“Uh-huh, great. Always good to give back, but . . .” The reporter scratched his chin, stalling. “Isn’t it true you didn’t turn in your proposal until after you had not only won a date with Ms. Ryan, but gone on that date with her?”
Cherry had wandered over to look out of one of the few intact windows, her back to the group of men. From the corner of his eye Jason saw her head jerk around toward them, saw the half step she took before stopping. Her eyes closed, she mouthed something to herself, and he watched enchanted as those lush breasts rose and fell with each deep breath she took.
“I believe it’s just as important to pay it back as it is to pay it forward,” Jason said through clenched teeth. Man, what was this guy’s point?
Dave stepped forward. “Rebuilding the community center is very important to both me and Jason. We spent numerous hours out on those playgrounds. We’d hate for the kids growing up here now to no longer have this resource.”
“Riiight.” The reporter zeroed back in on Jason and waved his finger back and forth between Jason and Cherry. “So you two are dating now and you have the contract on the center, is that correct?”
“No.” Cherry shoved her way forward, her head shaking a vehement denial, and if that wasn’t enough, the tone and volume of her voice should have got the message across.
“Mr. Ford, I believe you were invited here to discuss the center and the plans to rebuild it. If you’re done, I’d be happy to show you the way out.” Jason stepped forward, making the reporter step back.
“No thanks, I’ve seen and heard all I need.”
The jerk and his sidekick left, but not before they got one more picture of Cherry with him and Dave standing amid the rubble. Another minute and Jason’s reputation wouldn’t have been of the hometown boy making good, but rather like-father-like-son, and end up with him calling Brody to bail him out of jail.
They walked outside to get some fresh air together, making a loop around the property while the three discussed the plans to get started on Monday morning. When they rounded back to their starting point, Dave excused himself to make a call, leaving the two of them standing there staring at each other.
Cherry reached up and rubbed at her shoulders, head tilted. “Look, I’m sorry about the reporter. I have an idea of how he got the details, but I’m not sure what the point was. One of the committee members, Stan, was against awarding you the contract. We argued over it. He lost.”
“It’s okay.”
“No it’s not. Anyway, I’m sorry the reporter ambushed you like he did. I didn’t realize Stan would go to such extreme measures to get back at me.” She took a step away. “I’ll see you Friday at three for our first walk-through.”
He took a step in her direction, reached for her hand and then stopped. “About that, I was thinking after the walk-through maybe we could get a bite to eat.”
Her nose scrunched up as she studied him. Wary, as if unsure what he was up to now. “Are you asking me on another date, Mr. Valentine?”
He chuckled at her half-amused look. He couldn’t blame her given the circumstances of their first date. The woman was affecting his brain. He hadn’t meant to ask her out. He’d meant to steer clear, keep his head down, and do his job well. He didn’t need her friendship to get the recommendation he needed when this project ended. To be honest, it would be better all around for him to stick to business. He wasn’t looking for a relationship—been there, done that, got the burn marks to prove it. Yet he couldn’t get her out of his head and he wanted to know why.
“Absolutely not, Ms. Ryan. I’m asking a business colleague to dinner.” His gaze dropped to her luscious lips as he remembered their first date and the scorching-hot kiss. How he had wanted to kiss her again last night, to test his reaction to her. Maybe it had been a onetime thing, his losing his head, maybe not, but they did say the third time was the charm. He looked up, caught her staring at his mouth, and smiled. “And if you’re up to it, coffee and cannoli?”
Chapter Eight
L
uck finally took pity on Cherry. Despite the mild winter, and promise of a warm spring and early summer, the dressing rooms were empty, allowing her and Tawny to snag rooms next to each other and talk freely without anyone else hearing their conversation.
“This morning’s interview was a disaster. The reporter focused on the blasted show and me. Then he insinuated Jason and I were sleeping together and that’s why Jason got the contract. The jerk completely ignored what I had to say about the center’s role in the community. We need a better PR campaign where we can keep the attention on the work being done on the center and what it will offer and off my personal life. I didn’t sign up for this to get airtime. If, in the end, not everyone sees me as the wicked, greedy person Ari painted, great, but it really is about the community.”
