Читать книгу Much Ado About Matchmaking - Myrna Mackenzie - Страница 11

When Emmaline entered the dining room later that evening, she was dismayed to see that Holly had seated her next to Ryan.

“As Dad mentioned, you two have so much to talk about, I thought that this would be best,” Holly said.

So what was she supposed to say? She couldn’t object on the grounds that the man had kissed her and set her body on fire. Still, Emmaline opened her mouth to make some excuse only to find that Holly had drifted over to give Chris a kiss.

And Ryan, imposing and tall in a black suit with a crisp white shirt, had appeared with Gilbert. He gave Emma a quizzical look when he saw that they were to be seated together. Was that a challenge?

She raised her chin and started to pull her chair out, but he was there before her. Ryan lightly touched her hand, making her pull back as he did the honors for her. She had nearly gasped at the brief contact and now his warmth at her back made breathing somehow, inexplicably difficult. Amazing how a man she didn’t want to like could have such an effect on her. Disturbing, too.

What had Uncle Gilbert told her about him? That he was an expert with computers, that he had once been a soldier.

Emmaline sat, smoothing her skirt down over her knees. The move didn’t take nearly enough of her attention, but she still managed to look reasonably unaffected when Ryan took his place next to her. At least she hoped she did.

Ryan chuckled. “You can relax, Emmaline. I promise I don’t attack my dinner partners,” he said, leaning closer. “And Chris tells me that my table manners are almost always passable.”

Despite herself, Emmaline fought hard to keep from smiling. “Ah, so I won’t have to worry too much about you eating peas off the blade of your knife?”

“You were worried about that?” He gave her a mock-wounded look, and she was ashamed to admit that she couldn’t help noticing how sexy those blue eyes looked in his tanned face.

“I’m sure you know how to handle your cutlery. I just…I’m a little concerned about this project.” There. Let him think her concern was for the hotel.

He studied her, and she fought to keep from squirming. “Let me be frank, Emmaline,” he said in a voice so low that it couldn’t have carried to anyone’s ears but her own. “I think you’re bothered about more than the hotel. Excuse me, but is it…it’s not because of what happened that day, is it?”

Emmaline sucked in a breath. “I…that couldn’t be, because nothing out of the ordinary happened.”

He raised a brow as if he wanted to disagree, but then he nodded. “All right. So why are you worried about the project?”

Emma was grateful that Ryan had let her off the hook so easily. “You’re bringing technology to the hotel,” she said softly. “It’s necessary and yet there’s a risk. I’m afraid we won’t agree on anything. You’re technology. I’m antiques. We’re too different.”

“Not completely,” he said, his voice rough. “Holly tells me your career will always be your life, so we do have something in common. Neither of us wants marriage and a family.”

His seductive voice invited her to drop her defenses. Was this how he convinced clients to make troublesome decisions?

“I want a family,” she suddenly said, her voice low. “Just not a husband. I definitely want children.” Why had she said that? It wasn’t the kind of thing she shared with strangers.

But Emma knew. She had told him because of what he had just confided. He didn’t want children. It was a barrier. Letting him know that they were as different as two people could be would keep him at a distance, would keep her from wanting him to touch her. It would make working together almost bearable.

He studied her, then gave a curt nod. “All right then. We agree on one thing. And if we work together, we’ll turn The Texas Lights into Avon Lake’s dream hotel. We’ll find common ground, Emmaline.”

His quiet voice was deep. It made her skin hum the same way his technology was supposed to make the hotel hum. She tried not to think about that.

“All right,” she managed to say. “I’m committed to making sure that The Texas Lights survives.”

“Then we’ll be fine, Emmaline.” Her name rolled off his tongue in a way that made her understand what a woman might see in him besides his rugged build, that silky hair and seductive eyes. “Since you’re the expert on the hotel, tell me what it is that draws you to The Texas Lights.”

He raised his voice on the last line, catching the attention of the rest of the group as, Emmaline suspected, he had intended. And even though he was putting her on the spot, she was grateful for this attempt to make the conversation more general and inclusive. Restricting her comments to Ryan seemed too intimate. He probably felt the same.

