Читать книгу Blossoms Of Love - J.M. Jeffries - Страница 12
ОглавлениеDaniel’s phone chimed. He glanced at the display. Greer had responded to his text, and he smiled. He’d sent several texts thanking her for an enjoyable dinner and telling her how great the float was going to look. Her dedication to her work showed, and he couldn’t have been more pleased.
He’d felt a little sorry for crashing Logan’s date. Not sorry enough to stop himself. Greer wasn’t for Logan. She was too down-to-earth, too practical. Logan liked winsome, waiflike women who barely looked old enough to vote. Greer would have run circles around him.
The door to his office opened, and his twin entered.
“Hey, bro,” Nicholas said with a disarming grin. They might have been twins, but they were opposites. Nicholas was the creative type. Tall and lean, he’d always liked to dance, and somehow along the way dancing had evolved into choreographing. Any man who considered dance and choreography unmasculine had never met Nicholas. How many men could catch a woman who’d just flung herself into the air and then lift her above him and make it all look as though she was as light as a feather?
“What brings you to my studio?” He set down a stack of papers. Daniel had been working on material for his next show. His special guest would be a rising young actor who was thought to be the next action-adventure hero, and Daniel wanted interview questions that weren’t the run-of-the-mill, media-hype questions about his next movie.
“Thought you might be interested in this.” He handed Daniel a tabloid magazine. “I’m impressed.”
Daniel’s photo was prominent on the cover. He stood next to Logan with Melody in between as they left Craig’s. The headline Love Triangle was splashed across the top. A tiny bit of Greer’s elbow could be seen at one edge.
“Why do you bother reading this stuff?” Daniel shoved the tabloid back at Nicholas.
Nicholas sat down in the leather chair across from Daniel. “Because the fun is in finding the grain of truth inside the speculation.”
“These magazines are all about speculation. They throw information at you from undisclosed sources and hope the reader will come to some sort of salacious conclusion.” Daniel hated being in the tabloids. Usually he managed to avoid them, but being with Logan the other night had changed that. A few photographers had been dogging Logan the last couple of days, hoping for that one sensational photo that would bring them the big bucks.
“That’s the fun,” Nicholas said cheerfully. “I know where this night ended up in my head.”
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Nicky,” Daniel growled. Nicholas hated being called Nicky. But his brother just grinned in delight. “Why are you here?”
“Just needed a chat with my bro.”
Daniel eyed his brother. “What do you want?”
“I want be on the float with you.”
Daniel was so taken aback he could only stare. “You do? Why?”
“Why not? Me dancing on the float would be great advertising for the next season of Celebrity Dance. After all, we’re on the same network. I talked to my bosses, and they will be talking to your bosses.”
Daniel rubbed his temple. “I guess that means you’re going to have to meet with Greer. She has this complex rule about weight and positioning and stuff I would never think about.”
“She thinks like a dancer.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“In my world that’s a good thing,” Nicholas replied. “Explain what happened to you and Logan.” He tapped the magazine.
“I crashed Logan’s date with Greer and I took Melody along to distract him.”
“And you did this why?”
“I didn’t want him going out with Greer.” He sounded childish even to himself.
“You’re not five years old anymore, bro.” Nicholas shook his head.
“He’s just not her type,” Daniel objected.
“And you are?”
“Of course I am. Or at least, I’d like to be.” Daniel realized he deeply admired her. “She’s fascinating. She was a Rose Queen.” He remembered her teasing wave.
“That’s not the only reason you’re interested in her.” Nicholas eyed Daniel with a sparkle in his dark brown eyes.
“Something about her is real. She’s smart and funny, and I’ve always liked smart and funny. Who knew a person could make a living designing and building floats? They’re beautiful.”
Nicholas shrugged. “She’s certainly different from the normal actress/model/singer you ordinarily date.”
“Why are we talking about girls?” Usually Daniel and his brother talked about everything, but for some reason Daniel was reluctant to talk about Greer.
