“He’s not going to ruin me,” Maggie said emphatically, though she could see how cleverly the man’s mind worked. As Ellie said, such a charge could cast a shadow over the gallery’s reputation till she straightened everything out. In the end, she’d stack her family’s good name against Brian’s reputation any day of the week.
“But he could make trouble,” Ellie insisted.
“Hush a minute,” Maggie chided. “Let me think about this.”
She noticed that despite her distress, Ellie had automatically made coffee when she arrived for the day. Maggie poured them each a cup, then took a seat at her desk and pondered Brian’s threat. Surely there had to be a way either to seize the initiative, now that she’d been forewarned, or to minimize the damage if he went ahead with his scheme.
Slowly an idea began to take shape. It was an ingenious one, if she did say so herself. She met Ellie’s unhappy gaze. “I think I see a way around this, if you’re game for it.”
Brian’s psychological torment had clearly taken a toll. Ellie still looked worried. “I don’t know,” she said hesitantly. “He’s determined to stir up trouble for you, and I’ve seen him when he gets like this. He’s a master manipulator. He doesn’t let up till he gets what he wants.”
“Then we simply have to turn the tables on him,” Maggie said decisively.
“How?” Ellie’s expression was filled with doubt.
“What does Brian want most in the world?” Maggie asked, hoping she’d pegged the man’s real motivation.
“To be recognized as a talented artist,” Ellie said, confirming Maggie’s assessment.
Maggie smiled. “I thought so.”
“Then what? You’ll let him have a show here?”
“No, never,” she said fiercely. “That would only be rewarding him for his emotional blackmail.” She smiled. “But Images will sponsor an art contest for a poster for this year’s Spoleto Festival. We’ll have all the entries judged by the faculty at Brian’s school and perhaps one or two independent experts. We’ll see that he’s pressured to enter. So will you.”
Ellie regarded her blankly. “What will that accomplish?”
“When the judges have these originals in hand, we’ll also have them compare them to your other paintings and determine which of you painted the works in my vault. I doubt there will be any serious question about it. My hunch is that your style and techniques have evolved quite differently from his. Am I right about that? Could you bring me something of his to look at?”
“I have a couple of his paintings in my studio,” Ellie admitted, though she still didn’t look convinced. “Won’t this be hard to put together? You have so many other things on your plate.”
“Nothing’s more important than nipping this scheme of his in the bud. We can’t let Brian win, Ellie. It sends entirely the wrong message,” Maggie insisted. “And actually the festival committee has asked me before to get involved in a poster competition. They’ll be thrilled that I’ve finally agreed, especially when they see the size of the donation I’ll be making.”
“What if Brian refuses to enter the contest because it’s sponsored by Images? He might figure out it’s a trap.”
Maggie could see how that might be problematic. “I’ll talk to the committee. Perhaps there’s a way to keep the gallery’s name out of it.”
“Then you’ll lose the PR value,” Ellie said. “That’s not right.”
“Sweetie, that’s nothing compared to the PR I’ll get for this place once we get your works on display and critics all over the country start raving about what a talented find you are.”
Tears spilled down Ellie’s cheeks. “I don’t deserve everything you’re willing to do for me.”
“You most certainly do,” Maggie replied emphatically. “Now get out on the floor and get to work. Victoria’s not coming in till later, so you’re in charge. I have all those calls to make to get this ball rolling, and I have a ton of paperwork left from yesterday.”
“I thought you stayed late last night to do that,” Ellie said.
Maggie flushed. “I got sidetracked.”
Ellie regarded her with evident curiosity. “Really? By what?”
“Never mind.”
“A man?”
“Two men, if you must know.”
Ellie’s expression brightened for the first time since Maggie’s arrival. “One of them was Josh, I’ll bet. The man is seriously hot for you.”
Maggie gave her a startled look. “You think so?”
Ellie made an exaggerated gesture of fanning herself. “No question about it. Who was the other man?”
“Warren.”
Ellie immediately sat back down, fascination written all over her face. “I have to hear this.”
“No, you don’t,” Maggie said. “Living through it was awkward enough. I don’t want to relive it today. Besides, it was no big deal.”
“Just tell me this,” Ellie pleaded. “Who won?”
“Won what?”
“The contest,” Ellie replied impatiently.
“There was no contest.”
Ellie’s grin spread. “Josh, obviously,” she decided, drawing her own conclusion.
“No, I mean there was no contest,” Maggie repeated emphatically.
“Oh, come on, when there are two guys and one girl, there is always a contest.”
“There was another woman—Josh’s mother.”
“She hardly counts. Anyway, my money’s on Josh.”
“You favor him just because he came to your rescue,” Maggie said.
“No, because when he’s around or even gets mentioned, there’s color in your cheeks,” she said with a wink as she headed for the front room of the gallery. “Artists pay attention to that sort of thing.”
Maggie snatched a compact out of her desk and glanced at herself in the mirror. Sure enough, her cheeks were bright pink. Too bad she wasn’t old enough to blame it on a hot flash.
