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“What are you doing here?” she asked. “Last I knew you were in New York, making mega bucks. You said you’d never come back to live in a small town.”
“I changed my mind.” To avoid telling her why, to avoid explaining the worst thing that had ever happened to him, he gestured to the other side of the porch, walked over a few feet and turned the corner. She followed. “I’m building that for Miss Ellie. It’s done, except for the painting.”
“It’s beautiful. I love gazebos. There’s this really nice one in Paris in the—”
“Versailles Gardens. I know.”
She cocked her head at him, a frown marring her brow. “You used to live overseas and traveled in Europe. I forgot about that.”
Of course she had. This woman was very good at forgetting.
“How come Jess didn’t build it?”
“For one thing, I like doing stuff for Miss Ellie and this is a gift from my whole family for her seventy-fifth birthday. Besides, it’s already too much for Jess, trying to keep up with the flowers Miss Ellie can’t get to, work, pitch in as Annie’s soccer coach and do all the other things a husband and dad has to do.”
“When will he be back?”
“End of the week.”
Her eyes filled with something. Sadness, maybe, or was it fear? Whatever it was made them glisten like wet amethysts. And he remembered how the expression sucker punched him every time she got upset.
“Oh, dear.”
“He couldn’t have known you were coming.” Luke’s tone was gruff, and he had to shake off the kernel of reaction forming in his belly.
“He didn’t.” She nodded to the house. “Nor does Eleanor.”
There was noise inside, and then Miss Ellie came to the screen, dressed in her Sunday best—a pretty pink suit, which set off her snow-white hair and still-sparkling blue eyes. “Luke, dear, I saw a Lexus parked out front. Did one of your female friends drive over to help you finish painting the gazebo?”
“Come onto the porch, Miss Ellie,” he said gently.
Pushing open the screen, the older woman stepped outside and addressed the dog. “Hello there, Krystle. Having a nice time with Luke?” She glanced to the side and saw Jayne. “Oh. You must be a friend…” Her hand went to her chest. “Oh, dear Lord, Jaynie. Jaynie!”
Jaynie’s face transformed from stone-cut marble to soft sandstone. “Hello, Eleanor, I…”
Suddenly, Jayne closed the gap between her and Miss Ellie and threw herself into the older woman’s arms. From his vantage point, Luke saw Jayne close her eyes and hold on for dear life. The intimacy of their reunion made him feel like a voyeur.
Miss Ellie ran her hand over Jayne’s hair. He remembered when it was longer and he could wrap it around his fist. “I’m so glad you’re here,” the older woman said. “I was praying for you just now in church, as I do every Sunday. God must have heard me today.”
Still Jayne held on, as if she wasn’t used to human contact.
Miss Ellie shot a worried glance at Luke. “Jaynie, are you all right?”
Jayne shook her head.
“Then you’ve come to the right place. Whatever it is, Jessie and I will help.”
Luke could barely hear Jayne when she spoke. “I’m in trouble, Eleanor. Big trouble.”
Oh, great, Luke thought. Not only had she abandoned Miss Ellie years ago, stirred up all kinds of things between Jess and Naomi, and ditched Luke without a second thought, now she was in big trouble and had come here to dump whatever it was on them.
Luke couldn’t watch the scene before him so he left the porch and went back to the gazebo. Jayne’s appearance in town had thrown him. But he knew one thing for certain. He’d learned his lesson twelve years ago and was sure as hell going to make sure Jayne Logan didn’t take advantage of two of the people he loved most in the world.
CHAPTER TWO
BECAUSE JAYNE needed some time to collect herself, Eleanor had gone inside to make lemonade. Jayne walked around the house to a wrought-iron table and chairs. She slipped off the jacket she’d layered over a brown silk shirt and that was now making her warm. Draping it over the back of one of the chairs, she sat. From there, she studied the gazebo.
The whole structure was in keeping with the materials and the lines and angles of the main house. Black shingles matched those on the big roof, as did the slate-blue siding around the bottom half. She wondered what color he was going to paint the posts. They wouldn’t be left natural, because he was up on a ladder priming them right now.
