Читать книгу All for Love: What a Westmoreland Wants - Brenda Jackson - Страница 13

Chapter 2

Gemma didn’t have to look in the mirror to know there was a shocked look on her face. And her throat felt tight, as if sound would barely pass through it if she tried to speak. To prove the point, she tried to utter a word and couldn’t. So she just sat there and stared across the table at Callum like he had lost his ever-loving mind.

“Now that that’s all settled, let’s order some dessert,” Callum said, picking up the menu.

She reached out, touched his hand and shook her head. “What’s the matter?” he asked. “You don’t want dessert?”

She drew in a deep breath, made an attempt to speak once more and was glad when sound came out. But to be absolutely sure he understood, she held up her hands in the shape of a T. “Time out.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Time out?”

She nodded. “Yes, time out. You lost me between the flight on Thursday and Sydney, Australia. Are you saying this house that you want me to decorate is in Sydney, Australia?”

“Of course. Where else would it be?”

She fought hard not to glare at him; after all, he was a potential client. “I thought possibly in the Denver area,” she said in what she hoped was a neutral tone.

“Why would you think that?”

She couldn’t hold back her glare any longer. “Well, you’ve been in this country for almost three years now.”

“Yes, but I’ve never said or insinuated to anyone that I wouldn’t return home. I was here helping Ramsey out and now that he has the hang of things, I’m no longer needed. Now I can get back home and—”

“Get married,” Gemma supplied.

He chuckled. “As I said earlier, I don’t plan on staying single forever.”

“And when do you plan on marrying her?”

“Her who?”

Gemma wondered why some men suddenly went daft when their girlfriends were mentioned. “The woman waiting for you back in Australia.”

“Umm, I didn’t know there was such a creature.”

Gemma stared at him in disbelief. “Are you saying you don’t have a fiancée or a sweetheart back in Australia?”

He smiled. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Where did you hear something like that?”

Normally Gemma wouldn’t divulge her sources, but typically, Jackie knew what she was talking about, and that wouldn’t be anything the woman would have made up. “Jackie Barnes. And everyone figured she got the information from you.”

Callum shook his head. “She didn’t get that from me, but I have an idea where it came from. Your brother, Zane. I complained about Jackie making a nuisance of herself and he figured the best way to get rid of a woman like Jackie was just to let her believe I was already taken.”

“Oh.” She could see Zane doing something like that. If for no other reason than to shift Jackie’s interest from Callum to him. Her brother was a womanizer to the nth degree. And Derringer wasn’t any better. It was a blessing that the twins, Adrian and Aidan, were away at college, where the only thing on their minds was making the grade. “I assume Zane’s plan worked.”

“It did.”

“In that case you were lucky,” Gemma decided to say. “Some women would not have cared that you were spoken for. They would have taken it as a challenge to swing your interest their way.”

Callum couldn’t help but think of just where his interest had been for the past three years and knew no one could have succeeded in doing that. The woman sitting across the table was the one he intended to marry.

“And you actually assumed I have someone of interest back home?”

She shrugged. “Hey, that’s what we all heard and I had no reason to assume differently. As far as I knew, you weren’t dating anyone and whenever we had events you always came alone.”

And tried hanging around you every chance I got, he thought.

“You were almost as much of a loner as Ramsey,” Gemma added. “If your goal was to keep the women away, then it evidently worked for you.”

He took a sip of his drink, wondering if the reason she had yet to pick up on his interest in her was because she figured he was already taken.

“Callum, about this trip to Australia?”

He knew where she was about to take the discussion and was prepared with a spiel to reel her in. “What about it? If you’re having second thoughts, I understand. No sweat. I’ve already contacted a backup in case you couldn’t do it. Jeri Holliday at Jeri’s Fashion Designs has indicated she would love the job and will have her bags packed for Australia before I can blink an eye.”

Over my dead body, Gemma thought as she sat up straight in her chair. Jeri Holliday had been trying to steal clients from her for years.

“I think she liked the fact that I’m offering $50,000, and half of that upfront.”

His words froze her thoughts. “Come again?”

He smiled. “I said, considering that I’m asking the decorator to give up at least six weeks, I’m offering $50,000, just as a starting price.”

Gemma could only stare at him once again in disbelief. She leaned closer to the table and spoke in a hushed tone, as if anyone sitting in close range could overhear their top-secret conversation. “Are you saying that you’re paying $25,000 on acceptance of the job and the other half on completion; and that $50,000 does not include any of the materials? That’s just for labor?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”

Gemma began nibbling on her bottom lip. The $25,000 would definitely boost her bank account, replacing what Niecee had stolen. And then to think there would be another $25,000 waiting when she completed everything. However, as good as it sounded there were a few possible conflicts.

“What do you see as the time line for this project, Callum?” she decided to ask him.

He shrugged wide shoulders. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Jeri. I think it will take a month to six weeks to take down all the measurements and get things ordered. I’d also like that person there to coordinate the selection of all the furniture. However, there’s no rush on that.”

Gemma began nibbling on her lips again. “The reason I asked is because there are two babies who will be born within a few months of each other and I’d like to be here for both births. If I can’t make it back at the time of delivery then at least within a few days.”

“No problem. In fact, I’ll spring for the flight.”

Gemma couldn’t help but wonder why he was being so generous and decided to ask him.

