Paradise by Design

by Barbara Barrett

  Just a few more hours, man. Surely you can keep your distance from her that long.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Just give it a try, Mrs. Farrell,” Ainsley said, after Drew had examined both the sundress and the woman’s shoulders and back. “Ms. Honeywell is a fashion designer. If she says she can make a temporary adjustment to your frock without damaging it, she can do exactly that.”

  “You actually design clothes?” the woman asked Drew. “Who for?”

  Even though it had been some time since Drew had worked for the fashion house, Ainsley’s eyes begged Drew to support her statement. “It’s a small operation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but very reputable, with clients all over the country. Even a few in foreign countries.”

  The woman looked from Drew to Ainsley, then pursed her lips. “This dress, besides our stay here, was my husband’s present for our twenty-fifth anniversary. I need to wear it several more times to justify the expense.”

  “If you give me your okay,” Drew said, “I can anchor the straps inside so they won’t be seen or rub your skin. I just need thread, a needle and scissors.”

  Ainsley rooted through the bag she’d brought with her and brought out a spool. “Here you go.” She also located a packet of needles and a small pair of scissors.

  Drew immediately got to work on the repair. “Have you ever used baking soda or corn starch to alleviate sunburn?”

  Mrs. Farrell nodded, so Ainsley retrieved a box of the former from her bag of tricks and handed it to the woman.

  Ten minutes later, as Drew finished stitching, Mrs. Farrell emerged from her bathroom, having taken a quick shower using the baking soda. Her mouth had relaxed into a contented smile. “Thank you. I feel much better.”

  Drew and Ainsley lifted the reconstructed garment and gently brought it over Mrs. Farrell’s head and shoulders. Drew zipped up the back and held her breath. The bodice wasn’t constructed with Mrs. Farrell’s ample bosom in mind. The straps had been necessary to provide the necessary support.

  Mrs. Farrell pronounced the verdict herself. “Oh, no! My whole chest is sagging. I can’t look like this in the interview.” She turned to Drew. “I’m sorry, after all your work, this still won’t do.” Before Drew could reply, the woman dashed off to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

  “Wait. Perhaps we could fix this a different way.” Drew went to the bathroom door. “Mrs. Farrell? What if we covered you up with a designer wrap? I have something at my villa that might do the trick if you’re willing to give it a try?”

  “A wrap? Like a coat?” The voice coming through the door was whiny, almost like a petulant child.

  “Oh, no, this is the softest of chiffon, so it won’t hurt your skin. It can be draped however needed to give you minimal to maximum coverage.”

  “I’ll try it, but I’m not promising.”

  “Terrific. Give me a few minutes.” Drew lifted a hopeful brow Ainsley’s direction and tore out of the place. She ran through jungle-like foliage that sheltered one villa from the others. At her place, she stopped long enough to retrieve the wrap and check the patient’s status with the nurse, Mrs. Coleman, who assured her Mr. Honeywell was resting comfortably.

  When Drew got back to the Farrell villa, she wound the wrap around the woman’s shoulders, first one way, then another to display the palette of colors in the most appealing way. Finished, she stepped away to survey her results. Not bad. The neutral colors accentuated the woman’s blonde hair, and the wrap itself successfully camouflaged her chest.

  Mrs. Farrell did a pirouette before her three-sided mirror. When she pivoted back, a huge smile covered her face. “I look fabulous! Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Drew said. “But now we need to get moving as soon as your husband shows up. Where is he, anyhow?” The man had been noticeably absent since they arrived.

  “He’s been up at the main lodge hanging out in the bar. He’s a wuss when it comes to my wardrobe predicaments.”

  More like a man who knew when a hasty retreat was in his best interest.

  No sooner had the husband reappeared than Keegan, Bo and Tony also arrived. Ainsley immediately went to Keegan. “Problem resolved. We’re ready to go thanks to Drew.”

  Keegan nodded at Drew. “Thanks.”

