by Coleen Kwan
“I don’t think so, Dad,” she said, trying to inject conviction into her voice. “It’s just an accident. It could’ve happened to anyone.”
Her father shook his head, his face settling into stubborn lines. “I know how the Schofields operate. It’s them. I know it.”
Holly propped her hands on her hips. “Dad, honestly. You really think they’d pull something like this? Toss paint on the walls and wreck a few couches and beds? It’s juvenile and moronic and not that effective. I’ve got extra time to fix this room, and I’ll do it. So if it was some big plot of the Schofields, it hasn’t worked, has it?”
Ralph gave her a hard look for several long moments. Eventually he sighed. “Maybe you’re right. When it comes to the Schofields, I automatically jump to the worst conclusions.”
A knock sounded at the door, and Dane walked in carrying two coffees and a paper bag. “Hey, honey, I brought you a cappuccino and a blueberry muffin—” He stopped short when he spotted Ralph. “Afternoon, Mr. Rochester,” he said, his voice dropping into neutral.
“Schofield,” Ralph snipped, looking as stiff as a redwood.
Holly moved toward Dane and accepted the food and drink from him. “Thanks for the coffee and muffin.”
Dane’s enigmatic gaze settled on her. “No problem. I’m waiting for a coat of paint to dry, so I’ve got some spare time. Need any help here?”
Behind her, she heard her father shifting his feet. She really needed to separate these two men before the tension escalated. “I’m good for now.” She tilted her head a little toward the door, trying to indicate to Dane that it would be better for him to leave.
It seemed he got the message. With a brief nod at her father, he disappeared. She let out a small sigh, but as she turned back to her father, she knew it wasn’t over yet.
“Want some muffin?” she asked as she pulled a chunk off and stuffed it into her mouth. Maybe if she kept her mouth full she could avoid what was coming.
“I didn’t realize you were so friendly with Schofield.”
Nope. There was no avoiding this.
“I’m friends with all the contestants. We aren’t gladiators, you know. It’s not do or die around here.”
“Holly, you’re not here to make friends. You’re here to win.”
“I know that. I haven’t forgotten.”
But at times she had forgotten. Like when she was with Dane. Like when he took her for a ride on his motorcycle, or when he kissed her and made the rest of the world disappear.
A deep groove appeared between her father’s brows. “And you remember what I said about being friends with the Schofields.”
I can’t stop you from having friends, Holly, but you’d better believe that I will never welcome any of the Schofields into my family.
Her throat hurt as she recalled her father’s warning.
“Of course I remember.”
Her father scrutinized her. What he saw didn’t seem to please him. He turned away from her and stared out the window, his rigid back shutting her out, like always.
She swallowed, pressed her fingers together. “Dad, I’m going to do everything in my power to win the Halifax Hotel for you. That’s my number one goal. I wish you’d have a little more faith in me.”
After a brief silence, he turned to face her. “I do have faith in you,” he said, but she had a feeling he was only saying what she wanted to hear, that he didn’t really believe in his words. Still, it was something.
“Why don’t you let me worry about this room?” She needed to change the subject fast. “How are Cassie and the baby? Have you visited them today?”
A strange, uncomfortable expression passed over Ralph’s face. He waved away her question. “I called Kirk, and everyone is doing well. Cassie and the—the child will be home next week.”
“You haven’t gone to see them yet?” She couldn’t believe it. “Why not?”
He hunched his shoulders. “I will soon when it’s appropriate.”
“But, Dad, he’s your first grandchild. I would’ve thought—” She stopped as her father’s face twisted. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he breathed out, shielding his face with one hand. “I want to see Cassie and the baby, of course I do, but…I can’t help thinking about your mother. She’ll never see her grandchildren. Never get to hold them or spoil them…”
A lump rose in her throat. “Dad.”
She moved toward him, arms open. But he quickly patted her on the shoulder and edged away.
