“If your place upstairs looks anything like this you can’t sleep up there anyway. You might as well crash at my place,” Vince offered.
“And get in the way of the lovebirds?” Gage said as he entered the room. He looked around at it in disgust. “Someone hates you, my friend.”
“Thanks. I think I figured that out already.”
Gage continued, “Come to my place. You can crash in my spare room. I promise not to wake you up with amorous activities in the middle of the night.”
“I doubt I’ll be ready to go from here before two.” Jeremy grimaced. “We need to board up the window, and I haven’t had a chance to go through everything to see what’s missing for the report.”
“The list can wait until morning, right Trent?” Vince turned to the deputy.
“Sure. I can add it tomorrow.”
Jeremy ran a hand through his hair. “No, I gotta figure out what equipment is missing and make sure I have what I need for this week’s shoots. So much for fixing dad’s roof next month.” Maybe I can get to that in August, though.
“Is he going to let you do that?” Gage asked, fully aware of the tug of war Jeremy had been having with his dad over maintenance on the house.
“I’m not giving him an option. It has to be done if he doesn’t want water dripping on him while he sleeps.” But buying new equipment would put off those repairs for a while, at least.
“Give me a call. I can put in a few hours, work on my tan, flex muscles for the ladies next door.” Gage lifted his arms and did an experimental flex.
“I’m sure old lady Jensen will be thrilled, if she can find her trifocals so she can see you from her yard. It is a whole thirty feet away, you know.” Jeremy kept his voice dry, but he was actually starting to feel better. He needed Gage’s banter to steady him when al he could think about was that someone had done their best to destroy his life.
“He meant the other neighbors,” Vince said. “But I hear he’s not their type.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Gage asked.
“You aren’t rich enough for them,” Vince pointed out. “You’re just the poor boy who manages the ski resort and has to run the hot air ballooning and mountain bike stuff just to scrape by.” He nudged Gage.
“Well, in that case, yeah, I’m pathetic,” Gage agreed.
Jeremy rolled his eyes. Gage was anything but pathetic. The ski resort may have good and bad years, but overall it brought in a nice chunk of cash every year so Gage was far from poor.
“I can hang out and help clean up for a while,” Vince said. “Just let us know when you guys are finished here,” he said to Deputy Oliver, who had been watching the byplay with amusement.
“Me too,” Gage said.
“Shouldn’t be much longer now, especially if he’s going to get me a list of missing equipment tomorrow.” Deputy Oliver shot off a couple of questions, then pulled out his camera to take pictures for his report.
Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck, overwhelmed by everything he had to do in the next few days and wondering how he was going to get through this mess and still run his business.
“Let’s go see if we can find something for you to wear tomorrow,” Gage said.
The three of them trudged upstairs and after photographs were finished, picked through the debris, filling several trash bags. Jeremy was discouraged when he found several childhood awards and trophies in pieces, but having his best friends there helped a lot. He told himself he would worry about who hit his place later. Probably in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep.
Delphi had a full morning of lobbing calls back and forth with clients, filing paperwork and putting together a bid for a conference that was considering their facility. When Kristi, at the front desk, called back and told her that a new client was waiting for their appointment, Delphi glanced at the clock and nearly swore. It was eleven already? He had called first thing that morning, saying he wanted to see the place immediately while he was in town. She pulled out a mirror from one of her drawers and fixed her lipstick, grabbed her folder and notebook and a master key card for the conference space and strode out to the front desk to greet her potential client.
Troy Cutter was a representative of Colorado’s beekeeping society. He was in his mid-thirties with sandy colored hair, horn-rim glasses and a dimple in his chin. Cute.
“Hello, I’m Delphi Gifford. You must be Troy.” She extended a hand to him and he wrapped it in his much larger one. Both his palm and the grasp were firm, and the smile that lit his face only improved an already good thing.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gifford. Your hotel is beautiful. You must be very proud of what your father put together here.”
He’d done his homework. She felt a pang of sadness twisted with anger about her father’s actions with his daughters, a bit of pride about the facility, and confidence that this was going to be a good meeting. “Of course, and you’re going to love what we have to offer your group. I have a file here for you,” she passed over a folder with the corporate logo on it. “It has a layout of the conference center, a menu and the other paperwork for your reference. Would you like to see the space?”
“That would be great.”
It took nearly half an hour to show him the facilities and to take a tour of a few of the hotel rooms. They ended back at the little cafe near the hotel entrance.
“What do you think?” she asked when they had ordered lunch on the resort’s dime.
“I think the facility is perfect. I love the layout and space.” He flipped open the folder and removed the map. “I still need to discuss it with my committee, but I think we’ll need these rooms.” He pointed them out on the map and she took notes as they discussed particulars.
The discussion shifted to small talk. “I understand all of your sisters are employed here as well. How does that work out for you?” He asked when their appetizer had been delivered.
“We all have our specific departments and we get along well, so that helps.” There had been times when they definitely did not get along well, but those days had passed—at least as far as work went. And if they hadn’t passed, well, she wouldn’t admit it. “They’re all very good at their jobs, which makes everyone’s lives easier.”
