Killer Romances
Page 61
Standing before her, wearing nothing but a smile, his intentions were crystal clear. Chelsea replaced the glass and opened her arms to him.
~~~
Much later, Mac rested his back against the tub and cradled Chelsea against his chest. The bubbles had long since disappeared, leaving behind a light scent of lavender in the warm, misty air.
Taking the last strawberry, Mac offered it to Chelsea before popping into his mouth.
“As surprises go, I’d say you won, hands down,” Mac ran his hand along her arm.
“You’re too easy,” Chelsea laughed and squeezed his legs, tilting her face backwards to kiss his chin.
“You think so? Maybe, but feel free to surprise me like this anytime.” Mac sighed and slid his hand lower, stopping when he reached her thigh. “In fact, I’d like to surprise you again, right now.”
“Why don’t you hold that thought,” Chelsea caught her breath when his hand found her core. “I mean, dinner is….oh hell,” surrendering to his will, all thoughts of dinner disappeared.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Lila, this place is adorable,” Chelsea gushed when she finally made her way to her host. “It’s a cross between a boutique and an art gallery. I love it!”
“Thanks, Chelsea,” Lila accepted her hug, “it’s all because of you, you know. And you, John.” Lila gripped John’s hand, her eyes sparkling as she noticed Mac slide his arm around Chelsea. There was no mistaking the glow surrounding those two; she knew a couple in love when she saw one.
“I can’t take credit for this, Lila. You and Janie did a great job.” John patted his old friend’s shoulder, then winked in response to her raised eyebrows and questioning head tilt in Mac and Chelsea’s direction.
“Where is Janie? I haven’t seen her since we arrived? Of course with the crowd you’ve got here, she would be easy to miss.”
“I know, isn’t it grand? She’s over by the cash register; folks are buying things up right and left. At this rate, we’ll have to restock tomorrow,” Lila laughed delightedly. “I should really go relieve her, give her a chance to mingle.”
“Congratulations again, Lila. I’m sure this will be a smashing success. Oh, Sharon sends her regrets, she couldn’t get out of work.”
“I heard. Speaking of successes, I can’t wait to see what you all have been doing up on the mountain. The whole town is talking about it.”
“It’s definitely something to see,” Mac leaned down to kiss Lila’s cheek. “As is this place. Well done, Lila.”
Flushed from the compliments, Lila patted his arm and nodded towards Chelsea.
“I can say the same to you, Macintyre.” Laughing, she waved at someone across the room, excused herself and disappeared into the crowd.
“That woman doesn’t stay in the same place for more than a minute,” JB stepped up beside John. “I’ve been trying to congratulate her for the past half-hour. How are you guys?”
“Great, thanks,” Mac greeted him. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Yes, it is.” Chelsea agreed. “I wanted to tell you in person how much I loved the pictures. It was really difficult to select the ones for the site; they were all so good.”
“Thanks, it’s easy with such beautiful subject matter.” JB turned to John, shaking his hand. “Hello, Sir, my parents said to tell you hello and that you should come for a visit soon.”
“Oh, well that sounds like fun. Tell them I said thanks for the invite.” John’s eyes clouded briefly, but he quickly covered it. He missed his old friends. It hurt to know that he would never see them again.
Mac and Chelsea both saw the shadow pass through John’s eyes and could imagine the reason. Only JB was in the dark.
“The ladies certainly drew quite a crowd,” he went on, oblivious to the sudden tension within the group. “Who knew there was such talent in little old Starsdale?”
“You should frame some of your cliff shots and add them to the mix. I’m sure that a lot of people will be interested.” Chelsea accepted a drink from a passing waiter. “In fact, I could place a few in the B&B.”
“Thanks, I’ll do that.” JB smiled, but continued to look around the room, as if he were searching for someone. Chelsea instinctively knew who he wanted to find.
“It’s a shame Sharon couldn’t be here tonight. She would love those mosaic candlesticks.” Chelsea casually remarked.