“I’ll visit them soon, but I’m sure they need their rest right now.” He adjusted his tie, smoothed down his hair. “I can see you’re not ready for the paintings. I’ll tell the installer to take them back. Give me a call when you want them.”
“Thanks, Dad.” At least he hadn’t changed his mind about his artwork, which, given the vandalism, would’ve been understandable.
She watched him leave. Her father had always held her at arm’s length, and deep down it had always hurt. But he was putting his trust in her now, and she wasn’t going to let him down.
***
Both the Gilberts stopped dead in their tracks as they entered Dane’s room.
“My goodness!” Humbert exclaimed. “Isn’t she a beauty?”
He stepped toward the focal point of the room, a stunning cream-and-green Harley-Davidson EL “Knucklehead” motorcycle.
“You managed to get that up here in the service elevator?” Lizzie asked Dane in an awed tone.
“Yes, ma’am,” Dane replied. “It was a tight fit, but I made it.”
“It looks wonderful, and so are those.” She pointed at the framed posters on the walls, all depicting 1930s motorcycles.
The Gilberts walked about the living room and the adjoining bedroom, taking careful note of everything. The other contestants were also in the suite. It was almost three o’clock on Monday afternoon. Dane had been waiting since nine this morning, which was when he and the other contestants except for Holly had had to stop work. Then they had waited while Holly had her three hour extension before the Gilberts began their inspection.
Dane’s was the last suite to be judged. The standard to beat was high; everyone had produced distinctive designs, but he was the only one who’d brought in something as bizarre as a vintage motorcycle. It definitely had wow factor, but he wasn’t sure it was what the Gilberts were looking for.
He glanced over at Holly standing off to one side. She’d labored hard over the weekend to get her rooms ready after the horrible vandalism. Her suite had looked great, especially with her father’s two paintings, but it wasn’t as good as she’d planned, and he knew she was disappointed.
He tried to catch her eye, but she was looking elsewhere. She’d been noticeably cool toward him over the weekend. Had refused to accept his offers of help, saying she was determined to show everyone she could do this by herself. He got that. Holly valued her independence and hated playing the victim.
But at times her coolness seemed personal. She didn’t respond to his flirting, and appeared to go out of her way to avoid being alone with him. He put that down to two things: her determination not to let the gut-wrenching incident get to her, which he admired, and her father warning her off him, which he didn’t admire. Either way, he hadn’t got a repeat of that steamy night at her apartment, which left him taking plenty of cold showers over the weekend. He had to talk with Holly. Soon.
The Gilberts finished conferring with each other and turned to face the contestants.
“Well done, everyone,” Humbert said. “You all rose to the challenge. Some of you hit a few roadblocks—” he dipped his head at Holly “—but you overcame them, and that is all part of restoring and running a treasured hotel like the Halifax.” He turned to his sister. “Now, the main aim of this first round was to eliminate the two weakest contestants, but Lizzie and I were so impressed by a couple of you that we’d like to give you honorable mentions. Lizzie?”
His sister cleared her throat. “Hum
bert and I agreed that two people stood out with their style and their commitment, and they are Simone and Dane.” She beamed at them. “Well done to both of you!”
Simone smirked while the others applauded politely.
“Now, onto the two contestants who didn’t do so well,” Humbert said.
Holly clasped her hands behind her back. Dane couldn’t see them but he was willing to bet they were squeezed tightly together. His own hands clenched. If Holly was eliminated…
“You may be wondering what the point of this round was,” Humbert continued. “After all, you’re business people, not restorers or decorators. Well, we wanted to gauge how you’d respond to something outside your comfort zone. Restoring the Halifax is a unique project, and it’s not for everyone. If you fail to make it to the next round, don’t take it as a personal failure. It simply means this project isn’t suited to your strengths.”
Dane’s fingers dug into his palms. The suspense was killing him.
“Okay, I won’t prolong the tension any further,” Humbert said. “The two contestants who aren’t going through are…Hector and Donald. I’m sorry, you two. You both did a good job, but it’s not what we’re looking for. Thank you for participating.”
