His Winter Rose and Apple Blossom Bride (11 page)

Jason turned his hand to thread his fingers through hers.

“Funny you’d say that. I think I know quite a lot about you, Piper.”

“Really?” She stared at him, eyes wide with surprise but a hint of wariness lodged in their depths. “Like what?”

“I know your perfume reminds me of Persian roses I once smelled in Tangiers. I know you’re a night person, that you force yourself to come in early because you don’t want anyone to think you’re a slacker, but you’d prefer to sleep in.” He smiled at her quick gasp. “I know you don’t like onions,” he teased.

She glanced down at her plate and the tiny pile of onions lying in one corner. “Too obvious.”

“Okay.” He debated a moment, then plunged in. “How about this? I know you like your job, but I also know you push yourself harder than anyone else ever could. And I think it’s because you’re trying to prove something—maybe to yourself or maybe to that father you talked about. You want people to value you for your own merit.”

Her lips tightened a fraction, but otherwise Piper gave little away.

“Don’t you?” she asked, drawing her hand away.

“Yes, of course. I didn’t mean that in a bad way. I just meant you’re driven to succeed. That’s probably how you’ve managed to make such a dent in the powers that be.”

“Meaning?” She leaned back in her chair, ignoring the egg roll still lying on her plate.

“Meaning that Ted said he’d heard about your work here. I’m sure a lot of others have, too. That’s because you don’t aim for mediocre. I admire the way you took on my dream for this place and made it your own. It’s a pleasure to work with you, Piper.” He picked up his glass of ice water, clinked it against hers.

“I could say the same about you,” she murmured, returning the toast.

“But you won’t, because I’m obsessive and you don’t want me breathing down your back.”

“No, I don’t,” she admitted. “So...you’re not angry about Ted?”

“Not angry,” he agreed, savoring the last of the sweet-and-sour sauce on his plate. “Just curious about what he said. I realize I’ve been a little heavy-handed.”

“A little?” She snickered.

“Okay, a lot.” He set down his fork with a thud and glared at her. “Are you going to make me beg for information about your meeting?”

“It’s a thought.”

He scowled for the pure pleasure of hearing Piper’s melodious laugh ring through the room.

“Seriously, there’s nothing to tell. I laid it on thick with him, pointed out every advantage I could think of.” Her slim shoulders lifted in a shrug. “He’s going to think about it.”

“He’d be a good choice, though not my first.”

“I thought you said he was a friend?”

“He is, a good one. But I’d still prefer to have Wainwright on board.”

She leaned forward, her face tightening. “I told you. They’re not a good choice right now.”

Jason nodded.

“I remember. I did some checking and while it’s true that they’re having financial problems with some aspects of their development, they seem like normal glitches for any major project. I don’t think it has seriously hampered their ability to build what we need. I put a call in to their office when you were away. Someone should get back to us soon.”

“You did what?” She flung her napkin onto the table and rose from her chair, her fingers fisting at her sides. “I especially asked you to let me handle this on my own time, Jason.”

She was furious.

Jason watched her pace back and forth across his hardwood floors, and found himself grateful that she wasn’t wearing heels.

“Do you think it’s funny to go behind my back when I specifically asked you not to?” she demanded, eyes blazing.

“I didn’t go behind your back,” he said calmly. “You said you’d prefer not to work with them. I happen to feel they should at least be offered a chance to present a proposal.”

She glared at him and he felt a modicum of regret that she hadn’t been there when the call had come in from the company.

“Look, Piper. They’ve asked twice to present something. I’ve put them off both times because you were so hesitant. But they’re eager to talk and I think that’s a good sign. I want to see what they propose.”

“I can tell you that without even listening to a Wainwright pitch,” she hissed. “Big, splashy and out of place. This is cottage country, not the Vegas strip. We want understated, friendly, not overpowering, neon blaze.”

“I’m aware of what we want.” He studied her, puzzled by her burst of anger, completely unlike the easygoing Piper who’d taken everything in stride this weekend.

“Wait a minute—they’ve called twice?” she whispered as her face drained of color.

