Love Enough For Two (Love Inspired) (3 page)

Matt wondered what had made her go from hot to cold in such a short period of time. Did she regret her quick show of emotion? Worry that he’d think she was easy? Could that be why she’d decided to do an about-face and play hard to get?

His analysis was the only thing that made any sense. Satisfied, he settled back in the chair to consider his strategy. Among his fellow attorneys, Matt was considered to be the ultimate competitor. It didn’t matter whether it was in the courtroom, on the ball field or in the area of romance, Matt Dixon played to win. Not just
some
time,
every
time.

And this time would be no exception.

S
ierra stared at Matthew Dixon’s handsome face and wondered what was wrong with her. She’d never before been tempted to kiss someone she’d just met. But, only a few moments earlier, she’d wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him. If the waitress hadn’t shown up, she might have done just that and made a big fool of herself.

He was good-looking, she’d give him that. If anything he was even more striking than he’d been that day in the shop. It had to be the suit, she decided. Even a monkey in a silk Armani suit would be appealing.

“Can I get you something to drink?” The waitress reappeared and stood next to the table, pad in hand.

Though the waitress was exceedingly polite, the woman eyed Sierra as if she were a rival, rather than a customer. Sierra smiled sweetly at the girl, wishing there was a way to let her know she was welcome to the man at her table. “I’ll have a glass of mango iced tea, please.”

“I’ll bring it right out.” The waitress turned on her heel and hurried off, leaving Sierra and the attorney alone once again.

Her skin prickled and Sierra could feel Matt Dixon’s eyes on hers. The air between them was tense and her heart pounded in her chest. She felt practically lightheaded.

“How do you like owning an antique store?” His lips quirked in a smug smile, and she realized he knew exactly the effect he was having on her.

It was that smile that brought her crashing back to reality.

Arrogant jerk.

Sierra lifted an eyebrow. “Tell me you didn’t drive a hundred miles to discuss The Hope Chest.”

She’d hoped her coolness would put him off. But if anything, the spark of interest flickered even brighter in his eyes.

“Maybe I did,” he said. “How do you know I’m not into antiques?”

Sierra rolled her eyes, finding the teasing tone irritating rather than amusing. “Tell me again the point of this meeting?”

He stared at her, his gaze searching hers. Finally he grabbed his briefcase and set it on the table.

“Your mother has agreed to fund the start-up costs for a private, nonprofit Child Advocacy Center in Santa Barbara,” he said. “She’s hired our firm to oversee the project. She’d like you to work with me on it.”

The thought was so ridiculous that Sierra burst into laughter. Everyone knew Stella Carlyle’s idea of philanthropy was paying her ex-boyfriends to get out of her life. “Mr. Dixon, I don’t know where you got your information but my mother isn’t interested in civic projects…especially ones that involve Santa Barbara.”

He lifted his hands in mock surrender. “I’m only telling you what I know.”

“You have the wrong woman,” she insisted.

He grinned and she noticed he had a dimple in his left cheek. “My father says the planet isn’t big enough for more than one Stella Carlyle.”

The statement was so on target that Sierra was tempted to return his infectious smile. Instead she shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense. She’s never expressed an interest in doing anything for this community.”

“I don’t know how long she’s been considering this.” He shrugged. “But she specifically told my father she wanted you to be approached about being involved. Though I’m not sure why she just didn’t ask you herself.”

Sierra’s head spun. This was making less and less sense. She couldn’t imagine Libby or her mother having an interest in this type of venture. She wanted to ask again if he was positive he had the right Stella Carlyle, but he’d already answered the question once and she doubted his answer would be any different this time.

She folded her hands on the table. “Tell me about these Child Advocacy Centers.”

“They coordinate services to children who are victims of abuse.” He reached over and took a folder from the briefcase.

Sierra’s breath caught in her throat. “Abused children?”

“Both physically and sexually.” The light in his eyes dimmed. “It makes me sick. I can’t imagine anyone harming an innocent child.”

A band tightened around her chest and a lump formed in her throat. Sierra could only nod in agreement.

“A study showed the community has the capacity to provide the services and supposedly there’s a need,” Matt continued, his voice all business. “Though I have to wonder how much need there is in an affluent city like Santa Barbara.”