Dane let out a breath. He saw Holly swallow, and knew she’d been on a knife edge there. Poor baby. He wanted to cross the room and put his arms around her.
Hector and Donald shook hands with everyone and wished them luck before leaving.
“That leaves the four of you,” Humbert said. “Dane, Simone, Chad, and Holly. One of you will win the Gilbert Challenge and own the Halifax Hotel.”
“And so onto the final round of the competition,” Lizzie said, her expression brightening. “Each of you must produce a detailed brief of your plans for the Halifax’s renovations. We want sketches of all the important spaces—the lobby, the dining room, the bar, and of course the ballroom. We also want to see details of the guest rooms, from the humblest to the penthouse suite. You may consult with your outside experts, and you can work here or at your offices, whatever suits you. Your designs, together with your financial bids, must be submitted to us by this coming Saturday at noon. Humbert and I will announce the final winner at our cocktail party the following Friday. Any questions?”
Simone and Chad made a few queries before the meeting began to break up.
Dane made to move toward Holly, but Humbert cornered him and began asking him questions about the Harley-Davidson while the others started to leave. Dane answered Humbert while trying to keep tabs on Holly. She wasn’t hanging back to speak with him. She was already out the door.
Finally Humbert was finished with him. Excusing himself, Dane motored out the door and saw Holly entering her suite a few doors down. He followed her inside.
“Going home already?” he asked, shutting the door behind him.
She paused midway through putting on her jacket. “That was the plan.” Her eyes were wary.
“I’m glad you made it through to the next round.”
“Are you?”
He moved closer. “Yeah, of course. Means I get to see more of you.”
He ran his gaze over her, lingering where he wanted to touch. He saw her inhale and knew his proximity affected her. She’d used her coolness to keep him away until the Gilberts made their decision, but she couldn’t keep her barriers up forever. She felt the same need he did, the same burning urge. The knowledge set heat seeping through his veins. He studied her, noting the silkiness of her skin, the sensuous bow of her lips, the thickness of her lashes. She was stunning perfection, and just standing here with her made him shake.
“Want a ride?” he asked.
Her gaze flew up to meet his, and he knew they were sharing the same memory from last week, of her astride him, her thighs gripping his hips while she rode them both to a wild climax. Her lips quivered before she caught the lower one beneath her teeth.
“Uh, not tonight.”
He shoved his fingers through his hair. “Well? Are we going to at least talk?”
She instantly bridled just like he knew she would. “About what? The other night?”
“Okay, let’s start with that.”
“It was just sex.”
He made a growl low in his throat. “It was more than just sex.” Gripping her arms, he walked her backward until her legs hit the arm of a couch. “Want me to prove that to you right now?” He wasn’t going to let her dismiss him like that. The heat of her body just inches away from him fried his self-control. God, he wanted to tip her onto that couch, rip her jeans off, show her that what he could do to her was so much more than ‘just sex.’”
“Fine.” She lifted her chin at him. “You’re a sex god.”
“That’s better.”
A glint appeared in her eyes. “With balls of steel and a rod like a piston.”
“Hey, you make me sound like a robot.”
“Not a robot; you’re a steam engine, pumping all night long.” Her lips relaxed, her eyelashes fluttered. Better. She wasn’t fighting him or herself so much now.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and dipped his head to her throat, inhaling her perfume. “I can’t get enough of you,” he muttered as he caressed her neck with his lips, seeking out that quicksilver spot of hers. “You know that, right?”
In reply she shuddered and clasped his arms, pulling him closer. “All right, yeah…”
Even without her voicing it, he could hear the ‘but’ hanging between them. With a sigh he lifted his head to study her. “But you’re worried your dad will find out about us.”
She toyed with the front of his T-shirt. “He got suspicious when you brought me that coffee and muffin on Friday.”
