“Call if you need me,”she instructed Kelli, then stepped away from the child.
The slanted glance that came his way indicated that she wanted him to follow.
When he did, she asked,“How much do I owe you?”
He’d followed her literally, but now she’d lost him.“For what?”
Her voice low, she was all but whispering.“The easel.” What kind of a person did she think he was, pretending to give a child a giftonly to have her mother pay for it under the table? Maybe she was used tostrings being attached to things. So he set her straight.“What I told yourdaughter was true. That used to be my easel. There is no charge,”he informedher firmly.
She wasn’t comfortable about this, didn’t want him getting the wrong idea eventhough instinctively, part of her did like him for the gesture. Maybe that wasthe part that scared her. More than a little.“I know, but—”
“Just consider it a gift from me to Kelli.”His eyes met hers. He saw thewariness.“No strings attached.”
She took a breath, wondering if she was making a mistake, believing him. She hadto work at keeping their relationship strictly professional. Good luck with that, a voice in her head mocked. She’d already brought him foodyesterday and brought her daughter along to work today. Not exactly proceedingaccording to strict professional guidelines here, are we, J.D?
She forced a smile to her lips, trying to quell the nervous feeling in herstomach.“That was a very nice thing you did.” “I like seeing her smile,”Philippe told her honestly. He watched her mouthcurve and could have sworn something tightened inside of him.“You have the samesmile,”he observed.
Urges began to form, swarming over him out of nowhere. Or maybe, out of asomewhere he had no business visiting. Because something told him that J. D.
Wyatt wasn’t just a casual date. J.D. was the kind of woman you made plans with.
Solid plans. And there was nothing in his world to suggest he had a solid plan.
Look at the examples he had to follow, the parents he’d had. The norm when hewas growing up was here today, gone tomorrow. He shoved his hands into his back pockets, curbing the very strong desire totouch her face, to trace his fingers along the curve of her mouth and commit itto memory.
Damn, where was this coming from?He cleared his throat.“I guess I’d better get back to work.”
“Yeah.”The words tasted like powdered spackle.“Me, too,”she murmured.
Gordon reentered the room, bringing along his own set of long neglected tools. He glanced from his sister to Philippe, then watched as the latter left theroom. Setting the toolbox down, Gordon crossed over to his sister.“Somethinggoing on between you two?”he asked mildly, in the same tone he might have usedif he was asking about that day’s temperature projection.
The question startled Janice, throwing cold water on what might have been amoment’s worth of revelry. Groundless revelry, she insisted. Trust Gordon to beblunt.
“No.”She went into the kitchen.“What makes you think that?”
He laughed dryly.“Looked like a lot of chemistry and heat flashing back andforth from where I was standing.” She looked down at his shoes.“Must be some loose wiring running under yourfeet,”she decided innocently.“Maybe you’d better examine it later just to besafe. Wouldn’t want this place going up, especially after all the work we’regoing to put into it.”
“Guy doesn’t give a woman’s little girl an easel because there’s loose wiring inthe floor,”he observed.
Janice sighed, refusing to entertain the thought of what Gordon was suggesting. Philippe was her client. If he liked the job she did for him, she had no doubthe would refer other people to her. There was nothing more to theirrelationship. Besides, she was not about to get involved with anyone. She’dnever been able to get through to her father, never had that magical momentshe’d waited for where he saw how much she loved him, how much she wanted him tobe proud of her. And as for her husband, well that had never had a chance to goanywhere, so she would never know. She had been a wife and a widow within sixmonths. That had had its own set of pain attached. She didn’t need to seek outmore.
Besides, she had enough to keep her busy. She had Kelli and her work. Therewasn’t space for more than that, certainly not for another pass at having herheart broken. “Make yourself useful, Gordon.” He grinned at her.“I thought I already was, since you can’t seem to see theforest for the trees—”He scratched his head.“Or is it the trees for theforest? I always get that confused.”
