Chapter 8
Eight
Jack was bent over the hotel plans on his drafting table the next afternoon when Andi tapped him on the shoulder.
“How goes it?”
Ridiculously happy to see her, he smiled. “Hey, I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I was spying on you. I like watching you work. You’re very intense,” she said, making a serious face. “What’re you doing?”
“Some fine-tuning, nothing major. What’ve you been up to?”
“We just went through the Tennis Hall of Fame. It was wonderful. What a city this is! There’s so much history to draw from. The suites will be amazing.”
“I’ll bet you can already picture them.”
“But of course. I sent the others on to Hammersmith and St. Mary’s for the Kennedy tour.”
“I thought you’d like the Hall of Fame. Was anyone playing on the grass courts?”
“We watched two matches before we dragged ourselves back to work.” She consulted her watch. “I have meetings with some artists today. Commissioning local art is a big part of our site visits.”
“I remember the lady in Alaska with the triplets.”
She groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
“After we talked about that, I was thinking you might want to look at some of Frannie’s stuff. She’s an amazing artist, and since she moved here, she’s done a lot of local work.”
“I had no idea! I’d love to see her work. Can we do it now? I have about ninety minutes until my next meeting.”
“Sure, I’m done here.” He rolled up the plans that were scattered about on his drafting table. “At this point, I’m just obsessing anyway. Let’s go.”
“Oh, Frannie, these are amazing!” Andi declared as she flipped through the stack of canvases propped against the wall in the former tool shed Jack had converted into a studio for his sister.
“You’ve been busy, Fran.” Jack leaned over Andi’s shoulder to get a look at some of his sister’s recent work for the first time. “They’re great.”
“Thanks. I’ve had more time with the girls on vacation, so it’s been a productive summer.”
“I’ll say!” Andi went through the canvases again. There were scenes of boats under sail in Narragansett Bay, a few of the mansions at unique angles, tennis players at the Hall of Fame, and children frolicking in the surf. “What’re you planning to do with them?”
Frannie shrugged. “I haven’t gotten that far. I’ve been meaning to talk to some of the local galleries about a show, but I’ve been so busy.”
Jack felt a pang of guilt over how much she’d sacrificed to help his family.
“What if I told you I’ll take them all for the hotel?” Andi stood to face Frannie and named a high six-figure price that made the siblings gasp.
Frannie’s mouth fell open in shock. “For real?”
“Your work is magnificent and brings just the local flavor we seek for our hotels. I can’t imagine why I’d look any further.”
Jack hugged Frannie. “Congratulations!”
“Who represents you?” Andi asked.
“Um, I do.”
“That makes things much simpler. I’ll take everything here and will commission about ten more specific pieces. I’ll talk to you about them once I get back to Chicago and we confirm the final plans for the suites.”
“I can do that,” Frannie said.
“You two sure have artistic genes, don’t you?” Andi asked.
“Just don’t ask our father about that,” Jack said. “He has no idea where the two of us came from.”
Frannie smiled in agreement.
After they cemented their plans, Frannie hugged Andi. “I can’t thank you enough for this.”
“I should be thanking you—I’ve stumbled upon the best there is on my first stop. Which reminds me, I need to cancel my afternoon appointments.” Andi started to go but turned back. “You aren’t planning on having triplets in the near future are you?”
Jack laughed.
Frannie looked at Andi like she was crazy. “Ah, no plans for triplets.”
“Excellent, you’re hired,” Andi said and went to the pool deck to make her calls.
After she walked away, Frannie jumped up and down with a whoop and threw herself into her brother’s arms. “Oh my God, Jack, isn’t this crazy?”
“I’m so happy for you, Fran. You deserve it.”
“I can’t wait to tell Jamie. Oh, and what’d she mean by triplets? I don’t get it.”
“They lost the last artist they hired to pregnancy with triplets.”
Frannie shuddered at the thought.
“Go celebrate. Have a good time.”
