn’t Jules, it must be Melissa.
He finally got close enough to call out.
“What happened?” he asked.
Jules looked over at him in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“We saw the ambulance lights,” he said through the gasps of his breath. “What happened?”
“Nail gun,” Melissa said from the stretcher, her voice sounding strained.
Caleb was relieved to hear her speak. But then her words registered.
“You were using a nail gun?” He moved his attention to Jules. “You have a nail gun?”
“I don’t have a nail gun. Noah has a nail gun.”
“Where’s Noah?” Caleb wanted to have a word with the man. What was he thinking letting Jules and Melissa use a nail gun? Was he crazy?
“It was my fault,” Melissa called from inside the ambulance.
“Are you coming with us?” the paramedic asked Jules.
“Yes.” She moved for the door.
“I’ll meet you there,” Caleb said.
“Why?” she asked as she stepped up to climb inside.
“Just go.”
“Melissa seemed pretty good,” Matt said.
TJ arrived, panting.
“You need to hit the gym,” Matt told him.
“No kidding,” TJ said. “Who got hurt?”
“Melissa,” Caleb said. “Something about a nail gun.”
TJ gave him an incredulous look. “Is it bad?”
“She was talking from the stretcher. But I’m going to head down to Memorial and find out what happened.”
“You are?” TJ seemed surprised.
Caleb thought it was a perfectly reasonable course of action. The women were their neighbors, and Jules might need something. At the very least, she’d need a ride back home.
“White knight syndrome,” Matt said.
“Who’s he rescuing?” TJ asked.
“Good question.” TJ raised a brow at Caleb. “The rational one or the difficult one?”
The difficult one. “Neither.”
Caleb was simply being neighborly...and practical. He was being neighborly and practical. There was nothing remotely unusual about that.