Tawny leaned against the doorjamb, brows drawn down in concentration. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about the fact Stan had set up this morning’s interview. Let him play his childish games. We have our own sources and I think it’s time we called them in. I’ll call Heather over at the radio station and Jeanine Miner to see if I can get some on-air interviews so I can bring the focus back to where it should be. And let’s not forget Jeanine’s date, the newscaster from the other station. I’ll work on those while you handle Valentine and the inspections.” She stepped into her room, closing the door.
Media or Jason? Tough choice, or it would be if either of them acted on the lust floating between them this morning. Complications, who needed them? Definitely not her, not even when they came wrapped up in six feet of delectable desire. “Deal. He asked me out again—strictly for business.”
“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Tawny teased from the other dressing room. “You are going, right? You better have said yes.”
“Tawny, it’s just dinner and shop talk. That’s it. We’re going to do the site inspection on Friday and then talk about our mutual goals.” Cherry tugged the top of the tankini farther down to hide her tummy. While it helped, it didn’t cover up her full thighs. Maybe she’d try on one of those suits with the little skirt instead. Not that it mattered; she had no intention of parading these thighs in front of anyone anytime soon.
“I think you should make seducing Mr. Jason Valentine one of your goals. He’d be a good rebound fling, and you never know, it could turn into something more. You need to get back in the game. Ugh.”
“What?” Cherry asked as she fought to pull the top off.
“None of these bathing suits are working for me.” Tawny paused, but Cherry didn’t hear her struggling to get out of the suit like she had to do. “You’ll never find Mr. Right sitting around your apartment with Tucker, you know. Okay, every one in this batch makes my boobs look huge, not to mention my butt.”
“I have dated. It’s not my fault they all turned out to be toads and not worth a second date. And, sweetie, your boobs are huge. You could give Dolly a run for her money and, well, your butt, let’s not go there.”
“What?”
“Kidding. You’re more like Dolly’s little sister. Feel better?”
“No.” Tawny knocked on her door. “Let me see the one you got on.”
“Why, so you can tell me how
grande
my boobs are?” She pulled the door open and waited.
Tawny stood, finger tapping the side of her mouth before giving her the twirl sign.
“It’s not bad, but it smooshes you. You’ve got cleavage, show it off. Let’s go find some more to try on.” Tawny pulled the door closed on her.
“How come I didn’t get to see any of yours? I’m betting they all looked fabulous on you, everything always does.” She slipped back into her clothes, gathered up the unwanted suits, and left the dressing room. “I get to see the next batch on you, every one of them. Anyway, Jason and I are work colleagues now and there’s nothing between us.”
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
She hung the bathing suits up and walked out into the racks. She needed to keep it simple. No more fantasies about Jason and melted chocolate.
Tawny handed her a couple more suits to try on and continued to flip through the rack. “Come on, Cherry, the guy’s sexy as all get-out and you’re going to tell me you haven’t felt one little zing when you’re with him?”
Little zing? Nope, there had been nothing little about the zings she had felt. Huge, whopping, monstrous, I-want-to-rip-his-clothes-off-type zings, sure, she’d felt those. “No, no little zings.” She thrust a few suits into Tawny’s hands and pulled her friend back toward the dressing room.
Tawny stopped at a rack and began flipping through the clothes. She pulled out a deep royal blue blouse, then turned to the next rack and continued her frantic search.
“What are you doing?” Cherry asked.
“Since we’re here, I thought we might as well get you a few new items for your wardrobe. You’ll be making weekly trips to the center for the inspections and you’ll need appropriate clothes to wear.”
“Appropriate clothes would be jeans, a T-shirt and boots. Those”—she pointed to the shirts in Tawny’s hands—“are better suited for a nightclub.”
“Try them on, please? For me?”
She should have known Tawny had an ulterior motive for shopping, she always did. To appease her friend she agreed to try on the tops. It didn’t mean she had to buy them, though.