“We talk about girls all the time,” Nicholas said with a short laugh. “You’re just uncomfortable, and I’m enjoying it.”
Daniel ignored the comment and focused on the real reason for his brother’s visit. “Like I said, you’re going to need to talk to Greer, because I don’t know how you’re going to dance with the butterfly.”
“I’m dancing with the butterfly, all right. I’m bringing Michelle Mercer.”
Michelle was one of the other professional dancers on Nicholas’s show. They had danced together before when Nicholas had first started out and landed in a Broadway show. Daniel had met her once and thought she was nice enough, but a bit flighty.
“I’ll set up an appointment, and we’ll head over to the warehouse where Greer works.” Daniel made a note to himself to call her later.
Nicholas let himself out with a small wave and a thank-you.
Daniel sat back in his chair, wondering why he liked Greer so much. Most of the women he dated were beautiful models, or actresses, or in the industry. He dated them to be seen. He saw them as stepping stones for his career. But Greer was different. Different in a way that he liked.
He wanted to explore his feelings more, but a ton of work awaited him on his desk, and he needed to get back to it.
* * *
Greer stood to the side of the skeleton that would be Daniel’s float. The caterpillar was a long piece of plastic tubing, articulated in a dozen sections. The head would move back and forth on its own little motor. The chrysalis hung from a tangle of wire shaped into a branch. And three butterflies flew out the rear of the float. As Chelsea operated the hydraulics, the wings moved in a stately flight pattern, and the butterflies went up and down.
Greer had to figure out where to place the two additional bodies Daniel had told her about. She tried not to be irritated, especially because Daniel had told her that the studio wanted to hire her to design their annual Hollywood Christmas parade float. The lucrative offer tempered her irritation.
“Where are you putting the two other people?” Chelsea asked as she jumped down off the chassis.
“I think if we move the caterpillar back a foot, there’s room to put a small dance floor,” Greer replied. “It’ll be cramped but doable. And Daniel’s brother is a professional dancer. I’m sure he’ll know how work in that small a space.” Daniel had his spot to one side of the driver, and one of his coworkers would occupy the other side. He told her he hadn’t decided yet who that would be.
“I’ve watched Celebrity Dance, and I have to admit, he’s all kinds of yummy,” Chelsea said. “Are you okay with him being all kinds of yummy?”
“A girl has to be flexible.”
“I remember the great axle disaster of 2010.” Chelsea laughed and picked up her clipboard from where she’d placed it before crawling onto the float.
“We were all being flexible that year. Who knew we could tear a float down and put it back together in four days on a completely different chassis?” Greer had just about torn her hair out because the new chassis had been slighter higher and longer, which meant extra surface, more flowers for coverage and a rebalancing of the weight.
Greer shrugged. “I guess after that challenge, this is a piece of cake.”
“I knew you’d say that.” Chelsea had moved to the next float and jumped up on the chassis. Trident Airlines was a longtime customer, and every year their float won a trophy. This year their float was unusually intricate and long. It was actually two flatbeds in length, and getting it around corners had been a problem Greer had eventually solved by installing clamps in the center that could be loosened enough to make the float flexible in the center and then reattached once it was straight again.
“I think I’ve finalized the flower order,” Chelsea said as she walked back to Greer. “Can you look it over and make sure I didn’t forget anything?”
“Here’s hoping a Kodiak bear doesn’t hiccup in Alaska and cause a tsunami somewhere and wipe out the flower harvest.”
“Think good thoughts, girl. If we get into trouble, we’ll do a commando raid on Mrs. Allenworth’s greenhouse. Her orchids are looking spectacular this year. And her roses are so beautiful, I have to pinch myself to keep from stealing some.”
“You criminal you,” Greer said with a laugh. “It’s a good thing she has that bloodthirsty Chihuahua to keep you a law-abiding citizen.” Mrs. Allenworth had been a Rose Queen in the sixties and now donated flowers. Chelsea spread them out over all their floats as a way to honor the elderly woman.