Josh had gotten in the habit of taking his lunch break with Amanda and the kids. No one was more surprised than he was that he found their company enjoyable. Besides, it kept him away from Maggie. His attraction to her was beginning to be worrisome.
He’d just set aside his bottle of Coke when Susie crawled onto his lap and brought herself eye-to-eye with him. She patted his cheek with one dainty but decidedly filthy little hand.
“Mr. Josh…” she began solemnly.
He had to fight to keep his lips from twitching into a smile at her serious tone. It was such a somber contradiction to her bright pink sneakers with the flowers on them and the ponytail that was slipping free of its rubber band.
“Yes?”
“Do you got a girlfriend?”
He stared back into those round blue eyes and knew she had a very definite reason for asking. Lord help him, she was probably matchmaking for her mama. He’d had no idea that particular feminine gene kicked in this early.
“No,” he said, then added cautiously, “Why?”
“’Cause I’m thinking you and me should get married someday,” she announced.
Jimmy and Larry made dramatic gagging sounds. Amanda turned away, but not before Josh caught the amusement in her eyes.
“Now, darlin’, I have to admit you’ve caught me by surprise,” he said, trying hard not to laugh. “You really think marriage is a good idea?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Don’t you think maybe I’m too old for you?”
Susie studied him intently, then shook her head. “Nope. You’re just right. And I’ll be bigger someday.”
“And when you are, dozens of guys your own age will be swarming all around trying to get you to marry them,” Josh told her with conviction.
“But I love you,” she insisted. “Mama says any girl would be lucky to have a man like you.”
Josh turned a quizzical gaze on Amanda. “Is that so?”
Amanda shrugged. “It’s true, but believe me I was not trying to fix you up with my four-year-old.”
>
“No, I don’t imagine you were.” He studied Amanda for a moment to see if he could read anything more into what she’d said, but she was regarding him with the same friendly amusement with which she usually regarded him when they talked. Even so, he wondered if he shouldn’t have a let’s-get-this-straight chat with her.
“Kids, why don’t you go back over to the food tent?” he suggested. “I hear they brought some ice cream today for dessert.”
“All right!” Jimmy shouted, pumping his fist in the air.
He and Larry were about to race off, when Josh called them back. “Hey, guys, don’t leave Susie behind. Look out for her, okay?” He set her gently on her feet and watched as she scrambled to catch up with her big brothers.
When they’d gone, Amanda faced him. “That was very smooth, Josh. What’s on your mind? You worried I’m filling Susie’s head with ideas?”
“No, I just want to be sure you don’t share any of those ideas.”
To his chagrin, she laughed.
“Not even close,” she said.
Perversely, her certainty sparked a streak of irritation. “Why not?” he demanded.
She laughed. “Not five seconds ago you were warning me off. What did I do? Hurt your tender male ego?”
Feeling foolish, Josh grimaced. “Something like that. Or maybe I’m questioning my own sanity. I’d like to know, why not me? We get along okay, don’t we?”
“Of course we do. And to be honest, it would be easier for me if there were some spark between us,” she added wistfully. “You’re a great guy. You’re wonderful with the kids.”
“But?” he asked. “Maybe we should test things, Amanda.” His life would probably be a whole lot saner if he did fall for a woman like her, instead of Maggie.
She stared at him with alarm. “Test things? How?”
He leaned forward and stole a kiss, letting his mouth linger on hers, waiting for the spark that could be fanned into something more.
There was no spark.
When he pulled back, she gave him an odd look. “What was that about, Josh? Are you running scared?”
“Running scared? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Maggie,” she said succinctly.
“Not an issue,” he said staunchly.
Amanda merely grinned. “Keep telling yourself that. Meantime, I think you and I are destined to be friends, nothing more. The kids and I have really come to count on you and Caleb.”
Josh grinned, despite her obvious sincerity. “I suppose everyone can use a saint and a sinner around. Kind of evens things out, when it comes to setting an example for the kids.”
She nudged him in the ribs. “I would trust you with their lives, Joshua Parker, so don’t you go selling yourself short.”
Startled, he met her gaze. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“Every word. You’re one of the good guys.”
She stood up and brushed the dust off the seat of her jeans. In any other woman it might have been a conscious gesture to draw attention, but with Amanda he knew it was completely innocent. Didn’t keep him from looking, though. She was too thin for his taste. Unfortunately, he found Maggie’s curves more appealing.
“Josh?”
He blinked and looked up into her face. Her mouth was curved into a knowing smile.
“I’m going to get those kids before they eat all the ice cream and make themselves sick, okay? Let me know what you need us to do this afternoon.” She leaned down and brushed a kiss across his forehead. “I meant what I told Susie—any woman would be lucky to have you. Though it’s beyond me why, I don’t think you believe that. You should.”
He stared after her, an odd sense of contentment settling in his chest. Praise like that had been in short supply in his life. He hadn’t realized before now how much he craved it.
Then he glanced up and caught Maggie staring in his direction. Judging from the glint in her eye, she was not happy about something. He sighed and the contentment died. He had no idea what might be bothering her today, but he didn’t have a doubt in his mind that sooner or later he’d be hearing about it. In detail.