“Yes, Emmaline, you’re the one who knows The Texas Lights best,” Gilbert said. “Even more than I do. And I’ve never really asked what it is that makes it so special for you.”

Emmaline looked at Holly and Chris, who were sitting close to each other. Their hands were linked on the white tablecloth as if they were already one person. There was almost a glow traveling from the two of them across the table to her.

And Uncle Gilbert was smiling pleasantly, waiting for her to speak. She wanted to say something nice, give them all what they wanted to hear, something hopeful. She did love The Texas Lights. It had been a place to throw herself into when she was a child and feeling lonely when it became clear that Holly would always be the pretty, popular one. The hotel had given her a place to work out her worries about life. It was a place she belonged, because in spite of the fact that Uncle Gilbert had been beyond good to her, a fact for which she was grateful, Holly would always be first in his heart and she would always be his orphaned niece. But those weren’t the kinds of thoughts she could share without hurting those she loved most.

“I didn’t mean to put you on the spot,” Ryan said quietly, and she realized that she was taking too much time to speak.

“I like the fact that the hotel is old and quaint and not perfect,” she said, her voice fierce and proud with a passion she couldn’t hide. “I like the creaky floors that speak of how many years it’s been around, how many life stories it’s witnessed. The Texas Lights has flaws, and they’re right there for the whole world to see. I like that. It’s a bit out of sync with the modern age. It’s…different.”

For a moment her words were met with silence.

“You never told me that, Emma,” Holly finally said.

Emmaline shrugged. She hoped she hadn’t embarrassed anyone with her sentiment. But things were changing so fast with Holly getting married and The Lights being modernized. She was afraid that when things were done she might not have a place where she fit. The Texas Lights would be more productive, but it might no longer be hers.

“You always keep so many things buried inside you,” Uncle Gilbert said softly. “I wish I’d asked before.”

“I’m sure the hotel is special,” Chris offered. “That is, it would have to be. The two of you were raised there, and look how wonderful you turned out.” He gazed at Holly as he said it.

And then everyone went back to their dinner. Emma realized that while Ryan was the one who had asked her about the hotel, he was the only one yet to react to her comments.

“Go ahead and say it,” she said, turning to him.

He gazed at her. “What was it exactly that you thought I was going to say?” It was a casual question, but there was nothing casual about the look in his eyes. He studied her as if he was an artist and she was an intensely interesting subject.

“That I’m an idiot. That if we don’t drastically change the things I love about The Lights, then it will die.”

“I wouldn’t say any of those things.”

“Why not?”

He tilted his head, and she became aware of that square, masculine jaw, pictured a woman placing her lips there…

Emmaline jerked herself out of such thoughts. “Why not?” she asked again.

“Because you told me that you did see the need for change even if you didn’t like it, Emma,” he said, using the more familiar form of her name. “Also, I was the one who asked for your opinion, and you do apparently know the hotel better than anyone. I may not agree with you, but your impressions are important. Now that I know you like things that are different, that’s a starting place. We’ll just jump in there.”

“Jump in where?” She swallowed hard and hoped that she didn’t look too nervous. The thought of jumping into anything with this dangerously attractive man was alarming.

He dared to give her one of those sexy smiles of his. “Don’t worry, Emmaline. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.”

She stared at him and nodded stiffly. “All right.” But the problem was that she was very afraid that if she stayed near him long enough, she would want him to do things. She might even want him to kiss her again.

After dinner, when Emmaline had gone upstairs, and Ryan had gone to his room as well, Gilbert went in search of Holly. She was in the library, with Chris, of course. Though Gilbert already liked this young man who was so clearly besotted with his daughter, he wasn’t sure it was a good idea to involve him in the conversation that was about to take place.

“Mind if I borrow my daughter for a few minutes if I promise to bring her back to you?” he asked.

“You’re her father, sir,” Chris said. “You have first claim to her time.”