Greer followed Chelsea to the next float. A workman on scaffolding bent over the high end of the float with a blowtorch, adding wire to finish the branches on a metal tree. The float represented the Tree of Life, and Greer was delighted with the final look.
“How was your date with Logan-slash-Daniel?” Chelsea asked as she took out her tape measure to reassess an area that would be covered in grass. She was big about measuring everything twice. “I saw the tabloid with Logan, Daniel and that actress on the cover. How did this love triangle happen?”
Greer just shrugged, pretending to be busy.
“Weren’t you there?” her sister prompted.
“I was there,” she replied with a little sigh, resigned to discuss the evening. “Daniel turned up about ten minutes into my meeting with Logan—by the way, it wasn’t a date—with this Melody on his arm. Before I knew it, he’d deposited her on Logan, and he was sitting with me. I’m not quite sure how he managed it. That man is smooth.”
“Sounds like he’s wooing you.”
“Why?” Greer asked. “I’m not sure I’m worth wooing. I don’t have time for romance.”
“Yeah, I know. Your last date was two years ago.” Chelsea rolled up her tape measure, tucked it back in her pocket and wrote on her clipboard. “Where do you want your life to go?”
“I want to design floats and grow the business.”
“I mean your personal life.”
Greer leaned against a float. “You’re the one getting a divorce.”
“Which just proves I’m at least out having a life. I may be making bad choices, but I’m trying.”
“My little glass-is-half-full sister. What would I do without your boundless enthusiasm?”
Chelsea crossed her arms over her chest. “Mom received tickets to the preview of Henry Ossawa Tanner’s show, and I know she and Dad can’t make it. She’ll give them to you if you ask nicely. Why not call Daniel and ask him to go with you?”
“You’re kidding me.”
Chelsea shook her head. “I never kid about men. Men are no joke.”
Chelsea should know. Her husband, a research biologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, took life very seriously, as well as all the cute little interns who came along to help him count bunnies. Chelsea hadn’t made a bad choice. She’d had a lot in common with her soon-to-be ex-husband. He was the one who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.
“And that could be our problem,” Greer said. “We don’t laugh enough about men.”
“Are you going to call Daniel?”
Greer didn’t know if she had the guts to call him. She liked what she knew about him but...did she want to take a risk? She took risks at work, but she liked to play her personal life safe. It was easier that way. “I’ll think about it.”
“Okay, I’ll accept that. Let’s get back to work. This flower order isn’t going to get itself done.” Chelsea moved on to the next float, Greer following in her wake.
* * *
It was hours later when Greer headed back to her office.
“You have a visitor,” her sister Rachel called out as Greer passed her open door.
Greer stuck her head in her sister’s office. It was piled high with files, bankers’ boxes and assorted supplies. Her sister, the company accountant, looked frazzled, her hair frizzing around her face like a halo. At twenty-five, Rachel was the youngest of the three sisters and also the most logical. Like the other Courtlands, she was an extremely hard worker.
“Who is it?” Greer asked.
“You’re new bestie, Daniel Torres.” Rachel turned back to her computer, her fingers flying over the keys.
Greer made her way down the hall. She loved her office. Her parents had given her carte blanche in decorating it. She’d chosen a red leather sofa and two floral wingback chairs flanking an oak coffee table. Her desk was a slanted artist’s table facing away from the huge window that overlooked the parking lot. A rolling chest sat next to it containing her art supplies. She’d painted the walls bright white and then hung drawings of her prize-winning floats along with her diploma from Cal Poly Pomona.
Daniel stood in front of a painting of a float that had won her a first-place ribbon in an art show her senior year in high school. He turned to her as she stepped in. “You’re very talented.”
“Thank you. What are you doing here?” Greer asked.
“Your sister Chelsea called me to go over the final flower order, and I thought I’d stop in and say hi to you.” He strolled around her office, pausing briefly in front of each drawing.
