“I also vote to approve the plans,” Dave Rossum said. “We do not need to get into a fight over Olivia opening a business. This meeting is about the house and the grounds, and we all know Liv, Cal, and Nick will do the place justice.”
“Joan?” Ida said and stared at Joan with the harsh gaze she’d honed over forty years of being the town librarian.
Joan shifted her eyes between my dad and Ida, looking like she wanted to puke. Just when I was ready to kiss my hopes and dreams goodbye, Joan said, “I vote to approve plans.”
“Terry? Not that it matters, but what is your vote?” Ida asked.
“Approve,” Terry said, without hesitation.
It pleased me to see a bit of shock on Dad’s face when his two allies folded to Ida’s pressure. “Very well. Grace will forward the approvals to you by close of business today.”
“Thank you.” I nodded once and stood smiling at the rest of the board. “Thank you for your time today.”
I walked out of the room before I could collapse into a puddle of frustration and tears.
Chapter 11
Callum
“Callum,” Roger called as Fabián and I were walking toward the door with the rest of the group. “Hang back. I want a word with you.”
Gritting my teeth, I nodded, then stepped back to allow the others to pass. “Can you go out and see if Olivia’s still in the building? I’ll meet you by the car,” I said to Fabián.
He looked over his shoulder to the man behind us, then back to me. “Are you sure? That man looks like all kinds of trouble.”
I clapped him on the shoulder and formed my mouth into the semblance of a smile. “He’s a prick, but he’s the mayor, so I’ll listen to what he wants to say.”
Fab looked back once more, then nodded and headed out the door with the rest of the board. I noticed that Terry and Joan were glaring at me as they left the room, and I had to suppress a laugh. Barely a week back in Eagle Creek, and I was making enemies, that had to be a record.
Once the last person left, I closed the door and turned back to look at Roger Van Ess. The years had been good to him. His naturally dark hair had started to go gray at the temples, making him look even more like the ideal politician. His body was still lean and trim, thanks to his long hours on the golf course.
My mom told me that Roger Van Ess was the most eligible bachelor in several counties among the women. From the way he held himself, he knew it. How this vain and selfish monster had come from a family full of humble and gracious community servants always baffled me.
Mom always said that Liv and Liam got all their goodness from their mom, Cecilia, and nothing from Roger, except their looks. I had to agree because there was nothing in either Liam or Olivia that reminded me of Roger. And that was probably the reason neither of them seemed to have much of a relationship with him now that they were adults.
I remained standing at the door. I wasn’t staying longer than necessary, which must have annoyed Roger because he raised a brow before starting. “You’re in over your head, Callum.” Roger sat forward in his chair, folding his hands in front of him, and smiling in what I assumed was an attempt to look thoughtful. “Renovating the Van Ess house is a massive undertaking. I heard you’re also in charge of approving plans for the endowment, is that correct?”
“Olivia and I haven’t discussed Rose’s endowment, but I am confident I can assist with that as well as oversee the Van Ess House,” I said in as firm a voice as I could muster when standing in front of a slimeball like Roger. “I’m surprised you heard about the endowment plan. We haven’t even had our first meeting.”
“I’m the mayor of this town; I know everything that’s going on. But that’s not the point here.”
“Then enlighten me.” I folded my arms over my chest, and I saw his eyes go straight to the area where my half sleeve was showing. “I have a meeting with the tile supplier in an hour, so if we could wrap this up, that’d be great.”
“Fine,” he said, and he couldn’t quite hide anger seeping into his expression.
As a child, the mayor had always intimidated me. I’d heard him yelling at Olivia several times about how she never “gave him the respect” he felt was due to him both as her father and as the mayor. In my house, my parents never yelled, never flung accusations, never intimidated. Which made those glimpses of Roger’s actual personality even more frightening.
But I wasn’t a kid now, and I could handle a bully better than ever before.
“Olivia is going into debt to rehab that pile of wood and stones. She’s determined to start a seasonally based business in the north woods of Wisconsin, which only sees about five solid months of pleasant weather all year.”
“That’s your opinion,” I said. “I’m sure Liv’s done the research on the seasonality of weddings and the value of the nursery. I don’t see how that’s our business.”
“There’s no way she’ll make enough to sustain that monstrosity.”
“That’s where you two differ, Roger,” I said snidely, putting emphasis on his name to show it would not intimidate me. “Olivia has never seen that place as just a pile of wood and stone.”
“Come on now, Callum,” Roger said. This time his voice was soft and placating. “You’re a smart boy. You’ve made a name for yourself on the coast, and your little internet show is popular. Do you really want to take a risk on this job?”
“You know nothing about me or my skill level,” I said. “I don’t take jobs I don’t feel confident in. And this project Olivia is proposing is something I believe will bring a lot of value to the town. Not just for her business, but for other vendors in the area. She’s creating jobs and value. How is that a bad idea?”
“She’s created jobs then hired people from the outside to fill them.”
