Lumberjack in Love (7 page)

Ami marched onto the porch and folded her arms across her chest. “I only have a minute. I’m about to run Natty over to the library.”

Marcus patted the empty spot on the sofa next to him. “Why don’t you give me your professional opinion about this design, Miss Smarty Pants.”

Ami rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She dropped down to the sofa, leaving some space between them. Marcus slid over and pressed his leg against her. She narrowed her eyes.

“You are pathetic, mountain man.”

“You’re adorable, flatlander.”

“What are they doing?” Natalie watched the banter back and forth and looked at her mother.

“It’s called flirting, honey.” Rachel snickered.

Ami’s eyes bulged out of her head. It looked like she was about to slug her sister. He couldn’t help it…he laughed out loud.

Ami pointed to the trellis on his design. “In theory, this is a sweet idea. In fact—” She leaned over to get a better look. “This is really charming, Marcus.” Her voice softened and she glanced at him. “You must be hiding a romantic side, because this tree house looks like a girl’s dream-come-true.”

“Do I look like I’m hiding a romantic side?” He spread his arms out, inviting her inspection. He knew damned well he looked like a tree hugger, complete with shit-kicking boots, Carhartt pants, and skull cap. But Ami seemed to approve. She scanned his body, then licked her lips.

Her brow furrowed, she shook her head and sat up straighter on the couch.
Hell, she sure is fighting me today. Wasn’t fighting too hard last night.

“Anyway, as I was saying, rose vines are a poor choice.”

“Why?” Marcus was all business now. He was about to sink a butt-load of money into this new design aspect.

“Two words for you, Mr. Lumberjack. Bees. And thorns.”

“Bees. And thorns. Okay.”

Natty piped up. “Bees like roses, don’t they Auntie? And roses have thorns, too. A lot of them.”

“Jay-sus.” Marcus rubbed his beard. “I…uh…wasn’t thinking about that. I just thought it would look nice for the kids.”

“Obviously,” Ami said. “The kids won’t be too keen on it when they try to climb up that trellis and get stung by a bee or pricked by a thorn.”

Marcus nodded his head. “All right. Good point. Any other ideas for climbing vines that would be kiddy-friendly? I bow down to your infinite wisdom.” He shot her a quick wink. She laughed. “Dammit, Marcus, I’m trying to stay professional and objective here.”

He moved closer to her and draped an arm around her shoulders. Then rubbed the back of her neck. She shivered all over and threw him a warning glance.

“Quit fighting me.” He leaned close and whispered in her ear. “I’m a stubborn son-of-a-bitch, Ami. I’m planning on taking you out to dinner. We’re going to share a bottle of wine and look at the waterfall, talk, spend some time together. And you’re going to like it. If you fight me, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and carry you off to my cave. Got it?”

Ami burst out laughing. “You are ridiculous.” She whispered back, “Fine, I give up. But it’s just dinner. No hanky panky afterwards, buster.”

Marcus leaned closer and pressed his lips against her ear. “There’s gonna be plenty of hanky panky later. I’m counting on it.”

Ami turned to him. She bit her lip as she looked into his eyes. He couldn’t help himself. He kissed her‌—‌just once, gentle and reassuring. “It’s gonna be okay, flatlander.”

She huffed out a sigh. “Says Paul Bunyan.” She reached up and ran a finger down the side of his face, caressing his beard. “For some stupid reason, I trust you. If you hurt me, I’ll burn down your log cabin and steal your dog.”

Marcus smiled. “Not gonna happen.”

Natalie grabbed his arm. “Hey, Mr. Anderson, what are you guys talking about?”

“Uh, Ami was just about to tell me what vines would be better than roses for your tree house. How about it?”

“Well, I can think of a bunch of vines that would be fun, educational, and not cause scarring from sharp thorns.” She shot him a sarcastic smile. “How about trumpet vine? They attract hummingbirds. Nasturtiums? They’re super easy to grow and have edible flowers. Sweet peas would look adorable, and they smell wonderful. Also come in gorgeous, bright colors—”

“Wait. Wait. Slow down, Miss Botanist.” Marcus rummaged through his bag for a pencil and tablet of paper. “Start over again. Trumpet…something?”