  “It was actually fun. I…” Before she could finish her sentence, Keegan had turned away to consult with Bo and Tony.

  “Don’t mind him,” Ainsley said. “He’s already switched to production mode. No time for conversation.”

  Drew forced a smile. “Oh, sure. I get it.” She did get it, didn’t she? This being their last day of shooting, time was of the essence. Keegan had to stay on top of things, but it would have been nice if he’d smiled when he said thanks. Maybe he was attempting to keep the others from knowing about last night. Right. Like they weren’t aware he didn’t sleep in his own bed.

  The interview went remarkably well, considering the preliminaries. Despite Mrs. Farrell’s initial despair, both she and her husband caught on fast. They checked over the suggested interview points and then settled in to respond to Keegan’s questions.

  Once they finished filming and the team was packing up, Mrs. Farrell approached Keegan. “I hope you know what jewels you have in your two assistants, Mr. Bock. I couldn’t have gotten through this interview without their help.”

  Keegan took her hand and favored her with what had to be the smile he saved for his fans. “That’s very kind of you to say, Mrs. Farrell. But they had wonderful material to work with in you and your husband. We appreciate you sharing your time with us today.” Polished, probably well-worn words, but they did the trick. Mrs. Farrell beamed and her husband appeared relieved.

  Mrs. Farrell gazed around the room until she spotted Drew and gestured for her to join them. Drew wasn’t sure she should comply, but the woman kept on motioning. “This young woman, in particular, fixed it so my designer dress didn’t hurt my sunburn, and then she arranged this wrap around me to hide my, uh,” she blushed, “girls.”

  Drew attempted to demur, but Keegan responded first. “She was just doing her job.”

  Job? What job? Didn’t Keegan appreciate the ingenuity and patience that had gone into keeping the woman on track? His response must be part of his on-camera persona. She simply smiled and retreated.

  But Mrs. Farrell followed Drew, Mr. Farrell in tow. “If you were just doing your job, young lady, you do it very well.” She tugged at the wrap, preparing to return it.

  Drew placed a hand on the woman’s arm. “Why don’t you keep that? I can always make more.”

  Mrs. Farrell’s expression gravitated between pleasure and disappointment. “But you said it was designer. I couldn’t possibly accept something so expensive.”

  Drew quickly put up a hand remembering the woman’s comments about having saved for months for this special vacation. “Oh, no. I meant it as a gift. And don’t worry about the cost. I’m the designer, so like I said, I can make more.”

  Mrs. Farrell’s lips formed an O. “You are too kind. Thank you.”

  “Do you have a card, young woman?” Mr. Farrell asked. “I have a feeling my wife will be clamoring for more of your items. Might as well get ahead of the curve.”

  Contact information exchanged, Drew joined the rest of the group waiting outside.

  “Sounds like we missed a bit of drama before the camera started rolling,” Tony said.

  “We’ve dealt with sunburned interviewees before,” Ainsley added, “but no one’s ever insisted they had to wear something so sure to make them even more miserable. That was fast thinking, Drew.”

  Drew waited for Keegan to join in with the compliments, but he was busy removing his jacket and pulling at the neckline of his tee in the hot sun. When no one else spoke, Drew felt compelled to fill the void. “Glad I could do more than stand around in your way.” She half expected Keegan to respond to that statement, since he was the one who’d insisted she tag along both days.

  Instead,
he checked his watch. “Time’s wasting, folks. We’re already a half hour behind schedule.”

  Was he accusing her of slowing them? They wouldn’t be this far along except for her help. What was with him? Where was the man who’d reminded her how good sex between them could be?

  Within hours, Keegan and his team would be wrapping this episode and taking off for LA. Drew and Keegan had only a matter of hours to determine where their relationship went from here.

  Chapter Thirteen

  He was being a jerk. From the awkward silence surrounding him, Keegan could tell the team agreed. Only Drew continued to speak, attempting to relieve the tension.

