“Its always the time.”
“Ignore them,” Jordan murmured and pressed his lips to Danas forehead.
“I am.”
“Theres something I have to do,” he said again. “So I have to renege on giving you a hand around here today.”
“But—”
“Its important,” he interrupted. “Ill explain it tonight.”
“We all need to get together tonight and go over what you wrote. Im running out of time.”
“Why dont we meet at Flynns? Its the most central.” He glanced over. “Is that okay with you, Malory?”
“Sure. The kitchens not finished yet, so we wont get food like we did at Brads. Actually, even with the kitchen finished we wouldnt get food like we had at Brads.”
“Pizza and beer works for me,” Dana said. “Thats my girl.” Jordan kissed her again. “Ill see you there.”
“Youve got something up your sleeve.” Dana narrowed her eyes. “I can see it. If youre thinking about messing with Kane—”
“Hes got nothing to do with this. Ive got to go, or Im not going to get it all done. Brad, youre coming with me.”
“I havent finished here.”
“You go. Take him,”Zoe said, pointing at Brad. “Leave the sander. All will be well here.”
“Youre not hauling that thing upstairs by yourself.”
“Its not that heavy, and Im not that weak.”
“Youre not carrying it up those stairs.”
“Jesus, Vane, cart the thing up and be done with it.” Grinning, Jordan slung his arm around Danas shoulder. “Dont you know how to handle a woman?”
“Kiss my ass.” Brad turned on his heel and strode away.
“I can do it myself,”Zoe began.
“Zoe.” Basking in the glow of love rediscovered, Dana shook her head. “Stop being a jerk.”
“I cant help it.”Zoe lifted her hands, let them fall. “He brings out the jerk in me.” She heard him cursing under his breath as he carried the sander toward the steps, and folded her arms over her chest. “Im not going to say anything. Im not going to do anything.”
“Good plan. Why dont you grab a roller?” Malory suggested. “We can finish in here, then start upstairs.”
“Can I just say you women are doing a hell of a job with this place?”
“There, see?” Delighted,Zoe walked over and gave Jordan a loud kiss on the cheek. “Heres a secure man who has respect for a womans abilities.”
“Absolutely. Nothing sexier than a self-sufficient woman.”
“Lap it up, Hawke, lap it up.” Dana nudged him aside. “Now take your playmate and run along. Weve got work to do.”
She waited until Jordan and Brad had gone out, then dashed to the window to spy on them. “Whats he up to? Yeah, yeah, Brads asking him what gives right now. I can tell. But hes not saying. Hes not saying because he knows Im standing here watching. Damn it!”
She jerked back with a laugh as Jordan looked straight at her through the glass. “You just cant pull one over on Jordan. God, I love that about him.”
“Im so happy for you.” Malory sighed. “And if were not careful, were going to start another weep-o-rama.”
“Since Ive leaked more in this one day than I have the entire past year, lets paint.” Dana turned, gave her biceps an exaggerated flex. “Hes right, you know. Were doing a hell of a job with this place.”
THEY worked downstairs until the walls were done, then took a coffee break, sitting on the floor to admire them. “The floors in Danas section need to be damp-mopped. You need a clean surface before theyre sealed.”
“I dont know how the sealing part goes.”
“Its easy,”Zoe told her. “Ill show you. Once theyre sealed, dried good and hard, you can start moving stuff in.”
“Wow!” Since Danas stomach jumped, she pressed a hand to it. “It gets more real every day. I ordered the shelves. If they get here when theyre supposed to, along with the other stuff I ordered—and the first shipments of books—I should be setting up in a couple of weeks. Maybe less. And I have a potential employee.”
“You didnt say anything about that.”Zoe punched her lightly on the arm. “Who is it?”
“Its a woman I met when I was working in the library. I ran into her at the grocery store, and one thing led to another. Shes personable, presentable, likes to read, wants a job, and isnt looking for a big salary. Shes going to come by sometime and get a look at the place. If she doesnt run screaming, I think Ive got myself a bookseller.”
“Zoe, how soon do you think I can start moving stock in?” Malory asked.
“I think next week.”Zoe sipped coffee, glanced around the room. “Its all coming together so well, I dont want to jinx it, but I really think next week. Its going to take me a little longer. Theres more to set up in a salon. And we still have to replace some of these windows. Plus theres going to be a good, long list of punch-out work.”
“I love it when she talks the manly talk,” Dana commented. “Now lets go up and play with the sander like men.”
“First,”Zoe said in a fair imitation of Brads most clipped tone, “its not a toy.”
“Jeez.” Dana laughed her way to her feet. “You slay me.”
Chapter Seventeen
YOU sure about this?” Brad studied Jordan, and the square-cut ruby ring in his hand. “Yeah. I think. Shed like this better than the traditional diamond.”
“I dont mean the ring. I mean what youre buying the ring for.”
“Im sure. A little queasy, but sure.”
“Im not going to take offense,” Flynn decided. “I could take offense that asking my sister to marry you makes you queasy, but I wont.”
Jordan smiled a little as he turned the ring under the light. Hed wanted them both with him when he took this step. A kind of circle, he supposed, just as the ring was a circle. He couldnt say either of them had been thrilled to be hauled off to Pittsburgh and into a jewelry stone, but theyd come through.
They always did.
“I think this is the one. I know she is.” He offered the ring to Brad. “You know more about this stuff than either of us. Give me an opinion of the rock.”
Behind the counter, the jeweler began to make noises.
“Yeah, yeah.” Jordan waved him off. “I know the spiel. Id rather hear what my pal here has to say.”
“I can assure you that stone is an excellent quality. Burmese ruby at three carats, set in eighteenkarat gold. The craftsmanship of the—”
“Why dont you get me a loupe?” Brad suggested pleasantly. “The guys buying an engagement ring. Its a moment.”
He might not have been happy, but the potential sale had him producing a jewelers loupe and offering it to Brad.
Playing it out, Brad hemmed, hawed, andhmmmed before setting both the ring and the loupe on the black velvet pad. “Youre buying yourself a hell of a rock,” he said. “It hits the three Cs— color, cut, clarity, and at three substantial carats, rounds it out nicely. Shell love it.”
“Yeah, thats what I thought. Wrap it up,” he told the jeweler.
“We should go get a beer now, right?” Flynn glanced warily at the other rings in the glass case. “And Jordan should buy, in a symbolic gesture of… oh, hell with all that. I just want a beer.” “All in good time, my pretty.” Jordan pulled out his wallet, dug out his credit card. “Weve got another stop to make on the way back.”
THE way he looked at it, he was going to make a clean sweep. A kind of romantic hat trick. He got the girl, hed bought the ring. Now, he thought as they pulled through the gates of Warriors Peak, he was going to see if he could finesse the house.
“This is wild,” Flynn said from the backseat where Moe snored beside him, exhausted by the thrill of the car trip. “I think Im in some sort of shock.”
“Pretty wild,” Jordan agreed. “But the fact is, I always wanted this place. Even when I was a kid.”
“Okay, before you go in there and make some sort of insane offer, lets just take one more pass through the routine.” Brad shifted. “Let me point out, once again, that this place is enormous.”