“I’ve always believed in being fair when it came to those who worked for me,” he said.

“In any case, I’m going to need to return myself to help out because Ramsey will be busy with Chloe and the baby,” he continued. “I don’t want him to worry about the ranch during that time, so I’ve already promised him that I would return. And although Dillon probably won’t need me to do anything, he and Pamela are like family and I want to be here for their baby’s arrival, too.”

Gemma felt relieved. But still—Australia? That was such a long way from home. And for a month, possibly six weeks. The only other time she’d been away from home for so long was when she left for college in Nebraska. Now she was considering trekking off to another country. Heck, it was another continent.

She was suddenly filled with an anticipation she’d never felt before. She’d never been a traveler, but if she took Callum’s job offer, she would get to see a part of the world she’d only read about. That was exciting.

“So are you still interested or do you want me to go with Jeri Holliday?”

She didn’t hesitate. “I don’t have a problem traveling to Australia and will be ready to fly out on Thursday. I just need to get my business in order. I’ll be gone for a while and I’ll need to let my family know.”

It then occurred to her that her family might not like the idea of her going so far away. Ramsey had a tendency to be overprotective. But he had his hands full with Chloe expecting their baby at the end of November. He would be too busy to try to micromanage her life...thank goodness.

“Terrific. I’ll make flight arrangements and will let you know when I have everything in order.”

“All right.”

Callum lifted up his soda glass in a toast. “Here’s to adventures awaiting you in the outback.”

Gemma chuckled as she lifted her glass in a toast, as well. “Yes, here’s to adventures in the outback.”

* * *

A few hours later back at her house, despite her outer calm, Gemma was trying to keep things together on the inside while she explained everything to her sisters, Megan and Bailey, as they sat together at the kitchen table. Megan was the oldest at twenty-six and Bailey was twenty-two.

“And why didn’t you file a police report? Twenty thousand dollars isn’t a little bit of money, Gem,” an angry Megan wanted to know.

Gemma drew in a deep breath. “I’m working with the bank’s security team in trying to recover the funds. The main reason I didn’t get Sheriff Harper involved is because he’s close friends with both Dillon and Ramsey. He’ll probably get a report of the incident from the bank, eventually, but I think he’d be more inclined to keep his mouth shut about it. It would appear more of an official matter then.”

“Oh.”

From the look on her sisters’ faces and their simultaneous responses, she knew they had forgotten that one important piece of information. There wasn’t too much a Westmoreland did in these parts that Dillon and Ramsey didn’t know about. Sheriff Harper, who had gone to high school with Dillon and Ramsey, made sure of that.

“And I didn’t want to hear, ‘I told you so’ from those two. Neither of them wanted me to start my own business when I did. So there was no way I was going to tell them what Niecee had done. Hiring her was my mistake and I’ll have to deal with it in my own way.”

“But will you make sure she doesn’t get away with her crime? I’d hate for her to steal from some other unsuspecting soul.”

“Yes, I’m going to make sure she doesn’t do this again. And to think that I trusted her,” Gemma said with a nod.

“You’re too trusting,” Megan said. “I’ve always warned you about that.”

And she had, Gemma thought. So had her older brothers. “So what do you think about me going to Australia?” She needed to change the subject.

Megan smiled. “Personally, I think it’s cool and wish I could go with you, but I’m saving my time off at the hospital for that trip to visit Delaney in Tehran.”

“I think that’s cool, as well,” Bailey said. “I’m still reeling over the fact that there’s no woman waiting for Callum back in Sydney. If that’s true, then why isn’t he dating? I don’t ever recall him having a girlfriend while he’s been here in the States. He’s nothing like Zane and Derringer.”

“And he’s such a cutie-pie,” Megan added.

Gemma couldn’t help smiling as she recalled how sexy he looked sitting across from her at lunch. “He’d already mentioned the job to Jeri Holliday, but it was contingent on whether or not I would accept his offer.”

“And I’m sure she was ready to grab it,” Bailey said with a frown.

“Of course she was. I wish the two of you could see the size of his house. I can’t believe he’d buy such a place as a single man. Now that I’ve made up my mind about going to Australia, I need to let Ramsey know.”

Gemma inhaled sharply at the thought of doing that, but knew it needed to be done. However, under no circumstances did Ramsey need to know that Niecee had embezzled $20,000 from her. She would let the bank’s security team handle things.

“You don’t have any appointments or projects scheduled for the next six weeks?” Megan asked as they helped her pack.

“No. This job offer came at a good time. I had thought about taking a well-deserved vacation anyway, but now it’s back to work for me. I’ll take some time off during the holidays.”

“If Callum bought a house in Australia, does that mean he’s moving back home?”

Gemma glanced over at Bailey. That thought hadn’t occurred to her. “I guess so.”

“What a bummer. I’ve gotten used to seeing him,” Bailey said with a pout. “I’d begun thinking of him as another big brother.”

Gemma drew in a deep breath. For some reason she’d never thought of him as another big brother.

She’d never felt the need to become as friendly with him as Megan and Bailey had, but she never knew why she’d been standoffish with him. She’d only accepted that that was the way things were. Why now, all of a sudden, did the thought of him returning to Australia to live and her not seeing him ever again seem like such a big deal?

The very thought made her uneasy.