Crazy Love (Emerald Lake Billionaires 3) (26 page)

He hadn’t heard from Blake for more than a week. “I don’t need their money and I don’t schmooze very well. I’ll leave that up to you.”

“I’m wounded,” Blake said with a laugh. “It’s just as well you’re my friend or I might take exception to your comment. And before you ask, Sam is doing okay. He has a bossy nurse looking after him during the day and another nurse with him at night.”

“Is he taking his medication?”

“Like clockwork. Betty Flanagan is his daytime nurse. She’s as Irish as they come and makes sure Sam does what he’s told. I think he secretly likes all the attention.”

Daniel called Sam twice a week. He couldn’t convince him to move to Montana, but he was happy that he was looking after himself. “I’m planning a trip to New York in a few weeks. I’ll send my schedule through to you.”

“Sounds good. I’ll make sure I have plenty of free time to show you what you’re missing. Apart from your app I’ve got other news.”

Daniel dreaded to think what Blake had been up to.

“Launch day for the Crazy Love app is tomorrow. There’s been an online media frenzy. Everyone wants a piece of the story. If download numbers reach the figures we’ve predicted, there’ll be lots of happy customers by the end of the month.”

“Lots of happy and in-love customers would make the app even more successful.”

“Truer words have never been spoken,” Blake said with a sigh. “Talking about being in love, how’s Holly? Has she realized she’s better off with me?”

“You’re not the one with the ninety-five percent compatibility rating.”

“No, but you didn’t start off there, either. It just goes to show that you don’t have to be perfect to be perfect, if you know what I mean.”

He knew exactly what Blake meant. But that didn’t make it any easier to convince Holly that they were perfect for each other. “I take it everyone’s final evaluation forms came back as good as you thought they would?”

“Better. Even the couples who didn’t stay together enjoyed each other’s company. You can’t ask for more than that. Something else has happened.”

Daniel stood and stretched his back. It had been a long day and an even longer week.

“Are you still there or have you ditched me for a redhead?”

Blake’s voice cut through the not-so-happy thoughts running through Daniel’s brain. “I’m here. I’m just wondering what can be better than getting your app on the market.”

“I wouldn’t say better, but definitely different. I got an email this morning from someone you know.”

“If they want money, ignore them. It’s probably Jason or Rick trying to be funny.”

Blake chuckled. “Jason’s busy whitewater rafting in New Zealand and Rick’s busy with a pretty brunette he met in an art gallery.”

“Tell him to be careful. If she’s an artist, he’s in serious trouble.”

“Curator, but that’s not who emailed me. It was Elizabeth.”

Daniel took a moment to figure out which Elizabeth he was talking about. “My sister?”

“Exactly. She’s the last person I expected to hear from.”

“Let me get this straight. My sister, Elizabeth Sullivan, emailed you? What on earth for?”

“If I tell you, you’ve got to promise not to say anything. After what happened five years ago, she’d sooner eat shoe polish than talk to me. If she even thinks you know anything, she’ll sue me.”

“Did you sign a confidentiality clause?”

Blake laughed. “I’m not that gullible. Your sister has a way of tying me in knots and making me say things I don’t mean.”

“You flushed her false eyelashes down the toilet. What did you expect?”

“They looked like caterpillars across her eyes. Someone had to stop her from looking like an alien from outer space. But it wasn’t the eyelashes that did it. It was when I told her what her boyfriend had been up to. That’s when she decided not to talk to me.”

“You had him investigated.”

“It’s just as well I did,” Blake muttered.

Daniel looked through the window and frowned at the snow-covered street below him. “Even your boyish charm couldn’t get you out of that mess. So why did she email you?”

“She wants to be part of the trial for the Crazy Love app.”

“She what?”

“You heard me. She wants to find true love.”

Daniel ran his hand through his hair. “Did she really tell you she wants to find true love?”

“I might be slightly exaggerating, but the meaning was there.”

Daniel gritted his teeth. “This is my sister we’re talking about. What exactly did she say?”

“Hang on, I’ll open the email she sent me.”

He waited while Blake tapped on his keyboard, searching through what could be hundreds of emails.

“Okay, here it is. She’s looking for a special person in her life.”

Daniel expected Blake to crack a joke or make some wise-ass comment, but he didn’t say anything.

“Jeez,” Daniel muttered.

“Precisely. Put yourself in my shoes. Your sister hates my guts. My app holds the key to her heart. If it doesn’t work, guess who she’s going to come after? I might have to hide in Montana with you while she sends out a search party.”

“It wouldn’t do you any good. She’s here.”

“What?”

“Elizabeth’s living in Montana with me.”

“I assumed she’d only be there for a few days.”

“She’s staying with me for a lot longer than that. Doesn’t she know the trial is over? She could download the app tomorrow morning off the Internet. By the end of the day she could have a list of men wanting to be her someone special.” He pinched the skin above is nose. “Tell me I didn’t say that.”

“You said it and it’s true. Luckily for you I have a cunning plan.”

Blake’s cunning plans rarely turned out for the best. But at this stage, Daniel was willing to listen to anything.

“Tell me what you’ve got in mind, but if it’s even mildly illegal, forget it. You know what happened last time you interfered in her life.”

“I thought long and hard about this and I’ve decided to put her in my VIP club.”

“Your what?”

“VIP club. It will be a select group of clients who require special handling. If anyone needs special handling, it’s Elizabeth.”

Daniel thought the idea was too good to be true. “How many people are in your VIP club?”

“Um…I’m building the membership as we speak.”

“So what you’re really telling me is that Elizabeth is the first person in your VIP club?”

