First Love Again. Kristina Knight

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СКАЧАТЬ floor outside Tom’s office at the winery and watched the clock tick toward three. The registrar’s office had emailed after lunch with instructions to finish the paperwork; they seemed excited for the project. After Google-searching construction firms and calling everyone listed on the search results, though, she was no closer to finding a crew that could start work next week. Much less one that would finish the job in time for the reunion.

      The clock ticked past the big three on the dial and her mind wandered. Since leaving the school, for every five minutes she’d spent working on the renovations, she’d spent twenty more thinking about Emmett.

      How the sun shone against his jet-black hair. How her hand felt in his. Mostly about that moment on the stairs, the moment she thought he might kiss her. How ridiculous was that?

      She hadn’t spent the past ten years pining for Emmett Deal. He’d left. She’d moved on.

      Emmett being back didn’t mean anything in her life had to change. In fact, since he’d made it clear this was a short—and very final—visit, nothing in her life would change. She tapped the folder on her lap. These projects would keep her busy. She liked busy. Busy meant days with no time to wonder and nights when she was too tired to dream. Everyone knew she liked busy.

      Tom opened the office door, thanking someone on the other side for stopping by. Emmett’s voice inside the office kicked her heartbeat into overdrive. That was as ridiculous as wondering about Emmett’s life in Cincinnati.

      “No problem, it’s a solid project and several of my guys were interested.” Emmett stopped when he saw Jaime sitting in the hall. Her heart pounded harder and her mouth felt dry. What was happening to her? First, she drooled over the man in the diner, now she couldn’t be in the same room with him without losing control of her body.

      “Tom mentioned you had trouble finding a crew the first time around.”

      Jaime quickly stood, holding the folder to her chest. “H-he did?” And now she was stuttering. Perfect.

      “Emmett called about the estimate and one thing led to another. Are those the papers?”

      “Yes, Laura mentioned you wanted to take a look,” she said, pointing toward the empty secretary’s desk at the opposite wall. She should have known something was going on when Laura wasn’t at her desk.

      In the twenty-four hours since Emmett had landed on the island Ronda at the post office had waved her inside to pick up a package that had mysteriously disappeared and, of course, to ask if Emmett was really back on the island. Since Ronda was the second person any of the island gossips would call, the innocent-sounding question was a ploy to find out why he was back, and not if. Anna had avoided eye contact this morning over coffee. Anna never avoided eye contact; the waitress was usually direct to the point of pain. Now Laura had called Jaime about the estimate, disappeared and Emmett came strolling out of her boss’s office.

      “And the final decision?” Jaime had a feeling she already knew and she didn’t like it. Not even a little bit.

      “I called in a couple of favors and found a crew willing to come up here for the summer.”

      “You did?” She focused on Emmett. Okay, a crew was good, especially since she’d had no luck this afternoon.

      Tom saluted them with the folder and shut the office door, mumbling something about meeting with the trustees over drinks.

      “Wasn’t too hard. I already knew they were available.”

      The sinking feeling in Jaime’s stomach grew to a gaping hole.

      “Your crew?”

      “One of them.”

      “One of them,” Jaime repeated.

      “Yeah, I have a crew that focuses on older homes in Cincinnati and another that goes where the projects are—”

      “That would be the television crew.”

      “Right, but they’re on summer hiatus and thought this sounded like fun.”

      Jaime felt as though the project was slipping away from her, which was silly. She was never on the actual project team. Her job was to write checks and meet scheduled deadlines. Not knock down walls and install windows. “I thought you said you were here to fix up your dad’s house, not renovate the old school.”

      “I am. Was.” Emmett squinted. “Am. Mostly, I’ll consult. Like you.”

      “I’m not a consultant.”

      “And you don’t think this is a good idea.”

      Jaime led Emmett to her office and motioned him to one of the chairs. He crossed one jeans-clad leg over the other and she swore his abs rippled under the tight shirt he wore as he sat.

      From her seat Jaime folded her hands together and leaned her elbows on the cherrywood desk. She wanted to move, but she settled for tapping her toes against the cool leather soles of her sandals.

      “I think you’re trying a little too hard.”

      Something flashed in his eyes. Anger, maybe? Whatever it was Jaime refused to apologize just as she refused to pace.

      “I think you’re dreaming if you think you’ll find a quality crew by cold-calling out of the phone book. Hoping one of them will drop their deck-building, roof-replacing, pool-installing summer isn’t going to give you a renovated school for the reunion.”

      “You’ll complete the main floor by July first?” Jaime took a breath, hating that her words were nearly an echo of her father’s from the day before. “We’ve already had one false start, so if you aren’t going to see this through you can leave now.”

      He stood and held out his hand. “I always see my projects through.”

      Jaime hesitated but then stood and took his hand. The contact zinged along her nerves, but she didn’t pull back. “Then I’ll see you Monday morning.”

      Emmett closed the door softly on his way out. Jaime rubbed her palm down the leg of her trousers.

      And began to pace.

      Finish what he started.

      When the project was finished Emmett would leave. She would stay here, on Gulliver.

      Alone.

      Jaime watched the closed door for a long moment. She didn’t want to be alone.

      Where did that leave her?

       CHAPTER FIVE

      EMMETT REPLACED THE keys to the old golf cart on the peg near the front door. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He’d gone to Tom Gulliver’s with the intention of giving him a few names and reassuring the man the project would be a good investment for the island. How he’d wound up volunteering his crew he had no idea.

      He couldn’t back out, though. Not now. Not after Jaime’s veiled certainty he would walk out on the project. СКАЧАТЬ