“How is relocating working for you?” His brown eyes sparkled as he studied her expressions, barely taking his eyes off hers.
“It’s been an adjustment,” she admitted. “This isn’t exactly New York City.”
He laughed. “No, it isn’t. I imagine your social circle isn’t as varied as you’re used to.” His fingers slid over hers on the table.
She froze for a split second, not having seen that move coming. She had thought he was just being friendly and inquisitive, as so many of their event planners were, but this was something else.
Delphi pulled her hand away and flipped through the file again. She would have to handle this very carefully if she was going to keep from alienating this man and still get the booking. She’d been hit on by guys she’d spoken to less, but not in the middle of a business meeting. He’d seemed nice enough until now, but mixing business and pleasure didn’t always work out very well.
“Hello,” Jeremy’s voice said from behind her.
A case in point. She turned and smiled, wondering if he’d seen the brush of fingers. And what was so important that he interrupted her meeting?—something he’d never done before. “Hello, Jeremy, this is one of the resort’s clients, I hope. Troy Cutter. Troy, Jeremy Litster is a local photographer who works with a lot of our wedding and anniversary parties.”
Jeremy shook Troy’s hand, though Troy seemed unfazed, Jeremy was definitely sizing up the other man, which made Delphi want to squirm. “Sorry for interrupting,” Jeremy said. “If I popped back in an hour or so would you have a moment to talk about tomorrow’s event?”
The only event they had in common the next day was their meeting with Lars. If something had come up, why hadn’t he just called or s
ent a text? “That should be fine. I don’t have any other appointments this afternoon.”
“Good. Have a good lunch.” He looked at Troy. “She’s terrific to work with, a devil with the details, you won’t be sorry if you book here.”
“Good to know, thanks.” Troy smiled.
Jeremy waved and took off.
“Nice guy. You have a photographer on staff?” Troy asked when Jeremy was out of earshot. He tasted his club sandwich.
“No, he’s got a local studio, but he’s done a lot of work here, both for the company, and for clients. We just used him for my sister’s wedding. You wouldn’t need a photographer for part of your meetings, would you?”
Troy finished chewing and swallowed. “No. We have someone who will take some pictures. We aren’t as demanding as a wedding in that regard.”
“I had a feeling.” She stabbed at a lettuce leaf and wished it was chocolate mousse pie instead. Maybe she’d have to go to the main restaurant and get a slice when her meeting was over.
“So, are you seeing anyone?” Troy asked. “There can’t be many options up here.”
She hesitated. Seeing? Yes, she was seeing Jeremy. But they’d said no strings, right? Did that mean they could date other people, or were they exclusive, but just having fun? She wasn’t sure what his definition was, but decided to err on the side of caution in this case. And considering the vibes Troy had been sending her, letting him know she was involved might make their working relationship more comfortable. “I have been seeing someone lately.”
“Pity. The photographer, right?” When she blinked in surprise, Troy grinned. “I noticed the way he looked at you.”
She hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary and wondered what Troy had seen. “Uh, yeah. Very observant.” A little creepily observant, actually.
“Do you plan to stay here long, working in this hotel, I mean?” Anyone who knew something about her dad was bound to know that the sisters had been brought in from various cities to work at the resort—it had been big news the previous summer.
“That’s up in the air at the moment. I’ll definitely be here through your conference, but my contract ends shortly after that.” She decided he must be fishing to see if event coordinators would change on him mid-stream. “I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to stay or move back to New York at that point. There are a lot of variables, and it’s been nice to see this place flourish and grow in the past six months.” She thought of her relationship with Jeremy and wondered again what was going on with him.
“I hope you stay. I’m sure you’re realizing all of the beautiful places this area has to offer.” He took a sip of his water. “Do you hike?”
“Not generally, but I’ve made a few exceptions. It is lovely up here.” She toyed with her pen and turned the attention back to work. “Do you have any other questions I can answer about the conference center?”
“No, thank you. I’m impressed with how organized you are and how prepared you’ve been to answer questions. And I loved Rosemary’s ideas about using our grower’s honey for some of the breakout snacks. I’ll talk with my committee and get back to you.”
“We aim to please.” Her mind veered back to Jeremy. Was everything all right?
She finally said goodbye to her client and returned to her office. She checked her watch and wondered when Jeremy was going to show. He showed up in her office a little later with his camera slung over his shoulder.
“Is something wrong?” she asked as he slid into a chair across the desk from her. “You look tired. Did you stay up late anticipating our date tomorrow night?”
His brows lifted. “You didn’t hear? I thought the DiCarlo grapevine was the fastest in the country. I figured Cami would have pulled you aside the moment she got in and told you everything over a cappuccino.”
Delphi leaned forward in her chair, worry growing inside her at the discouraged expression on his face. “What do you mean? What happened?”
“I had a little break-in while we were out last night.”
“At your apartment or the studio?” She couldn’t believe it. Why hadn’t Cami told her?
“Both, actually. They took off with a lot of equipment.”
