Page 27 of Forty and Fighting Dirty
A shoulder brushed against mine, and the shadow of Rhett Baldwin’s body fell across my own. “Morning, Florence. Is that my chutney you’re holding?”
“Rhett!” the woman behind the booth exclaimed, a smile stretching her mouth wide. “Good morning! It sure is, ready and waiting, as usual.”
Rhett handed her some money and took the jar, then finally turned to meet my gaze. His eyes twinkled with triumph and amusement. He was enjoying himself, and it made my blood simmer. He inclined his head. “Piper.” His gaze moved to my sons. “Boys.”
“Rhett,” I growled, curling my arms around Alec and Nate.
He tossed the jar so it spun in the air and caught it neatly with the same hand. “This stuff is the best. I buy a jar every single week. Thanks, Florence! See you next time.”
“Bye-bye now!” she called out, waving. We both looked after him, I with a scowl and she with a soft smile, until our eyes met again. Florence shook her head. “Rhett Baldwin is the reason I could start this business, you know. He bought so muchchutney that I had enough to keep coming back to the farmer’s market and even get stocked in the local grocery store.”
“Is that right,” I bit off.
“Uh-huh!” Florence replied cheerily. “Isn’t he just the best?”
My smile felt like a grimace, and my laugh was little more than a sharp exhale. “He sure is,” I replied. “The absolute best.”
NINE
RHETT
The conference roomdoor darkened for a moment that stretched a little too long. Even without looking up, I knew who lingered in the opening.
“Darling,” I called out, my eyes on the meeting minutes in front of me, my pen tapping a beat in the margin. “Nice of you to finally join us.”
A long inhale was followed by a sharp exhale. “School drop-off was hectic this morning,” she said, voice light. “The calendar invitation I’d gotten was for nine thirty. If I’d known it was moved earlier, I would’ve organized childcare.”
Mila glanced at me, and in my periphery I saw her brows tug. I’d pulled everyone into the meeting early, wanting to put Darling off-balance when she arrived.
But now she’d thrown that right back at me, and I had the feeling most of the room’s sympathy would go to her.
I met Piper’s gaze, and watched hers narrow. She took a seatat the opposite end of the long table, as far away from me as possible. She unzipped her leather folder, took out a pen, and clicked it. Then she smiled at me, all sharp edges and thinly veiled hostility. I realized with a start that I’d missed seeing her yesterday. I couldn’t get enough of her animosity, and I’d only known her a week. As if she could read my thoughts, her smile widened. “What have I missed?”
“We were just going over the program for the next eight weeks,” I replied. “How about you take it from here and tell us where you’re at with the design.”
Nothing like throwing the new hire in the deep end. I leaned back, and my chair squeaked slightly. Propping my elbows on its arms, I spread my palms in invitation for her to start. While she stood, I tented my fingers and watched.
Spots of red bloomed on her cheeks as she pushed her chair back, delicate fingers tugging the edge of her folder closer. She squared her shoulders, gave me one long, withering look, then brightened with a beaming smile.
The effect hit me like a train and flattened me. I hadn’t quite realized just how beautiful she was until that very moment, her stubbornness and persistence and determination written into every line of that smile.
“One moment,” she said.
The whispering sounds of fabric, chairs, and paper filled the room for a brief moment as everyone shifted and fidgeted during the short break. Piper ducked out the door and grabbed something she’d left just outside it. Then she reappeared with the corkboard from her office, which now bore all the samples and swatches she’d swept into her garbage can on Friday. As shemarched toward and past me, her perfume washed over me in a delicate tease.
All my muscles tightened, and I wondered what it was, exactly, I felt for this woman.
She was irritating and uppity and stubborn. And I liked it?
Piper ignored me as she propped her board against the whiteboard, using the lip that held markers and the eraser to hold her work. The corkboard wobbled slightly, and she kept a hand on the top corner as she turned to face us.
“I think I’ve met everyone in the room, but I see one or two new faces. I’m Piper Darling,” she said, all grace and charm. “Here’s something I prepared earlier.” She swept her free arm toward the board, and I glanced around the table to see growing interest on the smiling faces around the room.
The woman was beating me at my own game. She was winning these people over!
Anger simmered inside me, threatening to grow to a rolling boil.
“The concept is cozy elegance,” she said, which wasn’t at all what we’d talked about. “We’re building a small, local resort that will hopefully grow in the years to come. The way to do that is to make people feel like they’re in a home away from home. With rich fabrics, familiar colors, and enough texture to add some interest, I want to bring cabin vibes to an upscale lodge.” She unpinned that god-awful plaid swatch from the board and passed it to Todd, who sat across from me at the top end of the table nearest Piper. “We’ve got Grandpa’s favorite chair sitting by the fire.” A flick of blue eyes in my direction. A tugof her lips.