“You, too.” Frannie looked over at Andi, curled up on a lounge chair as she talked on her cell phone. She had kicked off her sandals and appeared relaxed in the late afternoon sunshine. “We need to talk one of these days. A lot’s happened.”
“Yeah, but not today.” He nudged his sister toward the house. “Go tell Jamie your news.”
The rest of the week flew by in a flurry of brainstorming sessions and planning meetings.
Most of the advance decorating work would be done from Chicago until about two months before the opening when a headquarters team would be dispatched to Newport to put the guest rooms and suites together.
Andi told Jack she didn’t relocate for final setup at new properties anymore because it required too much time away from her son.
However, she expected to make frequent short trips to keep tabs on the work.
Knowing he was unlikely to see her again for quite some time, Jack experienced a growing sense of desperation as her departure time drew near.
Over the course of the week, they’d worked closely together, shared many confidences, and forged the start of a promising friendship.
Every time he was with her, he walked away craving more, and he had a sinking suspicion he’d regret letting her leave without trying to find out if she felt the same way.
Before he could chicken out, he ventured into the office they’d given her to use for the week.
“Need any help?” Jack asked from the doorway.
Looking up, she flashed the smile that made his knees go weak. “I’m just about done.”
Now or never. Stepping into the room, he closed the door and leaned back against it. “I was just wondering…”
She sifted through a pile of folders and jammed them into her already overstuffed briefcase. “About?”
While he waited for her to look at him again, he lost his nerve. “I was going to ask if you need a ride to the airport.”
As she came around the desk, her lips quirked with amusement. “If that’s all you wanted, why’d you close the door?”
“I, um…”
She folded her arms and looked up at him with those gorgeous eyes. “What’re you wondering?”
“Just, ah…” His heart pounded like a jackhammer, and his mouth went dry as dust. “Well, I wanted to know if it’s, you know…serious…with the guy you’re seeing in Chicago.”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Could be?”
“I suppose, down the road, maybe.”
“Oh.”
“Why do you ask?”
“If you’re happy with him, then it doesn’t matter.”
She took a step closer, until only a foot separated them. “What if it matters to me? I’d like to know why you asked.”
Swallowing hard, he forced himself to continue. “If you were unattached—hypothetically speaking, of course.”
“Of course.”
“I might’ve asked if you’d consider coming back some time.”
“To work on the hotel?” she asked with a coy smile.
Exasperated, he said, “You’re enjoying this far too much.”
“I’m sorry.” He watched her make a futile attempt to curb her amusement. “You were saying?”
“Would you? Consider coming back? To, um, see me? If you were unattached. Hypothetically.”
Taking the final step to close the distance between them, she reached up to caress his face.
“Andi…”
“Yes, Jack?”
Suddenly, he couldn’t seem to get air to his lungs. “What’re you doing?”
She wound her arms around his neck to draw him down to her. “This.”
At the instant his lips connected with hers, he was lost.
The sensation of her tongue caressing his made Jack feel light-headed and empowered at the same time.
Leaning back against the door, he put his arms around her and lifted her for a better angle.
“This is so crazy, but I can’t resist you.
” He tipped his head and went back for more, nearly imploding from the heat of the sensual kiss.
In desperate need of air and searching for sanity, he nuzzled her neck, breathing in the scent that was so uniquely hers.
“Jack—”
“Come back,” he whispered. “Not for work but because you want to see me. Come back, Andi.”
“When?” She sounded as breathless as he felt.
“Soon. Next weekend?”
“I don’t know.” Her hands moved to his chest. “I’ll have to see what’s going on at home.”
“I want to see you again.”
A knock on the door startled them.
“Ready to go, boss?” Andi’s colleague, Michael, asked from the hallway.
She rubbed a trembling hand over her swollen lips. “I’ll be right there.” Looking up at Jack, she studied him for a long moment. “I need to think about it.”
“Okay.” Jack rested his hand on the doorknob while she collected her briefcase and belongings. All the while, he watched her, memorizing every detail.
As he was about to open the door, she stopped him. Going up on tiptoes, she pressed her lips to his cheek. “I’ve never kissed him,” she whispered.
