Embraceable You (Irish Hearts Series) (28 page)

"Welcome Ladies. We're almost ready to start the style show. Never
mind the racket outside. In here is where it's happening!" The crowd applauded while Siena rolled out a red rug to establish the models’ runway. She was too busy to pay much attention outside, but she could hear a lot of noises.

Claire
peered through the front window. "Why, the main highway through town is filled with cars. I’ve never seen it so crowded here. Bumper-to-bumper. Looks like Kennebunkport’s summer traffic."

Her words were punctuated by a metal-to-metal crashing sound, followed by loud horns honking.

"What was that?" Siena rushed to the window.

"Just a fender bender,"
Claire said. "Not to worry. It’ll give the police something to do besides ogle our windows."

Siena tried to keep the style show moving smoothly, in spite of the uproar outside.
Zoey lead the parade, marching proudly bareheaded in the skimpiest of bras. The crowd cheered. They all knew about Roberta's illness and now, about her daughter's love.

The other models, especially
Claire and the older women, wore their bras and camisoles modestly draped with long, colorful silk scarves and others wore the feather masks playfully. Some of the younger women, like Zoey and Monique, moved gracefully with all lace showing and didn’t even try to hide their assets. The audience loved every minute and kept their applause going.

Near the end of the show, Siena noticed the corner across the street where a small group of men gathered around Zach, their mouths moving and their fists waving. Her heart sank. Body language told her all she needed to know.

"Don’t pay them any attention, dear," Claire said. "They’re just curious. And jealous. They want to know what we're doing in here."

But Siena couldn't help but be worried about the results of all this. However, she knew that the most beautiful of all the models was bald
Zoey. She had made her statement, for which everyone was grateful and impressed.

Before the show was over, Siena noticed that Roberta had slipped in the back of the crowd to observe. She wore her Sophia Loren wig and proved that she was nearly as gutsy as her daughter by showing up. And today, that was all that mattered.

By three in the afternoon, when the show was over, there were five rear-enders and six fender-benders right in front of
The Amazing Lace Lingerie Salon
. The three-man police force was overworked and probably underpaid for the day.

Siena was thrilled with the turnout. Many women came from neighboring villages and a few from Portland who were just curious about all the buzz. She was most proud of – not the gigantic sales - but of the endorsement and participation of most of the women in town. And everyone was touched by the love
Zoey had demonstrated so boldly for her mother.

Best of all, there were over two hundred fifty signers of the petition for a Mammo-Van. She would proudly take that to the City Council.

Zach considered the day a disaster. Even though there were crowds of people in town for Siena's grand opening, traffic jams filled the highway, something they never had in Haven't Point. There were even a few fender-benders and read-enders by rubberneckers hoping for a view of the boobs and lace. All this wouldn't bode well for Siena.

At this point Zach’s mission, whether he liked it or not, was to shake up Siena’s world. So he delayed the inevitable. Oh, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to see her. He ached to see her, hold her, to lie with her. But his news, he feared, would bring their confrontations front and center. And spring up a barrier between them. From the beginning, they were on opposite sides. Now – who knew?

He had gotten a cryptic message from his contractor but with everything going on today, he hadn't been able to reach him. Sometimes Zach got better cell phone reception outside, so he walked up the hill to Fairchild Park. For the first time in ages, he felt pride as he looked over his little town.
His town?
That’s a laugh. Things certainly weren’t going as he had planned, or even as he’d dreamed. And the town definitely was not his.

Siena, it seemed, had captured the hearts and minds of Haven's Point. Certainly,
she had the respect of the women. They were all changing. Claire and Zoey were busy doing things and had become very supportive of Siena. Even his mother was showing signs of coming into her own, in spite of her illness.

Over the months since she had arrival, Siena had done a number on his head. He cared for her more deeply than he ever believed possible, much more than he wanted to admit. A corner of his brain held out that maybe he could still salvage the town his way and have Siena, too.
Who was he kidding?
They were already on a slippery slope. His intent to fix everything and everybody was about to slide into the sea, along with his relationship with Siena.

He turned his attention to the phone and called his potential construction manager in Portland. "Hey man, what's up?"

"Zach, your project will have to wait, if it ever happens. My window of opportunity has just closed to you. At least for a year."

Zach felt alarm surge through his body.
"Hey Mike, just hang in there. Things will work out for us soon. The City Council is taking charge of this runaway train wreck."

"Won't go, Zach. Forget it for now. I’ve got another project here in Portland. Down on the waterfront. They know how to make the most of their assets to make money. I've finally got the go-ahead on another project."

Zach took a breath to try to quell his anger. "Yeah, right. Well, good for you, Mike. But you know you’re leaving me hanging out to dry, here. What happens if we get the property?"

"Let me know and I’ll see what I can do. Maybe next year. No promises, though. I’ve got a buddy who knows someone with some bucks who wants to invest in boat building. Maybe you can get him to look at Haven’s Point as a location
and forget the mall idea."

"Boat building? There’s no money in
building boats these days."

"Hell, these would be high-end, hand-crafted. Special orders, mahogany decks, stuff like that."

Zach paused to take another deep, anger-cooling breath. "Mike, you can’t back out on the mall now, after all the work we’ve done on this."

"Hell, you're giving me nothing to take to the bank. I've got bills, a family. You’ll have to get someone else to build your mall, if you’re stuck on that. Not going to be me for at least a year. This project'
s for sure. Already got money in it."