She couldn’t decide if she was irritated or flattered. “That’s nice. Chelsea is in the warehouse.”
“I’ll get to her.” As if waving her off, he continued to gaze at the drawings. “With all this talent, why did you go into structural engineering?”
“I wanted to make magic.”
“And you do.” He pointed at a drawing of a jaguar that looked as though it were about to leap. “I really like this one.”
“That’s the float I did for Carnival in Rio this year. I like it, too.” Since he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave, she politely asked, “Would you like some coffee, water, tea?”
“Nothing, thank you.” He gestured at her drawings. “This is magic for you?”
“I get the chance to create something that is enjoyed for a day. It’s a challenge. Besides that, I get to hang with the coolest people in the world—my family.”
“I understand. I like my family, too.”
“Did you really intend to sabotage my meeting with Logan by showing up with Melody?” she asked him bluntly. No one would accuse her of subtlety.
His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Logan was hoping the meeting would turn into a date, but another shiny girl came along and he got confused.”
Greer’s eyes narrowed. “With a lot of help from you.”
“What are friends for?” He kept grinning at her as though he’d pulled something over on her, too.
She didn’t know whether to be irritated, amused or flattered. “Since you’re here, I’m wondering if you’d like to attend the preview party on Saturday at the Norton Simon Museum for Henry Ossawa Tanner. I have tickets.” That really came out of her mouth? Oh, Greer, you silly girl.
“Are you asking me out on a date?”
“Sure, we’ll call it a date. But...I have some rules. No Melody. No other starlet. No Logan hijacking me. And do you think we can ditch the paparazzi? I managed to avoid being a part of that love-triangle story, and I don’t want to see my face on a tabloid.”
He looked like a kid who’d just been handed the best present ever. “I can manage that. It’s not like I’m Kanye, or Madonna, or Beyoncé. The paparazzi don’t really follow me around hoping to snap a photo of me doing something disgraceful.”
“Done.”
“Are you going to let me pick you up, or do you want to meet at the museum?”
She paused, thinking. “On a first date, I like to have my own escape route if something doesn’t go well.”
“Technically, it’s our second date.”
He looked so hopeful, she didn’t have the heart to decline. And he was sort of right. She conceded to him on this. “Pick me up at seven. I’ll text you my address.”
Chelsea poked her head into Greer’s office and grinned at Daniel. “Good, you’re here. I want to go over some things with you for final approval.”
With a quick goodbye and a dazzling smile, Daniel followed Chelsea down the hall, leaving Greer to think about what she’d just done. She had asked him out on a date! But she had to admit it—Daniel had something about him that she just liked. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. He was charming and good-looking and had an interesting sense of humor. His baiting of Logan at their dinner had been fun in a very odd way. Bottom line: she wanted to know more about the man who was Daniel Torres.
* * *
The gym smelled of damp clothes, overheated bodies and good, honest man-sweat. Daniel had finished his workout. Logan sat next to him on a bench as they watched the people around them. Several women on treadmills competed with two men who had revved their treadmills up to the fastest setting and were running frantically while the women pretended to ignore them. A bank of windows on one side of the gym showed a class of women doing yoga. Two personal trainers coached their clients, and a cute woman with a truly buff body was spotting on a bench press for her own client.
“She asked you out!” Logan stared at Daniel.
“Who doesn’t want to date this package?” Daniel teased.
“I don’t,” Logan said with a snicker.
“You have no taste.”
“I have great taste...in women.” Logan wiped his sweaty face with his towel. “And Greer is all woman.”
“She is beautiful, but she wasn’t beautiful enough to keep you from ogling Melody.”
Logan sighed. “I’m going to have to find a way to make that up to her.”
“Let it lie. Let her be angry with you for the rest of your life.”
Logan gave him a piercing look. “You like her. You like her a lot.”
Daniel saw the challenge in Logan’s eyes. “We’ve never sparred over a woman before.”
