Crazy Love (Emerald Lake Billionaires 3) (10 page)

Nick smiled at his granddaughter. “I was at least hoping to be a coachman. But it does not matter. While you are driving me home, you can tell me about the man you were matched with. What are his intentions?”

“Granddad! Men don’t have intentions anymore.”

“Of course they have intentions,” Nick said. “You show me a man without intentions and I’ll show you a man with no brain.”

Mia sighed. “If he does have any intentions, you’ll be the first to know after me.”

Nick hauled himself out of his chair. “You’re a good girl, Mia. Your papouli only wants what’s best for you.”

“I know, granddad. Just try to be a little less…Greek. Not everyone understands our ways.”

“They join our family, they understand our ways. Let us talk more in the car. Is everyone ready to leave?”

Holly picked up the laundry bags and followed Nick out the front door. After all of their planning, the auction had been a success. It was a pity she couldn’t say the same about Daniel.

***

The next morning, Blake stumbled down Daniel’s stairs rubbing his eyes. “You need to do something about that rooster. He started squawking before the sun was anywhere near to rising.”

Daniel looked over his shoulder. He turned the faucet off and put a water bottle on the counter. “That’s what happens when you live in the country. I was just about to get you out of bed, anyway. It’s time for that run I promised you.”

“I thought you were joking.”

“I’m all out of jokes this morning.”

Blake sat on a kitchen chair and retied the laces on his running shoes. “How much sleep did you get?”

“Not much.”

“Would it help if I spoke to Holly? I could tell her how important it is to get the program right.”

Daniel passed Blake a water bottle. “It wouldn’t do any good. She doesn’t trust me and I don’t blame her.”

“She can’t hold one mistake against you forever.”

“You wanna bet?”

Blake started stretching. “Most women change their minds eventually. If we had time, we could wait until she was ready to listen to us. But we don’t, so you need to explain the situation again. I’m sure she’ll see that you had everyone’s best interests at heart.”

Daniel opened the front door and took a deep breath. “I don’t know where you get your information on women from, but you need to listen to someone else. If you think Holly is going to change her mind, you’re wrong. We need to come up with another option or your app is in serious danger of being a flop.”

Blake pointed to the right. “We’re going that way. Rocky’s sitting on the fence by the barn. If he crows once more, I’m going to start looking for roasted rooster recipes.”

“A pair of ear plugs might be better. He’d give you indigestion.” Daniel started jogging. The path that Blake had chosen wove its way down to the lake. If roosters weren’t to Blake’s liking, then he was bound to be even more irritated by the geese surrounding Emerald Lake. It was nearly duck shooting season and they knew where they were better off.

As Daniel increased his pace, Blake stayed a few strides behind him. It was the first time since he’d moved to Bozeman that he’d run with anyone. It felt strange, but right. Blake had run with him in New York. They’d pounded the paths in Central Park so often they could have closed their eyes and never gotten lost.

“I don’t know why Holly’s so mad at you,” Blake said as they jumped over a fallen log. “It’s not as if you’ve spent much time with her.”

“She got let down by some guy she nearly married. Whatever happened made a big impression on her.”

“What are we going to do about it?”

Daniel had stayed up for most of the night trying to work out what they could do. After what had happened with Holly there was no way he was going to let Blake match him with someone else. “I’ll find my copy of the questionnaire and try to remember the answers she gave me. There’s no way Holly’s friends’ answers should have matched me with her.”

Blake didn’t say anything.

All Daniel heard were his feet pounding against the dirt trail. He focused on the lake in front of him instead of the redheaded artist who’d kept him awake for most of the night.

When they reached the halfway mark, Daniel slowed down and turned to Blake. “I need a drink.”

They stopped beside some pine trees and caught their breath.

Blake took a gulp of water from his bottle. “This is almost as good as running in New York.”

Daniel snorted. “You’re too much of a city boy. When are you going to get wise and leave the smog and concrete behind?”

“Manhattan suits me for now.”

Daniel wasn’t going to disagree. It hadn’t been that long ago since he’d been in Blake’s shoes, working long days and not realizing he was letting his life slip away. “Have you heard from Chantal since she left?”

“No, but I heard she’s already dating someone else.”

“It must be hard.”

“Not as hard as it could have been. I knew things hadn’t been right for a while, but I kept ignoring all of the warning signs. Chantal had her life planned out around my money.”

Daniel put the lid back on his water bottle. “It’s her loss. Look around you. If you hadn’t been desperate for my help with your app, you wouldn’t be standing here. Watching the sunrise over Emerald Lake isn’t that bad an outcome.”

“It would be better if we could prove that the app works.”

Daniel started jogging, then stopped.

Blake veered off the track. “Tell me when you’re stopping. You nearly ended up flat on your face.”

Daniel ignored Blake’s frown. “You didn’t use Chantal in the early stages of the app’s development did you?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“She was after your money, not your heart.” Daniel watched a lot of different emotions cross Blake’s face.

“I tested the draft questionnaire on her.”

“What happened?”

“We weren’t matched. The program only gave us a five percent compatibility rating.” Blake shook his head. “I should have paid more attention to what modern day science was telling me.”

“At least the app worked.”

Blake started jogging down the trail. “That doesn’t reassure me. You had a ninety percent compatibility rating with Holly and look what happened.”

It was Daniel’s turn to remain silent. He knew what had happened. He liked a woman who was the opposite of anyone he’d dated before. If nothing else, it made him think about the type of people he spent time with.

