Flirting with Disaster (12 page)

“I think I can imagine,” Cord chimed in. He offered the man a polite smile. “Good evening, George. I see you're out spreading good cheer this evening.”

Nadine whirled on him. “You know this man?”

“George Winslow,” Cord said. “Believe me, he's made his position about Amanda's house quite clear. He doesn't approve. He's even tried to stir up some folks to get Caleb fired.” He faced the man. “What's the matter? Are you so furious at your lack of success in stalling this project that you have to take it out on the first person who dares to challenge you to your face?”

“I haven't done a blasted thing to this woman,” George retorted. “She started the conversation.”

Before Cord could say whatever else he intended to say, Nadine pushed between them. “Are you crazy?” she asked George. “You'd have a preacher fired for helping someone in need? Someone ought to teach you a thing or two about compassion. Apparently you missed that lesson in church, though I'm sure you take pride in sitting in the front row every Sunday. What were you doing? Counting your money?”

“I believe you've made your point, Mother,” Josh said, his tone wry. “Let's go.”

“But I'm not through with him,” Nadine argued. “Besides, I paid for that drink and I intend to finish it.”

Josh grabbed the drink from the bar. “You can finish it at our table,” he said, tossing a tip on the bar. “Cord will deal with Mr. Winslow.”

Nadine recognized her son's determination. It finally dawned on her that this man, whoever he was, was in a position to do some real harm to the construction project. She directed one last scowl his way, then let Josh lead her into the restaurant.

When she was seated, she said stubbornly, “I will not apologize for telling him what I thought of him.”

To her surprise, Josh was regarding her with amusement. “I wouldn't ask you to. It's about time someone told that old windbag to shut his mouth. Everybody's been tap-dancing around him to try to pacify him because nobody wants to see him take out his anger on Caleb.”

“Neither do I, but the only way to deal with a man like that is to lay it on the line,” Nadine said. “He's not the kind who'll respect anyone who pussyfoots around.”

“Well, judging from the little bit I heard, you definitely didn't do that,” Josh said admiringly.

“You're not furious with me?”

“No, but I can't speak for Cord. He's the one who has to clean up this mess before it makes things worse.”

Cord returned just then and slid into his chair. Nadine, who considered herself an expert at reading men, couldn't decipher his expression.

“Everything okay?” Josh asked.

“Actually, I think old George is a little shell-shocked. He hasn't had so many hard truths thrown at him in years, especially by an attractive woman.”

“He deserved every word I said and then some,” Nadine said, pleased by the compliment.

“He did, indeed,” Cord agreed.

“He's not going to make trouble, is he?” she asked worriedly. “Did I make things worse for Caleb or Amanda? I know I have a tendency to act first and think later. If I need to, I can swallow my pride and apologize to the jerk.”

“No, I think it's best if you steer clear of him for the moment and let him stew,” Cord said. “George doesn't like people thinking ill of him. Hearing you paint a pretty negative picture in public has put his actions in a whole new light for him. Maybe he'll come around, after all. It would make things a heck of a lot easier on Caleb if he did.”

“Then maybe I did more good than harm?” Nadine asked hopefully.

“I'd say there's a very good chance of that,” Cord said.

She looked at Josh and grinned. “Maybe for once you can be proud of your mama.”

“Nadine, I was proud of you the minute I heard those words coming out of your mouth.”

She felt something warm spread through her. “Really?”

“You scared the heck out of me when I saw you pushing the buttons of a man who towers over you,” Josh admitted. “But when I realized what you were doing—standing up for Caleb and Amanda, two people you barely know—I realized just how big your heart is.”

“Honey bun, it always has been,” she told him. “I suppose you never noticed because I was usually wasting it on some useless man, instead of giving you the attention you deserved.”

“Water under the bridge,” he said, squirming uncomfortably.

Nadine would have reached across the table and given her boy a big ol' kiss, but she figured this was about as much of a Hallmark moment as he could handle, especially with Cord sitting there looking on.

“You know,” she said, suddenly thoughtful. “There's another aspect to this little incident we haven't even considered.”