Back in the dressing room, Tawny asked, “What kind of mutual goals are you going to discuss?”
“I don’t know. Like why the center project means so much to each of us. They went to some extreme measures to get the contract. I’d like to know why.”
“Are you going to tell him everything about why it means so much to you?”
“You mean like the nightmares, panic attacks, and counseling? Are you crazy? There’s no need to tell him every sordid detail. Most people know I spent time at the center. I’ll simply expand on what’s already known, but without going too deep. He’ll get the picture, think I’m some kind of ultra-sentimentalist, and his curiosity will be satisfied.” She stepped out of the room, tapped on Tawny’s door, and waited for her.
The door opened to reveal Tawny looking like a fifties pinup goddess in a sexy deep red one-piece that cupped her breasts, lifting and separating them, while the bottom half covered just enough to leave the imagination going in overtime. Cherry smiled wide, nodding.
“You don’t think it looks too matronly?”
“Are you kidding? That Upton chick has nothing on you.”
“Laying it on a little thick, don’t you think?” Tawny rolled her eyes at her and turned back to the mirror.
“Honest. You have to buy this one because if you don’t, I’m buying it for you.”
They tried on the rest of the swimsuits for fun, because a girl could always use more than one suit. Even though hers would sit in the drawer all summer long. In the end she kept the royal blue blouse Tawny had picked out for her. As for the swimsuits, they all went back on the rack.
As they walked out of the dressing room, Tawny stopped in mid-stride. “Why not take a chance with Jason? What’s the worst that can happen?”
Cherry sank down onto the cushioned bench, usually reserved for tired moms or patient lovers. She knew what Tawny was thinking—that she’d already been betrayed on a national level, then hit rock bottom, so there was nowhere left to go but up. Right? Except it had taken her almost a full year to pull herself out of the pit she’d sunk into after the show. What if she couldn’t make it out next time?
“He’ll figure out I’m crazy and share it with the world.”
“You’re not crazy. Maybe a little neurotic, but aren’t we all?”
Cherry fiddled with the hangers, her voice dropping low. “I want to trust Jason, I do. I mean, we just handed him the rec center. It’s our baby. Opening myself back up for heartache to Jason or anyone is hard. Plus, he’s already proven he’ll do whatever to get what he wants regardless how it affects others. He reminds me a little of Ari.”
“He’s nothing like that jerk. Well, okay, a little, but only the good parts. Give him a chance.”
Cherry looked up to her friend. If only she could have Tawny’s confidence. “I don’t know if I’m ready, if I’m strong enough to get through another breakup.”
Tawny sat down next to her, wrapped her arm around Cherry, and leaned her head against Cherry’s. “Maybe you won’t have to. Maybe you’ll break his heart. Maybe you’ll fall in love and live happily ever after. Which ever way it goes, I’ll be here for you, best friends forever, and so will your grandparents.”
A small laugh escaped. “You won’t always be there for me. Someday you’ll have a family of your own and won’t be able to drop everything to come take care of your neurotic pal. Plus, my grands are in their seventies. As much as they’d like to convince me otherwise, they won’t be around for eternity. I need to learn to stand on my own.”
Tawny stood, pulling her up with her. “Chica, that’s what friends and family are for. Now, let’s go pay for these and get some lunch. I’m famished.”
“Speaking of crazy, have you stopped by to see my grandparents lately?” Cherry asked as they got in line to pay.
“No, I really need to. What’s going on with them?” Tawny asked as she paid for her purchases.
“I’ll tell you over lunch. Trust me, this story requires sitting down and food.”
They made the quick walk to Panera next door, ordered their lunches, and claimed a table in the corner. Tawny dug into her strawberry, chicken, and poppy seed salad.
She pointed to Cherry’s large bowl of macaroni and cheese. “That looks yummy.”
“It is, and I shouldn’t be eating it. It’s about five hundred million points on my diet. Some days like today call for comfort food, as does this conversation.”