You’d be surprised to find that child abuse doesn’t always happen among the poor, Sierra wanted to say. A familiar ache filled her heart, but she took a steadying breath and forced herself to concentrate on the matter at hand. “Tell me again what my mother’s involvement will be?”

“Purely financial,” he said. “She’ll supply the money. Our firm will oversee the project.”

“What about publicity?” Sierra asked, though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer. Both Libby and her mother preferred to stay out of the media limelight.

“The project will be publicized. But your mother doesn’t want her name mentioned,” Matt said. “At least not until the Center is completed.”

“I assume you’ll be giving her frequent updates?” Sierra asked.

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “I’ll be giving
you
frequent updates.”

A woodsy scent of bergamot mingled with citrus and cloves wafted over her. Sierra inhaled deeply, finding the scent very much to her liking. She shoved the disturbing thought aside, realizing he’d continued to talk.

“Your mother made it very clear that she didn’t want to be contacted by our firm until everything is done and the Center is ready to open. I guess she figures she can get whatever pertinent information she needs from you.” He paused and tilted his head. “I assume you and she talk frequently?”

Sierra saw no reason to tell him that phone conversations between Stella and her daughter were few and far between. “Do you have any preliminary information about the project?”

He shoved the folder that he’d pulled earlier from his briefcase across the tabletop. “This is what the architects have drawn up so far. I’ve included articles from other cities where such centers are located as well as some information from the National Children’s Alliance.”

Curious, Sierra took the packet of information and pulled the papers from the folder. She slowly paged through them, studying each one intently.

“What do you think?” he asked.

She carefully slipped the articles back into the folder. “I just have a few questions. Who is going to have final approval—”

“I’m sorry this took so long.” The brunette interrupted, placing a glass of tea in front of Sierra. “Can I get either of you anything else?”

Matt met Sierra’s gaze and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Sierra shook her head.

Matt reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet and handed the girl a twenty. “Keep the change.”

The waitress glanced at the bill and a delighted smile blanketed her face. “Wow. Thanks.”

He slid the wallet back into his pocket. “Now where were we?”

But Sierra was more interested in the waitress, who was hurrying across the dining room, a new bounce in her step. When the girl disappeared into the kitchen, she shifted her gaze back to Matt. “Why did you do that?”

“Do what?” He raised an eyebrow as if he didn’t have a clue what she was talking about.

“You gave her twenty dollars,” Sierra pressed. “Twenty dollars for iced tea seems a bit excessive.”

Matt shrugged. “She’s a real pain in the—” he stopped himself and continued, “but I have to admire her. We were talking before you got here and she told me she takes a full load of classes and works two jobs.”

“You made her day.” Sierra had worked as a waitress off and on since she was sixteen and she knew how much those unexpected windfalls meant. Because of that, a grudging approval sounded in her voice.

“Waiting tables is hard work,” he said, dismissing the compliment. “I’m a big believer that hard work should be rewarded.”

Sierra started to tell him that she agreed whole-heartedly. Ever since her divorce she’d been working extra hard to make a new life for herself and her daughter. And she truly believed, with God’s help, that one day the hard work would pay off.

But thankfully she came to her senses just in time. She and this man weren’t friends chatting about life, they were strangers with little in common. And it was best if they kept anything personal out of their business discussion. “Who did you say has the final approval of the design?”

“You would.”

Sierra thought about what the center would mean to the community. “It’s a big project. And it’s important it be done right.”

“I agree,” Matt said. “I’ll continue to work with local leaders and the Regional Advocacy office to make sure the Center meets national standards. You and your mother don’t have a thing to worry about.”

The underlying assumption was that she should just trust him. While she had to admit that Dixon and Associates was a big-time L.A. law firm, handling celebrity divorces and high-profile criminal cases was one thing, setting up and overseeing a new corporation was another.

“I do have one concern. You’re a
divorce
attorney.” Her inflection made it clear exactly what she thought of his occupation. “What makes you think you can handle this type of project?”