“No. I have one other person. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she gets the pick of the bunch.”

Daniel didn’t need to know what his sister would be getting but he did know one thing. “If this blows up in her face, Elizabeth won’t be the only one coming after you. Do you get my meaning?”

“Loud and clear,” said Blake. “She’ll be incredibly happy and won’t suspect a thing.”

Daniel hoped he was right. He knew how annoyed Holly had been when she found out he’d been planted in the trial. If his sister discovered what Blake was up to, she wouldn’t be annoyed, she’d be furious. And when Elizabeth was furious, everyone ran for cover.

***

Holly ran downstairs and opened the front door.

Mia stood on her porch holding two cups of take-out coffee.

“I can’t believe you were so fast.”

Mia passed her the coffee and took off her coat. “I cheated. I called Starbucks and placed a phone order. It was ready when I arrived.”

“Come in. I made some blueberry muffins last night.”

“On your own?”

“Of course on my own,” said Holly. “I’m becoming a regular Martha Stewart.”

“I told you Daniel was worth his weight in gold. You’d still be raiding Tess’s café each day if you hadn’t met him.”

She walked into the kitchen and gave Mia her grande latte. “He’s a good teacher. Once I knew the basics everything else fell into place.”

“Almost everything,” Mia said with a grin. She picked up a muffin and bit into it. “Yum. This is good. If you ever want a change in career you could start your own catering company.”

Holly sat on the stool beside Mia. “I don’t think so. I have a hard enough time keeping regular hours as it is. I don’t need any more late nights.”

“Are you all packed for our flight to San Francisco?”

“Nearly. I’ve just got to add a couple of things to my case. Did you see Randolph’s email about collecting us from the airport when we arrive?”

Mia nodded. “I can’t wait for the opening of our exhibition. How are your new paintings going?”

“They’re okay. I worked so hard getting the landscapes ready for Randolph that I needed a couple of days to catch up with everything else. I heard from dad this morning. He’s going to visit me next month.”

Mia took a sip from her cup. “It sounds as though he’s making an effort to be part of your life.”

“I know you had doubts, but he wants to make up for lost time. I don’t know why mom didn’t want to go to Europe with him, but I guess it doesn’t matter now.”

“Your mom would have had a reason, but you’re right. It doesn’t matter. I’ve got something for you.” Mia jumped off the stool and picked up the satchel she’d left on the dining table. “I saw two of the students who came to our weekend art workshop. They submitted their portfolios for scholarships the day after they left Daniel’s house. Read these.”

Holly opened the envelopes Mia handed her. Inside were photocopied letters from two prestigious art schools in California. She read the letters and smiled. “Both students have been accepted for full scholarships. That’s amazing.”

“It’s better than amazing,” said Mia. “I called the other students and they’ve all had positive feedback from their teachers. One of the parents wants to sponsor another weekend workshop.”

“I don’t know if we’ll be able to have another workshop at Daniel’s house.”

“You don’t need to worry. Granddad’s extension to his gallery looks incredible. He’ll have it ready in the next two or three weeks. He’s happy for us to use part of the new space for the next workshop.”

Holly helped herself to a muffin. “That’s great. He must be really pleased with the way the extension has turned out. It will give him so much more room to exhibit artists’ work.”

“Granddad’s still waiting for your next masterpiece to hit his walls. He told me to remind you not to give everything to the Gagosian Gallery.”

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

“He’d like that. I found out something else yesterday.”

Holly brushed muffin crumbs off her shirt. “Let me guess. Hannah and Claire have secured the contract for the biggest celebrity wedding Montana has ever seen.”

“No, although they’d love to stage a wedding like that. You’re never going to guess what I discovered.”

“I give up. Tell me what you know.”

“I went to see Tommy’s mom and dad. He’s doing really well after his surgery. The helmet the surgeons made looks cute on him. But that’s not my news. While I was at his parents’ house, I saw a painting on the wall that looked familiar.”

“How familiar?”

“It’s one of yours.”

Holly stopped chewing her muffin. “There’s no way they could afford one of my paintings. You must have confused it with someone else’s.”

Mia grinned.

“You can’t be serious? How did they…”

“What’s the one painting they could have on their wall?”

Holly frowned. “The only person who’s sold any of my paintings in the last nine months is Nick. I don’t think they were sold to local buyers.”

“Expand your imagination.”

“There aren’t any other paintings.” She thought for a moment. “Was it the portrait of Tommy and his grandmother? Are you telling me they bought the painting at the auction?”

Mia shook her head. “No. What I’m telling you is that the mystery buyer from the auction gave the painting to them. Can you believe it? The portrait is worth thousands of dollars and it’s hanging on the wall in their living room.”

Holly was shocked. “Who would buy the painting, then give it to Tommy’s family? That’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard.” She knew that Tommy’s mom and dad adored the portrait. They’d stood in front of it for a long time, absorbing the image before the painting found a new home.

“You might not believe this, but I can be incredibly discreet when I need to be. Tommy’s parents told me who gave them the painting.”

“Who was it?”

“Daniel.”

“Daniel Sullivan? But he didn’t make any bids.”

Mia rolled her eyes. “He had someone bidding on his behalf by phone. The day after the auction he gave them the painting. Apparently Tommy’s grandma burst into tears. They are so grateful for what everyone has done for them.”

“Are you sure it was Daniel? He never said anything to me or Nick.”

“I guess he’s a nice guy, after all.”

Holly looked down at her half-eaten muffin. “I need to see him.”

“You’d better go now. Our flight leaves for San Francisco in less than two hours.”