Well, that had been a touching little scene, Maggie thought with annoyance. Amanda’s kid crawling all over Josh, then the lip lock and finally Amanda planting one last kiss on him right here in front of God and everyone. Maggie wasn’t sure why it grated on her nerves so badly, but it did.
In fact, a lot of things grated on her nerves, including Josh’s stubborn refusal to accept that he was mostly wasting her skills. When she spotted Cord arriving at the site at the end of the day, she headed straight in his direction, determined to deal with at least one of her major annoyances.
“Hey, handsome, what brings you by?” she inquired, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“Don’t let my wife see you flirting with me, Magnolia,” he taunted. “She’s the jealous type.” He studied her. “So, what are you after?”
“What makes you think I’m after anything?” she asked testily. “Can’t I just greet an old friend?”
Cord laughed. “You can, but when you go all Southern and syrupy on me, it’s usually because you want something. You and Dinah learned that technique at your mothers’ knees.”
“Does it work on you? Or have you gotten immune to it?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.
“It depends on how far she takes it,” he admitted with a grin. “I think it might be better if you take a more direct approach and just tell me what’s on your mind.”
“I want to see the plans for the house,” she said at once.
“Then why are you talking to me instead of Josh?”
“Because he guards them as if they’re some sort of huge secret or maybe more like the rest of us are too incompetent to understand them.”
“Have you actually asked him?”
“Of course I have,” she said, not even trying to hide her disgust. “He told me to stick with the assignments I was given. The man is on a serious ego trip. I have no idea why you put him in charge of a job that requires cooperation.”
“Maybe it’s because he’s the one on this site with actual construction experience,” Cord suggested. “And he’s never had any problem getting people to do their jobs before. Maybe you’re the one who’s crossing the line.”
“I can read a damn blueprint,” Maggie said, chafing at the implied criticism.
“But why, precisely, would you want to?”
“Because something tells me this place fits some sort of cookie-cutter plan that’s all wrong for Amanda and the kids,” she grumbled.
“It’s what we can afford to build,” Cord corrected.
“That doesn’t mean it can’t be improved on,” Maggie argued.
“Then talk to Josh,” Cord repeated. “I’m staying out of it. I just came by to take a look around and make sure things are on schedule.”
“Okay, then. Why don’t I give you the fifty-cent tour?” Maggie suggested, tucking her arm through his.
Cord regarded her with undisguised suspicion until he spotted Josh bending over the blueprints. “Oh, no, you don’t, Magnolia!” he said, disentangling his arm from hers.
“What?” she asked innocently.
“You are not going to pit the two of us against each other by implying that I back your desire to see the plans. Work it out with Josh. He’s a perfectly reasonable man.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sakes, it’s not like they’re secret blueprints of the White House.”
Josh looked up, saw them and put down the plans. “What’s going on, you two?”
“I’m just taking Cord on a tour, but he’d probably rather you took him around so you can discuss all the technical stuff,” Maggie said, devising a whole new approach, since the last one had failed abysmally.
Cord’s gaze narrowed. “No, I’m perfectly happy to let you take me around.”
“Uh-uh, that’s okay. You two go right ahead,” she encouraged. “I’ll be leaving in a few minutes,
anyway.” She gave Cord another peck on the cheek. “Tell your wife I said hey.”
“Will do,” he said, amusement lurking in his eyes when it finally dawned on him what she was up to. “Josh, shall we?”
Josh cast another suspicious look over his shoulder, but he walked away with Cord, leaving all those lovely blueprints behind.
Maggie spread them out and studied them. It was just as she’d feared. The house was going to be cut up into little boxes barely big enough to turn around in. She knew they couldn’t change the overall size of the place, but surely there were ways to make it seem more spacious. She’d told Cord weeks ago that she was going to turn this house into a home, and she intended to do it. After that intimate little scene she’d witnessed between Josh and Amanda, it might turn out that she was doing it for the two of them. Well, so be it.
She pulled a pencil and pad from her pocket and began jotting down notes. First thing in the morning she and Mr. Control Freak were going to have a chat about this house.
Josh had never worked a job where so blasted many people had an opinion about what ought to be going on. Maggie was the worst of the lot, just as Cord and Caleb had predicted. She seemed to have some misguided notion that she knew as much about construction as he did. He’d done everything he could to keep the blueprints away from her to minimize her input.
Unfortunately he’d left them in plain sight yesterday when he’d gone off with Cord, and apparently she’d had herself a field day. He’d come by the site this morning to check on a couple of things, and Maggie had been right here waiting for him. He’d wasted an hour trying to explain why she couldn’t have the wall between the living room and dining room taken out to “open things up,” as she put it.
She’d finally given up on that idea, but she’d remained undaunted, Right this second she was hovering over the plans yet again, a pencil tucked behind her ear and a list as long as his arm in her hand. He did not want to know what was on that list, but judging from the determined glint in her eye as she turned in his direction, he was going to find out. He swore this was the last time he was ever coming by the site by himself to check on anything less urgent than a reported flood.
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