Ami grabbed the pencil from his hand and started scribbling. “I’ll make lists of annual and perennial vines and include information about time of bloom and pollinators. We should really do this on the computer. I have a spread sheet at home.”

Marcus put his hand over hers and she stilled, then glanced at him. “You have no idea how much I appreciate this. Thank you. Any chance you could do a quick sketch of one of those vines for me so I can visualize it? I’m better with visuals.” He pulled out the design papers and pointed to the playhouse trellis. “Show me.”

Ami pursed her lips. “No prob. Do you have any colored pencils in there?”

“Sure.” Marcus found a pack of pencils in his bag and passed them to her.

Ami held them in her hand and looked at him incredulously. “What is this? This is a pack of ten colored pencils from the drug store. Crayola brand. Are you high?”

“What? They’re perfectly fine. I use them all the time.”

“You obviously think in black and white and not color, Mr. Woodsman.”

Marcus laughed. “Well, I’m used to making architectural drawings for my designs. I don’t need a lot of colors for that.”

Ami tsked tsked. “Natty, sweetheart, I need a favor.”

“Sure, Auntie. What do you need?” Natalie perched on one of Ami’s knees and flung her arms around her neck. Marcus thought that looked like fun.

“Could you please get the colored pencil kit I got you for Christmas? You know, the one with
five hundred pencils
in it?” She smirked at Marcus as Natty ran from the room. “I cannot believe you have a kindergartner’s pencil collection and you are a professional designer. For God’s sake.”

Marcus leaned forward and crowded Ami in the corner of the sofa. She gasped as his legs crushed against her. “I can’t believe you gave Natalie an art kit with five hundred pencils. Just how many pencils do you need?”

“Are you kidding? There are a ton of different shades of green. It’s really important to capture just the right color and texture in a landscape design.” She took a deep breath and stared at his lips. Christ, she was killing him. “Um, do you mind moving over? You’re invading my personal space.”

He shook his head. “Yes, I mind moving over. I like invading your personal space. That’s the whole point.”

Ami bit her lip. “Marcus, this is
so
not a good idea. Please.”

Natalie returned with a flourish, plopping the pencils down on the coffee table. “Here they are!”

Ami pushed Marcus away. “Thanks, sweetie. Let’s show Marcus what a good artist you are. Why don’t you draw a garden while I work on this, okay?”

“A ladybug garden!”

Rachel gently pulled Natalie off the sofa. “Come on, honey. You, Daddy, and I are going to hang out in the kitchen while Ami and Marcus work on this design. They need some privacy.”

“What!” Ami yelped as they got up to leave. “You don’t need to go. Stay. Seriously. The more, the merrier.”

Marcus silently thanked Rachel. “Why don’t we get started?”

Doug saluted as he shepherded his family out of the room. “Have fun.”

Ami glared at Marcus. She snatched a pencil and started drawing. “Here. This shouldn’t take too long.”

“What’s that?” Her drawing skills impressed him. Within a matter of minutes she had created an enchanting garden area wrapped around his playhouse. Vines bursting with jewel-colored blossoms twined around the trellis and meandered to the walkway. Hummingbirds and butterflies flitted around the plants. It looked like a little girl’s dream.

“I have kiddy-friendly vines growing up this side of the trellis, but left the other side open so kids can climb.”

“I like that. How about if I add pegs along this side.” He sketched in some shaker-style pegs on one side of the house. “The kids can climb up to this deck, and then the vines could continue here.” He pointed to the railing around the platform. “What do you think about that? Will the vines do okay there?”

“Sure. That will look spectacular.” Ami paused and glanced at Marcus. “This is really neat. I wish I’d had a playhouse like this when I was a little girl. I would have never gone inside.”

“Really? But there are bugs and snakes and dirt outside. No cappuccinos.” He tried to keep a straight face.

“Ha ha. I think you’re forgetting I’m a landscaper, bubs. Not just a designer. I don’t sit on my ass all day playing with colored pencils. I actually get out in the trenches with my guys and plant stuff.”