“Yes. Why? Is something wrong?”

“Wrong?” She blinked. “I’ve told you about them over and over.”

“I’m not talking about Wainwright. I’m talking about you.”

“I’m fine.”

Sure she was. He thought about it, then decided to tread on thin ice.

“Piper, were you hoping someone special would show up this weekend?”

“W-why would you ask that?” Her voice had dropped, her gaze veering away from meeting his.

“Call it a hunch,” he said. Jason rose, walking over to stand beside her. “You’ve gone all out this weekend. It’s natural to feel a little down if you were expecting someone to see your work and they didn’t show.”

“It’s not what you’re implying,” she told him, a tiny smile curving her lips. “I don’t have a boyfriend who didn’t show. You won’t have to nurse me through a broken heart.”

Relief fluttered through him at this news but he ignored it.

“You were looking for someone,” he insisted. “I saw the way you kept checking the sign-in sheet, scanning the crowds.”

“And you want to know who?” She dragged a hand through her hair, ruffled the tousled curls even more. “If you must know, I’d been warned my father would show up. Thankfully he did not. He would have ruined everything.”

He tried to read her expression but Piper avoided him by moving back to the table.

“I’ll give you a hand with the dishes.”

He laid his hand on hers, preventing her from moving anything.

“Not yet.”

“Oh?”

“We haven’t had dessert. And then there’s the fortune cookie.”

She did look at him then, in disbelief.

“You’re going to put your faith in a fortune cookie?”

He laughed. “No way. My faith rests in God. But I usually find the sayings interesting. Scared?” He picked up the cookie, handed it to her.

“Why should I be afraid of a fortune cookie?”

“Because you might read a bit of truth?”

She snorted her opinion of that and sat down again. So did he. Jason waited while she cracked the cookie open and removed the small slip of paper.

“Well?”

“I think you planted this.” Piper glared at him, but her eyes danced. “All right then. ‘Man’s schemes are inferior to those made by heaven.’”

“You see. Just because it’s a fortune cookie doesn’t mean it can’t hold a wise saying.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s hear yours, Mr. Wise Man.” She plopped her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands. One eyebrow arched in a command to open his own.

He cracked the cookie, stared at the words.

“Well?”

“‘War doesn’t determine who is right, war determines who is left.’”

Piper burst into laughter.

“A fitting end to our disagreement on Wainwright, I think.” She glanced at her watch. “Wow! I’m sorry to miss dessert but I’ve got to get going. I don’t like driving those switchbacks in the dark.” She began stacking the dishes, carrying them over to the counter.

“You don’t have to do this. Go ahead. I can clean up.”

“You worked just as hard as I did. Come on, the two of us should be able to make short work of this.”

He didn’t have a dishwasher but they worked together harmoniously, Jason washing, Piper drying. When the last dish was put away, she hung up the dish towel and smiled at him.

“This was fun. Thanks a lot.”

“We’ll do it again.” He followed her to the door, remembered her cell phone and had to go back for it. “I turned it off when you were sleeping. I didn’t think there’d be anything too urgent.”

“Nothing that can’t wait till tomorrow.” She stepped outside. Jason followed. “My car’s not far away.”

“I need the walk,” he told her, matching his step to hers.

“Would you believe from this warm air that we had snow a couple of nights ago?” She lifted her face, gazed at the heavens. “The sky is gorgeous. Look.”

“I am looking,” he murmured, but his attention was on her.

She caught him staring and turned away, quickening her step until she reached the car.

Without thinking Jason reached for the door handle. The door opened. He frowned.

“You leave your car unlocked?” he asked.

“No. I always lock it.” She pushed the door closed, tried the remote. It worked. “I guess I didn’t hit it hard enough this morning. I was sure it was locked.”

He held the door for her, waited till she was inside, then pushed it closed. She started the engine and rolled down the window.

“Looks like you’re taking work home with you,” he said, leaning down to eye the brown-wrapped package on the backseat.

“What?” She twisted, blinked. “Oh, er, yes. Though I don’t think I’ll get at it tonight. I need an early night.”

