She smiled at him over her shoulder. “Thank you.”
It was several seconds before he returned the smile and nodded.
* * *
Noah spread a cloth napkin over his lap and then picked up a forkful of fluffy scrambled eggs. They were delicious. “The cook gets an A.”
“I’ll let him know.”
He took a sip of the hot coffee. “The dishes you and your sister-in-law made when I first came here were exceptional. Where did you learn to cook like that?”
“My aunt is a professional chef and taught me and my brother. Lee’s an excellent cook, but once he graduates culinary school he’s going to be exceptional.”
“What about your mother? Is she a good cook?”
She stared at her plate. “My mother died when I was seven. Talking about my parents is a long story that I really don’t want to get into right now.”
Reaching across the table, Noah held her left hand. “I’m sorry, Viviana. You don’t ever have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
Her head popped up. “One of these days, maybe I’ll feel comfortable enough with you to tell you the whole sordid story about my family.”
His hand tightened on her fingers. “I’m willing to bet my family’s secrets are just as sordid or even more so than yours.”
Her eyes grew wider. “They couldn’t be.”
Noah leaned over the table. “Do yours include affairs, secret babies and gangsters?”
Viviana’s jaw dropped. “Well...no.”
He released her fingers and sat back in his chair. “The only thing I’m going to say is if you have enough money, you can bury your secrets for a while, but then somehow they come to the surface and you’ll have to own it.” Noah stared over her head. “How many guests are you averaging a week?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Probably around four. I know it’s not much, but I’m counting on more once hunting season begins.”
“And how long is that?”
“Two weeks in November. I don’t expect to be at full capacity until the spring and summer during tourist season. This is my first time operating a B and B, so next year I’m thinking of closing down from late November to early April.”
“Did you operate the boardinghouse year-round?” Noah hoped talking to Viviana about her business instead of herself would allow her to relax enough to feel completely at ease with him.
“Yes. I had regular boarders who paid by the month, and I served them two meals a day—breakfast and dinner. The problem was I had to be available around the clock every day of the year, and that was exhausting even with regular staff.”
Noah nodded. “I believe a bed-and-breakfast is less taxing. Once your elusive writer moves out, you should consider renting that guesthouse to a tenant who would be responsible for their own meals and laundry.”
“Now you sound like Angela. She wanted me to advertise the guesthouses as rentals, which would bring in steady income.”
“You have ten bedroom suites in this house, five in each wing you’ve designated for business and the other five for personal use. And if you’re going to wait for the spring to fill the business suites, then you can’t expect much of a profit margin.”
“I’ve factored that into my budget projection. That’s why none of my employees are full-timers.”
“What about your cook?”
“He comes in at six and leaves at nine. I take over the kitchen duties and serve guests until ten, and then I clean up the kitchen.”
“That’s a lot of work.”
“I know, but it has to be done, and I’m not too proud to roll up my sleeves and work. Once Lee comes back, it will get easier because he’ll take over the kitchen.”
“When is he expected back?”
“Not until he and Angela graduate college.”
Noah blinked slowly. “And that is?”
“Almost four years from now.”
Noah went completely still. He’d thought Viviana was going to say one or two but not four years. “When you had the boardinghouse, did you run it by yourself?”
“Not initially. My aunt cooked while my uncle took care of the repairs and the grounds. I helped out with laundry and cleaning the rooms. But after Aunt Babs and my uncle relocated to Arizona, I was responsible for running the boardinghouse because Lee was in the army. He only came back when I told him that the county had placed a lien on the property for back taxes.”
“He was back, and now he’s gone.”
Viviana narrowed her eyes, again reminding him of a cat ready to strike. “Please don’t talk about my brother, Noah. Precisely because I have a knack of attracting the wrong men, my brother had to give up a military career to come back and save our home.”
“Why are you blaming yourself for a decision he made? He could’ve taken a leave and then reenlisted before the year was up. I happen to know that much about the military.”
“That’s what he’d originally planned, but Angela wouldn’t have married him because she was a military widow and she did not want to go through that again. She hadn’t delivered her twins when her first husband was killed.”
Noah slumped in the chair and ran a hand over his face. “Oh, I’m so sorry I said what I said to you about your brother.”
“Don’t beat up on yourself. You didn’t know. I think we should reserve judgment of each other because there is so much I don’t know about you and you don’t know about me, Noah.”
“You’re right,” he said in agreement.
“Anytime you want to know something about me and my family, all you have to do is ask,” he said, smiling.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll spill my guts to a tabloid reporter?”
“No. A tabloid tried that before and my grandfather shut them down.”
Her mouth formed a perfect O. “My bad.”
Throwing back his head, Noah laughed. “And you don’t have to worry about me repeating your family gossip,” he said once he stopped laughing.
