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She was such a liar. Right now she felt as if she had all the inner strength of a marshmallow. She shouldn’t be here at St Sylve, shouldn’t be taking this project on. She really didn’t need his business...
She especially didn’t need the way he made her feel. Tingly, excited, a little unsure, a lot less confident.
Jess placed her hands on her waist and scowled at the ground. Get a grip, Sherwood. You survived a childhood as the youngest girl with four older brothers, you run a successful business, you are independent, ambitious and in charge of this situation.
You will not let him get under your skin...
Jess took a deep breath and stepped out of the shadows onto the driveway. Luke’s head shot up. He jumped off the fence and pushed the sleeves of his T-shirt up his forearms as he scowled at her.
‘Now, why aren’t I surprised to see you here?’ Luke asked in a very even tone.
Jess wasn’t fooled. His green eyes were spitting spiders.
‘Good to know you haven’t lost any of your cheek.’
Sarcasm. He was still good at it.
Jess’s rental car was parked closest to the fence and she dropped her laptop bag on the front seat, slammed the door shut and placed her bottom on the bonnet. She pushed her sunglasses into her hair and looked around.
As much as she wanted to, she would not get drawn into an argument right off the bat. Mostly because she wasn’t sure she’d win it.
‘I’d forgotten how beautiful this place is,’ she commented idly, ignoring his opening volley. ‘The air is so sweet, so pure. Cold, but sweet.’
Luke folded his arms as he loomed over her. ‘What are you doing here, Jessica?’
Jess ignored his intimidation tactics and sent him a smile. ‘I’m going to give you a marketing campaign that is going to blow your socks off, Luke.’
‘Why? So you can say “I told you so”? To rub my face in the fact that I’ve failed? To push home the point that you, despite being so ridiculously young, were right?’
‘No!’ Jess put her hands on her hips and scowled at him. ‘Why didn’t you call me? Dammit, Luke. I know St Sylve. I know—’
Luke rubbed the back of his neck. He felt embarrassed and stupid and wished that she’d just leave him alone to try to fix the mess he’d made. Unfortunately his business brain also kept whispering that he’d be an idiot if he just sent her on her way without listening to her proposal.
There was a reason why she was reputed to be one of the best in the business...but why did she have to look even sexier than before?
The knowledge that he was still so attracted to her caused his temper to spike. ‘You know nothing! You spent three months here eight years ago and you didn’t know much then.’
‘I want to help you...’
Luke shook his head. ‘No, you don’t. You want to make some money off me, do a deal, get the most sought-after contract around. You want to be proved right. You want to say “I told you so”. You want to show me how clever you are.’
Jess shook her head. ‘No, I— Come on, Luke, give me a break! I’m not the same cocky, over-zealous child I was eight years ago. I’m good at my job, and campaigns like yours are what I do best.’
Luke watched the heat of temper appear on her cheekbones, noticed the patches of red forming on her chest and neck. ‘I don’t need to watch you gloat. I have representatives of at least five other companies touring St Sylve right now, so they can—’ Luke bent his fingers to emphasise the phrase ‘—“help” me.’
‘I know that, but none of them are me. I’ve lived here, I’ve worked here, and I’ve always felt a connection to St Sylve. I can use that to create something special for you.’
She sounded sincere, Luke thought, but what did he know? He had vast experience of women—of people—turning sincerity on and off like a tap. Besides, he was tired and stressed and felt as if he’d been hit over the head by a two-by-four. ‘Just go away, Jess.’
She lifted her chin and held his stare. ‘No. Sorry, but, no. I will get the market research report and I will draw up a campaign for you. I don’t care if you think I’m pushy or bossy or a pain in the butt—that is what is going to happen.’
Luke felt his temper bubble. ‘Nothing has changed with you, has it? You’re still over-confident and cocky—’
Jess hopped off the car, teetered on her heels and slapped her hand against his chest. Luke felt as if she’d branded him. He could see the pulse jumping at the base of her neck and noticed that her eyes had turned darker with...could that be embarrassment? Her obvious discomfort had his temper retreating.
‘Can you be quiet for just a minute while I get this out?’ Jess asked, her voice vibrating.