The noonday sun glistened off his sweaty skin, emphasizing his darkly tanned back and the breadth of his shoulders. God, she couldn’t believe he was here, in Riverdale. She’d never even considered that he’d be back in town, or she most certainly wouldn’t have come. When she knew him in New York, he and his friend Timmy had been making their first million, already at age twenty-six, and Luke had told her he’d never leave the big city. She wondered if Timmy was in Riverdale, too. She’d have to ask Eleanor about him.
The older woman exited from the side French doors and set down glasses of lemonade. Jayne was glad for the distraction from Luke. “Now, tell me everything, dear.”
Jayne began simply. “Do you remember when I sent you the pictures and newspaper clippings of one of my buildings? The Coulter Gallery of Antiquities?”
“Yes, it’s lovely. So innovative and well designed.”
“Maybe not so well designed. The walkway that circled the interior of the building just…collapsed a few weeks ago.” Every time she talked about this, Jayne’s stomach clenched and her head began to hurt. “Luckily, there weren’t any patrons in the gallery—it closes at nine and this happened about two in the morning. But many of the artifacts were destroyed.”
Jayne shook her head, recalling the horrific phone call she’d received from the police. What had begun that day was a nightmare of epic proportions.
Ms. Logan? This is Chief Edwards of the LAPD. The upper walkway in the Coulter Gallery caved in. It did a lot of damage. Nobody was hurt, but we have a mess on our hands. The mayor said to contact your firm. We need the building plans and a consultation with you.
Bolting out of bed, she’d dressed hurriedly and sped over to the gallery. She’d never forget the sight of one of her babies maimed and crumpled into itself, or the smell of splintered wood and the light dusting of broken concrete filling the interior. Priceless artifacts, some of which were in now-smashed cases, some freestanding in the main area, were in shards. Later she would learn the astronomical cost of their ruin.
Eleanor’s touch on Jayne’s hand pulled her from the memory. “Oh, Jaynie, I’m so sorry. I know how important your career is to you. What caused the collapse?”
“We don’t have the results of the investigation yet. And I keep going over the plans and racking my brain for what I might have done wrong. I can’t find anything.” She sighed. “So far, neither can the independent firm I hired to determine what happened.”
“Then there’s a good chance you didn’t make a mistake.”
“I’m truly hoping that, Eleanor. Meanwhile, I just have to wait.”
“You’ll do that here.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’ll wait for the board’s findings in Riverdale with people who love you.”
Stunned at the unconditional acceptance, Jayne couldn’t speak around the lump in her throat.
Eleanor’s gaze was knowing. There were few secrets between the Harpers and Jayne. She’d come to Riverdale on most of her college vacations instead of going to her parents’ house because they were busy or traveling. “You went home first, didn’t you?”
Jayne nodded.
“And your father wasn’t supportive.”
That was an understatement. It was the confrontation with Andrew Logan that had driven her from the Hamptons. He’d actually scolded her for having gotten herself in this situation and turned his back on her. She’d been foolish to go to him, to think that this time he’d be genuinely concerned for her welfare rather than her success.
“Jayne? What did Andrew do when you told him?”
“He wasn’t happy with me at all. He thought I should go back to California and fight this.”
“Could you do that?”
“No. They have my drawings, the specs from the contractors and the builders, and information from everyone else involved in the gallery’s construction. They don’t want any more of my input.” She shook her head. “So I won’t be going back to New York, either. The office closes for the month of May while everyone takes vacation. I usually go to my condo in Florida and sketch out some preliminary drawings for new projects before we get to them formally. I’ll head down there to do that, but I wanted to see you and Jess first.”
“You’ll do no such thing. You’ll stay here with me.” She gestured to Luke, who’d taken a break.
Following Eleanor’s gaze, Jayne watched him pull a bandanna out of his shorts pocket and wipe his brow, then take a swig of bottled water. Her attention riveted on his throat and she remembered with vivid clarity putting her mouth there.
“You can help me with my gardens, so Luke and Jess won’t have to do that, too.”
“It could take weeks to get a final verdict. I can’t impose on you that long, Eleanor.”
“At least wait until Jess gets back to make a decision.”
She’d known this was going to be tricky before she came to town. Jess hadn’t told his mother about Naomi’s dislike of Jayne or the breach his wife’s feelings had caused in Jayne’s relationship with Jess. As far as Eleanor knew, Jayne had been too busy to visit Riverdale. Now, if she refused to stay, it wouldn’t make sense to the older woman. Or to Luke. Jess had also kept Naomi’s suspicions from him—at least he had in the past.