“I didn’t realize that. I would love to have someone like you on my team.”

Ami’s brow creased. “What are you talking about?”

“Just that we make a good team. My playhouse and your garden design together are a sure thing. The kids would love this.”

She shot him a stricken look and stood up. “I gotta take Natty to the library. I’m sure you can figure the rest of this out on your own.”

Marcus reached for Ami’s hand but she pulled away. “Hey, what did I say?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Look, I’m really busy today, so you should probably head home.”

Her refusal to make eye contact pissed him off.

“The design looks great. I’m sure Natty will be thrilled when it’s completed.” She spun on her heel and jogged down the porch steps. Marcus followed.

She grabbed a milk crate filled with library books at the bottom of the steps and started loading up the back of her car. Her face was pale and blank. What the hell was going on in her head?

“Ami.” Marcus grabbed her arm and pulled her next to him. “What did I do? What did I say that got you so mad?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

He cupped her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. “Bull crap. Something is wrong. What is it?”

A sheen of tears misted her eyes. “That’s what Dorko Dan said to me. That we made a great team. He was so totally full of shit. What he really meant was he loved me doing all the work and him riding on my coattails to success. What an ass.” Two fat tears spilled down her cheeks.

Marcus rubbed them away with his thumbs and leaned forward to kiss her gently on the nose. “So, that wasn’t a partnership at all. It’s good you extricated yourself from that situation. You need to be hanging out with people you can trust. People who are honest and upfront with you.” He paused as she nodded. “I’ll bet your ex wasn’t in the trenches with you, either. He was probably sitting at his desk while you worked your ass off.”

Ami hiccupped. “Yeah. He didn’t want to get calluses on his hands.” She sighed and sagged against Marcus.

He wrapped his arms around her slim form and squeezed, wishing he could take a couple of swings at the Boston douchebag. “Ami, why are you trying so hard to avoid me. Huh?”

“This isn’t a good time for me to get involved with someone, Marcus. A one-night stand would be okay. No strings attached. That sort of thing. But anything more…” She shrugged. “I’m still floundering here. No job. No prospects for the future. I need to pull my act together.”

Marcus kissed the side of her neck. At least she wasn’t trying to deny their sexual attraction.

“I don’t want a one-night stand. I like you. A lot. Why don’t we just start out slow, and see what happens, okay? Go out with me tonight. Let’s have dinner. Enjoy each other’s company for a while.”

“I’m afraid,” she whispered into his chest.

He lifted her head up so he could see into her eyes. “What are you afraid of?”

She swallowed and took a deep breath. “I like you, too. I’m even starting to like it here in Vermont. Do you know Bill got a professional new espresso machine for his store? People here are bizarrely nice. It’s just not natural! I feel so unsettled. Like everything I’ve known is blown to bits. I used to be Dan’s girlfriend. Head designer for the firm. City girl and loving every minute of it.” She wiped away another tear. “Now I have no clue what is going on with my life. It’s disconcerting.”

Marcus smiled at her. “Let me help you sort things out. Tonight at dinner we’ll go over your options and help you figure out a game plan. Will that make you feel better?”

Ami blinked up at him. “Yeah. That would help a lot. Thank you.” She snuggled against his chest. “Why are you being so nice to me, lumberjack man?”

“Hmm. I don’t know.”

She kicked him in the shin.

“Oh yeah. I know. You’re cute, you’re smart, you’re sarcastic. And you’re sexy as hell. What’s not to like?”

Ami giggled, a muffled sound against his shirt. “You forgot I also have a superior colored-pencil collection.”

“Oh yeah. I forgot. And you know a lot about plants. How can I resist?”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Okay. Dinner sounds good. I love the Cranville Mill. It’s so romantic with the waterfall and everything.”

Marcus waggled his eyebrows. “Perfect.”

“But no funny business, Marcus. I mean it.”

Marcus grinned. “Believe me, Miss City Slicker, there won’t be anything funny about it.”

Lumberjack In Love