“Shit, I can’t even do that?”
“No, you can’t.”
She was still fiddling with his T-shirt, not meeting his eye, and he got the uncomfortable feeling she was hiding something from him. “What else did he say?”
“Oh, the usual. Can’t trust the Schofields, yada, yada, yada.”
He slackened his hold on her. “And what do you think? Do you trust me?”
Finally she looked at him. “Yes, of course,” she said, a little too quickly. “Do you trust me?”
He frowned at her question. “Of course,” he said slowly. “But I’m aware we’re not operating in a vacuum. For whatever reason, our families loath each other, and that unfortunately affects us.”
She nodded, and he could only imagine the kind of pressure she got from her father and maybe her brother, too. “So you understand if I’m…conflicted.”
“Hell, yeah.” He smoothed his hands over her soft hair before settling them on her shoulders. “But that doesn’t mean we have to avoid each other.” To be honest, he couldn’t avoid her if he tried. He kneaded her shoulders gently, and after a brief hesitation, she tipped back her head, her eyes half closed.
“Mm, that feels good…”
Her husky murmur and the smooth stretch of her throat had his blood stirring. He kept up the massage, enjoying the way she relaxed under his ministrations.
“I can make you feel even better.” He drifted one hand lower to cup her breast. She let out a quick gasp, and his cock swelled even further.
“I can’t think straight when you do that.” Her eyes glazed over as he brushed his palm back and forth across the tip of her breast.
He reluctantly lowered his hand from her breast; if he kept this up, he might do something reckless right here. “How about this? We’ll both go home separately. I’ll grab a shower, and then I’ll meet you back at your place in an hour.”
She blinked up at him. “Maybe it’s safer if I go to your apartment. Less likelihood of being spotted.”
“Sure, that works for me.”
His imagination went into overdrive as he visualized Holly in the master bedroom’s oversized bed without a stitch on. It was a four-poster bed, too. He wondered how she felt about being tied up. He’d find out soon enough.
Chapter N
ine
Holly looked up from the sheaf of papers in her hands and smiled at the woman walking beside her.
“Gina, I’m so excited about these plans. You’ve really nailed what I had in mind.”
The smartly dressed fifty-year-old inclined her chic, mahogany-colored bob. “Thank you. I’m glad you like them, but they’re only good because of your input.”
Gina Esposito was the consultant Holly had hired to help her draw up her restoration plans for the Halifax Hotel. For the past three days they’d worked hard together, and Holly had quickly come to appreciate Gina’s low-key but enthusiastic attitude.
They were walking back to the Halifax after a quick break at the corner coffee shop. As they neared the hotel, Holly paused to gaze at its faded edifice. The building looked so drab and forlorn, but in her imagination it was already transformed into the sparkling, elegant space depicted in Gina’s sketches.
“You don’t think the Gilberts will object because the new Halifax Hotel won’t be a faithful recreation of the original one?” Holly said.
She’d asked Gina to keep many of the art deco features but a lot of the hotel was awkward and dysfunctional. Just restoring it without major changes would have limited its potential and stymied its chances of success.
“In my opinion the design is refreshing and bold. It has all the elegance and romance of the Art Deco period, yet with the modern conveniences we expect in our hotels these days. So many of my clients want to cling onto the past, but very often find it’s not comfortable living in a museum.”
“Thank you,” Holly said. “That’s just what I needed to hear.” Especially with her father’s lack of confidence in her and the fierce competition she was up against.
Gina smiled at her. “You shouldn’t doubt your abilities, Holly. You’re very talented, and I hope you win the Halifax.”
Holly was just about to speak when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She glanced down a side alley to see Dane, clothed in suit pants and dress shirt, talking to a couple of grungy-looking teenagers. As she watched, he passed them a handful of folded bills. The boys grinned and exchanged fist bumps with Dane before slouching away. Dane continued walking. When he emerged from the dim alley and saw Holly, he quirked an eyebrow.