Oh, who was Jayne kidding? She wanted to stay. She’d made the conscious decision to come to Riverdale despite the consequences. “I guess I could do that.”
“Then it’s settled. You’ll stay until at least next Saturday.”
After petting the dog, which had jumped up on her lap, then setting the animal on the ground, Eleanor stood. “Now go get Luke. It’s time for lunch.”
“He’ll eat with us?” The thought make her heart rate speed up.
Eleanor chuckled. “After he cleans up in the laundry room.”
When Eleanor went into the house, Jayne rose and reluctantly made her way down the steps and through the flower beds toward the gazebo. Surrounded by their colorful blossoms and scent, with the sun on her face, Jayne experienced a sense of peace. She stopped and took a minute to steep herself in the rare emotion of contentment.
“I feel that way, too, when I’m here.”
She hadn’t realized she was a few feet away from Luke. “What are you talking about?”
“The gardens. They calm me. Your expression says they do the same to you.”
Not wanting to encourage any connection with him, she turned her attention toward the gazebo. Unable to help herself, she ran her hand over the curved railing. “This is lovely. I especially like that the structure is cohesive with the house.”
“I’m glad to have your approval.” His tone was sarcastic.
Stiffening, she spoke curtly. “Eleanor said to tell you it’s time for lunch.”
He bit out, “I’m not fit for company.”
“That’s what I thought.” She ignored his raised brow. “But she said you can clean up in the laundry room. You’re sprung for the day, I guess.” I hope.
“Maybe.” He climbed down the ladder.
When Jayne turned to leave, he grabbed her by the arm and yanked her around. At the clasp of his strong fingers on her again, she startled. And damn it, she liked the feel of them. “How long are you hanging around?” he asked.
“Eleanor invited me to stay with her until Jess gets back.”
“You can’t do that.”
“I can do whatever I want.”
“Don’t you care about how you’ve hurt everybody here?”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“Stop playing innocent, like you did in New York. I never would have gotten you that contract with Madison Conglomerates if I’d known you’d slept with Jess.” His expression turned hard. “And I never would have had a fling with you.” His eyes narrowed. “It took me a while to figure out that was why you didn’t want anyone back here to know we were involved.”
“That had nothing to do with keeping our relationship quiet.” Her voice rose with anger ignited by his accusation. “I like my privacy, is all. And I never slept with Jess.”
“That’s not what Naomi thinks. Hell, I still can’t believe neither you nor Jess told me about her feelings.”
“Because they weren’t warranted.”
“Or because Jess knew I wouldn’t put in a good word with Granger Madison to get a junior associate from Prentice Architects a job on building those luxury condos.”
“It was a job I did very well.”
Crossing his arms over his bare chest, he glared at her. “Still, you ran away when there was a scandal at Prentice.”
“I finished my part on the condos for Madison Conglomerates. I didn’t like the direction Prentice Architects was taking, so I left when I got a better offer in California.”
“Is that what you’re telling yourself?”
“It’s the truth.”
“You ran, Jayne. Like you’ve been running all your life.” He shook his head. “And you didn’t even have the decency to talk to me about leaving. You didn’t even say goodbye to me!”
Well, that was true. She’d never told him she’d taken a job in California because he would have—could have—kept her in New York. Luke was a fighter, had always been one, and she knew intuitively he would have fought to keep her with him. When things had calmed down, that fact made her incredibly sad. Yet she’d never contacted him again.
“In any case, Prentice Architects was exonerated. I read it in their follow-up correspondence.”
“So you could have stayed.”
“I told you that wasn’t why I left.”
His expression softened a bit. “Look, Jayne, I know that what happened in college to you and Jess affected you. But you shouldn’t have run away at the threat of scandal.”
Damn it, why had Jayne confided in him about the Cornell incident? “The two had nothing to do with each other.”
From the porch they heard Eleanor call out, “Jayne, Luke, are you coming?”
Looking annoyed, Luke held up his hand. “If you stay in town, don’t hurt Jess and his family again, or you’ll answer to me.”