That wasn’t the only thing he got confused, she thought.“It’s the floor for thedebris,”she declared, pointing to the very large pile of splintered wood veneerand plasterboard, the end results of her swinging her sledgehammer at thekitchen cabinets yesterday. Philippe had sent her home before she’d had a chanceto remove the debris.“Clean it up.”
He could have taken exception to her tone. Once, when his father’s company hadbeen his, he’d been her boss. And even when they’d worked with their father, hehad supposedly always been the one in charge. It was only after the company wentbankrupt and Janice began getting jobs on her own and throwing some of thebusiness his way that she started issuing orders.
Gordon saluted her, his expression suddenly somber.“I’m on it.”
“Good to know,”she murmured. She didn’t want to repay Philippe’s kindness byappearing to take advantage of him.
Stooping down, she filled her arms with splintered plasterboard and got started.
He wasn’t in his office. Janice glanced at her watch to check the time. It was close to eleven and she’dassumed that he’d be busy at his work. She’d deliberately gone out of her way topass his office to talk to him.
Can’t talk to an empty chair. Had he gone out and she’d missed hearing him leave? She’d begun work on guttingthe downstairs powder room and wanted to have all her ducks in a row. Or
atleast swimming in the right direction.
She’d brought a color chart so that Philippe could decide what color he wantedher to paint the walls. Shrugging, she tucked the chart under her arm and went back out again. It wasgetting close to lunchtime anyway. She might as well collect Kelli and herbrother and get something to eat. Because this was their first day on a jobtogether, she thought she’d take them both out to celebrate the occasion insteadof just bringing lunch from home.
Janice moved around the corner. She didn’t have to look to know that Kelli wouldbe completely captivated with her work. Painting always summoned this font ofjoy from within her, even when it wasn’t going well. With her sunny disposition,Kelli always managed to see the bright side of everything.
“Kelli, honey,”she called out,“we’re going to break for lunch. Would you liketo be the one to pick the restaurant?” It always made her daughter feel so grown up when she could choose where theywould all go to eat. And then she laughed to herself. Before she knew it, Kelliwould be an adult. God knew the little girl was growing up much too fast, doingten years for every candle she blew out.
When she received no response, Janice quickened her pace and made her waythrough the dining room toward the alcove. The moment she came near thethreshold, she could feel her heart thudding in her chest.
Could, unaccountably, feel a sting in her eyes. Allergies, she told herself.
Philippe was standing behind Kelli, guiding her hand, giving her instructions ina low, patient voice. It was a father-daughter scene worthy of a holiday card.
Except that they weren’t a father and daughter. So what? she demanded silently. Her own father had never been that patient onthe rare occasions he explained something to her. Most of the time, he’d wavedher back with that trite, archaic sentiment that“girls don’t need to knowthat.”She’d learned her trade by watching, by sneaking behind her father’s backto observe him in action.
Never once had he put a hammer or a screwdriver into her hand and shown her howto use it. No tips or secrets were passed to her the way they had been toGordon. Except that Gordon wanted no part of it. He
remained, pretending tolisten, because he was afraid not to. But his mind was always preoccupied withthe current flavor of the month he was squiring. He’d been there in body, butnot in spirit.
She would have killed for a moment like this in her own life. And Kelli wasobviously lapping it all up, she thought, watching the way her daughter beamedup at Philippe.
Greeting-card moment or not, she had to break this up.“Kel, we’re going out tolunch.”
But Kelli was completely focused on the images she was creating on the canvasand the technique Philippe was showing her.“In a minute, Mama.”
She knew better than to let herself be ignored.“Now, honey.” Philippe removed his hand from Kelli’s and stepped back.“You’d better listen toyour mother, Kelli.”
The resigned sigh was filled with disappointment. Kelli retired her brush.
“Okay.”And then she looked at her mother hopefully.“Can Philippe come, too?” She had to nip this in the bud, too.“His name is Mr. Zabelle, Kelli,”shereminded her daughter.“And I’m sure Mr. Zabelle has better things to do thancome to eat with us.”