  He wished he could launch into his host personality like he had with the sunburned Mrs. Farrell, but this was his team and the woman he’d bedded last night. He couldn’t put one over on them. But he also couldn’t—well, didn’t feel comfortable—sharing the dilemma that occupied his brain at the moment. Thank God he’d done enough interviews he’d been able to coast through this one without much thought.

  “I’m heading back to change clothes for the exterior shots. The rest of you should grab some lunch. Could be a long afternoon.” He trudged off while the rest of the team loaded the golf cart with their equipment. He kept his pace to a fast clip so Drew couldn’t catch up with him, if she chose to follow.

  He wasn’t proud of his actions.

  He’d just slammed into the master suite when his phone buzzed.

  “How’s it going?” Clay asked.

  “We’ve finished the interviews and will wrap the exteriors in the next few hours, depending on when you’re available for your part.”

  The other end of the line was silent a few beats. “Uh, about my thing?”

  Keegan’s internal alert system activated. Despite a few minor glitches like the weather and the Farrell interview taking longer than projected, things had been going pretty well. His friend’s tone suggested that trend was about to end. “Yeah? You’re still going to let me interview you, right?”

  “I certainly want to. The problem is, well, not for me, for you guys, I need to meet with a potential client for a huge multimillion-dollar venture and the guy’s only in town today. I won’t be back from the mainland until early evening.”

  Keegan did some fast reconnoitering in his head. Their flight back to LA was scheduled for early evening. They’d have to catch a later one. “We really want that interview, man. And you couldn’t ask for better publicity for this place. We’ll find some way to stay.”

  He could hear Clay’s sigh of relief through the phone. “Great. I’ll text you as soon as I’m back, I’m guessing around seven.”

  “We’ll see you then.”

  Ainsley, Bo and Tony returned to the villa only a few minutes after he arrived. Keegan set Ainsley to work changing their flight to a red eye before she had a chance to settle. She wasn’t on her computer long. “Uh, slight problem. All the seats are booked.”

  “Damn. I should’ve figured a red eye would be full.” They explored their options. Wait-listing or finding another flight that would take them part way west and staying there overnight. Given their amount of luggage and equipment, their best choice was extending their time here.

  Ainsley contacted Lacey Walker to inquire about retaining their villa one more night. Once again the news wasn’t good. The place was at full occupancy with a major convention starting the next day. In fact, Lacey had suggested—actually reminded her as diplomatically as possible—that they needed to clear out of the villa as soon as possible so housekeeping could do their thing before the next guest arrived. “She even considered allowing us to stay with her and Clay tonight. Then she remembered they already had guests.”

  Keegan collapsed in a chair. There had to be a workable solution. He just needed a minute to clear his brain so he could concentrate. He snapped his fingers. “Naples. That’s close enough. There’s all kinds of hotels and motels over there.”

  Ainsley screwed up her mouth in that way that telegraphed she wasn’t done with the list of complications. “I said as much to Lacey, trying to relieve her anxiety. She really did feel bad she couldn’t help us.”

  “She should, considering it’s her husband who’s making us late,” Bo said.

  “I suppose so,” Keegan replied, “but as an architect myself, I understand how he has to accommodate his clients. Especially potential ones.” Did he just refer to himself as a fellow architect? Interesting.

  “Anyhow,” Ainsley continued, “Naples is out, too, unless we want to drive miles up the coast. According to Lacey, there’s an even bigger convention going on over there. Teachers, she thought.”

  “You want to drive back to LA?” Keegan asked. “Just kidding,” he added when he saw three pairs of eyes go wide.

  “Before I started calling places on the outskirts of town, Lacey offered to call Drew’s dad and see if we could stay there tonight. She seemed aware that Drew had been spending time with us.”

