Читать книгу Their Unfinished Business - Jackie Braun - Страница 11

ALI thumbed through the clothes in her closet once again. Even though Audra wasn’t in the room, she swore that every time she selected something, she heard her twin whispering, “You’re not going to wear that, are you?”

And so it was that with a mere forty minutes before the Conlans were to meet with Luke Banning, Ali found herself standing in her bra and panties, and dithering between a navy skirt and a black skirt that were the exact same conservative cut and by the same maker.

Gazing at the garments, she muttered aloud, “When did I become so damned boring?”

Exasperated, she tossed both skirts onto the small mountain of clothes on her bed and stuffed her arm into the far reaches of the cramped closet. After a minute of fruitless fishing, she finally produced what she was looking for: A suit the color of freshly spilled blood.

The jacket cut in sharply at the waist and then fell away at the hip. As for the skirt, it was a little shorter than the rest of her closet’s offerings. Instead of ending primly just below the knee, it skimmed to the middle of her thighs. She’d bought it on sale last fall while shopping with Audra, which explained the vivid color and more daring cut. She’d planned to take it back. In fact, the tags still dangled from one sleeve. Now she was glad she’d kept it. Black, tan and navy just didn’t suit her mood today.

Blood-red did.

Half an hour later, she stood in front of the full-length mirror that was affixed to the back of her bedroom door and surveyed her appearance.

None of this, she assured herself, was for Luke’s benefit. She’d been thinking about making some changes, paying a little more attention to small details like putting on eyeliner and a faint sweep of blush to highlight her cheekbones.

Besides, she didn’t want the man thinking that all she owned were blue jeans and ball caps. She wanted him to see her as a professional and an equal. And okay, she could admit it. She wanted him to see her as a woman…a woman who was off-limits.

She’d left her hair loose. She couldn’t remember the last time she hadn’t yanked it all back in some sort of clip or another. When they were girls, she had envied Audra her wild tumble of curls. The grass always being greener, her sister had complained mightily that Ali had lucked out with her stick-straight mane. Today, Ali had to admit, she rather liked the way it fell to her shoulders in a sleek cascade the same color as the antique mahogany bureau that had once belonged to her grandmother.

The suit fit as well as she remembered, accentuating curves she hadn’t known she possessed. She would die a slow and painful death before admitting it to Audra, but Ali really liked the way it looked and the way it made her feel: professional and put together, with the side bonus of sexiness.

Then she glanced down at her shoes. The serviceable black pumps with the rounded toe looked like something an arthritic grandmother would wear now that they were matched with a chic suit and a white silk blouse.

She didn’t want to do it, but Ali finally broke down. Picking up the telephone, she dialed Audra’s number, praying that her perennially late sibling had not become suddenly punctual and already left for the resort. A breathless Audra picked up on the fourth ring.

“Aud, you haven’t left.” She sighed in relief.

“I’m on my way, I swear. Practically out the door as we speak. Seth just…and then I…” She trailed off on a throaty laugh that made words unnecessary. Ali swore she felt herself blush.

“Newlyweds,” she muttered. “Don’t go into detail. Please. I have neither the time nor the inclination to listen to a play-by-play. I need a favor.”

“A favor? What kind of a favor?” Audra asked.

“I’m having a bit of…a problem,” Ali hedged. Then, “Oh, hell, I need to borrow a pair of pumps.”

“You’re having a shoe emergency? God, I love it.” Laughter bubbled through the phone line. “I suppose it would be small of me to remind you that last month when I showed off the new pair of Kate Spades I’d purchased, you asked how many feet I had that I needed another pair of shoes.”

“I knew calling you would be a mistake,” Ali snapped.

Audra wasn’t insulted at all. “No, sweetie, not calling would have been the mistake. I may have changed my life around and gotten rid of a lot of the fluff, but I still have more fashion sense in my pinky than you’ll ever have in your entire bony body.”

Damn, Ali thought, wasn’t that the pathetic truth.

“So, will you help?”

Audra made a dismissive sound. “Of course I will. What are you going to wear?”

“The suit I bought when I went shopping downstate with you last fall.”

“The red one?” Audra whistled low. “Good choice and aren’t you glad I talked you into buying it?” Before Ali could answer, her sister was saying, “Please tell me you didn’t pair it with one of those starched oxfords you seem to own stock in?”

“No. I do have a white silk blouse.” Exactly one, and again it had been purchased while out with Audra. “Could we get back to shoes? All I have are the black pumps I normally wear to work.”

Through the receiver came Audra’s low moan. “How can we be sisters let alone twins?”