"Damn it Mike – " The phone went dead. It was all Zach could do to keep from hurling it into the bay. There was only one thing he could do with his seething anger right now. Work out at the gym. Hard.

He put everything he had into an hour workout. When he finished, even though he was a sweaty, rumpled mess, he entered the shiny new
Amazing Lace Lingerie Salon
. "Hey Siena, is it safe in here? Are all those bra-waving women gone?"

Siena was straightening the shelves and turned to give him a smile. He could see the happiness in her eyes and immediately hated himself for what he had to do. And what he
knew
would be the result.

One of the great aspects about Siena, that he loved actually, was that she couldn’t contain her joy, and didn’t even try. "It was wonderful, Zach! Did you see the crowds? It seemed like every woman came from miles around. And we’ve never had such a great sales day here in this shop! Not on any of the records I've seen."

He held his face expressionless, trying hard not to get pulled into her euphoria. "Congratulations, Siena. You drew the crowds, all right. Not to mention the traffic jams. We had more wrecks out there in one day than in a normal year."

"Next time the Chief of Police
may need to hire a couple of traffic cops to regulate the flow," Siena offered. "I’m thinking of having another one mid-summer, to kick off the season."

"Next time? Oh, I doubt we’ll have to worry about that." Zach folded his arms.

"What do you mean? This was a big success. Plus, the best thing happened – someone inquired about purchasing one of those old mermaid windows. Said she wanted a piece of antique art for her foyer. And you’ll never guess who!"

"I’m not into guessing anything at this point."

"Margeaux Fairchild. Monique’s mother."

"I'll be damned. How did she know about them?"

"Zach, don't be dense. Everybody knows about them. They just don't talk about them." Siena smiled. "Rich’s wife. That’s so satisfying, especially since he refused my loan."

"Um, I’ll bet."

"But I give Zoey all the credit for making this happen. She is a dynamo, full of creative ideas. She's going to open the art gallery and we’re going to sell the stained glass mermaids out of there. She’ll promote them online, as well as the shop. Want to see our web site? It's a virtual walk-through the shop – so cool."

He shook his head. "I don't have time. Is there much of a future in art galleries? Or online shops?"

"Oh yes. That
is
the future, Zach."

He shuffled and looked away for a moment. "Don't you think
Zoey has gotten weird lately? Even more than usual. You know that she shaved her head, right"

Siena put her hand on his arm. "I know it seems extreme to you. But this is okay. It'll grow back. It was her way of showing how much she loves Roberta and cares about what she's going through."

"Then we should all shave our heads? That's crazy!" He pounded one fist into the other palm. "She should be finishing college, getting her teaching certificate so she'll always have a job. I promised her I'd pay for it."

"That’s very nice of you. But it’s up to
Zoey. She’s very interested in art. And building websites. And doing other online things. She's very good at it."

Zach stiffened. He realized that he had lost control of everything. All his plans, all his hopes and dreams for fixing the town and giving his family their good name and reputation were dwindling fast. "Art . . . yeah," he muttered.

"But the best thing that happened, Zach, is that I got more than three hundred signatures on my petition for a Mammo-Van. Women here in Haven't Point want it, need it."

He just shook his head. "You seem to have it all going your way. But I don’t know if it’s enough to convince the Town Council. They want you to explain yourself in a special meeting next Monday night. And they'll make a decision on whether to approve your business license."

She lifted her chin defiantly. "Explain my success? Glad to."

"Siena, I’m hearing words from them like ‘moral outrage’ and 'beckoning the devil.' You have dared to defy the Puritan heritage of Haven’s Point. We’ll be the laughing stock of other coastal towns in Maine, of the whole state. You moved forward too far and too fast without their full approval. And now, after all this bra-modeling craziness, I don’t know if you can get approval for anything."

"Moral outrage? Puritan heritage?" She coughed sarcastically. "Pardon me while I call on the angels amongst us. That’s ridiculous and out-dated! The style show proves my new business is a success. Anybody can see that. I’ve had the best sales ever!"

"It's not just about sales."

"We have so many orders for the Heart's Desire pillows that we've had to pull in more help making them." She began counting on her fingers as she talked. "The mermaids are going to be a big draw for tourists. The only thing pending is the Mammo-Van, and I’m sure they’ll approve it, especially with all those signatures from my customers." She paused and shook her head. "Did you, of all people, say
Puritan heritage
?" She couldn't avoid a little laugh.

"Siena, listen to me. You still don’t get it. I want to help you, but this is all too much for a small, conservative town. Too much, too fast."

She placed her fists on her hips. "How about if you listen to me, Mr. Mayor. Haven’s Point functions on too little, too late. It’s time they got it. And you, too."

"We’ll come around. Give us time."

"Damn Zach, I thought you were on my side, here to root for me. To move Haven's Point into a new wave for a profitable future. It’s about time this town – and you – made way for the women and their bright new ideas."

"You can’t blame me for the mess this town is in, Siena! The modeling show was… was wild! It was your train wreck, not mine."

"Wrong. It was progress. And success. You knew what I was doing. Nothing was secret. I told the bank. I told you. I even showed you the products. You liked them then, remember?"

He shook his head, remembering that weekend with Siena as the best he'd ever had. "That was different."

"And the whole town was abuzz with anticipation for this event," she continued. "We even had a few customers drive up from Portland who had heard about what we're doing here and wanted to see. And to buy."

"But I didn’t know
that you were going this far! And I didn’t realize . . . I'm afraid this nearly nude modeling stunt has ruined everything for you."