“It doesn’t matter because everyone in The Falls knows about the Wolfes and their offspring. There was a time when the Wolfes were like the Bernie Madoffs of Johnson County. They screwed over everyone who came into contact with them.” She touched her napkin to the corners of her mouth. “That’s something I’ll tell you about at another time.”
Noah glanced at his watch. “I’m going to leave now to go over to the town hall to file my application.” He rose to stand. “I know you only serve breakfast, but will I see you for dinner?”
“Are you cooking?” Viviana teased.
“I can bring back takeout.”
She stood up. “Forget takeout. I’ll cook.”
Noah stacked the dishes and flatware, carried them to the kitchen and set them in a deep stainless-steel sink filled with soapy water. He’d wanted to tell Viviana that she needed to hire a night manager but knew she probably would resent his interference or believe he thought that because she was a woman she wasn’t capable of running her own business. He returned to the guesthouse to get the paperwork he needed to present to the Wickham Falls Zoning Board, which he hoped would go over and approve his prospectus.
As his conversation with a Wickham Falls city clerk ended, Noah felt as if he was in an alternate universe. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The clerk had examined his documents and then told him he couldn’t build residential homes on the property because it had been zoned for commercial use when the Remingtons were approved to convert their personal residence into a boardinghouse. The only way he could erect homes was if Viviana filed to convert her property from commercial to residential, and then he would have to refile for a resident permit. Noah knew he had to disclose the details of his conversation with the clerk to Viviana.
* * *
Viviana sat at the desk in her office scrolling through a list of vendors she had
to pay when she glanced up to find Noah standing in the doorway. She waved to him. “Come in.”
“Only if you’re not busy.”
“I can do this later.” She came around the desk and sat on a tapestry-covered love seat. She patted the cushion beside her. “Come and sit down.”
Noah closed the door, sat down and took her hand in his and told her about his visit to the town hall. “You’ve got to be kidding.” A cold shiver had swept over her as if she had been dumped in an ice bath. She did not want to believe that Noah had purchased land on which he couldn’t build because it wasn’t zoned for residential structures.
He gave her a direct stare. “I wish I was. I was under the assumption that your property is zoned for residential, and if you wanted to operate a business then you would only have to file for a permit and not rezone it for commercial use.”
Her eyes filled with unshed tears. “That statute has been on the books for years and is based on the size of the owner’s property. Anyone holding more than five acres is required to rezone if they wish to operate a business.” She exhaled an audible breath. “I can’t pay you back because I’ve used most of the money to make repairs, and I can’t ask Lee for more money because now he has a family to support.”
Leaning closer, Noah pressed his thumb to her cheek where a single tear had slipped down her face. “I don’t want the money. Perhaps you can file for a waiver.”
Her eyelids fluttered. “The zoning board doesn’t issue waivers.”
Viviana shook her head. “What alternative do we have, Noah?”
“Business is slow right now, so why don’t you close for the season and apply for a residential conversion, and once it’s approved I can submit my application to build? After I get my approval, you can resubmit for commercial zoning.”
She replayed his explanation over in her head several times. Her smile was as bright as the rays of a rising sun. “That’s an incredible idea.” She leaned over and kissed him, but as she attempted to pull away, Noah released her hand and cupped her face in his palms and deepened the kiss until she swallowed his breath. Her face and her body were on fire. She lowered her eyes demurely. Viviana had not meant to kiss Noah, but the instant his mouth covered hers she did not want to stop. It had been much too long since she had enjoyed the intimacy of the tender gesture. “I’m sorry about that.”
Anchoring a hand under her chin, Noah raised her face. “I’m not. I have to confess that I’d wanted to kiss you the day you took me on a tour of the property.”
Moisture spiked her lashes as she managed a trembling smile. “Well, you got your wish.” Her joy was short-lived as her smile faded when she thought about her employees. “Closing down will cause a cash-flow problem. How am I going to pay my employees? Even though they are seasonal, I’m committed to pay them per diem when necessary.”
“Can you apply for a short-term business loan to tie you over?” Noah questioned.
“No. I had to file for bankruptcy, so it’s going to be years before I’ll be able to reestablish credit.”
Noah ran a hand over her hair. “What if I loan you the money to pay your employees, and you can pay me back once the B and B is up and running again. No strings attached.”
“I can’t, Noah.”
His expression changed, becoming a mask of stone. “You can and you will. I’ve invested too much time and money in this project to piss it away because of a technicality. I’m going to New York next week for my father’s sixty-fifth birthday party, but I’ll be back to stay until it’s time for me to resubmit my application, and hopefully that shouldn’t take more than a month.”
Viviana bit her lip. “Let me think about it.”
“Don’t think too long, Viviana. Remember, I work on a timeline when it comes to construction projects.”
“I understand.”