Gilbert chuckled. “Have I told you how much I like you? I’ll try not to keep her long.” And he whisked Holly away to the parlor and closed the doors.

“Something wrong, Dad?” she asked when he had turned back to her. “You were telling the truth, weren’t you? You do like Chris, don’t you?”

“I do. The question is, what do you think of his friend?”

Holly blinked. “In what way?”

He rubbed his jaw. “In an Emmaline kind of way.”

“Excuse me. Dad, are you feeling okay?”

He smiled at her. “You know, you look so much like your mother. I wish she could be here to see you get married, and I’m so happy for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t always there for you.”

“Dad…” she drawled. “You were a busy man, and you were a good father. I knew you loved me even when you had to travel.”

He nodded a little, hoping he wasn’t going to mist up. “Do you think that Emmaline knew that I loved her, too?”

Holly held out her hands. “I think she’s been reasonably content. She’s not unhappy. Why?”

Gilbert quickly filled Holly in on his matchmaking scheme. “That’s why I’m asking Emmaline to assist Ryan when normally I would handle that task. I want Emmaline to know the kind of bliss that your mother and I had, that you and Chris have.”

“Dad…you can’t mean what I think you mean, can you?”

He glanced down, and she looked toward the table he was staring at. “Yes,” he said.

“No. Not Much Ado About Nothing. I know you love that story, but that’s matchmaking. Emma would hate that.”

“Not if she doesn’t know.”

“She would know.”

“She wouldn’t, and if she’s happy in the end…”

“She might not be. Don’t ask me—”

“I’m not. At least not yet. I’m just telling you and asking you to at least let me try. She’s going to miss you so much, you know.”

“Dad, that’s playing dirty,” Holly said.

“I know.”

She sighed. “But you’re right, aren’t you? So, you want to know what I think of Ryan Benedict?”

“That was the question, yes.”

Holly grinned. “I think he’s everything that will make Emma nuts. He’s gorgeous, he’s physical, he has that military bearing, an undeniable way with women and he’s brilliant. She’ll like his mind and, independent as she is, she’ll hate the rest. And, for the record, while I don’t agree with your matchmaking schemes, I’ve always thought that Emma needed to let loose and kick up her heels a bit.”

Gilbert laughed. “You’ll help?”

“I didn’t say that. Ryan is Chris’s best friend. But I’ll at least promise not to stand in your way. I do want Emma to have some fun.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.”

“Do you think she’ll ever truly fall in love? She doesn’t want to. I know that much.”

“In that case, perhaps you’re right. I can’t make her fall in love with him, but I can try to make it happen. And anyway, a little excitement never hurt anyone, did it?”

The next day, Gilbert, Chris and Ryan were all clustered around a model spread out on a large table set up in one of the parlors, when Ryan looked up to see Emmaline entering the room.

She had a way of looking around when she walked into a room that told him that very little escaped her notice. Those pretty, intelligent eyes took in everything and made an instant assessment. Those eyes…he’d seen anxiety in them, anger, passion, he noted, letting that sharp kick of desire edge in before he pushed it away. And he’d seen something else. Sadness, longing when she’d mentioned the child she wanted.

He was glad she had said that. He didn’t want a child, could never allow himself to have a child. Benedicts were selfish. He’d seen it, he’d lived it and there was a child he had once almost risked, almost irreparably harmed before he’d realized the damage he was going to inflict if he stayed. He’d left, and nearly hurt the little boy even worse in doing so. He’d been careful of children ever since, very careful not to ever let anyone believe he might be a potential parent. It was good to know that such a great barrier stood between him and the very tempting woman with the sad, serious eyes.

“Come look, Emma,” Gilbert said, gazing down at the model. “This model…it’s amazing.”

Chris smiled, as well he should, because these were his ideas.

Emmaline probably already knew that, and to her credit, she nodded and smiled, too. She stared down at the miniature Texas Lights, the new Texas Lights with its curving lines, computerized lobby, its new lighting systems, new…everything. “It’s certainly an impressive model,” she finally said.