“Aud, the minutes are ticking away here. I really don’t have time for a discussion on DNA. What have you got for me?”

“Let me think about it. I’ll go hunt through my closet and see what I can come up with. Come straight to my office when you get to the resort.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen. And, Aud?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for not rubbing it in too much.”

Her sister snorted. “Who says I’m done?”

Luke had already seen Ali since returning to Trillium, so he didn’t expect their meeting today to be awkward. Then, recalling the cool way in which she had regarded him during their chance encounter on Sunday, he amended his opinion. It probably still would be awkward, but not as awkward as it could have been had they not already come face-to-face.

But then she walked into the conference room decked out in red and exposing a pair of long, toned legs that any Rockette would be proud to insure, and he nearly forgot how to breathe.

Who was this woman?

Three days ago, Ali had looked almost unchanged to him wearing a ball cap and faded jeans, with no makeup on her face and her hair pulled back the way she’d always worn it. He’d found comfort in that fact and, when he’d had a chance to think about it, it made his lingering attraction to her understandable, maybe even a little nostalgic.

He wasn’t feeling nostalgic now, or comfortable. When she rolled back her shoulders to let the jacket slip down her silk-covered arms, he shifted in his seat and had to stifle a groan. No, he wasn’t feeling comfortable at all.

“Hello, Luke.”

They were alone in the room. Dane had just gone to take a phone call and Audra had yet to arrive. Luke stood because the moment seemed to require him to be on his feet. Once he was upright, he hastily pulled closed his suit jacket, more than a little appalled by his body’s embarrassing reaction.

The other day when he’d come upon Ali as she’d knelt pulling weeds, he had enjoyed the advantage of surprise. Today, the shoe was on the other foot—and what a sexy little number it was, too, black and open-toed, allowing a tantalizing peek at red-painted nails. God help him, but he’d always had a thing about women’s feet. And this woman, he remembered, had a very sensitive instep.

As his gaze connected with hers, something about the way her lips twitched told Luke she knew she had him shaken…and stirred.

“You clean up well,” he admitted.

“Thank you.” One slim dark eyebrow notched up when she added, “I try to dress for the occasion.”

He nodded, wondering just what he should infer from her bold color choice this day. And then, because he wanted badly to touch her and test himself, he held out his hand.

A long moment passed before she reached to shake it. At the contact, Luke felt the wild sizzle he thought he had either outgrown or simply imagined.

“Some things never change,” he murmured, taking a step closer.

She pulled her hand free, stepped back. “And some things do.”

He acknowledged her words with a nod. She was different and the same all at once, the girl he remembered wrapped in the body of an alluring and mysterious woman.

An alluring and mysterious woman who was all business when she said, “Why don’t you have a seat? Dane and Audra should be along shortly.”

“Okay.”

“More coffee?” she asked, as she reached for the insulated carafe and mugs that were on a tray in the middle of the table. Her blouse fell open a little as she leaned forward and reached, affording him a fleeting glimpse of something lacy and white and the gentle swell of flesh that disappeared inside it. He sucked in a breath, drawing her attention.

“Everything all right?” she asked, those not-quite-brown, not-quite-gold eyes narrowing.

“Fine.” Then Luke couldn’t resist. He let his gaze dip down again and said with a little more emphasis, “Very fine.”

She straightened instantly, her posture rigid as she filled her coffee cup to the top and then slid into the seat opposite his. She didn’t bother with cream or sugar, he noted. He got the feeling if she were to walk into one of the trendy coffee shops in Manhattan she would bypass all of the frothy concoctions listed on the order board and go for plain French roast. She’d always been practical. As he studied her, she snagged a handful of dark hair and tucked it behind her ear and out of the way. That move was practical, too, but that didn’t make it any less sexy.

“I’m sure you’ve had a chance to read through our plans for the golf course. I’m curious to hear what you think,” she said.

Business, Luke reminded himself. That’s why he was here. And so he straightened in his seat and decided to get down to it.

“Three hundred acres is ample space for a course the size you’re talking about, but if we could pick up additional acreage we could make the holes relatively secluded from one another. We could leave in a lot more trees that way, too. It makes for a picturesque experience and golfers appreciate not having to worry about hearing ‘Fore!’ hollered while they’re in the middle of their back swing.”

“How much land are you talking?”

“Another hundred acres would be ideal.”

“What’s this about another hundred acres?” Dane asked as he walked through the door. Audra was right behind him, her face breaking into a grin even before she had cleared the threshold.

Where Ali had acknowledged Luke with cool reserve, Audra wrapped him in a hug and gave him a smacking kiss on the lips.