He was about to take the excuse she tendered. He’d already spent way too muchtime not doing his work. So no one was more surprised than he was to hearhimself say,“Actually, I don’t.”He was looking at J.D. rather than the littlegirl.“Unless of course, you’d rather I didn’t come along.”
Her mouth felt like she’d been snacking on sandpaper since morning. Janice knewshe should be blunt and say something about lunch being a family affair. Thetruth was she didn’t want him around her because he made her uncomfortable— buthe only made her uncomfortable because she wanted to be around him. It was aconundrum, as her father had been fond of saying.
The simplest way to avoid all that, to avoid any explanations that wouldprobably result in her turning redder than the color of the shoes that Kelli hadinsisted on wearing this morning, was to say,“No, by all means, the more themerrier. Of course you can join us for lunch.”
So, she did.
Chapter 10 As it turned out, Philippe seemed to hit it off very well with Gordon and ifone or the other paused to take a breath, there was Kelli, chatting like alittle old lady, eager to fill in the dead air.
Consequently, Janice contributed very little to the conversation that took placeover salads and seasoned chicken strips. Her exact words were:“Thank you,”
uttered twice and neither time to the people sitting around her at the table.
The words were addressed to the waitress who brought her beverage and then herlunch. Content to observe and listen, both with a measure of awe, Janice assumed thatno one noticed her silence. It amazed her that not only Kelli but Gordon seemedto be completely taken with Philippe. Their reasons, however, were obviouslydifferent. Kelli hung on the man’s every word because she was apparently caughtup in a spate of hero-worship. As for Gordon, even though he and Philippeappeared to be worlds apart, the two had some things in common.
Would wonders never cease? So as Gordon and Philippe talked about sports and action movies, and Kelliinterjected enthusiastically from time to time, Janice took in the exchange andsmiled to herself. And tried not to notice the feeling of contentment thatwrapped itself around her.
“You didn’t talk much at lunch.” Janice sucked in her breath, startled. Preoccupied with gathering her thingstogether, she hadn’t heard Philippe come up behind her. Hadn’t seen him at allfor the last four hours, not since they’re returned and she had gotten back
towork.
Turning, she looked up into brilliant green eyes that took her breath away.
“You, Gordon and Kelli didn’t leave any openings to get a word in edgewise.”Herpulse was dancing, she noted. He was standing too close.“I’m surprised you evennoticed.”
His mouth curved just the slightest bit.“Hard not to notice things about you.” It wasn’t a line. He looked incapable of grinding out lines, she decided. Whichmade him completely different from her brother, Gordon, and probably hisbrother, Georges, too, she’d wager. From his manner, and the fact that he’dwinked at her as she left, she had strong suspicions that Georges was much likeher own brother.
She could feel Philippe’s eyes working their way along her face, studying her.
Looking right into her.
Heat traveled up her body as a blush worked its way to the roots of her hair. Now that had to be a sight, she thought disparagingly. A twenty-eight-yearoldwoman, widowed and a single mother to boot, who had, if not been around theblock a few times, at least had gotten off the family stoop, blushing.
She caught herself wishing that the house didn’t catch too much of the afternoonsun. There was no way the man could miss the fact that she was blushing likesome adolescent school girl.
“Thank you,”she murmured, acknowledging his compliment.“For everything.” “Everything?” She elaborated.“The easel, lunch.”Hiring me in the first place. She caught herlower lip between her teeth, debating her next words, but she didn’t want himgetting the wrong idea.
“You know I didn’t invite you along with us to pay for it.”
A surge of desire rose out of nowhere, making him want to nibble on the same lipshe’d carelessly taken prisoner. Did she have any idea how delectable she was?
“As I recall, you didn’t invite me at all,”he contradicted.“That was Kelli’sdoing.”
He was right. Janice shrugged.“I thought you’d be uncomfortable.” Although he wasn’t as outgoing as either one of his brothers, because of thekind of life he’d led with his mother during his childhood, he was able to fitinto almost any situation.