“That’s because I’ve always won the ones I wanted.” Logan’s face took on a dreamy look.
“Or one could say I allowed you to win the ones I wanted you to have.”
Logan burst out laughing. “This never gets old, does it?”
Daniel smiled. “I’m going to be your friend forever.”
Daniel had met Logan during their freshman year of high school on the football team. Logan had been the quarterback and Daniel the wide receiver. They both had loved football, but Logan had wanted to make a career out of it while Daniel just wanted to play the game.
Logan’s home life hadn’t been the best. His parents had never been around. His father, a talent agent, traveled a lot, and his mother, a character actress, was always on the set of some movie. Logan had been raised mostly by nannies. The first time Daniel brought him home, his parents had taken the boy under their wing and made sure that this spoiled little rich kid act turned into a responsible adult.
In their first encounter, Logan made a pass but had stepped out of bounds, and no one noticed. Daniel caught the pass, made the touchdown and got the win, but Daniel had called Logan to task for his maneuver.
Logan had been amazed that Daniel cared. Daniel had talked to him about fairness and doing the right thing. Doing the right thing had intrigued Logan because his parents hadn’t had that level of ethics. Daniel’s parents, on the other hand, were all about being ethical and insisted Logan fall into step with them if he wanted to be Daniel’s friend. Because Logan did want to be Daniel’s friend, he’d allowed Grace and Manny Torres to mold him. He’d once told Daniel that he liked the Torres family rules because he knew exactly what was expected of him.
“I’m not going to stop chasing after her,” Logan said after a long silence. “If you think she’s that intriguing, then she must be, and you know how I like to be intrigued.”
They lifted their water bottles and clunked them together. “Good luck with that. As much as you like being intrigued, you are easily distracted.”
Logan gave Daniel a look. “Wait a minute. Are you saying you aren’t playing fair?”
“The better man is going to win.” Daniel knew he sounded arrogant, but he really liked Greer. His mother would like her, and Grace didn’t give her approval easily. She expected her children to act with the highest standards and to find partners who would do the same thing.
What was he thinking? Why was he even putting the words marriage and Greer in the same thought?
* * *
Greer stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom. She’d tried on five cocktail dresses in the hope of finding just the right one. She finally chose her Anna Sui black-and-yellow-daisy cocktail dress with black lace inserts on the bodice. She brushed her short hair straight back from her face and added diamond drop earrings and a matching pendant on a gold chain. She was as ready as she would ever be.
She grabbed her black silk clutch, took a deep breath and walked out to the living room to wait for Daniel. She sat in a chair in front of the huge living room window.
She’d saved for five years to purchase her tiny Craftsman bungalow. The bungalow had been a fixer-upper. Though she didn’t have the skills to renovate the house for herself, she did know people. Half the float staff at the warehouse had pitched in and helped her, and she was proud of the results.
She’d decorated with Stickley furniture she’d gotten on sale at a local furniture store and hung her own vividly colored paintings on the walls. Oriental rugs covered the polished wood floors, and reproduction Tiffany lamps sat on tables, adding the vintage look she’d wanted.
When she saw a limo pull into her driveway, she stood, surprised. She hadn’t expected Daniel to rent a limo for the night, though she had to admit going to Norton Simon seemed like a limo-worthy affair.
Daniel stepped out of the limo and walked up the garden path to her front porch. A second later the doorbell rang. In the kitchen, her dogs barked. Her cat lifted her tiny black head, blinking in annoyance at the interruption to her nap.
Greer opened the front door and saw Daniel’s eyes widen in surprise as he dragged his eyes down her body from head to toe.
“Wow!” was all he said.
“I clean up nice, don’t I?” she teased. “You do, too.” He looked so handsome in his black suit.
He must have heard the dogs scratching the kitchen door, because he looked beyond her. “Your dogs, I guess?”
She nodded. “They’re in the kitchen and no doubt itching to get out and smell their guest.”
“Then let’s meet them.”