“It’s good to see you, Luke.”

“Good to see you, too.” And he meant it. He suddenly realized how much he’d missed this place and these people.

Dane had been his best friend since grade school, remaining such despite some tense moments after Luke and Ali had started dating. He’d always figured Dane didn’t think Luke was good enough for his sister, even though Dane had never come right out and said it. Even so, they’d stayed tight. That their friendship had fallen by the wayside, another casualty of his leaving, was Luke’s fault, and he knew it. Dane’s cool greeting when Luke arrived on Trillium told Luke he knew it, too.

As for Audra, she’d always been a kindred spirit. Luke had never fantasized about her, despite her Marilyn Monroe curves and come-hither smile, the way he’d fantasized about Ali. Clasping Audra’s hand now, he didn’t feel that crazy current of electricity shoot up his arm, either, just the pleasant warmth of remembered friendship.

“Sorry I couldn’t get by to see you before now, but Seth and I have been pretty busy,” she said.

“Newlyweds usually are,” Luke teased.

A glimpse of Ali’s tight expression told him she wasn’t all that pleased with her twin’s enthusiastic greeting. Given the fact that Audra had been on the back of his Harley when he left Trillium, as eager as he to get the hell out, he figured he understood that. And still, he couldn’t keep from hugging her back.

Dane’s exclamation ended Luke’s reverie.

“Whoa, Al, look at you!” Dane whistled. Luke couldn’t be sure but he thought Audra poked her brother in the ribs, after which Dane coughed and said, “I mean, I’ve always liked that outfit.”

Ali flushed, but then settled back into her chair. After taking a sip of her coffee, she said, “Luke was mentioning that he thought if we could add some acreage to the golf course, it might make it more aesthetically pleasing.”

“And safer for golfers,” Luke inserted. “Insurance premiums being what they are, that’s something to take into consideration.”

“But another hundred acres,” Dane began, pulling out the plat map from the stack of files he’d brought with him. “Where would we pick up that kind of land?”

“It doesn’t have to be a single parcel,” Luke said, following Dane to the table.

He stood just between Ali and Dane’s chairs and his arm brushed her shoulder when he leaned over for a better look at the map. He was wearing cologne, the same crisp yet subtle scent he’d always favored. It had Ali inhaling deeply and remembering. She forced her attention back to the map. They had shaded in the acreage they planned to purchase. It was a sizable tract that snaked along one edge of the resort’s property line.

“Do the Dohertys still own this chunk of land?” Luke asked, tapping his finger on a pie-shaped chunk.

“Yes and they’re not budging,” Audra commented. She leaned one hip on the table on the opposite side of Dane and sighed. “We’ve already dangled the carrot.”

“There’s a rumor that the Tollmans are interested in getting rid of the thirty-five acres behind their beach-front cottage,” Dane said. “A good portion of it is wetland, though.”

“For a golf course, you need to think of it as a hazard, not a wetland,” Luke said, smiling. “Do you think some of it might be usable?”

Before her brother could answer, Ali gave voice to the idea that had been kicking around in her head since the conversation began.

“What if in addition to the acreage we’re planning to purchase, we use part of the resort’s property?” She angled in her seat so she could look at Luke. One glance at those liquid eyes nearly had her forgetting what she was planning to say.

“Go on,” he coaxed and his gaze dipped to her lips as if in anticipation of the words.

“We—we’ve been thinking of adding half a dozen cottages in the woods. I was just thinking, what if we reconfigured the entire setup of the resort’s existing three hundred acres, factoring in the golf course and the additional land? We could give some of the old cottages fairway views and add new structures to some of the other holes once the course is complete.”

His eyebrows notched up and then he grinned in a way that stole her breath.

“Do you play?” he asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Golf. Do you play?”

“I don’t really have time for games,” she replied even though she did indeed play. She could feel her face heating under his scrutiny and knew without looking that her sister was smiling smugly and Dane had crossed his arms over his chest.

“Pity.” Luke shrugged. “Life’s not much fun without a little recreation. What do you do to relax?”

“I work.”

“Hmm. I wonder what your boyfriend thinks about that?”

“Her boyfriend?” Audra blurted out.

“Bradley Townsend isn’t…bothered in the least by the fact that I enjoy my job,” Ali replied.

None of it was a lie. She hadn’t called him her boyfriend. And during their one date he hadn’t complained at all about her demanding career.

“Are you going to see Townsend again?” Dane asked.

“Saturday.” She cleared her throat. “Can we get back to business? Please.”

Luke straightened and walked back around to his chair. “I like the idea,” he said, settling onto the seat. “The reason I asked if you played golf, Ali, is I think you hit a hole-in-one with that plan.”