“What's that?” Josh asked.

“For the first time in my life, I actually recognized a jerk before I fell for him.”

“Now that
is
cause for celebration,” Josh said. “How about ordering a steak and joining us for dinner?”

“You mean it? I won't be interrupting your business?”

Josh gave Cord a look she couldn't quite interpret.

“Nope, I'd say our business is done, wouldn't you, Cord?”

“I've covered everything I set out to cover,” Cord agreed. “Seems like a lot of people have been put on notice tonight.”

Nadine wasn't sure she liked the sound of that, but since Josh didn't seem to be troubled by the remark, she let it slide. Battling with one man had already worked up a nice, healthy appetite.

T
he whole incident between Nadine and George Winslow had made Josh uneasy. He was proud of his mother for standing up to the man, but he also knew what a powerful man was capable of doing if his temper was riled. He wouldn't put it past Winslow to find some way to make trouble for Caleb or to bring the entire Charleston building and zoning staff down on their heads with a flurry of time-consuming inspections that could hold up construction for days.

His concerns turned to reality when he arrived at the site and found Winslow already there prowling around, his expression dour.

“Anything I can do to help you, Mr. Winslow?” Josh asked, determined to be as polite as possible.

“You're in charge here?”

Josh nodded. “I'm Josh Parker.”

“Then that woman who ripped into me last night is your mother, is that right? That is what you called her when you rode in to save her from making a fool of herself.”

Josh bristled at his derisive tone. “She is, though I'm not so sure she was the one who was making a fool of herself.”

To his surprise, George ignored the remark.

“She has quite a mouth on her,” George replied instead, a faint and surprising hint of admiration in his voice.

Since that was certainly accurate, Josh didn't take offense. “Nadine believes in being direct, that's true enough.”

“Must have been hell on you growing up,” he commented.

Josh didn't see any reason to discuss his issues with Nadine with this stranger. “Are you here for a reason, Mr. Winslow?”

“Just taking a look around.”

“It's a hard-hat area. I'll get you one, if you'd like a tour.”

His gaze narrowed. “You make all your crew wear hard hats?”

“Absolutely, especially since a lot of the folks helping out here aren't used to construction. They may not recognize the dangers.”

“This place being built to code?”

“Of course.”

Winslow looked skeptical. “You have a bunch of amateurs working and you're meeting all the city regulations?”

“I'm the expert, Mr. Winslow. Nothing gets by me if it's not top quality. And we'll have professionals in to do the electrical and plumbing to make sure they meet the highest standards.”

“I see,” he said, looking vaguely disappointed. “Then you won't mind if I have some of the city's experts take a look around.”

Before Josh could utter the sharp retort that was on the tip of his tongue, Maggie suddenly appeared at his side. She tucked a hand through his arm and gave it a gentle, warning squeeze.

“Good morning, Mr. Winslow,” she said brightly. “What a pleasant surprise!”

Josh gave her a sharp look. Her tone suggested she was anything but pleased to find him here.

“Magnolia!” Winslow's gaze narrowed. “I'm surprised to see you here. I spoke to your father just last week. I thought we had an understanding.”

“Yes, I'm well aware of your conversation with my father. My mother passed along your displeasure that we're building this house. I'm astonished that you honestly expected them to do your bidding or me to pay any attention to what you want.”

“Is that why you're still here?” he said. “Another one of your infamous rebellions?”

“That's one reason,” Maggie said sweetly. “Of course, I also stopped worrying about bullies when I was in grade school.”

George Winslow's face turned so red, Josh feared for his health. “Maggie, perhaps we ought to go over those changes you wanted.”

Under other circumstances, Josh might have laughed at her startled expression.

“You want to go over them again?” she asked.

“I most certainly do,” he said, putting his hand over hers. “If you'll excuse us, Mr. Winslow, we have work to do. Feel free to pitch in and help, if you'd like. There's plenty left to do. We can always use another volunteer. As for those inspectors, bring them on, if that's what it will take to make you back off. You're not going to shut us down.”