Her stomach dropped at the thought. He’d worked so hard to get his business up and running. She could only imagine how terrible this was for him. “Your equipment!” Her mind started racing as she thought of a couple of jobs he had coming up for them soon.
“A few items will have to be replaced, but it’ll be fine. I’ve called Kyle Jenkins and he’s going to loan me a couple of things for this weekend and I had my main camera with me, so I’ll get by.”
“What about your bike?”
“It’s fine. The saddlebags are missing, but the rest is intact.”
“That’s so weird. So it as just a burglar?”
“Maybe, but if so, they had a destructive bent.” His mouth formed a grim line. “It’ll take me a while to clean everything up, even though Vince and Gage helped out for a while last night.”
“Did you need to cancel tomorrow night? Or do you need help with anything?” Delphi’s mind raced ahead. “Or did Lars break in? Are we still meeting with him?”
His mouth thinned. “Yeah, we’re still on with Lars tomorrow morning, but a friend just asked me to shoot a family portrait at his parents’ 50th anniversary party tomorrow night. I wondered if you’d mind adding that to our time together, and helping me pack in equipment.” He sent her an apologetic smile. “I know it’s not exactly a romantic activity, and I can tell him no if you really don’t want to, but he’s an old friend and I could use the extra money right now—I’m going to need to replace some key pieces of equipment long before the insurance sends me a check.”
She loved watching him work, the intense concentration on his face, the way he joked with recalcitrant kids and adults alike, coaxing smiles when she thought people wouldn’t budge. “Yeah, I could handle that. And then what do you have in mind?”
He grinned. “Bring your bike gear and we’ll go for a ride and get some dinner.”
“Sounds good to me.” She settled back in her seat and noticed he did the same, his shoulders lowering slightly as if he had been worried about her answer.
“So, that guy earlier. Was he hitting on you?” His expression was non-committal.
She picked up a pen from the desk and fidgeted with it. “He was heading there. He asked if I was seeing anyone.”
“And you said?” His mouth tightened.
“I said yes. I know we said no strings, but I decided you’re more than enough for me to handle without juggling another man.”
His lips curled again and he stood, circling her desk. “I intend to be a handful for a while, so you just keep that philosophy.” He leaned in and captured her lips in a hot, but all-too-brief kiss. “I need to get back to work, and judging from the stack of files on your desk, so do you. Does six work for you tomorrow night? Vince said he and Cami will take Cleo if Jonquil’s not available.”
She sucked in a breath, still reeling a little from his kiss. “Yeah, six works great. I don’t have anything going on here that late.”
“Great. I’ll pick you up at home.” He sauntered out again.
Delphi swallowed and considered everything they’d discussed for a moment before pushing it away to focus on her work. She really couldn’t afford to daydream about Jeremy and his kisses. Even if she knew they were going to pop back into her head while she worked.
Jeremy was anxious as he waited for Delphi to arrive at his studio the next morning. It had taken most of Monday to clear the debris completely and Jeremy had to reload the images for the wedding to his laptop.
Delphi walked in just a moment before Lars and his wife, Naomi, a little mouse of a woman. Delphi was smiling, wearing a breezy pale-blue blouse and skirt outfit that flowed to her knees, making her legs look fantastic. He wrenched his eyes away and smiled at Lars—who was not smiling back.
“I’m glad you
could make it,” Jeremy said. “I hope we can clear this up.” He pulled up the file with the pictures. “Could you tell me which shots you’re concerned about?”
Lars just folded his arms over his chest. “You sent cops to my house to accuse me of breaking into your place.”
Jeremy sucked in breath. “I’m sorry if they upset you. Monday evening someone broke into my apartment upstairs and into my studio. They stole much of my equipment and electronics and broke a number of things. The detective asked about anyone who was mad at me. You were on the short list. They were just being thorough.” He did his best to be non-offensive even though he thought Lars might be responsible.
Lars stared at him in surprise while his wife looked shocked and dismayed. “I would never do something like that. I’d take you to court for my money, but I wouldn’t break your things,” Lars protested.
“We were in Denver at a family thing,” Naomi protested. “And you don’t know my Lars if you think he would do such a thing. Did you lose our pictures?” she asked, wringing her hands.
“I’m glad to hear you have an alibi. The detective hasn’t gotten back to me yet. I wasn’t singling you out. And don’t worry about your pictures. They were backed up. I have downloaded the files to my laptop here if you’d like to go over them.”
Naomi nodded and mentioned the number on one of the shots and Jeremy pulled it up.
Lars found fault with everything, Delphi brought them drinks, doing the best she could to listen and understand, though she managed not to step on Jeremy’s toes. Jeremy and Naomi reviewed the pictures in question and he made concessions, explained circumstances and came to an agreement regarding the pictures.
When Lars left nearly an hour later, Jeremy thought he had defused the situation.
“Do you believe that he’s not behind it?” Delphi asked.
“I don’t know. She seemed genuinely surprised, but I don’t suppose that means much. We’ll have to wait and see what the detective finds.” He frowned as he looked at his watch. “I have a few things to wrap up before our date.”
Wild Hearts (The DiCarlo Brides) Page 12