He was going to tell her to take tomorrow off, but he knew she wouldn’t. So he stood there, staring at her beautiful face in the moonlight and wondering if he should follow his heart.

“Well, good night.”

“Good night.”

She pressed the button and the window began to move upward.

“Piper?”

It rolled down again. Her other hand rested on the gearshift. She turned her head to look at him.

“Yes?”

He could feel her breath against his skin. Her perfume filled the night air creating an intimacy that made him bold. Jason leaned in through the window, brushed her lips with his.

“You did a great job. Thank you.”

She stared at him for a moment then nodded.

“You’re welcome.”

He stepped back, watched her car drive into the darkness. When it had disappeared he turned and strolled back to his place, the memory of her touch lingering.

It was probably not the brightest thing to do, given that he had to work with her. But he wouldn’t regret that kiss.

For weeks now he’d been aware of the current between them. Tonight had confirmed that she felt it, too.

He stepped inside, whistling as he locked up.

Sure, there were some mysteries about Piper Langley. But that was going to make it more interesting to find out what lay beneath that mask she usually kept in place.

Very interesting.

* * *

Piper rolled out of town half-bemused by Jason’s kiss. Every so often her hand lifted of its own volition, and her fingers touched her lips.

He was a nice guy, really nice. If only—

She glanced at the flash of lights behind her, glimpsed in the rearview mirror and saw that package lying on the backseat. Where had it come from?

She made a tight left turn, annoyed by the bright lights of the vehicle following too close behind. Edging over onto the shoulder, she waited for it to pass, but it didn’t, which aggravated her even more.

Assuming it was one of their visitors who wasn’t familiar with these roads she moved back into her lane and kept going, relieved when she could finally turn into her driveway.

Oddly, the vehicle turned, also, but then stopped and sat waiting when she drove into her parking space and shut off the engine. After a moment it backed out of the lane and drove away.

Disconcerted, Piper climbed out of her car and picked up the brown package. She carried it to the house, unlocked the door and laid it on the table. Once she’d slipped off her shoes and put the kettle on for a cup of tea, she began inspecting the parcel.

There were no marks on the plain brown paper, nothing to indicate either what it was or where it had come from. She slid a fingernail under the taped corner at one end and began unwrapping. Inside was a white box with the Wainwright logo on top.

She pressed her lips together and lifted the lid. A model sat inside—a hotel model. She lifted it out, found a small card underneath.

Proposed development for Serenity Bay.

It had to be her father. Obviously he’d come to town and when he’d found her car unlocked he’d slipped this into the backseat, too chicken to face her outright.

Piper set the model down, grabbed the phone and dialed the number from memory. Her father never went anywhere without his cell phone.

As soon as it was answered she burst out.

“How could you? How dare you? This is my project. Keep—” She paused.

“—leave a message,” his voice ordered in that gruff, overbearing tone. A beep, then silence.

Piper thought for a moment then slowly hung up the phone.

She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. If he wanted to know where she was, his company spies would soon find her. If he wanted to talk to her, let him do the calling.

Suddenly she recalled those bright lights. Her stomach sank. It had been him. She was sure of it. He’d hung around, then followed her home. But he hadn’t had the guts to face her.

She walked over to the mantel, picked up Vance’s photo and stared into his beloved eyes.

“Why couldn’t you have talked to me then, Daddy?” she whispered, her finger sliding over the precious cheeks, so gaunt from cancer treatments that hadn’t worked. “Where were you when I needed you most?”

Several moments passed before Piper set the frame back on the mantel. Vance was gone, pain-free, in heaven, with God. And Baron was still out of her life. Apparently that’s the way he wanted it. There was no point in getting trapped in the past again. She’d come to Serenity Bay in search of the future.

The kettle whistled and she made herself a cup of mint tea, pinching the leaves before she dropped them into the strainer, just as Gran always had. While it steeped, she studied the small model her father had left.

The main floor lobby lay open to the street level, a kind of piazza fronting it. She could imagine people gathered there, sipping lemonade on a hot day, admiring an ice sculpture in winter. The perfect place to hold all kinds of events.