JB’s face deflated, his hopeful searching stopped instantly. Feeling sorry for him, Mac changed the subject.
“The ladies should open an online store. A lot of the items I’ve seen are unique.”
Mac’s comment reminded Chelsea of her own frustrations; she began worrying her lower lip.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, recognizing the signs.
“Nothing, you just reminded me that I need to find a new web designer, fast. I haven’t heard from the woman Preston supposedly has working on the B&B site, and he’s dodging my calls. I should have known better than to rely on him for something so important.”
“I can do it,” JB interjected. “I just finished mine; it’s really not that difficult, once you know the ropes.”
“Really? That would be great!” Chelsea brightened immediately. “If I haven’t heard from Preston or his designer by tomorrow, I’ll send you the files.”
“Good enough.” JB sipped champagne, one eye on the pair of candlesticks Chelsea mentioned that Sharon would like. It would be a nice gesture to pick them up for her, just in case she ever decided to let him in again.
“Excuse me,” Mac frowned down at his cell phone. “It’s Jeannie, there must be a problem. It’s the only reason she would call me on a Friday night.” Mac answered as he made his way to the door to take the call outside.
“So, JB, what prompted your move back home? Living in Starsdale is a lot different from photographing a war zone.” John was only trying to make conversation, but the expression on JB’s face told him that the man’s reasons were deep and very personal.
“It was time,” JB replied with a tight smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I see someone I should speak to.” JB left before either Chelsea or John could say a word.
“Was that strange, or am I imagining things,” Chelsea asked.
“No, that was a bit strange. There are some things a man just doesn’t want to discuss. I suppose the war is one of those things for JB.” John looked after him with regret. “I hate that I ran him off.”
“I’m sure that you’re not the only one to ask that question. He’ll get used to it.” Chelsea locked on Mac, coming back across the room, a thundercloud brewing on his face.
“Sorry about that,” he greeted them, “but it looks like I have to go to Sacramento. One of our biggest clients has gone off the deep end.” Rubbing Chelsea’s arm, his eyes softened.
“Oh? When?” she asked, careful not to show her disappointment.
“Tonight. Now. He wants a meeting first thing in the morning. Sorry, Chels, but I have to do this.”
“Of course, I understand. Will you be back for the opening?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” he smiled warmly down at her. “But while I’m in the city, I may as well get a few things rolling for the move. I’ll probably stay until Monday afternoon.” He looked questioningly at John. “Is that okay, Dad?”
“Sure thing. You do what you need to, don’t worry about us.”
“It’s only a couple of days,” Chelsea agreed. “We’ll be fine.” Looping her arm through John’s, she let Mac know that she would look after his dad.
“Okay, you’re right. Do you mind if we leave now? After we find Janie, of course.” Mac searched the room for their other host.
“No problem,” John sounded more than a little relieved. “She just walked over towards that corner. Let’s go say goodnight.”
~~~
“If we move that table over here, then we’ll have room to extend the buffet,” Sharon inspected the set-up with narrowed eyes.
“But where will we put
the bar? If you move that table over there, then the bar area will be too crowded.” Chelsea sat down, exhausted from the morning workout. Arranging and re-arranging forty tables and a hundred and sixty chairs was a job.
“Good point. We’ll leave it as is; if the buffet’s not long enough, we’ll pass some of the food around on trays.” Sharon dropped down beside her. “You’re looking at your phone again. Has Preston still not contacted you?”
“If that buffet is not long enough, you’ve made too much food.” Chelsea quipped. “And screw Preston, I’m tired of waiting on him for anything. I’m sending the stuff to JB.” The words were out before she realized it. Glancing up at her friend, she saw the stricken look on Sharon’s face. “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just that he said he could build the website.”
“Don’t be silly,” Sharon shook it off. “You can hire whomever you like. If JB says he can build it, I’m sure it will be great.”
“Still, I didn’t mean to make you upset.”