Noah stood up and walked out, closing the door behind him. Viviana wanted to call Leland and tell him about her dilemma but knew it was time she stopped going to her brother for advice. He’d bailed her out before and had relinquished all financial responsibility for the house and property, and as a businesswoman the final decision would have to come from her.
Chapter Three
Viviana’s guests checked out in the early afternoon and by five she had the B and B to herself. She flipped the vacancy sign over to No Vacancy, locked the front door and then walked into her office and flopped down on the love seat, wondering why she had to continue to dodge the slings and arrows of life itself.
She’d been seven when she lost her mother, and even younger when she recalled her father being there and then leaving without saying where he was going or when he was coming back. There was never a time when she could count on him being there for her because he was just that unreliable. Men in her life had become revolving doors, here today and gone tomorrow, leaving a trail of emotional wreckage behind. Viviana knew whenever she’d become involved with a man, she was unconsciously looking for someone to replace her father with, a man she could trust and depend on to protect her when she needed it most. And she wasn’t certain whether they innately recognized her vulnerability and took advantage of her willingness to sacrifice her own happiness to make them happy. It had taken her years to realize she gave more in a relationship than she received, and once it ended she not only blamed them but also herself.
The doorbell rang, and she left the love seat to look at the monitor that was programmed to the bell. It was Noah. She’d forgotten they were to eat dinner together. She went to the door and opened it. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat as he raised a large shopping bag in his right hand.
“What did you bring?”
“Dinner.”
Viviana opened the door wider. “You didn’t have to bring takeout.”
Noah stepped into the entryway. “Did you cook?”
“No. Not yet.”
“That’s why I decided to bring dinner.” He lowered his head and kissed her cheek. “Please let me in and close the door before someone drives by and decides to stop. Tonight I want you all to myself so we can talk over a few things without being interrupted.”
She closed the door and pressed her back against it. “What things, Noah?”
He leaned closer, his warm, moist breath feathering over her mouth. “Us. You and me, Viviana.”
“What about us?”
“We’re going to have to figure out a way to work together without sniping at each other.”
She angled her head in an attempt to read his closed expression in the muted illumination from the entryway’s hanging fixture. “Is that what you think we do? Snipe?”
Noah cupped her elbow and eased her away from the door. “Let’s go into the kitchen so we can talk and eat.” When she did not move, he said, “Please, sweetheart.”
Viviana stared up at him through her lashes, unaware of the gesture’s seductiveness. “Do you call all women sweetheart?”
“No. Just the ones I really like.”
“My, my, my. Aren’t you the silver-tongued devil,” she teased.
Noah chuckled. “One of these days, you’ll come to realize that I never say anything I don’t mean.”
Viviana led the way to the kitchen. “Are you saying you never lie?”
“I can’t say never. I grew up with my parents warning me to never lie to them. They wanted me to tell the truth, even if it was something that would break their hearts.”
She flipped the light switch, and recessed lights and pendants illuminated the enormous space. “Did you ever break their hearts?”
Noah set the bag on the countertop. “Once.”
Viviana met his luminous blue-green eyes. “Is it too personal to disclose?” Now that they’d shared a kiss she felt comfortable asking him about his private life.
“Nah. I was sixteen when my friend raided his family’s liquor cabinet, and we d
rank from every open bottle of gin, scotch, whiskey and brandy to see which tasted best. To say I was sick was an understatement,” Noah continued as he removed containers of food from the shopping bag. “I managed to make it home where I gargled with mouthwash and got into bed before I collapsed. My mother came looking for me when I didn’t show up for dinner. I lied and told her I wasn’t feeling well but didn’t tell her why.”
“She believed you.”
Noah nodded. “Initially she did. The first time I threw up she suspected food poisoning, but none of the kids at my school were experiencing the same symptoms. What I didn’t know at the time was that my friend had been drinking for years, so he wasn’t hungover. My mother called the doctor, and when I threw up again, he told her he could smell alcohol, and that’s when I realized I’d been found out.”
“She grounded you.”
“How did you know?”
“Because that’s what I would’ve done if my son or daughter were engaged in underage drinking.” Although Noah’s parents grounded him it hadn’t been the same with her because she hadn’t had her mother or father as a family unit when growing up, and for that she envied him. She loved her aunt and uncle but they could not replace her parents.
Viviana reached into an overhead cabinet and took down several plates. “Should I assume you learned your lesson about not telling the truth?”
Noah nodded. “Big-time.”
“Do you want to eat here or in the dining room?”
Noah glanced around the yawning space that reminded him of one of the two kitchens at the Fifth Avenue mansion where he’d grown up.
“I’d like to eat here.” The kitchen was his favorite room in a house. Although he couldn’t cook, he loved watching the prep work and enjoyed the different mouthwatering aromas when the chef opened the oven doors.
Dealmaker, Heartbreaker Page 3