***

Holly listened to the plans that Randolph Dupré had been discussing with Nick. The opportunity for five artists to exhibit at the Gagosian Gallery was incredible.

She was excited and a little daunted by the work each artist would have to complete before opening night. “How flexible are you on the three pieces you’d like from each artist?”

“Each piece needs to be approved by me before they are assessed by our exhibition team. It is unlikely that a painting would not be accepted into the exhibition, but they do have the power to decline the work. An artist could submit more than three canvases, perhaps identifying which were their preferred choices.”

“And you need all of the paintings confirmed in the next four months?”

“That’s correct,” Randolph said. “I would need to know in the next week whether the artists I have selected are able to meet my deadline.”

That was probably the easiest thing Randolph had asked her to do. The hardest would be letting Nick know that the landscape painting she was working on wouldn’t be coming to his gallery.

Randolph glanced at Nick before looking at Holly. “Nick has explained that H. Jones wishes to remain anonymous. The paintings by that artist are some of my favorites.”

Holly’s mouth dropped open. “You’ve seen others?”

“Three of H. Jones’s portraits are in my personal collection. The emotion and vision in each canvas surpasses other contemporary work. Have you met the artist?”

Holly slowly nodded.

“Do you think H. Jones would consider meeting me? I would be discreet.”

Nick leaned forward. “There are reasons the artist has remained unknown to the art world. To share that information, even to you, Randolph, would require careful consideration. I’m sure Holly would be happy to inquire, but she cannot promise the outcome you would like.”

“I understand, Nick. This would in no way impact on the offer I have made today. If H. Jones wants to remain anonymous, I will respect his or her wishes.”

Nick sent Holly a reassuring smile.

For a moment she’d been worried that Randolph’s offer hinged on being introduced to H. Jones. “Can I ask you a question, Randolph?”

“By all means.”

“I thought your exhibitions would be booked more than a year in advance. How did you find the space for this collection?”

“Unfortunately, an artist was unable to meet our time frames. This gave us an opportunity to promote another artist, or group of artists. Nick told me a painting by H. Jones was to be auctioned in Bozeman. I couldn’t stay away and I’m glad I didn’t.”

“But you lost the auction.”

Randolph shrugged. “It happens. Even art curators make mistakes. Next time my rival bidder won’t be so lucky.” He stood up and looked around the gallery. “If Nick had stayed in New York, we would have been working at two of the finest galleries in the world.”

Nick had told Holly a little about his past, but not the whole story.

An expression of old familiarity darted across Nick’s face. “New York would not have survived two of us working in the same city.”

“Which is why I’ll leave Bozeman to you, dear friend.” Randolph looked at his watch. “I have a few more things I need to do before I go to the airport. If you would convey my message to H. Jones, Holly, I would be most appreciative. I’ll look forward to hearing your news about the other artists. They won’t be disappointed with the exhibition.”

Holly stood and shook Randolph’s hand. “Thank you for the opportunity. I know how incredible your exhibitions are.”

Nick pulled his friend into a warm embrace. “Until next time. Call me when you get home. I worry about you traveling so far around the country.”

“You worry too much, but I will call you.” Randolph sent them a final wave before leaving the gallery.

Holly sighed. “He’s a nice man.”

“A man who could make a difference to your career.”

“I’m not ready to tell everyone who H. Jones is.”

“I know, but think about it. Randolph would not share your confidence with anyone else. In the meantime, we have a small problem.”

The disappointment on Nick’s face worried Holly. “What’s wrong?”

“We will not be able to hold your weekend workshop for the children in the warehouse. The contractor wants to start the renovations a lot earlier than I imagined. It will be too dangerous.”

There wasn’t a lot she could say. Nick had been just as excited about the weekend art workshops as she was.

“It doesn’t matter,” Holly said with more confidence than she felt. “I’ll start asking around Bozeman. There’ll be another venue that can provide the space we need.”

“If you cannot find something, let me know. It would not be the end of the world if my renovation was not ready by Christmas.”

Regardless of what Nick said, Holly knew he wanted to have the warehouse finished in the next three months. “I’m sure I’ll find something.”

“We will investigate together. Would you like to have lunch with Mia and me? We were going to meet at Angel Wings Café in half an hour.”

Holly shook her head. “Not today. I’ve got some paintings I need to work on.”

“Do not work too hard. There is more to a young life than painting.”

“I’ll remind you of those words when you tell me you’re looking forward to seeing my next painting.”

Nick picked up his jacket and hat. “It is good for me to be reminded. Let’s go and enjoy the rest of our day. The sun is shining and we are alive. What could be better?”

Holly could think of two things; a new venue for her workshop and knowing that the five artists’ work that Randolph wanted in San Francisco could meet his deadline.

***

On Tuesday afternoon, Daniel watched his class of ten-year-olds as they slowly built their websites. So far, he’d enjoyed volunteering at the community center, helping his students understand how technology worked.

Sammy Joe Tyler looked up from his workstation. “Mr. Sullivan? How do I edit my 3D image on this page?”

Daniel moved across to Sammy and looked at his computer screen. “Where’s your image?”

Sammy opened a document on the task bar. “Here. I copied a picture of one of my characters and now I can’t paste him onto this page.” He opened the website template they were using and pointed at the screen. “I want to crop it to make it smaller, but it won’t work.”

He knelt beside his young student. “Try editing it again.”

Sammy repeated what he’d done, sighing when the image didn’t change. “See…it stays the same.”