She opened the door to the kitchen. Two medium-sized white-and-tan dogs jumped out, their claws clicking on the wood floor. They sniffed Daniel’s shoes and legs and then looked up at him with their appealing brown eyes.
“This is Roscoe and this is Pip. Who could resist them?” She knelt down and ruffled their ears.
The cat jumped down from the chair she’d been sleeping in and walked over. “That’s Scooter. She had a litter of kittens that died, and she ended up adopting Roscoe and Pip as newborn puppies when their mother rejected them. It seemed sad to separate them. I’m kind of weak that way.”
When the dogs were satisfied Daniel wasn’t a threat, they went back into the kitchen and out the doggie door. Scooter returned to her chair and her nap.
“Shall we get going?” Daniel asked.
Greer grabbed her clutch and a black silk shawl. Even though the evening was fairly mild, a slight chill hung in the air when Daniel opened the front door.
“This is nice,” she said once they were settled in the backseat of the limo.
“I’m excited about the exhibit. I’ve admired Henry Ossawa Tanner since I first discovered him when I took an art class. How did you score the tickets?”
“My parents have always supported the arts and have been members of the museum for over twenty years. I’m keeping up the tradition.”
Daniel poured her a glass from a bottle of crisp chardonnay cooling in a bucket of ice. She accepted it and settled back to enjoy the ride. He motioned toward a tray of canapés on a tiny table that pulled out from the side. She sampled a couple.
“So tell me,” she said after another sip of wine. “Is there a possibility that Logan will show up tonight with your dream date?”
He laughed. “I doubt it. Logan’s idea of art is the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.”
“I wonder what he would say about your idea of art.”
“I’m a big fan of impressionism and postmodernism. Before they opened their restaurant, my parents were performers, and my siblings and I were exposed to down-on-their-luck writers and artists all the time. They fed a lot of them. My mother has a soft spot for anyone who needs a good meal. My dad grew up poor and black in Brazil, where there wasn’t a lot of food. If you’re hungry, he’ll feed you.”
“I’ve met your parents,” Greer said. His mother had so much energy she made other people look like they were standing still. “I designed a float for the North Hollywood Businessmen’s Association a couple of years ago. And I designed a float for Carnival in Rio last year that your mom commissioned.” That float had been a lot of fun and had also been the most elaborate one she’d ever designed. Rio was deadly serious about their Mardi Gras celebration.
They spoke awhile about her work on those jobs. Then she couldn’t help asking the question that had been burning in her brain. “Why did you accept my invitation? Were you trying to make Logan jealous?”
“I’m a man,” he said with a grin. “Of course I wanted to make Logan jealous, but that isn’t the number one reason.”
“Before we get to the number one reason, what number was that on your list?”
He thought for a moment, and Greer was amused at the tiny frown that appeared between his eyes. “Number six.”
“And number one is...”
He studied her. “You’re the most intriguing woman I’ve met in years. You’re like a mystery I want to unravel. You were a Rose Queen, and that beats a prom queen or homecoming queen any day. And you design the most beautiful floats.”
She smiled and inclined her head. Her year as Rose Queen had been filled with events that had kept her busy and on display. She’d loved every minute of it, even though her duties took her away from her family for days at a time.
The limo pulled up to the museum’s main entrance and waited behind a line of cars dropping people off. When they finally pulled up to the dropoff spot, Daniel jumped out of the car and helped her out. She draped her shawl around her shoulders, and as they walked up the stairs, he tucked her hand around his arm.
The Norton Simon Museum was alive with light, laughter and music. People congregated in groups as they walked inside. Chamber music came from a three-piece orchestra situated in a corner of the foyer.
Greer loved the museum. As a child, her parents had brought her and her sisters to workshops designed to introduce children to the arts and even allow them to try their hand at painting and sculpting. She’d taken her first art class at the age of six. Her talent had stood out so strongly that her parents started bringing her for art classes every Saturday.