He steered Maggie away from the man before she could utter another word. Somewhere along the way she'd apparently forgotten all about her initial goal, which had been to rescue him before he said something to set Winslow off and make matters worse.

To his surprise, she went with him without complaint, but when they were a safe distance away, she planted her feet in the dirt and glared up at him.

“Why did you do that?” she demanded. “I was just getting warmed up.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” he said with a grin. “Between you and Nadine, the man's blood pressure is probably in the stratosphere. By comparison, I was downright diplomatic.”

Maggie looked intrigued. “Nadine told him off?”

“Last night. They crossed paths in a restaurant. He said something about this project she didn't like, and that was that. She told him what she thought of him in front of a very captivated audience.”

“Brava, Nadine!” Maggie said.

Josh grinned. “It was quite a show.”

“Do you suppose that's what brought him out here first thing this morning?”

“Absolutely. I figure the housing inspectors won't be far behind,” he said glumly.

“And that could hold things up, couldn't it?” Maggie asked, finally catching on to his real concern.

“More than I'd like,” he agreed.

“Well, George Winslow isn't the only one in this town with contacts at City Hall,” she said, yanking her cell phone out of her pocket.

“Hey, slow down,” Josh said, amused by her readiness to take on the man. “Let's wait and see what he does, okay? Maybe we're getting worked up over nothing. Perhaps his conscience will kick in.”

“Men like that don't have a conscience,” she said derisively. “They have a checkbook and a big ego. George is even worse now that he stays at home all day long and studies his portfolio. Every little dip in the market turns his mood sour.”

“All the more reason to try to stay on his good side.”

“You'd pander to a man like that because he has money?”

“No. I'd pander to him to try to keep him from interfering in our work. Why waste the energy on unnecessary battles? Isn't the goal to get this house built?”

“I suppose you're right,” she said grudgingly.

Josh held back a grin. “Why, Miss Magnolia, you sound disappointed. Were you hoping to start the day with a little rabble-rousing?”

She gave him a provocative look. “I can think of
much
better ways to start my day,” she said in a voice laced with innuendo. “How about you?”

Josh stared into her eyes, trying to interpret the sudden shift in her mood. Was she actually flirting with him? It was one thing for him to have the hots for Maggie when it was a totally one-sided attraction, but if she was going to change the rules out of the blue, he was in serious trouble. Spontaneous combustion was just around the corner.

Even so, he couldn't seem to stop himself from playing the game she'd started. “Sweetheart, my blood always pumps a little faster at the sight of a woman in high dudgeon over something. Makes me want to see what other kind of heat she's capable of causing.”

Maggie's gaze never wavered from his, but she swallowed hard. That was enough to tell Josh everything he needed to know. She'd changed the rules, all right, but she wasn't entirely comfortable with the outcome.

That little hint of vulnerability scared him worse than if she'd jumped up and locked her legs around his waist and her hands behind his neck. He could handle a woman with nothing but passion on her mind, but a vulnerable woman made his palms sweat.

“I need to get to work,” he said gruffly. “Try to stay out of trouble the rest of the morning.”

He heard her indignant little huff as he walked away, but he didn't turn back. He didn't dare. If he had, he might have hauled her into his arms and taken her up on that offer she was so plainly making. Something told him
that
experiment wouldn't end as tamely as his kissing Amanda had.

 

The man was a pig, no question about it. Maggie stared after Josh and cursed him every which way. That little game she'd played had certainly blown right up in her face. When had she gotten so lousy at flirting?

She'd shown up here this morning determined to prove to Dinah and herself that she was not the least bit jealous of Amanda. She'd also wanted to prove that she had no feelings whatsoever for Josh, that Dinah had misread the entire situation.

Then, seeing George Winslow wandering around trying to foment trouble had annoyed her, and the next thing she knew she was focusing all that pent-up irritation on Josh where it promptly turned into something else entirely. She was obviously in worse shape than she'd realized if her emotions could roller-coaster like this.

Getting herself a cup of coffee while she tried to get her emotions back under control, she noticed that Josh and Amanda were together once again, their expressions intense. Josh looked as if he was hanging on Amanda's every word. Amanda seemed equally enraptured.