She flushed again, this time for a very different reason. She almost hated herself for it. What did it matter what he thought of her? She wasn’t out to please Luke Banning. She crossed her legs, tugged at the hem of her skirt and tried to convince herself she wasn’t lying.

Three hours later, Luke and the Conlans emerged from the room with a partnership forged and their signatures drying on the thick stack of paperwork their various lawyers had had a hand in drawing up.

“When will you be heading back to New York?” Audra asked.

Luke had planned to leave Trillium that afternoon. He had two meetings scheduled in Manhattan on Friday and plans to attend an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Rochelle Bullard on Saturday.

Now, the thought of returning to his penthouse held no appeal. He told himself it was just that he hadn’t had much time off in recent months. He was due a vacation and, besides, he’d never made it out to his grandmother’s cottage. He should check on it and then look into putting it on the market.

The thought of selling it made him unexpectedly sad. He wasn’t a sentimental man. In business, he couldn’t afford to be. In his personal life, he just plain didn’t care to be. His relationship with Rochelle, for instance, was casual and hardly headed in the direction of serious. He glanced at Ali and wondered if her date with the developer on Saturday would end with a chaste peck or a sweaty tussle between the sheets. He felt a muscle tick in his cheek at the disturbing visual his thoughts conjured up.

In response to Audra’s question he heard himself say, “I haven’t decided when I’ll leave.”

Ali sat on the rear deck of her cottage that evening and watched the setting sun shimmer in hues of pink of gold over Lake Michigan. Dane and Audra had gone to dinner with Luke. Seth would be meeting them. Ali had made excuses and headed for home, eager for some time alone.

As soon as she’d walked through the cottage’s door, she’d poured herself a glass of wine, turned on some vintage Bonnie Raitt and shed her clothes along with Audra’s killer shoes. They’d looked great, but they had proved anything but comfortable.

Now, dressed in blue jeans and an oversize University of Michigan sweatshirt, she sipped merlot and thanked God that even before knowing Luke would be on Trillium, she had scheduled a couple of days off from the resort. She saw no reason to change her plans now. She wasn’t a coward, but the less she saw of Luke Banning, the better.

Having made that determination, her gaze drifted down to the beach and she nearly bobbled her wine.

“Hey, Ali!” Luke called out, hiking up the grassy incline to the deck wearing a cocky grin that put her teeth on edge.

Wouldn’t it just figure that she was back in jeans with her feet bare and her face scrubbed free of every last speck of foundation? She’d felt powerful and in control wearing that savvy red suit and a subtle touch of makeup. Now she felt like Cinderella must have after midnight struck. Damn the man, but he still looked like royalty even without the designer clothes he’d worn earlier. She had to admit, the suit had surprised her. Despite his wealth, she’d figured Luke would stroll in to their meeting wearing jeans. But he’d looked plenty at ease decked out in what she suspected was Armani.

“I thought you’d gone to dinner with Dane and Audra.”

“I took a rain check.”

“I didn’t hear your motorcycle.”

“Probably because your music’s kind of loud.” He grinned, nodding toward the house where Bonnie Raitt’s sooty voice wailed from the speakers. Ali wanted to kick herself as she realized the singer was now crooning about how she couldn’t make somebody love her.

She shrugged. “I always play my music loud. I don’t have any neighbors to worry about.”

“That could change,” he said. But before she could ask what he meant, he was motioning toward the pastel-flooded horizon. “I’d forgotten how beautiful the sunsets are here.”

“One of the reasons I could never see myself living anywhere else,” she replied.

Even so, as she took another sip of her wine, she tried to be objective. She tried to see this small slice of the universe from Luke’s perspective. She tried to understand for the millionth time what had made it so impossible for him to remain all those years before. She couldn’t, though. Not then, and not now. And because of the way he stirred up her emotions Ali discovered that as much as she’d wanted him to stay when she was a naïve twenty-year-old, now she just wanted him to go away and leave her alone.

Luke didn’t go away, though. He settled onto the top step that led to the deck, and then leaned back on his elbows. He was the picture of a man at leisure even as Ali felt wound up tight and ready to spring.

“Are the winters still as hard as I remember?” he asked.

“Worse.”

“Kids still go sledding down Palmer Hill?”

“Yep.”

She’d hoped by not contributing much to the conversation he would take the hint and leave, but he didn’t appear to be put off by her laconic replies.

“Remember the time we crashed our toboggan into that oak tree near the bottom?” he asked, shaking his head and chuckling softly. “You were what, seven?”