“You didn’t, it’s still a surprise when I hear his name. I’ll get used to it.” Sharon finished off a bottle of water. “Did you invite him to the open house?”
“Of course not, I wouldn’t do that to you.” Chelsea stretched out her legs, crossing them at the ankles.
“Isn’t it awkward, with him helping you?
“Not at all,” Chelsea lied. “I’m sure he understands.” She thought a moment, wondering if she was missing something. “Do you want me to invite him?”
“Hell no. Running into him in town will be bad enough; I’ve no intention of letting him get comfortable on my turf.” Sharon’s denial was a little too heated.
“Umm hmm.” Chelsea hid her grin. “If you change your mind let me know. There’s still time.”
“I won’t change my mind.” Sharon jumped up. “Where did we put the tablecloths? We should really get them in the wash.”
“I still say we should try fluffing the wrinkles out in the dryer first; it’ll save a lot of time.” Chelsea stood just as her phone beeped. Grabbing it, she frowned. “It’s a text from Preston. Says that the designer ran into a snag, but the site will be ready by Monday.” Chelsea began texting furiously.
“What did you tell him?”
“To tell his designer not to worry about it; I’ve found someone more reliable.” Chelsea grinned, relieved that she’d dealt with the problem. “With any luck, Preston will be offended enough to stay away.”
“Partner, you surprise me.” Sharon grinned back. “It’s about time you went on the offensive.”
“I have to admit, it feels pretty darn good.” Chelsea retrieved the laptop from her bag. “You start opening the linens; I’ll send the files to JB.”
~~~
“Ungrateful bitch.” Preston growled when he read Chelsea’s text. “What if I had actually contracted a designer for her?” Stopping himself before he responded, Preston threw the phone onto the table. Reaching for the hard copy of his to-do list, he calmed himself by going over the plan.
“Remove Macintyre, check,” smiling, he congratulated himself once again on the ingenious way he’d called Mac out of town. By the time he figured out that the client who was so unhappy was actually out of the country, Preston’s plans would be complete. Impersonating Striker’s assistant with Mac’s assistant was a piece of cake. That fool girl Jeannie had no idea that she was communicating with a mastermind, she thought Preston was an incompetent boob who didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. Just as he intended.
Blinding pain shot through Preston’s right temple as he started to read off another item from the list. The pains had been coming more frequently in the past few days, but he had no time to be concerned with the cause. Reaching for the bottle of oxy he’d stolen from his step-mother’s medicine cabinet, he popped two pills, downed a healthy swig of scotch and went back to his task.
“It’s about time for another phone call to the clueless Jeannie.” Flipping open the prepaid cell, he placed the call.
“Hi, Jeannie, it’s Arthur again,” Preston gave his best minion impression. “Mr. Striker apologizes for the delay, but he’ll be back in town later this afternoon. He expects to meet Mr. Mills at the job site at three o’clock.”
Jeannie let out a long sigh on the other end of the line. Preston nearly laughed out loud.
“Fine. Mr. Mills would like to speak with Mr. Striker personally; did you get a number where we can reach him?” Jeannie didn’t even try to hide her impatience. This idiot had been giving Mac the runaround all day.
“Oh shoot, I forgot to ask if I could give you his number. He’s very particular about such things. Oh well, he’ll see Mr. Mills at three, you can ask for his number then.” Preston covered his mouth to contain his laughter.
“That defeats the purpose, Arthur, don’t you think? Do you have any idea why Mr. Striker wants a meeting?” Jeannie asked for the fourth time today.
“No, I just know that he’s very unhappy. I’m sure he’ll tell Mr. Mills all about it. Goodbye.” Preston’s singsong goodbye grated on Jeannie’s last nerve, just as he hoped it would.
~~~
“Son of a bitch,” Mac banged his hand on the steering wheel when Jeannie delivered the latest news from Striker. “It’s one o’clock now, what am I supposed to do, hang around the site all day, waiting for Striker to show up?”