And there it was again, that little streak of pure, gut-deep jealousy. Maggie nearly groaned when she recognized it. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she seem to spend ten minutes with Josh without making a fool of herself? She wasn't some inexperienced fifteen-year-old.

Hell, she'd grown up flirting with boys. It was second nature to every Southern woman, at least to every one who'd been raised by someone like Juliette Forsythe, who was not only Southern to the core, but had a few French genes romping through her DNA, as well.

Great-grandmother Juliette DuBois had come to Charleston from Paris at the turn of the century. She had brought with her a few prized antiques, which were now on display at Images, but barely a
sou
in her elegant silk purse. She had proceeded to enchant one of the wealthiest merchants in Charleston. With her flirtatious charm and excellent taste, they had made a fortune, which subsequent generations had tripled and quadrupled. Now none of the descendants worked in a trade, except for Maggie, much to her mother's dismay.

If Juliette ever actually saw Maggie working at the construction site, even though she'd offered tacit approval of the mission, she would probably take to her bed with heart palpitations. Forsythes did not get their respectable hands dirty, despite Juliette's hint that she might turn up here one day. Maggie figured that would be a cold day in hell, or in summertime Charleston, for that matter.

Juliette was outspoken in her opinion that Maggie would sooner or later bring disgrace down on all of them. Over the years, Maggie had done what she could to prove her mother right.

She and Dinah had made a mockery of their debutante ball. Maggie had come as close as anyone to flunking out of school without actually succeeding. She had a hunch money had changed hands to prevent that disgrace. She'd frittered away a few years taking advanced classes in art appreciation, but had never bothered to aim for a college degree.

And then, of course, there were the men. The most unsuitable ones around, to hear her mother tell it. Maggie preferred to think of them as sexy and challenging, which, she couldn't help remembering, was precisely the label Dinah had pinned on Josh.

Until Warren. Juliette had adored Warren. She'd embraced the idea of the hasty wedding with a fervor that not even Maggie had expected. When Warren had bailed, Juliette had blamed Maggie for doing something to run him off and made her feel like a failure because of it.

“Your great-grandmama would be bitterly disappointed in you,
ma chérie,
” Juliette had said more than once. Unspoken was the fact that Juliette herself was just as bitterly disappointed, despite all her claims to the contrary.

Maggie was still pondering her track record with men when Josh propped a booted foot on a stack of two-by-fours beside her and inquired, “Aren't you supposed to be doing something besides staring off into space?”

“Am I?” she asked, surprised that he'd torn himself away from Amanda.

“You're usually busy finding some way to complicate my day,” he said. “And not ten minutes ago, I sent you off to get to work.”

“I got sidetracked. As for complicating your day, I'm fresh out of ideas.”

He grinned. “I have to say that's a pleasant change. You want something to drink? I was about to get a Coke.”

“Sure.” It was too hot for the coffee she hadn't touched, anyway.

He started to head over to the cooler that was kept stocked with iced soft drinks, then hesitated, his eyes filled with real concern. “You okay, Maggie?”

She forced a smile. “Just peachy.”

“Want to talk about it? You're not still worked up about Winslow, are you?”

“Hardly.”

“Then what?”

“Do you really care?”

“Enough to listen,” he said.

Now,
there
was an enthusiastic response. His eyes would probably glaze over if she started in on all the issues churning around in her head. “Thanks for the offer, but believe me, you really do not want to hear all about what a disappointment I am to my family.”

He looked startled. “That's what you're thinking about?”

“Yep.”

“Then basically you're feeling sorry for yourself?”

He sounded so incredulous she winced. “Ridiculous, isn't it?”

He nodded. “Pretty much. The way I see it you've got everything in the world going for you. You're gorgeous. You have friends. You have your own business. You have the money to do anything you want. How many women would give anything for a life like that?”

“You mean women like Amanda?” She heard the testy note in her voice and cringed. She was pathetic.

“For one,” he agreed. He sat down beside her and studied her curiously. “What is this thing between you and Amanda? Every time her name comes up, you act like you just got a taste of sour lemon.”