“As I understand it, she gave just the master gardener position and my position to people outside of the town. The rest of the work and the material sourcing have come from the immediate area. She’s buying local and using local labor. She’s pouring money into local economies. And that’s all before she has handed out the money from Rose’s estate.”
Roger’s face was the color of a beet by the time I finished my comments. “You’re setting her up for failure.”
“Business is always a risk.” I shrugged and looked at my watch. “Now, are we done here?”
“Almost.” Roger stood up, moving around the table to stand in front of me. “I want you to get Olivia to listen to reason. I’ve offered to take the property off her hands at a fair market value. I’ve even offered to reimburse her for the money she’s already spent. She’s remained stubborn as usual. You two were always tight. You can make her see reason.”
I shook my head. “Absolutely not. Olivia is an adult and can make her own decisions. If she told you no, I’m going to support that decision. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some tile to pick out.”
I didn’t wait for his response. Instead, I calmly left the room, giving off the appearance that I was completely unbothered by the conversation, even while anger roiled inside my gut. If I hadn’t thought Roger was a weasel before today, that conversation would have just cemented my opinion.
When I got to the parking lot, I found Fab leaning against the rental SUV, talking to Ida.
“Hey,” I called out as I got closer. “Did you find Olivia?”
“No,” Ida said with a frown. “She’d left by the time we made it out here. Poor thing’s probably seething somewhere after that meeting.”
“She has a right to,” Fabián said. “I cannot believe her dad actually tried to ruin her plans.”
“I can,” I said, and Ida nodded her agreement. “He just tried to get me to agree to talk her out of the renovation.”
“Roger always was a slimy little shit.” Ida shook her head. “What Celia ever saw in him, I’ll never know.”
�
�Olivia’s mom,” I said to Fab when he got a blank look on his face. “She died from a blood clot after having Olivia.”
“Dieu,” he breathed. “She never knew her mother?”
“No, but she had Rose and her older cousin, Priscilla, to take care of her and Liam,” Ida replied. “Those two are the real reason those kids turned out so well.”
“Speaking of Priscilla, I haven’t seen her around yet. I’m kind of surprised that she’s not on the historical society board,” I said.
“She and her partner, Pru, are on an antique buying trip in the south,” Ida said. “They always close the store from January through March and go someplace warmer to buy new stock. But they’ll be back soon and ready for a fight. I’ve been keeping them up to date on all the latest.”
“Even your show-down with Mary Beth?” I asked.
Ida cackled. “Heard about that, did you?”
“It was practically the reason we took the job,” said Fabián.
Ida’s smile was soft and warm, and even though it wasn’t directed at me, it lowered my stress level by several points. “I knew I’d like you,” she said to him. “We’re going to have some fun cleaning up this place.”
“Sorry, Ida, as much as I’d like to stay and chat, I think I need to go find Olivia,” I said.
“Take the car,” said Fabián. “Miss Ida’s invited me to lunch, and I’m going to catch up on the rest of the town gossip.”
* * *
I found Olivia in the back of the mansion, tearing at an overgrown planter with her bare hands. She’d changed from her meeting outfit to a pair of jean shorts, a grimy-looking ECHS cross country t-shirt, and a pair of massive brown work gloves. The gloves were a smart addition since she was pulling at the remnants of one of the old rose bushes that used to thrive in this garden.
“Did you come here just to stare at my ass, or do you have something to say?”
Her question caught me off guard for a second. “I came to see how you were.”
“I’m fine.” She grunted as she tugged the roots of the withered bush some more. “Just wanted to get started on clearing the space.”
“I thought you hired landscapers for this.” I walked around the planter to stand on the opposite side so I could see her face.
“I’m saving money on the demo and working out my frustration. But if you’ve come here to let me work off the frustration in a better way, I’ll take a shower and be ready to rock your world in fifteen minutes.”
I couldn’t stop the startled laugh from bubbling out of my chest. “What?”
Olivia sighed and stopped tugging at the plant to stand up and look me in the eye. “You heard me. I’m frustrated and angry, and there are two ways I like to deal with that. Either you let me destroy this bush, or you get your ass in my RV, and we fuck until I’m not angry anymore.”
My brain scrambled, then shut off. A woman had never propositioned me for sex in such a brutally honest way. I felt my dick twitch to life as I stared at Olivia in stunned silence.
“Cal?” She tilted her head and studied me. “You okay?”
“I-uh… well… it’s just…” Why couldn’t I get a decent sentence out?
Olivia grinned. “Look, I’m not proposing. This is just sex between people that find each other attractive and have no other commitments. You have no other commitments, right?”
“Uh, yeah, no,” I said.
“Good.” She tugged the gloves from her hand and pulled the rubber band from her hair so her silky hair fell around her shoulders. “I’m not looking for promises, Cal. Just some mutually satisfying sex. What do you say?”
My brain kept misfiring, but my dick was getting harder by the second. I rarely engaged in “just sex” relationships, but this was Olivia. She’d been the first girl I loved, the first girl I kissed, and even though I wasn’t her first on graduation night, she’d been mine.
