Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set

by Maddie James

  “So. Will you come?”

  Have mercy. “Huh?”

  “I said, will you come out to the cabin and look at the pieces, then design a display cabinet?”

  “Hell no. Didn’t I already say that?”

  She shrugged, and those bell earrings chimed lightly.

  “What will it take to get you out there? Just to look?”

  Not fair. This was simply not fair. He wanted to say things that were...inappropriate. Things he couldn’t say because she was Mike’s cousin and Martin’s sister, besides being his current source of income. Her weekly payments toward the total bill, even after paying for materials and the guys’ wages, were sure making Greg’s bank balance look better.

  “Make me an offer.” He gave her a smile that he hoped looked only a tenth as lecherous as he felt.

  “Dinner?”

  Well. There was food involved. “Home cooked?”

  “Yes. What do you like?”

  “If it’s home cooked, I won’t be choosy. Uh... Do you bake bread?”

  “I haven’t in a while, but I can. All right then, a meal including home baked bread. Say eight-thirty tonight? You guys still working ‘til around eight?”

  “About, yeah.” He might let them cut out a little earlier tonight so he’d have time to shower and change. It’d probably make no difference to the outcome of the evening, but it also couldn’t hurt.

  ****

  Greg didn’t remember the last time he’d had such a great meal. The bread was the best part—turned out the woman knew her way around a package of yeast. Fork-tender roast beef with carrots and potatoes, a tossed salad with some kind of fancy sweet dressing, and fried apples. She served shoofly pie for dessert, and he had some of that, but also loaded up with more bread and butter.

  Finally, he couldn’t eat another bite and slid down in his chair. “Uncle.”

  She laughed. “You give up that easily? My brothers could eat you under the table.”

  “Whatever. I’ll die if I eat anything else. I’d die happy of course.”

  “I can pack some stuff for you to take home, too, before you leave.”

  He groaned happily.

  “So now are you ready to look at my little town?”

  “Huh? I’ve been here for a while. Feel like I’ve pretty much seen it.”

  “Not Legend. At least, not that Legend. I want to show you Little Legend.”

  She rose and led him into the small living room where a lot of little toys were spread out all over the floor.

  “Watch you don’t step on any of them. Some of the kids are really hard to see when you’re this far away from them.”

  “Kids?” Greg squinted at the toys, then got down on one knee and picked up a tiny figure. “This looks like LizBeth Ann.”

  Her face broke into a huge smile. “Yes! It is. See Betsy and Mike?”

  He picked them up in turn. Amazing. He felt like Gulliver checking out the Lilliputians.

  “Whoa. You made these?” Greg picked up the Piggly Wiggly and examined it. Lots of detail. Then he saw his own building. “Deluxe Home Improvements” read the words on what looked like plate glass windows. Huh. The place looked like it needed paint. Did his building really look that bad? She had even included the pesky kudzu vine growing up around the back door.

  “See yourself? That’s you looking out the window. I realized I was running short on time, so I painted some of the shop owners inside their buildings instead of making them three dimensional.”

  “Cool. Yeah, that looks like me. Maybe a little scruffy though.” He looked at her. One brow was raised, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Your building is looking good.” He picked up the McClain Art Gallery. “Looking very good. Hm… I dunno... That doesn’t exactly look like you in the window.”

  “I can’t paint myself. I’ve worked and worked on it. Self-portraits are difficult, even at that scale. What do you think is wrong with it?”

  “Needs more spark. The eyes need to have some snap to them. And you should be smiling instead of looking so serious. And, well, you haven’t captured your sexiness. You look kind of boring.”

  “That’s a lot of suggestions. Not sure I can capture my sexiness.”

  “I sure would like to capture it.” He hadn’t intended to say that out loud. He meant it, but had intended to keep it to himself.

  Chloe cleared her throat. “Well.” She moved to the other side of the room, carefully stepping around the little people and buildings. “Um, what about a display case?”

  “This the whole thing?”

  “For now, yes. It will most likely grow as I have time to work on it.”

  “Lordy. This could take some room. I’m surprised you’re willing to give up that much floor space in the gallery. And where do you see it going?”

  “I don’t know.” She bit her bottom lip. “I don’t want to give up the floor space. I don’t want the room to seem crowded. I was going for light and airy and spacious.”

  “You’ve got that going on now, but if you start moving the town of Legend indoors, I think you’ll have a problem.”

  “I’ve seen model train layouts of real towns. They were so realistic, with all the buildings in the right place. They’re really big though. The square footage would be a killer!”

  “Guess you could buy a separate building for it.”

  She smacked a palm to her forehead. “I can’t even believe you said that. For one thing, I can’t afford the building I have, and for another thing, there is no time to renovate another space. Not even a small space.”

  “Guess you could put it upstairs in your apartment.”

  “I could. But some people couldn’t climb the stairs. I don’t really want to worry about the security of people going up there.”

  “In Legend you’re worrying about security?”

  “Not a whole lot. There will, I think, be people coming from all over to see the gallery. I plan to host some traveling art shows. Security will definitely be a concern then. I’m looking into it, but wow that kind of thing is expensive.” She picked up another shop building and looked hard at it. “My concern now is how to display Little Legend. I’m very open to suggestions.”