  Move in with the Honeywells? Six people in two bedrooms? Burgess would probably agree, because that’s who he was. A good guy. The last thing Keegan wanted right now was to be in such close proximity to Drew in the same place where they’d made love the night before. But he wanted that interview. If bunking with the her and her dad was their only option, he’d get through it somehow. Did they make chastity belts for men?

  “We might as well pack. No matter where we wind up tonight, the housekeeping people will be here soon.”

  Five minutes later, Lacey Walker called and spoke directly with Keegan. Burgess Honeywell would be happy to have them as his overnight guests. Lacey offered to send extra bedding to the villa and suggested they all treat themselves to the Eucalyptus Spa later in the afternoon. Though she was very apologetic, the tension underlying her tone suggested the challenges of motherhood, being fully booked, attempting to rearrange things for him and his crew all while her husband took off to court a new client were snipping away at the woman’s good humor.

  Fifteen minutes later, they were knocking on the door of the Honeywell’s lodging, luggage and equipment in tow.

  When Drew answered the door, her eyes came to rest on Tony, who held some of his sound equipment. “Aren’t you done filming in here?” Her gaze went from Tony to Keegan.

  Keegan let Ainsley take the lead. “Your dad didn’t tell you?”

  “He was napping when I got back, so I went to change my clothes.” By now, all four of them had dragged not only their equipment but also their luggage inside. Her smile morphed into a look of confusion. “What’s with all this stuff?”

  The team all turned to Keegan. They were so good at deferring the fun things to their leader. He offered his best on-screen smile. “You have roommates tonight.”

  Drew’s eyes went wide. “You’re moving in here? All four of you?”

  Ainsley slid closer to Drew, as if they were now best buds. “Clay Walker had to postpone his interview until tonight, so we’re hanging around longer than planned to get his interview. Except, as of now, our villa is no longer available.”

  “There wasn’t anywhere else they could put us at the resort,” Bo said.

  Keegan couldn’t read Drew’s reaction. Was she just surprised or was this news more than she’d bargained for when she thought he’d be leaving? “We can stay somewhere else in the area while we finish the shoot if this is a bad idea.” Not really, but he didn’t want her to feel cornered.

  “No! Of course you can hang out here. You just caught me off guard, that’s all.” She gestured for them to follow her farther into the residence and swept her arm through the air once they reached the great room. “This area has the most space. I hope you men don’t mind staying out here.” She turned to Ainsley. “You’re welcome to join me.”

  Drew kept her gaze on Ainsley, as if deliberately avoiding him. Her tone and smile were the epitome of graciousness, but Keegan detected an undercurrent of something else. Disappointment? Yeah, he was disappointed too. He would have liked to b
e the one sharing her bed instead of Ainsley, but under the circumstances, probably not a good idea.

  “If my dad weren’t recuperating from his fall, I’m sure he’d be happy for one of you to bed down in his room,” Drew said.

  Time for the leader to lead. “Bo and Tony, you stay out here in the great room. These massive sofas are big enough for each of you.” Personal experience talking. “I’ll take the patio.”

  “There’s a hammock, I think,” Drew replied. “Although I don’t know how comfortable it would be.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll check it out or find something else,” Keegan said. They were all standing around as if anticipating another shoe to fall, so he’d be the one to drop it. “Anyone want to take up Lacey’s offer of a complimentary spa treatment?” Forget the additional footage they’d planned. The team deserved to have some fun.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Drew couldn’t believe her luck. By another strange twist of fate, Keegan would be under her roof again tonight. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be alone this time. On the other hand, there should be ample opportunity to find out why his attitude toward her had changed since morning. What could she have possibly done to chill things between them?

  “Since we’ve got some time on our hands,” Bo said, “mind if I use your pool, Drew?”

  “Enjoy yourself,” she answered. “This is the kind of day that calls for a swim. That goes for all of you.”

  Tony was already rooting through his duffle, presumably for swim trunks. “Why don’t you join us?”

  “I, uh, didn’t bring any swimwear,” she lied.