by Pamela Ford
Gib placed his gaze squarely on Izzy. “As for you—”
“Believe me, I have plenty of regrets,” she said. “I am so sorry about everything. But hopefully the solution will make up for the deception. Now that everything’s on the table, can we forget all that?”
He held her gaze for a long moment, watched her beautiful face watching him expectantly. There was not one ounce of residual anger left in him. Only love.
Love.
He had fallen in love with Izzy Gordon.
“Everything’s not on the table yet. Come on, Iz, we need to talk in private.” He started for the door without waiting for her, went down the stairs and outside onto the veranda. There could be no talk of a business partnership until they came to a conclusion about what had taken place between them. His stomach jumped nervously. He didn’t just want Izzy working at the front desk or in the kitchen, he wanted her in his bed and at his side, a full partner. This was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
He stopped in front of the porch swing. “There’s something we have to clarify before we make any decision about a partnership.”
“I know I should have told you from the beginning who I was.”
He shook his head. “Not important. I mean it’s important, but I understand why you did it. The thing is, Izzy, I think a partnership would be great, but—” He struggled to find the right words. “Owning a resort is demanding. Especially during the peak season. I don’t want to take on a partner who decides in six months that this place ties her down too much.”
She looked away from him, out over the property. “When Shelly and I left here, I thought everything would be fine once I went to work again. But back in my beige cubicle, in an office filled with beige cubicles, no windows except at the outer reaches, fluorescent lighting overhead, and the clock ticking off every hour of the workday, I couldn’t stay focused.”
She raised her eyes to his, and he had to shove his hands in his pockets to keep from pulling her into his arms.
“I kept remembering White Bear Lodge. The lake, the grounds, even that run-down cottage we stayed in. That’s when I realized I felt alive here, that this was what I wanted.” Her lips curved up a tiny bit. “I knew I could never live with myself if I was responsible for this land being developed. But…”
“What?”
“But how about you, Gib? You’re not staying here to run away from your pain, are you? Because I don’t want a partner who decides in six months that this was a nice place to rest and lick his wounds, but now the rest of the world beckons and adios, senorita.”
He felt like he was taking part in an exquisite dance, each of them following the same steps, just not quite in rhythm with each other yet. “I’ve given this a lot of thought,” he said cautiously. “I picked up my camera for the first time two days ago, have been shooting pictures every day. It feels comfortable, like I’ve closed a door that was swinging loose. But it’s not what I want to do anymore—at least not full-time.” Not if I’m with you.
He knew he had to go for it or explode. “Oh, hell, Izzy, it’s you. It’s all because of you. You gave me the first good night’s sleep I’d had in months. You’re the reason I was able to put that camera to my eye and push the shutter button. You made me see what life is about—”
“You do the best you can,” she said. “It’s harder to learn than it is to say.”
A long, weighted silence stretched between them.
“You make me want to do the best I can every day,” he said. “I love you, Izzy Gordon. I started loving you the night you called the cops when I was digging night crawlers. But I didn’t realize it until you were gone.”
Inside the lodge, the telephone began to ring.
Izzy clasped her hands together in front of her chest. “I love you, too,” she whispered. “I was afraid I’d ruined it. That it was too late—”
“No. Never too late.”
The phone kept ringing and Gib glanced at the screen door. From inside, his grandmother called out, “I’ll get it.” He heard the click of her shoes on the hardwood floor as she hurried toward the phone at the front desk.
“So…” Izzy’s eyes took on a sparkle. “Do you agree? Should we go into partnership, then?”
“Only if we’re partners in every sense of the word.” He kissed her then with all the love in his heart, this woman who had given him back his life. “For the rest of our lives.”
“White Bear Lodge. Can I help you?” he heard his grandmother say. “Yes, let me get my ledger.”
Izzy raised her brows.
“That’s ten on the Yankees, ten on the Dodgers and twenty on the Brewers,” his grandmother said. “Okay, you’re all set. Good luck.”
“At least now you know your grandfather was telling the truth,” Izzy said.
“I need to put a stop to this right now.”
Izzy’s arms tightened around him. “There’s plenty of time for that later. Right now, I want to hear more about this complete partnership you’re proposing.”
He thought to himself there wasn’t anyone he’d rather be with, that no matter what life decided to throw at them, with Izzy at his side they’d beat the odds. He bent to kiss her again. “Izzy Stuart Gordon, without a doubt you’re the best bet I’ll ever take.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4151-4
HER BEST BET
Copyright © 2009 by Pamela Ford.
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