  “How about run it around the perimeter of the whole gallery space? Maybe at about chair rail height, so you don’t interfere with the paintings. People could walk along the whole perimeter and see it. Plus they could see it from more angles if it’s spread out like that. If we built a big display case to put it in, the stuff in the middle would be almost hidden. Especially for kids.”

  “Oh. You’re completely right on that. Children couldn’t see it very well in a traditional display.”

  “Even like this, with it on the floor, it’s not easy to look at. You’d kind of have to crawl around on your hands and knees to see it.”

  “So the chair rail height display case, running the perimeter of the room, and tall enough to hold St. Mary’s church—I think that’s the tallest building we have. What would that cost me?”

  “Man, I don’t know. What materials do you want used? Plexiglass? Glass? Glass with wood?”

  She sank onto a short little couch, frowning.

  “I’m at a loss. I made a drawing of what I had in mind, but I really like your idea better. You’re the professional—what materials do you think would work best?”

  It was the first time she had seemed to appreciate his abilities. The first time she had asked his opinion on anything at all. Up until now, his purpose had been to carry out her plans as best he could. Greg carefully picked his way across the room and sat on the short couch, too. The rocking chair was too near the Piggly Wiggly for safety, and there were similar problems with the other chair and the longer sofa located near the fireplace. Not that it was a hardship sitting this close to her.

  “I’ll tell you what I think would work, and I know somebody who’d do a good job of it, but he’s based in Knoxville. Could be expensive.”

  She closed her eyes
and took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll get something to write down his name and number.”

  “I don’t know his number. I’ll have to find it. If you want, I can take the measurements and give him a call with the info. See if he’s too busy for a rush job. Sometimes contractors don’t have time, Chloe. Will you be real disappointed if you can’t have the little town on display for the opening?”

  Her eyes went wide, and her beautiful mouth formed an “O.”

  “I have to have the town there! Surely, somebody can make a display case for me. Oh, why was I so engrossed in what I was doing that I hadn’t given any thought to displaying the town? I had everything else so beautifully organized. Not only do I know where the seating areas will be and the cash register/wrapping desk. I know where every single painting will hang.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me. You’re a detail person.”

  “So are you.”

  “Have to be, to give the customer what he wants. Or what she wants.” He hoped she would get the double meaning.

  She gave him a slight smile. “You’re doing a fine job of that. Giving me what I want. The building is great.”

  “Yeah. Is that all you want from me, Chloe? A beautiful art gallery and living area? Because I was getting some not-so-subtle hints that you wanted something else too. Something a lot more personal.”

  She blushed. Good! At least she had the grace to do that.

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  He laughed. “Right. You come to the building every morning; say things to get my engine going. As if just looking at you didn’t already have it going. All the guys know what you’re doing. They’re not sure how I’ve controlled myself this long. I just tell them you’re the boss lady, and I know better than to let you trick me into something. You looking to trick me, Chloe?”

  She slid her eyes away from his. “No. I’ve just been teasing...”

  He put his arm along the back of the couch. “Teasing. That’s it? Just in good fun, huh? Well, you’re lucky I’m a man with a lot of restraint. I can deal with it. Soon as we’re finished with your building, I’ll walk out of there and never step foot in it again. Nothing against you, but art galleries aren’t my thing. I like my art to fold out of the middle of a magazine. You would look pretty good there, I bet.”

  She looked shocked, then smiled. “That’s a compliment, right?”

  “Damned right.” He leaned closer. “You look amazing in those jeans and t-shirt right now, Chloe. I’d love to see how you look out of them.” Standing up, he put his hands in his front pockets. “I have a job to do.” He retrieved his measuring tape from his jacket pocket and measured St. Mary’s up to the top of the cross on the steeple. “I’ll call Billy and see if he can take on a rush job. I’ll give him the height and depth measurements, and the yardage for the run around the perimeter. That work for you?”

  She looked confused for a moment. Maybe he’d lost her in the switch from talking about taking off her clothes to taking measurements for Plexiglas. “Um. Okay.”

  Greg left a few minutes later with a container of leftovers. He and Chloe had plowed some new ground tonight. If he talked Billy into taking on the project, maybe Chloe would be grateful enough to plow a little more. He’d never expected to see a positive side to working for a woman, but this woman was working on him, in more ways than one.

  Chapter Seven

  On the morning of August 30, Billy Sanders was due to arrive in Legend with The Case. Chloe had begun to think of it as The Case when she realized how important it was to everything. The gallery was ready for hanging the paintings, bringing in the furniture and the few other items of décor, but she wanted to wait until The Case was installed before any of that happened. There might be sawdust, or something might have to be rethought at the last moment once The Case was up. Greg and the guys had cleaned up their mess pretty well, but Chloe was running a large rental vacuum through the gallery. The hardwood floor wouldn’t require waxing or polishing, but it needed to be clean. She turned off the vac and stood in the middle of the floor with her eyes closed. Opening day was almost here. Surely, everything would come together. She still needed to put all of Little Legend on display and then hang the paintings. She had most of her belongings yet to pack, and all of that had to be hauled to town and dragged upstairs. She had promised the new owners possession of the cabin on August 31. For now, she didn’t care what her apartment looked like. She’d eventually dig everything out and get settled. The only thing that mattered was the opening on September 1. Chloe had never disliked calendars until recently, when her life had begun to depend so strongly on what day it was and how many remained.

