The Honeymoon House. Patty Salier

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СКАЧАТЬ immediately jumped off the oak desk, feeling like a complete fool. “Mr. Harrington, we were just talking.”

      “Danielle Ford meet Paul Richards,” Mr. Harrington said. “Paul is the building contractor on my honeymoon house. And, Paul, Danielle is an architect interested in designing my house.”

      “Paul Richards?” she repeated, incredulous. It couldn’t be. Paul Richards was the building contractor who’d ruined her first project, the Tilden house. And to top it off, he’d later given her an awful reference when a potential client of hers had inquired, even though he’d never even met her.

      “Danielle Ford?” Paul asked.

      The knowing twinkle in his charcoal eyes told how he obviously recognized her name.

      “What a superb pleasure to meet you.”

      Danielle was suddenly aware of Paul’s strong hand closing over hers. Though her mind fought it, she felt an electricity rush from his masculine hand through her entire body.

      “Have you two ever worked together?” Mr. Harrington inquired curiously.

      Danielle gulped. One word from Paul about the Tilden house, and her dreams of designing the honeymoon house and the children’s library were over.

      “Hmmm...now, let me see,” Paul began with a teasing glint in his eyes.

      She held her breath, begging him with her eyes not to say anything to Mr. Harrington about the Tilden house.

      “While you two are thinking,” Mr. Harrington said, “I’ll take a look at Danielle’s computer sketch.”

      As Mr. Harrington sat down at the computer to study her work, she felt panicky at not knowing what to do.

      Paul leaned over to her and asked in a whisper, “You didn’t tell Mr. Harrington about your botched-up job, did you?”

      “My botched up job?” she repeated. “You were the one who constructed the house all wrong!”

      “No way!” he shot back in a hushed voice. “You designed a humongous house on a tiny piece of property. Your kitchen measurements were totally out of whack, and the kitchen ended up being larger than the living room. And you forgot to draw plumbing plans, so the bathroom had no pipes!”

      Her hands shot to her hips, and in a low whisper she retorted, “Really? I saw pictures of the house after your construction. The windows you installed were lopsided. The floorboard was put in crooked. Nails popped out from the drywall. Great work, Mr. Richards!”

      Paul flinched as though she’d truly insulted him. “Okay, okay,” he finally murmured in exasperation. “I took on too many jobs at the time. I was building three houses at once and ended up exhausted in bed for two months with pneumonia. I admit, I didn’t oversee the Tilden house properly. What’s your excuse?”

      She nervously glanced at Mr. Harrington. Her hopes rose as he put on his spectacles to look more closely at her design.

      “I was just out of architectural school,” she replied in a super-hushed voice, moving closer to Paul. “The firm that hired me was short on experienced architects. Just as I was completing the plans, the project was accidentally taken away from me before I could check for errors.”

      Paul’s rugged face was so near that she could feel his warm breath on her cheeks. His gaze went down to her lips. For a crazy second, she felt he was mentally kissing her And she wanted to kiss him back.

      Danielle quickly stepped away from him. She could never get involved with a man she worked with ever again. Not after what had happened with her ex-boyfriend Kevin.

      She forced her words out in a whisper. “If you knew the Tilden house was partly your wrongdoing, why did you give me such a poor job reference after that project? One client wouldn’t hire me because of what you told her.”

      Paul held her eyes with his. “How could I lie about your inadequate plans?”

      “You could have said it was your fault, too!”

      “The client was questioning your architectural competence, not my workmanship.”

      “Lucky for you!”

      “Hey—”

      Mr. Harrington got up from the computer. “Paul,” he said, “do you think you could work with Danielle on my house?”

      “Mr. Harrington, do I have the job?” Danielle hesitantly asked, praying she’d heard right.

      Mr. Harrington pointed to her computerized architectural sketch. “Your version of my honeymoon house is exactly what I have in mind. Now I need Paul’s expert opinion, since he would be the one working directly with your plans.”

      Danielle held her breath. Paul’s charged eyes were on her. Her skin grew warm. The powerful attraction she felt toward him scared her. She had to keep business and her personal feelings far, far apart with Paul.

      “Let’s do it,” Paul said, his gaze never leaving her.

      “Wonderful!” Mr. Harrington said.

      She was exhilarated straight down to her toes. “Thank you, Mr. Harrington!” But as her eyes held Paul’s, she felt an instant set of reservations. How could she work with him, when all she kept thinking about was how incredibly sexy he was?

      “I must admit,” Mr. Harrington continued. “I like the idea of my honeymoon house being planned and built by a man-woman team. However, I have one stipulation.”

      “Sure, Mr. Harrington,” Danielle quickly said, not wanting anything to spoil her job.

      “I need my architect and general contractor to work very closely on this project. The house is a gift of love to my new wife and our future family. I’d like a lot of love to go into the building of it.”

      Danielle’s gaze mingled with Paul’s. Her heart thumped in her chest. What was he thinking? Did she see an intimate glint in his expression, or was it just her fantasy?

      Her voice came out shaky. “I—I have no problem with that.”

      “Mr. Harrington, I’m ready to start,” Paul added without hesitation.

      Mr. Harrington slapped his hands together. “Paul, I want a full-size trailer set up on the construction site, and I want the trees cleared off the property immediately.”

      Danielle was so overjoyed that she couldn’t remember picking up her briefcase. “Thanks again, Mr. Harrington.” Her body was bursting with joy. “I think you’ll be very pleased with my work.”

      Mr. Harrington shook her hand. “I’m positive of it.” He opened his office door for her. “Send me your entire plan. I’ll make my changes, and we’ll get it to the building department for approval. I want the house completed without a moment’s delay.”

      Danielle’s heart was soaring. “I’ll get it to you immediately.”

      She practically floated out of his office. Now that СКАЧАТЬ