"You've got a lovely home," Eric said.
"I have to give all the credit to Julia for that. When we built the house we learned pretty quickly that decorating was not really my forte. To keep the peace, we agreed that she would be the master decorator and I would be the slave." He laughed.
They walked into the living room just as Julia came down the stairs. "Finally!" she said, moving to sit down in a chair by the fireplace. "That child is determined to try my last nerve tonight. She always seems to know when we're going to have company, I swear she does. I can't ever get her to sleep on time on those nights."
Maggie and Eric sat down on one of the couches that faced each other.
Cody glanced at his watch and stood up. "Excuse me, guys. Need to finish off dinner."
When Eric looked surprised, Julia smiled at him. "I don't cook. Or let's put it this way--I'm a terrible cook. Cody, on the other hand, is quite good at it. Learned from his father, and Frank is an excellent chef. Cody decided to use the grill tonight, even though it's freezing out on the deck. Steaks and sauteed mushrooms, along with his delicious potatoes au gratin."
"Sounds yummy," Maggie said. "Eric cooks a bit, too."
"Just a few dishes I learned from my mother growing up. She always said I might need to impress a girl someday."
"That sounds like Maggie. Don't you only know how to make a few things?" Julia asked, handing them both glasses of wine.
"Yeah. I never really focused on it."
"So together, you sound like you'd make one good cook."
Maggie felt herself blushing, even as Julia smiled at her. Eric took a sip of the wine and said, "That's really quite good. I'm bringing the wine for Thanksgiving. I'm assuming the wine shop in town, the one we visited yesterday, is the best place to go?"
Julia nodded. "Yes. George and Al will fix you up. They have a wonderful selection."
Eric said, "Julia, I need to discuss something with you. I want to provide computers to the people you guys are helping at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I thought we might be able to get them here by Christmas with some contacts I have, and with your help."
Her dark blue eyes opened wide. "Computers! Now why on earth didn't I think of that? What a marvelous idea. We already have a database with information about the families who need the most in town. And I'd bet that few of them have computers--maybe some crappy computers--but not anything useful. I think you're right, that we could get them here by Christmas, but only if we start immediately. Can you come down to my shop first thing in the morning? We need to get the orders in now, before Thanksgiving."
"That's not very far away."
"Well, they can get started on the orders. We can put together my information with your contacts, Eric, and see what we come up with," Julia said. "It's a wonderfully generous thing you'd be doing. And it will make a difference in people's lives."
"What will make a difference?" Cody asked, taking off his jacket from being outside. "The steaks are resting, so we should eat in about ten minutes."
Julia told her husband about Eric's plan to gift computers to needy families. Cody frowned. "I don't know if that's a good idea."
"What? Why not?" Julia asked.
Cody took a glass of wine from the tray on the coffee table and sat down on the couch across from Eric and Maggie. "You're not considering people's pride or the fact that having everything given to you is not the best way to go. Look, we do have families that are low income here in Sully Point. But they are also proud people. Don't you remember Julia, the first year we gave away presents to the kids? It was okay to drop off a box of food, but the toys were too much. We had to meet with each set of parents. These are proud people."
Julia looked stricken. "I had forgotten. But--computers, Cody. The kids in those homes deserve the same chance in life as the other kids with more money. They need exposure to computers if they're going to compete in this world."
"I don't disagree. But maybe giving them, for free, is not the answer."
Eric looked thoughtful. Maggie knew that Cody had not come easily into Julia's mountain of money. He'd been resistant as hell. But it seemed like he'd learned how to use money, and that he had thought through a lot of the issues around it.
"What do you recommend?" Eric asked.
"I can think of two ways to do it. They could rent or lease the computers, for a very minimal amount each month, or each quarter. The other option would be to offer them at highly reduced prices, with loans for those who need them."
"Hmm. You know," Eric said. "If they leased them, then we could provide updates and upgrades to the equipment and software whenever needed, without any extra charge."
"I could hold some classes on the operating basics of a computer," Julia said. "I already have a couple of software-specific classes, but these could be targeted to those in the leasing program. We can work that part out as we go. The main thing is to get the machines here in Sully Point before Christmas."
"I'll meet you at your shop tomorrow morning," Eric said. "Around nine-thirty?"
"Sounds great."
Cody clapped his hands together. "Time to eat! Head into the dining room and I'll bring out the grub."
Maggie watched Julia and Cody during dinner, with different eyes than she ever had before. Now that she was with Eric, she wondered at how those two got along so well. They were very different people from widely different backgrounds, yet they seemed to have learned how to communicate and compromise. Maggie knew that she and Eric had differences. She'd already sensed a theme of over-protectiveness in him that she wasn't fond of at all. And he was different from her in that he'd known what he wanted, had had a passion for computers and gone after that kind of work with all of his being. Even though he was searching now for his next challenge, she knew he'd find it.
She, on the other hand, had never felt directed to any one thing in her life. She'd sort of fallen into the whole public relations thing from being in the right place at the right time. But she had no passion for it. She had a rather scattered approach to life, as opposed to his focused outlook.