Which was the truth, and yet it didn’t really say anything, did it? Ryan noted.

“I’ve heard you’re a genius,” she told Chris.

“Oh, who told you that?”

She fingered one of the sleek new elevators on the model. “Holly.”

Gilbert laughed. “Chris could build something out of alphabet blocks, and my daughter would call it pure genius. Not that this isn’t pure genius,” he amended.

But it wasn’t what Emmaline had hoped for, Ryan could tell. It wasn’t old or odd or out of step with the rest of the world.

He came up behind her. “It’s just a prototype,” he said.

“I know. It’s very inventive,” she tried again, directing her comment toward Chris, who seemed to be satisfied with her conclusion.

But when Holly came to the door and held her arms out, Chris went to her. “Let’s go for a walk in the gardens,” she said. “I’ve been trying on new clothes to make myself beautiful for you, and I’ve missed you horribly.”

Chris looked at Gilbert and Ryan.

“Go,” they both said in unison.

Gilbert laughed. “I have things to do, too. Emmaline, I can see you have questions about the hotel. You and Ryan really need to discuss this and see how you can make it work. Spend some time on it. Take him to the scene of the crime and show him your true love.” He smiled at his niece, walking over to awkwardly pat her on the shoulder. Then he strolled out the door, turning right where Chris and Holly had turned left.

Emmaline stared after him, her pretty eyes narrowed with what looked very much like concern.

“Emma, are you all right?” Ryan asked.

“He seems so sad these days. I think he’s already missing Holly. She’s his only child, you know.”

Which just wasn’t true. Ryan started to remind Emmaline that she was Gilbert’s child as well, but then he realized how presumptuous that would be. Her relationship with her uncle was none of his affair. What did he know of families, after all, considering the examples he had been raised with, his self-absorbed father and his equally self-absorbed string of wives?

He let the moment pass, and the silence settled in like an entity in the room. Suddenly he was aware of the fact that he was completely alone with Emma for the very first time. He breathed in the scent of violets, and immediately wanted to move closer to feel her warmth, maybe even to touch.

What in hell was wrong with him? Hadn’t he received proof enough that she wasn’t for him? “Shall we?” he asked, motioning toward the model, determined to crush any inappropriate thoughts he should have about her. No doubt his body was simply responding to the fact that he would be here without feminine companionship for several weeks. “We’re alone now. You can tell me what you really think.”

Emma took a visible breath, the motion making the cloth on the bosom of her dress rise and fall. She was wearing a brown dress today. Not a pretty shade of brown, either. He remembered that she had been wearing blue the day he met her, a dusky-blue silk blouse that caressed her curves and accented the silvery-gray of her eyes.

“Do you like brown?” he suddenly asked.

Her eyes widened and she put one hand over her chest. Ryan realized that he had been staring at the way the dress camouflaged her breasts.

“Is there something wrong with brown?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

Again he noted how expressive her eyes were. Not even an ugly dress could disguise that. And she was right, anyway. He had been so indignant that she was hiding her lovely body that he had stepped out of line.

“I’m sorry, Emma. Brown is a fine color. I tend to be a bit too direct at times.”

She looked down, and to his surprise when she glanced up again, she was smiling. Just a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. “It is an ugly dress,” she admitted. “Uncle Gilbert’s sister gave it to me as a Christmas present. I think she thinks of me as some poor creature like Jane Eyre. You know, because Jane Eyre was an orphan? Aunt Ellen is sweet, but even though I’ve never wanted for money, she always gives me a dress every Christmas. I have a few of them in my closet.”

“You kept them even though you don’t like them.”

She held out her hands. “I couldn’t hurt her by giving them away.”

The thought was oddly endearing, even though the dress was still hideous. “It’s…nice of you to wear them to make her feel better. Is she coming here today?”

Immediately Emmaline looked away and twisted her fingers in the cloth of her skirt, like a kid caught in a lie. Ryan knew a lot about how people looked when they lied. His father had been an expert. He wondered what it was that Emmaline was lying about and why she would do that.

