Chapter 9
Josie had always struggled with praise, and she’d taken Adam’s comment about putting people at ease as high praise indeed. The funny thing was, she’d always thought the same about him.
On the trip to Bethesda, she’d had an opportunity to watch Adam and Cameron in action.
Cam presented as more stoic and uncomfortable expressing his feelings.
Cam’s love language, using the pop-psychology term, was action.
Adam, on the other hand, seemed much warmer and more open, comfortable putting his feelings into words.
While Cam had purchased the plane tickets, booked their rooms, and had an apartment all lined up and waiting for Jake in Boston, it was Adam who had spoken to a distraught Jake unabashedly and from the heart, and his words had landed. It was Adam who’d coaxed Jake to accept their help.
As much as Josie believed she did put people at ease—she must, or else she’d have no clients—she was nowhere near as comfortable in her skin as Adam seemed to be in his.
Having spent half the day with him, she realized how much she enjoyed his company.
The conversation flowed. He laughed easily and listened intently, and she had to admit, he was really, really nice to look at.
A more rugged Prince Harry, in her opinion.
The moment that thought passed through her head, she felt heat rise in her cheeks again.
She should not be thinking about him that way.
The man had lost his beloved wife just over a year ago.
The fact that he could hold a conversation with Josie, and that he seemed interested in her plans and ideas, did not mean he was interested in her.
Men, in general, weren’t all that interested in her, at least once they got to know her.
It seemed she came with too much baggage and wasn’t worth the effort romantically.
“Where’d you go?” Adam asked.
His voice held a teasing note, but Josie schooled her features. Her runaway thoughts were totally inappropriate, and she wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize their working relationship.
“Sorry, I was thinking about how to approach our upcoming conversation,” she said with a half-smile.
“I think you just lay out your vision for the center and hope the idea resonates with Holly,” he said.
“I agree,” Josie said with a nod, and then they were pulling down a long, tree-lined driveway.
“My property is to the west, and there’s a stretch of twenty-five acres in between. Here we are.”
A small Cape Cod style house appeared. The shingles were a weathered gray and the shutters and trim a creamy white.
The flower boxes under every window burst with color, and a large apple tree blossomed in the front yard.
A bicycle with training wheels, a bucket of sidewalk chalk, and an assortment of balls littered the paved driveway.
Adam parked his Range Rover well away from the toys and behind an older model Subaru wagon. Before Josie could gather her purse and laptop bag, he was out his door and opening hers.
“Oh, thank you,” she said.
She shouldn’t have been flustered by the gesture, but she dropped her laptop bag and stumbled when her feet hit the ground. Adam steadied her with a gentle hand to the elbow and then reached down to pick up her bag.
Josie sighed and briefly squeezed her eyes shut. She’d always tended toward clumsiness, and years of ballet classes obviously hadn’t cured her of it. Mumbling her thanks, she stiffly shouldered the bag and headed toward the front door.
Adam kept pace with her. When he placed a hand on her lower back, his warm touch sent a shiver directly up her spine. Josie had the sudden urge to lean into him, to feel his warmth everywhere, and she’d bet her favorite pair of fuzzy slippers that he smelled as good as he felt.
No, no, no. What on earth was wrong with her?
She could not be crushing on Adam. Absolutely not.
And yet, she suspected the minute she got home, kicked off her practical brown flats, and poured a glass of wine, she’d be replaying every word of their conversations, reviewing every touch, and imagining his hands on more than just her back.
Thankfully, they reached the door before Josie’s runaway thoughts could devolve into explicit, full-fledged fantasies.
Adam knocked, and a few moments later, they were greeted by a blond-haired wisp of a girl.
If an elf and a fairy produced an offspring, she might look like Holly.
Josie’s secret passion for fantasy romance novels may have contributed to the analogy, but Holly was truly beautiful in an ethereal, delicate way.
Adam had been right; there was something about the young woman that made Josie want to tread gently.
Adam took a step back when the door opened. “Hi, Holly. Thanks so much for meeting with us. This is my friend and colleague, Dr. Josie Callahan.”
“Hello,” Holly answered softly, and gestured for them to come in.
Before Josie could utter a word, a sturdy, blond five-year-old boy ran into the room. He skidded to a stop when he saw the visitors standing in his living room. His eyes darted back and forth between Adam and Josie before he focused in on Josie.
“I lost a tooth,” he declared proudly, giving Josie a wide smile.
Josie knelt to his eye level and said, “You certainly did.”