Could I really engage in no-strings sex with the girl that broke my heart?
Chapter 12
Olivia
The expressions that crossed his face were comical, but I could see that his body was responding to the idea. His breathing had increased, and there was a flush to his skin that hadn’t been there before. I was also sure I saw a satisfying-looking bulge forming behind the placket of his dress slacks.
He hadn’t changed from his meeting outfit, and the sexy businessman with the hint of tattoos look was really working for me. I smiled and licked my lips as I let my eyes travel up and down his body, silently willing him to decide and come around to my way of thinking.
I’d given up the dream of happily ever after the day I signed my divorce papers. Marriage and babies were just not something I wanted, even after years of thinking that’s exactly what I wanted. Instead, I was going to make sure others got their happy endings while I took my pleasure when I needed it.
If that made me cold or calculated, then so be it. At least I’d be satisfied.
“I’m going to go into the RV and hose off. The door will be unlocked if you want to join me. If not, no hard feelings, and I won’t mention it again.” I watched his face to see if he was any closer to deciding, but he still looked dumbfounded, so I shrugged. “I hope you make the right decision.”
I turned and left him standing in the back garden. To inspire some action from Cal, I channeled a little of Lucy’s attitude and added a saucy sway to my hips as I walked up the hill.
As soon as I got into the RV, doubt crept in. I’d put on a good show outside for Callum, but I wasn’t usually so aggressive with sex. I found partners when I wanted them, usually at a bar in a nearby town where we both knew what the other was looking for.
Propositioning Callum was something entirely new.
As I stripped in the tiny RV bathroom and turned the water in the shower on, I wondered how I’d recover the working relationship if he said “no.” I needed him as an architect more than I did as a sexual partner. Letting my anger get away from me may have put that relationship in danger.
The accordion door snapped open behind me, and I let out a shriek that sounded louder than normal in the tiny space. Callum stood in the doorway, radiating with determination and hunger. His eyes were almost dark black in the dim light of the bathroom, making him look even more feral.
His eyes roamed my naked body, and I had to fight the urge to cover up. Not because I was ashamed of my body, but because his gaze left me feeling too raw and exposed. It was like he saw more than the naked skin, like he was looking into the very depths of me.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” His voice was barely above a whisper, and it made goosebumps form all over my body.
“Yes,” I whispered back. “I want this.”
He nodded and started unbuttoning his shirt. “Get in the shower.”
The command in his voice made my knees a little weak, but the slice of ink-covered skin that was peeking out from between the opening of his shirt was too interesting to ignore. Swirls of colorful pictures and words tempted me to look closer and inspect, and the hard muscles on his chest and stomach made me itch to touch.
“Liv?” He pulled the tails of the shirt from his pants, but stopped short of taking it off completely.
“I want to watch,” I said.
He grinned, his teeth a startling contrast against his dark stubble-covered cheeks. “Are you a voyeur, Olivia?”
“Ah–”
He pulled the shirt off, and words failed me. Callum’s body was a work of art. Literally. Beautiful tattoos covered his chest and arms down to his elbows in swirls of pattern and color. Many of them were flowers so detailed they looked real. In between the vines and blooms, there were words and other images that were harder to make out.
Saliva pooled in my mouth as I watched him slowly unbutton and pull down the zipper of his dress pants. Blood was roaring in my ears, drowning out any o
ther sound in the tiny RV bathroom. That was fine with me. I didn’t need my ears to appreciate the sight before me.
The fine line of hair and the taut muscles of Callum’s lower abdomen drew my attention away from his gorgeous face. Anticipation thrummed through me and made my skin feel alive in sensation. Never had I become this turned on watching a man undress; not even that time Lucy forced me to see the male strippers that came every year during deer hunting season.
Callum kicked off his shoes and bent to pull off his socks, then let his pants drop and kicked the mass of clothes out the door. He was wearing a pair of tight black boxer briefs that left nothing to the imagination.
“Get in the shower,” he said again.
This time, I obeyed because I needed a second to collect myself. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen him without a shirt, but it was the first time we’d act on the attraction we’d both harbored for years. And the changes in both our personalities and our bodies made it feel even more exciting. Would this version of Cal find me as attractive as he had when we were younger? Was this just a way to get some closure for him, or was he feeling the same intense attraction to current me as I was to him? I stuck my head under the showerhead and let the warm water slide over my body and ease my muscles.
Moments later, Callum got in the stall with me and used a gentle hand on my hip to help shift my position, making room for both of us. The space was small enough that there was no way to avoid brushing against his front with my back as we stood under the warm spray. I kept expecting him to pounce after the way he showed up in my doorway, but Callum seemed intent on a slower pace.
Clever fingers slid along my body as if he was tracing the lines and curves and committing them to memory. The light touch against my already sensitive skin was maddening. I didn’t want soft and slow and delicate. I wanted hard and angry and frantic. I took matters into my own hands.
To Be With You Page 9