He stiffened at her disparaging tone and his easy smile tightened. But, when he spoke, his tone was even. “We’re a large firm and divorces are only a part of what we do. I can assure you I’m more than capable of setting up a new corporation.”

Sierra tapped her fingers against the tabletop. He oozed confidence, but she wasn’t convinced. Still, she knew what it would have meant to have such a place when Maddie had been injured. “I don’t want this botched up.”

“I won’t botch it up.” Matt spoke slowly, emphasizing each word. His flashing blue eyes let her know he didn’t appreciate the insinuation.

It was clear he’d assumed their meeting would be a mere formality. He probably thought this would be the last he’d see of her until the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

But this project was too important to trust to someone like him. Tonight, Sierra would sit Libby down and make her see that they had to be involved.

Libby had to understand this was one venture that simply couldn’t be left to an attorney.

Libby Carlyle leaned back in the rattan chair on her veranda and stared at her friend. “You’re joking.”

Sierra shook her head. “Nope, it’s true. Your mother is funding a new Child Advocacy Center.”

“Are you sure we’re talking about the same Stella Carlyle?” Libby’s blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. “We both know my mother doesn’t have a philanthropic bone in her body, unless you count the money she donates to Prada.”

Sierra smiled. Imelda Marcos had nothing on Stella Carlyle. “Matt seemed confident but I think you should call and check with her, anyway.”

“Matt?” Libby placed her cup of Chai on the table and curiosity flared in her brilliant blue eyes.

Sierra stilled. Though she’d refused to call him anything but Mr. Dixon to his face, his first name had slipped past her lips with ease, as if they were best friends and she’d been saying it for years.

She kept her face expressionless. She knew Libby was ready to misunderstand any comments she might make so Sierra chose her words carefully. “Like I said, he had no doubts it was your mother. But I’m certainly not one to trust anything that comes out of a lawyer’s mouth.”

Thankfully, Libby accepted the statement at face value. She nodded and picked up the cordless phone. “It’s got to be a mistake.”

Though Libby was acting nonchalant, Sierra could tell by the way her friend’s eyebrows furrowed as she punched in her mother’s number, that Libby was as puzzled as she was by this strange turn of events. They both knew Stella was selfish and not particularly fond of children. Why she would fund a
children’s
center was a complete mystery.

“It’s ringing,” Libby said, covering the receiver briefly with her hand.

“I’ll get us some vanilla wafers.” Sierra rose and headed for the screen door leading into the house.

Libby just nodded absently, her ear pressed against the phone.

Sierra had practically grown up in Libby’s large Victorian home and the kitchen was as familiar to her as her own. She quickly found the cookies and poured them into a bowl she took from the cupboard. Leaning back against the counter, she ate one slowly. Then, she ate another, nibbling at the edges, prolonging the experience until that cookie, too, was gone.

But the moment Sierra opened the screen door and stepped onto the veranda, Libby’s raised voice told Sierra she should have lingered longer. Un-fortunately to go back inside would be way too obvious, so Sierra slipped quietly into the chair and averted her gaze to the beautifully landscaped yard.

“Of course I realize that why you do something is your business.” Libby’s voice was tight and controlled. “It just didn’t sound like you and I wanted to make sure—”

Libby paused and even from where she sat Sierra could hear the strident tones in the voice on the other end of the line.

“Mother, I’m sorry. I need to go.” Libby clicked off the phone and blew out a harsh breath, her face tight with frustration. “What is the matter with that woman? We haven’t talked in over a month and yet when I call and ask a few simple questions, she bites my head off.”

“Maybe she and Jean-Claude are fighting again.” Sierra reached across the table and gave her friend’s hand a sympathetic squeeze. She hated it when Stella took her boyfriend frustrations out on her daughter. “You know how cranky she gets when that happens.”

“I don’t care what her reason is.” Libby’s eyes flashed. “She doesn’t need to be nasty.”

“What did she say about the project?” Sierra asked.

“She said she’s doing it,” Libby said. “She’s putting up the money.”

Sierra widened her gaze in surprise. Though Matt had been sure he had the right Stella, Sierra had been equally sure it was a mistake. “No way.”

“Way,” Libby said. “But when I asked why, she went ballistic. Said it was none of my business.”