“He is the client, after all.” Jeannie tried to placate her boss. “Why don’t you go have lunch while you wait?”
“Dammit Jeannie, I didn’t drive all the way down here to have lunch.” Mac calmed himself; he wasn’t the only one giving up a Saturday to appease a client. “Sorry, you’re right.” Mac resigned himself to have patience. “Were you able to schedule a meeting tomorrow with Peterson and Davis?”
“Yes, they’ll be in at ten. Neither one was very happy,” she added.
“Well, they’ll be happy enough afterwards. You’ll be there too, right?” Mac intended to offer the business to his three most trusted employees.
“With bells on,” Jeannie cracked. “Care to clear up the mystery?”
“Tomorrow’s soon enough. Let me know if anything changes.”
“Will do.”
Chapter Thirty
“Do you think the crystals are too much?” Chelsea inspected the centerpiece with a critical eye.
“You know me, the more bling the better. They look great.” Sharon added the finishing touches to the flower arrangement for the buffet table. “I hope these roses hold up until tomorrow. Maybe we should have waited to pick them.”
“They’ll be fine. We can always cut more if we need them. It was pretty smart, by the way, to use flowers from the B&B garden.”
“Thanks. It works this time, but we have to find a florist, or at least a supplier, for future events. Too bad we don’t have a landscape supplier in Starsdale.”
“Monroe is not that far away, but you’re right, we need someone local.”
“I could always start a garden in my backyard,” Sharon laughed. “Too bad I don’t have a green thumb.”
“I’d say you have enough on your plate, managing the restaurant on top of running the events. What will we do if the B&B is full, the restaurant is booked solid and we have a wedding on top of it all? It’s kinda scary when you think about it.”
“I hope we have that problem. We can always find help, let’s just hope business is that good.”
The women worked in silence for a time, each imagining ways to juggle their businesses.
“So, have you heard from Mac since he left?”
“He called last night, livid. The client who insisted on meeting him gave him the runaround all day. He never even saw the man. He’s spending the day today handling a few other details. He’ll be back tomorrow.”
Sharon noted how Chelsea’s face softened when she spoke about Mac. A twinge of jealousy stabbed at her heart, but she shoved it aside.
“Of course he will. He wouldn’t dare miss the opening.” Sharon stepped away from
the flower arrangement. “What do you think?”
“It’s gorgeous, now come help me with these centerpieces; ten down, thirty to go.”
“At this rate, we’ll be here all afternoon.” Sharon picked up one of the completed arrangements and placed it on a table. “But they do look nice, I’m glad we went with different colored candles.”
“You have a knack for decorating,” Chelsea stopped to admire her handiwork. “The beautiful part is that we can reuse most of this stuff again and it will look completely different.”
“That’s the idea. Instead of crystals, we can use white candles and colored glass stones, or beige candles with river rock; so many ways to fill a hurricane vase.” Sharon grabbed one of the candelabras and placed it on another table. “I also like that we decided to mix it up with these; I hate it when all the tables look the same.”
“Wherever did you find these things? Some of them look really old.” Chelsea sat the hurricane vase aside and picked up a candelabra.
“I’ve been collecting them for years. Yard sales, flea markets, antique stores; whenever I see one, I buy it. It’s nice to finally put them to good use.”
“I love the vintage flair they add to the room. Good call.”
“Thanks. What time are you meeting John for dinner?” Sharon looked at her watch.
“Not until six, you’re welcome to join us.”
“I’d love to, but not tonight. I need to spend some time in the kitchen, get it just right before tomorrow.”
“What was that?” Chelsea stood and looked out the window. Did you hear something?”
“No, like what? It was probably an animal, we are in the woods, you know.”
“It sounded like a car door, but there’s no one else here.” Chelsea took another look around before sitting back down.
“Sound carries in the mountains, it could have come from down the hill.” Unconcerned, Sharon began hanging crystal strands on the candelabras.