She seemed unaware that her hand was still on his chest, and although he lifted his hand to remove it, he didn’t manage to complete the action. He rather liked her touching him...
Jess took a deep breath and raked tumbling hair back from her face with her other hand. ‘I suck at apologising, so this might not come out right. But I’m really, really sorry for being so rude and revolting. I had no right to say the things I said to you, and you were right to fire me...in fact you did me a huge favour. I was intolerably cheeky and I’d really appreciate it if you accepted my apology.’
Huh? What? Luke frowned at her. That wasn’t what he’d expected her to say...
‘Are you apologising?’ He just had to make sure. He’d had a tough couple of weeks. Maybe the stress was getting to him and he’d started imagining things.
Or maybe he just wanted to hear the words again.
Jess closed her eyes. ‘Please don’t make me say it again,’ she begged. ‘Once is embarrassing enough.’
Luke blew out his breath. ‘What am I supposed to say to that?’ he grumbled.
Jess made a sound that was a cross between a snort and a laugh.
‘That you forgive me?’ she suggested. ‘That you’ll let me design you a campaign that will sell an enormous amount of wine? That was an interesting briefing session, by the way. Short and—’
‘Sweet?’
Jess’s smile flashed. ‘Just short. So? Can I?’
Luke, momentarily distracted by the tiny dimple that flashed in her cheek when she smiled, gathered his thoughts and told himself to be an adult. He couldn’t just give her the campaign because she had a smile that made his belly clench, a body that begged to be touched and eyes he could drown in. Then again, it was his vineyard...
Get a grip, Savage.
‘You can put in a tender for the job, along with everyone else.’ Luke lifted up his hand when he saw Jess’s face brighten. His next words were as much a warning to himself as they were to her. ‘I’m not promising you a thing, Sherwood.’
Jess slowly nodded. ‘Understood. Thank you. You won’t regret this.’
Luke knew that on some level, at some time, he would.
Jess sent him a smile and a look that made his insides squirm with lust and, admittedly, fear.
‘So, since I’m no longer trying to avoid you, and since I’m assuming that I’m not about to be tossed off the premises, I think I’ll join the tour. Reacquaint myself with St Sylve.’
Luke, not keen to be inundated with questions from the rest of the suits but also not willing—why?—to leave Jess just yet, said, ‘I’ll walk you back to the cellar.’
‘You don’t have to,’ Jess replied quickly. ‘Besides, I was going to take the long route back—through the gardens and past the stables.’
Luke frowned. ‘What on earth for?’
Jess lifted her shoulder. ‘I have an idea for the campaign but I need to get a sense of St Sylve as it is now, not how I remember it.’
Luke lifted his eyebrows and looked at her sexy dress and ridiculous heels. ‘You want to walk in those shoes? That dress?’
Jess held out a foot and rotated it. ‘What’s wrong with my shoes? They’re gorgeous.’
‘But totally impractical for walking in—especially on farm roads. Take the path back, Jess.’
He could see her spine stiffening and her chin lifting. ‘Thanks, but I’ll take the circuitous route.’
Luke suppressed his smile at her stubbornness. Within twenty-five metres those spiky heels would be stuck in mud and her stockings would be flecked with dirt.
He gave Jess another up-and-down look and watched for her response. Her expression remained stoic while her eyes heated. He wondered what it would take to get her to lose the mask of sophistication she’d acquired.
He spoke casually. ‘Do you ever think about what we did the last time we met?’
He didn’t need to spell it out...she was a smart girl. Luke watched carefully and saw her composure slip for a fraction of a second, before her lips firmed and her eyes narrowed.
‘No. Do you?’
‘No,’ Luke replied.
My, my, my, Luke thought as she walked away. Look what good liars we’ve become.
* * *
Jess, sitting on a hard seat at the airport, waiting for her flight to be called, looked at her shoes and grimaced. Once black, they were now streaked with reddish-brown mud and, she was certain, were beyond repair. Her stockings were splattered with runny sludge and dirty water. Her feet were aching from negotiating the uneven roads and paths at St Sylve in two-inch spikes and her toes had long since said goodbye to any feeling.