Still, she thought, love could help them discover a path they could walk together. And they did have love, of that she was sure. She gave him a dazzling smile across the table. He smiled back at her, in some confusion.
The evening had gone well, she felt. Julia and Cody seemed to like Eric, and he had not seemed uncomfortable with them. As they were leaving, she asked Cody for the recipe to the au gratin potatoes. He promised to email it to her. She figured if she was going to learn any more recipes she'd start with something she really liked.
They drove back to her apartment in a comfortable silence. Once home, she put on coffee and they sat in the living room, snuggled together on the sofa. She was thinking about what to make for Eric for Christmas. Suddenly she wanted to know what he was thinking about right then.
"What are you thinking?" she asked.
"I was thinking of people I can contact to get the computers moving here faster. What about you?"
"I was thinking of my Christmas list. And of you. Did you like Cody and Julia?"
"I'd met Cody earlier in the day, but if you mean them as a couple, yes. They seem good together. That house is huge."
Maggie gave a little laugh. "There's a reason for that. Julia says she wants lots of children. So they planned ahead when they built the house. She was an only child, and was always lonely. She wants her kids to have lots of siblings. Were you lonely as a child?"
"Not really, no. You see, I had computers from a very early age. My computer was my friend. I was a totally obsessive kid, veering into obnoxiousness about it in my teen years. My father is the one who woke me up to the fact that my whole life couldn't be about computers, that I needed people in my life as well. That's when I started working on my music."
"I think my mother would have been glad for me to obsess about anything. I went from one thing to another to another."
"Did you have a good relationship with her? With you
r parents?"
"Pretty much, considering our differences. She's a fashion designer. She's loved doing it her whole life I think. My father was a cop. He's retired now. Sam got them a house in the Adirondacks in New York. Mom had begun to cut down on her work when Dad retired. They wanted to spend more time together. That's one thing about them--they truly do love each other. All of us kids always knew that. I think they made me believe love was possible, even though I haven't had much luck with it--until now."
She turned her face up to his and they kissed, a slow lazy kiss, a kiss of promises of things to come. She said, "Do you still want coffee?"
"Not really, no. I want you."
"Then you can have me. After I turn off the coffee maker."
He chuckled and headed to the bedroom after she got up to go to the kitchen. "I bet I can get naked before you can," he said, from across the room.
"No fair!" She hurried into the kitchen, flicked off the coffee, and dashed out, pulling her sweater over her head--to find him standing there watching her with a big smile on his face.
"I knew I'd get a good view if I said that."
"You! You--"
But he was there in front of her in two quick strides, gathering her into his arms, kissing her lips as if they were life-giving. She kissed him back, feeling the desire flaring inside her.
"Maggie, Maggie, my love," he said, as he kissed her neck.
"I love you, Eric, I love you."
And the words were a promise. A promise for the future.
Chapter 4
The days leading up to Thanksgiving found Eric spending most of his days with Julia as they coordinated the big computer delivery. They were ordering not just the machines, but all kinds of software they wanted to put on them that wouldn't be installed by the manufacturers. His nights were spent at Maggie's apartment, in her bed, in her arms. It seemed strange to him that the more he was with her, the more he wanted her. It wasn't a passion that flared and then would die. It was growing and blossoming between them.
He wanted to do something big for her for Christmas, so he was following up on an idea he'd had about her arts and crafts. He'd decided to get her a building or space for a shop where she could sell her crafts, sell supplies to others, offer classes, whatever interested her. He knew already that she had trouble with focusing on just one thing. This way, she could follow her interests wherever they took her, and have fun.
The day before Thanksgiving found him at Lucretia's shop in the afternoon, looking at jewelry. He was looking at bracelets in a case when Lucretia came into the shop from the back.
"Hello! I didn't hear the bell on the door. It's...Eric, right?"
"That's right," he said with a smile. "I need to talk to you about designing something for Christmas for--"
"Maggie."
"Yes."
"I can't do it."
"What? Why not?"
"Time! I have orders stacked up between now and Christmas. I would have needed to see you a month ago to have something done in time. I'm sorry."
Eric let his shoulders slump. He'd really been counting on this gift.
"What kind of piece were you thinking of anyway? Maybe I know of somewhere else you could try."
"I wanted something original, unique to her. My thought was earrings, diamonds and amethysts, to match her eyes. You know how her eyes seem to dance, and are so lit up."
Lucretia smiled at him. "Er, yes, I've noticed that myself. Earrings. Why is that resonating in my mind--hold on--I wonder if I--I'll be right back."
She turned and quickly went through the door to the back of the shop. Eric continued to look at necklaces, rings, earrings and more, but nothing appealed to him.
"Aha!" came Lucretia's voice from the back. She walked in with a big smile. "I found them. About a year ago, I had a design come into my head that wouldn't go away. Sometimes art is like that. Finally, I created these earrings, based on that design, and I did it in diamonds and amethysts in sterling silver. See what you think of these."