Cherry explained her grandfather’s extra-strange behavior the last time she saw him, sparing no details. After all, what were friends for if not to share your pain and embarrassment? However, her major concern had been about her grandmother’s health and energy level. At this stage of life, she knew they could be taken away from her without any warning signs. So many people she knew never even got to know their grandparents. She counted every day as a blessing, knowing she was one of the lucky ones, yet still—call her greedy—she wasn’t ready to say good-bye to either of them. Since her parents’ strange disappearance, they were her entire world. The only family she had left.
“Wait, you’re telling me Gramps is on Viagra and buying Sylvia Day books? Like her erotica books?”
“Yep.”
“Way to go, Gramps.”
“Tawny,” she exclaimed, snorting soda out of her nose.
“Come on, it’s pretty amazing when you think about it. It could also explain why Gram’s tired all the time. Forget me finding a Latin lover, I’m going to find me a red-headed Irish boy to keep me satisfied for the next sixty years.”
Cherry pushed her empty bowl away, laughing her butt off. “I’ll keep my eyes open for you. Seriously, though, how am I supposed to find out if that’s what’s wrong with Gram? I can’t come out and ask, ‘Are you and Gramps doing it every night?’ ”
“Yes, could be kind of awkward. So what are you going to do?”
“The only thing I can, snoop through her medicine cabinet the next time I’m over and see if she’s on any new kind of medication.”
“What about Jason, what are you going to do about him? And don’t tell me there’s nothing going on there. I can tell by how adamantly you deny it. If you were indifferent to him, you wouldn’t have mentioned this dinner date. Not to mention I probably wouldn’t hear his name five or six hundred times in every five-minute conversation.”
“Ha.” She wadded up her napkin, beaning Tawny in the face. “I’m not going to do anything about him. Our relationship is strictly work-related. I’ll be cordial, professional, and any fantasies I may have about a certain contractor, I’ll keep to myself.”
“What do you mean they’re going to revoke the contract?” Jason paced across the deck, rubbing the knots forming as Brody spoke.
He had gathered in the backyard with Dave and Brody to celebrate the contract officially being theirs. So far all his best friends had done was put a damper on his mood. Dave rehashed the interview, leaving no details out for Brody’s benefit. Jason found every time Elmo Ford’s name was brought up he wanted to go back and pound his face in—which made no sense. Brody assured him he couldn’t take legal action against the guy for being an ass or for asking questions. Then Dave, the fountain of good news, announced he’d read in the tabloids that Cherry Ryan had her some new man candy, and accompanying the story was a picture of Jason. If that wasn’t enough to turn his celebratory mood to crap, Brody, ever the lawyer, laid a bombshell on them. Word had it the rec center’s board of directors was thinking of revoking the contract.
Jason had to wonder if Bronson had anything to do with the discussion. After all, the man was a huge benefactor to the neighborhood, and everyone thought him a saint. Except those who’d worked for the man before.
“Read the fine print, Cupid, if they aren’t satisfied with your work or the progress you’re making at any time during the reconstruction, they can rescind the contract and award it to a different contractor.” Brody sat with one leg bent, resting across the other, tapping the half-empty beer bottle against his knee.
“What’s to worry about? Our work is excellent,” Dave chimed in while flipping the ribs over on the grill. Five minutes ago the smell had his mouth watering. Thanks to Brody’s news, the only thing he wanted now was another beer to forget this day.
“That’s a standard clause in any contract. You know that, Bro. So what’s the big deal?” Jason asked.
“Word is RIB is sour about losing the bid for the rec center. They have a man on the inside who has plans to take the contract from you and award it to them,” Brody said.
Stan. He hadn’t thought of him until now, but it made sense. It’d been rumored on numerous occasions that RIB outbid others by having a man on the inside of each job. Wouldn’t surprise Jason, he’d seen it done with the company he’d first learned the business from. It was one lesson Jason never repeated with his own company. He won his jobs based on his reputation, his honesty, and his hard work. Since Jason had never met Stan before, the only conclusion as to why the man would be adamantly against Valentine getting the contract had to be that it cut into his retirement fund.