“It fell out in the night and I accidentally swallowed it. I didn’t get a bellyache, though.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Josie said solemnly. The boy’s mouth was still open in a gap-toothed grin. “Looks like there’s plenty of room for your big-boy tooth to come in.”
“Yup,” he said, nodding.
“I’m Josie. What’s your name?”
“Gabriel Thomas Bailey.”
“That’s a very good name,” Josie said.
“I like it,” the little boy answered before turning on his heel and running out of the room.
Josie stood. “He’s adorable,” she said to Holly.
The young woman shook her head, an exasperated smile on her face. “He’s a handful, but he’s got a big heart.”
Holly invited them into her kitchen and offered them tea. Josie sat closest to her and blew on the hot liquid, formulating her words.
“First of all, I’m so very sorry for the loss of your grandmother.”
“Thank you,” Holly whispered.
Josie took a sip of her tea before changing subjects. “We’d like to talk to you about purchasing some of your property.”
Holly gave a short nod.
“Adam’s company, along with a few other mutual friends of ours, has started a foundation in support of trauma victims. Instead of donating money to other organizations, the foundation wants to build a healing center.
I’ve been hired on as the director, and our first order of business is to find a place to build. ”
Holly’s eyes widened. “Wow.”
Josie leaned forward slightly and gave Holly an earnest look.
“If you aren’t interested in selling your land, please let us know now, and we won’t bother you again.
We don’t want you to feel any pressure. Truly.
We just thought, if you were looking to sell some of the property, you might be interested in our project. ”
Holly’s eyes filled, but she sniffed and held back her tears. “This land all belonged to my gram. When I was little, I came here in the summers. Now that she’s gone, it’s hard to think about letting any of it go, but I really can’t manage it, and I could use the money.”
Holly’s candor surprised Josie, but when she glanced at Adam, he lifted an eyebrow and gave her a small smile as if to say, “I knew you were the right one to have this conversation.”
Josie cleared her throat and continued. “I’m sure you feel a strong connection to the land, and you have to make the best choice for you and your son. Whatever that is, we’ll understand, but if you’d like to hear more about the project, I’m happy to share.”
With Holly’s encouragement, Josie spent the next thirty minutes or so outlining their vision for the center. Josie’s enthusiasm grew as the dream came to life in her mind. When Gabe barreled into the room yet again, Josie knew it was time to leave. She gathered her bag, and she and Adam stood.
“Please reach out if you have any questions for us.”
Holly took the business card Josie offered her.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about,” the young woman said as she walked them to the door. “I promise I’ll get back to you soon.”
When they were back on the highway, Josie sighed and let her head fall against the seatback. “This was a good day.”
Adam smiled at her. “It was.”
“Holly and her son are very sweet. I hope she’ll consider our offer.”
“I think she will. She sounded interested in the project, and I think we were right that it might make it easier for her to see the land well-used.”
Josie nodded. “I’d like to get a better look at the property before we make an official offer. Once we hear back from Holly, we should walk the land and get a feel for where things might go.”
Josie tried to keep her excitement in check. This could be one of many pieces of land they’d have to consider, but she had a good feeling about things.
When Adam dropped her at her building, he put the hazard lights on his big SUV and walked her right to her doorstep.
When she turned to say goodbye, his deep blue eyes held her gaze.
For the space of a heartbeat, she thought he might kiss her, but when she blinked, he took a step backward and waved.
It was probably just her imagination, she told herself as she mumbled an awkward goodbye.
Just as she’d predicted, though, once her shoes were off, a glass of wine poured, and a salad tossed together for dinner, Josie found herself reviewing each of the interactions she’d had with Adam over the course of the day.
The man was attentive, warm, and intelligent.
They’d definitely worked well together, and they shared the same enthusiastic passion for building the center.
Not a single word, glance, or touch escaped her scrutiny, but she couldn’t reach any kind of conclusion with certainty.
Josie made people want to share their dark secrets and heavy burdens.
Adam made people feel special. Of course, that didn’t mean he felt anything particularly special for Josie, and although she could deny it all she wanted, she definitely felt something special for him.
She was attracted to him and she liked him. A lot.
As she settled in at her kitchen table, with her wine and meager dinner, Josie considered how to handle her unexpected, unwanted feelings.
She wouldn’t see Adam again until the following week.
While this project was a priority for him, the majority of his time was still spent running TSI with Cameron.
The distance felt like a good thing. Josie had already set up shop in her home office, and she had plenty to do.
All thoughts about her new work colleague going forward would be purely professional.