  A delivery truck pulled up outside. “Sanders Woodworking.” Okay, this was it. Chloe wiped suddenly sweaty palms along the sides of her jeans before heading out onto the sidewalk. The man who walked around the front of the truck and greeted her was tall and broad with auburn hair. She smiled and held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Chloe McClain.”

  “Good morning. Bill Sanders.” He shook her hand and sized her up, a slow smile lighting his face. “I didn’t know what to expect—or, that is, who to expect to see here. Since Greg called me, I thought maybe he’d be around. No, huh?”

  He didn’t look disappointed at all. Chloe didn’t mind that Bill—or Billy—Sanders was flirting with her. As long as he did the work she needed done, personal opinion did not matter. She had learned that with Greg.

  “Hey, Billy. You going to stand there all day?” Greg appeared next to Chloe.

  “Hey, man. Didn’t see you.”

  “I know. I could have walked up and punched you in the nose, and you wouldn’t have known what hit you. Mind on the project, Sanders. Got it?”

  Billy smiled and slugged Greg in the shoulder. “Got it.” He winked at Chloe. “For now anyway. Give me a hand with this, will ya, Andrews?”

  Greg sent Chloe a smile and an eye roll and followed his compatriot to the back end of the truck. She opened the gallery’s door wide and eagerly anticipated the unveiling of the first bit of The Case. It was beautiful in its simplicity, and Chloe knew it was the perfect way to show people Little Legend. Mike came in soon after the cases were unpacked, and when Chloe had agreed with the appropriate height, the three guys quickly installed them. Chloe wrote a check for the statement Billy presented to her, and Greg practically escorted him out of the building. Mike went outside with them, too. Greg seemed to be explaining something to Billy—something Billy wasn’t enjoying—but finally he nodded, shook hands with Mike and punched Greg in the shoulder again. Greg returned the favor, and Billy closed the back of his truck, climbed into the cab, and drove away. Men.

  “Chloe, you ready to move the other stuff in here?” Greg asked. “Mike and I have the rest of the day.”

  Chloe was very particular about her paintings and the little town. All of those things would be transported in her Jeep. The rest of her stuff could ride in the guys’ pickup trucks; she was fine with that. So she gladly accepted the offer. When she pulled up at the cabin with the pickups behind her, she saw Midnight’s little sports car. She was happily surprised to find Betsy and Midnight packing her household into neatly labeled boxes.

  “Just thought you could use a little help. You’ve been swamped,” said Betsy.

  “Thanks. I don’t know how I thought I could move all this in the time I have left. I haven’t moved in over ten years, since I built this place.” She looked around at her beloved kitchen and was suddenly hit with the enormity of the fact that she might never see it again.

  She swallowed hard. “Sorry girls. I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff. Probably should have gone through and purged some of it.”

  “No worries,” said Midnight gently as she wrapped an art glass vase in newspaper. “We’re packing. You can purge at your leisure.”

  Between her family and Greg’s crew, everything Chloe owned was at McClain Art Gallery by midnight. The crew was completely finished now, and as they left, everyone gave Chloe a hu
g and wished her good luck with the opening. Betsy had exited earlier to pick up LizBeth Ann at Mike’s parents’ house and take her home to bed. Now there was just Greg and Chloe in the building.

  “You want help hanging the paintings?”

  Chloe covered a yawn. “Not tonight. I know where each one will go, but I’m pretty exhausted. I appreciate everything you’ve done, Greg. Or to be honest, I probably don’t appreciate it because I don’t know that much about what your work encompasses. What I do know is that you took a derelict building and turned it into a beautiful gallery. It’s as nice as anything in the city. It really is. And the way you designed the case for Little Legend, and found someone to do it for me at the last minute. Well, I just doubt there’s any way I can repay you for that. It was above and beyond.”

  “You’ve paid plenty for the project.”

  “That isn’t what I mean, and you know it. You really came through, in spite of not wanting to deal with any of it. Not wanting to deal with me, even. Just—thank you. Thank you so much.” She laid a hand on his forearm. It was strong and warm. Some crazy part of her mind wondered what it would be like if he wrapped his arms around her right now. She wondered how she would react. She’d teased him enough, but that had all been in fun. She didn’t seriously want a physical relationship with Greg Andrews. She would never settle for that kind of arrangement, and he wasn’t interested in any other kind. After tonight, he was done with her, and she’d just see him around once in a while like she did any citizen of Legend. Wave at him driving down the street, that kind of thing. Wonder who his current fling was and whether it was anybody she knew.

  Wishing she’d given him a try when she’d had the chance.

  Greg smiled. “Well, I guess there’s just one thing I need to do then. The bed.”

  “Excuse me?”

  He headed toward the stairs. “We carried it in but didn’t set it up. Just as well put it together for you so you can have a good first night’s sleep in your new place.”