Damn Luke Savage for being right.
Jess felt her mobile vibrate in her hand and squinted down at the screen, where a message was displayed from the Sherwood family group.
John: Just to let you bunch of losers know that I ran 5K today in 24:30. Eat my dust, girls.
Jess had barely finished reading the message when a reply was posted.
Patrick: For an old guy, that’s pretty good. But I run sub 24 routinely.
And they were off...
Chris: Liar! Your last race time was 30 mins plus.
Patrick: I had a stomach bug.
Nick: Prove it, squirt. You run like a girl. Even the Shrimp can take you down!
Patrick: I was sick! And Jess couldn’t catch me with wings strapped to her back...
Jess, being the Shrimp and a girl, took offence at that. She was often faster than Patrick over five kilometres.
Jess: Hey, brainless...name the time and place and be prepared to watch my butt the whole way!
John: What are the stakes?
Jess wrinkled her nose. The last bet she’d lost to her brothers had ended up in her doing Chris’s tax return. Maybe she hadn’t thought this through.
Nick: A weekend cleaning out the monkey enclosure at the rehab centre for the loser.
Chris: Good one!
Eeew, thought Jess.
John: Hand-washing our rugby kit after practice.
Double eeew.
Liza AKA Mom: Now, now, children...play nice. Mommy’s listening. And the loser will replace all the washers on my leaky taps. And they will not pay anyone to do this!
Jess twisted her lips. Unfortunately for her she knew how to wield a monkey wrench and thus would not be excused on account of gender. This was just another instance when she deeply regretted being a tomboy for most of her life.
And, really, when was she going to grow out of this absurd compulsion to prove that she was as big and as strong and as capable as her four older brothers? As a child she’d thought it deeply unfair that she’d been born a girl, and had decided early on that anything they could do she wanted to do better. So she’d studied hard and played harder in an effort to keep up with her siblings...and still always felt that she was on the outside of their ‘brother circle’ looking in. They were good-looking, charming, sporty and successful—a very annoying bunch of over-achievers... She thought that Luke would fit in very well with them.
The bet was madness, Jess thought, frowning at her feet and wondering how to get out of it. And as for her gorgeous shoes...they were history.
THREE
Jess’s thin heels made tiny square marks in the thick carpet of the passage outside the smallest conference room at the hotel where Luke had chosen to view the various campaign presentations. She was scheduled to present last, and was getting more and more nervous. Realising that her hands were slick with perspiration, she hustled off to the closest bathroom to wash her hands and check her face. Again.
She was being ludicrous, she decided, drying her hands for the third time in twenty minutes. Since her contretemps with Luke eight years ago she’d always been nervous before presentations, but no one besides Ally ever knew it. She appeared to be ice-cool and confident, unflappable, but underneath her façade her heart misfired and her brain spluttered.
Jess slicked on another layer of lipstick and smoothed down her scarlet mid-thigh-length jacket. The bottom of her short black pencil skirt just peeked out under the hem, and she wore a black silk polo-neck jersey underneath. With sheer black stockings and knee-high boots, the outfit was dramatic and eye-catching, and not what she’d usually wear to pitch for a job.
But if this was the last time she’d see Luke Savage then she’d damn well make sure that she made a lasting impression.
Ally stuck her head around the door to the Ladies’. ‘Jess, it’s time.’
Jess walked out of the Ladies’ and was grateful for Ally’s steadying hand on her back, unaware that she was biting the inside of her lip. ‘Let’s knock their socks off.’
‘Okay...but maybe you should take a deep breath first...’
‘Why?’ Jess asked, picking up her laptop and boards.
‘Your knees are knocking together.’ Ally reached into her bag and pulled out a small bottle of Rescue Remedy. ‘Open up.’
‘Ally!’ Jess muttered, but she obediently stuck out her tongue as Ally shook the foul-tasting drops into her mouth.
The door behind them opened and Jess’s eyes slid over. She winced as Luke stepped out of the conference room.
‘Hi—’ He stopped suddenly and Jess yanked her tongue in. Could she feel any more stupid?