She held out her hand, and on her palm rested earrings that caught the light and flashed it back at him. The amethysts were suspended in a web of diamonds, two purple stones to each earring. Eric didn't know much about jewelry, but he thought these looked unusual--and just the kind of thing that Maggie might find interesting. They weren't too big for her face either. He could picture her wearing them.
"I'll take them. They're perfect."
"Good! I never know when I get the urge to design something whether anyone will ever want it, but eventually someone always does."
She quoted him a price that made him blanch until he remembered he was rich. He handed over his credit card while she found a small velvet-covered box to hold the earrings. He was surprised at how relieved he felt, and realized that loving someone made everything more significant if it had to do with them.
After thanking Lucretia, he left and headed for the wine shop. George and Al greeted him happily.
"What can we get for you?" George asked.
"I need to bring wine for the Thanksgiving dinner at the Grainger house."
"Ooh, fabulous. Do you have a limit on what you want to spend?" Al asked.
Eric laughed. "I guess not. I think I'll want wine for the meal, plus a dessert wine."
"We have something just right for you. Follow me."
By the time he left he had a box filled with wine bottles, and George and Al appeared to be ecstatic by the big sale. Eric decided to drop off the wine at Frank's place. When he pulled into the driveway, he saw Frank unloading his car.
"Hi, Frank, I've brought wine."
"Good, just set it anywhere in the kitchen. I need to finish unloading the rest of these groceries."
Eric nodded and headed inside the house. After he'd put the box of wine bottles in a corner, he went back outside and helped Frank bring in bags of food.
"Just how big is this dinner going to be?" he asked, when they brought in the last items.
"Well, now, it's Thanksgiving dinner. It has to be big. That's tradition. Plus, everyone will be here. Holly and Jason will be getting in tonight from the city."
"They're the only ones I haven't met. Other than the rest of Maggie's family. I guess that will have to wait a while."
"Best to have time to prepare yourself for that meeting anyway."
Eric frowned. "What do you mean? Maggie seems to love her parents. She's never said anything negative about them."
"Well, she wouldn't. No, her parents are protective of all their children. You should have seen when they came to meet Anna after she and Sam got together. Sam and Maggie's mother is...formidable. That's the only word I can use. Looks like she could have been a model herself rather than designing the clothes. Very stylish. She sees right through you, and grills a person until she is satisfied she knows who they are."
"What about the father?"
"He was a cop. He's suspicious of everyone until he gets to know them. No, their parents aren't hard on their kids at all. They're just hard on anyone who presumes to love their kids. I'm sure you'll do fine. But don't rush into it."
Eric laughed. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I would never have imagined what you're saying, though, based on what Sam and Maggie have said about them."
"Don't get me wrong--they're good people. Once they're sure you aren't going to hurt their kids."
"Good to know. As I plan on making Maggie happy, there shouldn't be a problem. Listen, Frank, I need your help."
"What's up? Here, have a seat at the table. You want a drink? I need to start chopping some veggies if that's okay."
"Yeah, sure, that's fine. And if you have a beer I'll take one."
Once Frank had provided the bottle of beer and pulled out the veggies to be chopped, he sat down at the table across from Eric and began chopping.
"See, what I want to do is buy a building for Maggie."
Frank stopped chopping celery and stared at him. "And why would you want to be doing that?"
&nbs
p; "So she can start her own arts and crafts business.
"She wants to do that? I hadn't heard anything about this."
"Well, no, she doesn't know about the idea. I figured that since she loves doing arts and crafts so much, having a space for a shop would be a way for her to start working at something she loves. Maggie can be a little flighty, so who knows how long it might take her to get started. This way I'm helping to jumpstart the whole thing."
Frank resumed chopping for a minute, and then stopped again. "Okay, Eric, listen to me. This is not a good idea. Maggie might appear to be flighty, but she also has a mind of her own. I doubt, I seriously doubt, that she'd appreciate you making that kind of decision for her."
Eric frowned at him, feeling uncomfortable. "I wouldn't be making the decision for her. I'd just be providing a possibility for her, smoothing the way."
Frank shook his head. "Son, you need to re-think this. Have you thought about talking to Sam about it? He knows his sister pretty well. He could tell you if it's a good idea."
Eric felt his face flush. "I think I'm getting to know Maggie pretty well, too. I'm sure she'd love doing this."
"Didn't mean to imply anything. I'm just saying, maybe you should mention it to Sam."
"Yeah, okay. Listen, I'd better get going. I have a few more errands before I take Maggie out tonight."
Frank nodded. "Thanks for bringing the wine. That's a big help. We'll see you tomorrow."
"That's right. We'll be here."
Eric left in a hurry, wanting to get away from Frank. He hadn't like the way Frank seemed so knowledgeable about Maggie, like he knew things Eric didn't. True, he and Maggie hadn't known each other very long...but he felt sure she'd flip over this. She kept saying how she wanted out of the public relations business. And she spent a lot of time on her arts and crafts. He'd just be easing her over that first step, plus providing the costliest item she'd have starting up a new business. As he thought it over, he felt more confident by the moment. Everything would be fine.
* * * *
Love Promises (Sully Point, Book 4) Page 7