“She’s not coming here today. She doesn’t live in this state. I know we should discuss the hotel,” she added, quickly rushing on, “but I need some time to look things over and make some notes. I’m not an impulsive type of person, and I need to study things from every angle and then study my notes some more. I don’t want to rush into anything.”

Because she liked things done the old-fashioned way, slowly. He didn’t dare carry that thought through to how she liked things with a man.

“Emma?” he said.

She looked up at him, those wide gray eyes clear and wary. “Putting off the inevitable won’t stop things from changing. The hotel will be different when we’re done.”

Emma nodded. “I know that. But I want the changes to be right. If we rush into things too quickly…”

“We won’t.”

“If I make a mistake or you make a mistake…”

“I always try not to.”

She shook her head. “The Texas Lights is the most special place in the world to me.”

And yet she lived here in her uncle’s house. Ryan wondered why a hotel would be more special than her home. He studied her closely, wondering what she was thinking, fascinated at the things he was learning about her. Not that any of those things could matter to him.

“I’ll give you what you want for The Texas Lights, Emma. I’ll do right by you.” He meant every word—in a strictly professional sense, but when she looked at him, he realized that he had stepped closer, that heat was sizzling in the air.

“I’ll get to this right away,” she said, her voice slightly strained. “I just have a few quick things to do for Holly. I promised her that I would stop by the kitchen and talk to Mary Beth, our cook. Holly wants to make sure that all of Chris’s favorite foods are on the menu.” Emmaline took a few steps away.

Ryan shook his head. Why was she doing what Holly should have been doing herself?

As if she knew what he was thinking, she lifted her chin defiantly. “Mary Beth needs to be coaxed at times.”

That still didn’t answer his questions. It only raised more, but he wanted to make sure she understood something.

“If you want me to understand any changes you want to make with Chris’s plans, you’re going to have to spend some time with me. It’s necessary.”

She gave him a long stare. “I always do what’s necessary, Ryan.”

He smiled. “Even if you’re wishing me to the devil while you’re doing it?”

She studied him with those big, solemn eyes. “I have no reason to dislike you.”

“And no reason to like me, either. I wonder what you’ve heard about me that makes you look at me that way.”

“What way?” She lifted her chin.

“As if you think I’m wondering what’s under your skirts.”

She froze, turning her head to the side. “I would never imagine that was what you were thinking.”

“Then you’d be wrong. But believe me, I never let my wayward thoughts get in the way of work. Your hotel is my first priority until—”

“Until when?”

“Until the job is done.”

“And then?”

“And then whatever my next job is becomes my top priority. Work is what makes life worth living.”

When she looked up at him this time, her smile was wide and genuine and totally breathtaking. “Yes, exactly. My work is important to me, too. I’ll study Chris’s model as soon as I can and let you know what I think.”

“Tell me what you think now.”

She shook her head. “I told you. I need time to study the situation.”

“First impressions sometimes count more than careful study. You’ll study the model later, but tell me what your first thoughts were when you looked at it.”

She hesitated, sucking in her bottom lip. On a more practiced woman, he would have thought she was trying to entice him. But with Emma, who obviously wished he’d never come here, the movement made him want to groan, to lick the soft skin where her teeth were digging in. He wondered if she had any idea just how alluring that pouty lower lip of hers was. It made a man think of…touching…tasting…devouring that petulant pink mouth.

“Emma,” he said, trying to get her to speak, to take his mind off her mouth.

“I’m thinking,” she argued.

“Don’t think. Talk.”

She looked up at him. “Are you always this bossy?”

“Yes. Are you always this careful?”

“Always,” she said. And he was sure it was true. If he tried to touch her again, what would she do?

He wasn’t going to let himself find out. “Tell me,” he ordered again.

“All right,” Emma said with a sigh, gesturing to Chris’s model. “This is beautiful, astonishingly so, but it’s not The Texas Lights.”

“What makes it different?”

“Well…” She looked at the model’s lobby area where banks of computers were destined to reside. “This looks too modern and efficient.”