Somehow he managed to open the door. Somehow he managed to let her walk away. Somehow he managed to start breathing again.
Jack thought endlessly about that kiss. He replayed every nuance of his last minutes with her.
When he was supposed to be working, he thought about the kiss.
When he was supposed to be paying attention in meetings, he replayed the kiss and pondered the meaning of her parting words.
When he was supposed to be sleeping, he thought about how it had felt to hold her.
He’d kissed his share of women, but no other encounter had ever rocked his world quite the way this one had—a realization that filled him with giddy hope and crushing guilt.
What was wrong with him that he was thinking so much about another woman while his wife lay comatose and helpless?
Quinn stepped into the office and cleared her throat to get his attention.
“Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”
“I might ask you the same thing. Where the heck are you this week?”
“Nowhere. Here.”
“Is something wrong? Is it Clare?”
“No,” he said, once again filled with guilt. No, he wasn’t obsessing over his sick wife—not anymore. “Nothing’s wrong.”
She studied him for a second or two and then handed him several files. “The weekly conference call with Infinity is in twenty minutes. Do you want me to reschedule?”
His heart beat faster at the reminder that he’d get to speak to Andi again. Soon. “No need.”
“All righty, then. I’ll let you get to it.”
“Thanks.”
In preparation for the meeting, Jack forced himself to take note of the files Quinn had given him, while trying to stop thinking about Andi and THE KISS.
That damned kiss! By the time he dialed into the call, he was almost mad with her for twisting him into knots and then leaving him hanging without a word for two days.
But then he heard her voice on the phone, and a burst of wild desire chased away the anger.
He tried to focus on the call and not on the memory of how it had felt to hold her, to kiss her, to be engulfed by her alluring scent.
When he tuned back in to the meeting, ten minutes had gone by, and Jack had no idea what he’d missed.
They wrapped up a short time later, and Andi asked him to stay on the line.
While she waited on her end for the others to leave, he suffered in silence.
“How are you?” she finally said.
“Great. You?”
“I’m good. It’s always nice to get home to Eric.”
“I’m sure.” What’re we doing? he wanted to shout. What’re you doing to me?
After a long, pregnant pause, she said, “So, I’ve been thinking…”
“About?”
“Coming back to visit.”
Jack sat up straighter in his chair. “And?” Please don’t let her say no. Please.
“How does the weekend after next sound?”
Thrilled, he gave the calendar a quick scan and found the second weekend in September wide open. “That sounds good.”
She released a long deep breath that told him this conversation was making her as nervous as it was making him. “So I’ll send you my flight info?”
“I’ll pick you up. Do you think…”
“What?”
Feeling like an awkward teenager, he said, “Could I maybe call you before then? Ten days is a long time.”
Her soft laughter rippled through the phone and stirred emotions he hadn’t experienced in far too long. “Sure. I’d like that.”
“So, um, what about the guy you’ve been dating?”
“I told him last night we couldn’t see each other anymore.”
Overwhelmed with relief, Jack wanted to rest his head on the desk. “What did you tell him?”
“That some things had changed, and it wasn’t going to work out.”
“What’s changed?” he asked in a teasing tone, needing to hear her say it, to confirm he wasn’t the only one who felt the magnetic pull.
“I’m not quite sure yet, but I couldn’t come visit you as long as he thought we were together.”
Jack released a deep breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding. “Andi?”
“Yes?”
“Are you scared? Of whatever this is?”
“I’m petrified.”
Laughing, he said, “That makes two of us. How am I supposed to wait ten days to see you again?”
“You could come here…”
“I can’t,” he said, groaning with frustration. “Jill has a lacrosse game, and Maggie’s playing soccer.”
“It’s only ten days. You’ll survive.”
“I’m not sure I will. How do you feel about spending the weekend on the boat?” In a rush of words, he added, “There’re plenty of beds and a shower and everything we need.”
“That sounds great. Perfect, in fact.”
“All right, then. It’s a date.”
“I can’t wait.”