“I wasn’t uncomfortable.”His eyes searched her face.“Were you?” She had been, but it wasn’t the kind of uncomfortable he meant. It was the“uncomfortable”of realizing that feelings were being roused, feelings thatcould only lead to disappointment. But her thoughts were her own, not to beshared with someone who was, for all intents and purposes, a stranger.
She lifted her chin defiantly.“Why should I be uncomfortable?”
“I don’t know.”He watched her, the soul of innocence. Innocence about to goawry.“I’m harmless enough.”
Had the man even looked in the mirror recently? She laughed shortly.“Nothardly.”
He could listen to the sound of her laughter all day, even when it was aimed athim.“Care to elaborate?” She shook her head. Tiny pinpricks of panic assaulted her body. That was thetrouble when you brought your brother and daughter with you, she thought. Youcouldn’t just beat a hasty retreat and drive away. You had to collect themfirst.“No.”
It was an effort to keep his hands at his sides. A stray hair along her cheekbegged to be pushed back into place.“Then I was right, I do make youuncomfortable.”
He made her fidget inside. Made her restless. Made her remember that there were other things besides two by fours to put herhand to. Small, nameless desires materialized out of the mists where they’d beenbanished. She yearned to touch this man, to feel his muscles beneath herfingertips, his stubble against her cheek in the morning. Yearned to catch awhiff of his scent on the pillow beside hers even after he was gone.
God, but she missed being part of a twosome. She and Gary had had theirproblems, but it wasn’t anything that couldn’t have been worked out in time.
She’d married him to get out of her father’s house, where she felt unloved andignored. All she’d wanted was to begin a life of her own, to matter to someone.
That was her goal and she was willing to make all kinds of compromises to reachit. But thenGary had gone and died on her. Leaving her just as her mother had. Justas her father had, in his own way, years before he died. With her parents, she’dendured emotional abandonment before they ever left her physically. WithGary ,it had been physical, but this didn’t lessen the pain of the loss.
There were just so many times she could expose her heart. She no longer neededapproval, she was her own person. And as for love, well, Kelli loved her and inhis own confused way, so did Gordon. That was eno
ugh.
Oh God, he was touching her, his fingertips moving against her face. It tookeverything she had not to melt into Philippe’s hand, not to melt against him.
Her breath backed up in her lungs.
“I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, J.D.”
“Janice,”she whispered.
He leaned in a little closer, his lips so close to hers, she could almost feelthem moving as he asked,“What?”
It was an effort to think, to speak.“You’ve hired me, that means you get theright to call me by my first name.”
“Janice.”He nodded, repeating the name. And then he smiled.“It suits you.”
“How so?”Damn it, was he ever going to drop his hand? She was having troublethinking.
He didn’t know how much longer he could refrain from acting on the impulse thatkept doubling in size every second.“Short, to the point, yet feminine.”
That made her laugh under her breath and she shook her head.“Been a long timesince anyone called me feminine.”
Very slowly, he moved his thumb along her lower lip, enticing them both.“Don’tsee why. You are. Under those jeans and that T-shirt, you are.” What the hell was he doing? his conscience demanded. It was like having somekind of out-of-body experience. He’d somehow stepped outside of himself and nowhe watched this unfold. Watched himself flirt with a woman even though anyrelationship would be doomed from the start. He knew he wasn’t going to followup on any of these feelings he was having, even if they were so strong they madeit hard for him to breathe.
He was his mother’s son, which meant that no matter what he felt now, he wasgoing to move on. Something always seemed to stop him, made him turn away,before he became even mildly serious. Janice didn’t deserve to have her lifemessed up like that.
He needed to stop, to walk away.
Now. But he didn’t. And he was no longer just watching, he was acting. Acting onimpulse, on whim, on a desire that seemed to be bigger than he was, acting likesome kind of fool.
It didn’t change anything. He leaned over her trim, athletic body and broughthis mouth down on hers.
[The Sons of Lily Moreau 01] - Remodeling the Bachelor Page 10