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“It was. Other galleries have done the same thing, so it wasn’t that risky. But something went wrong, and a portion of it just…fell.”
“How much?”
“Maybe twenty-five feet. Thankfully it was at night, so no one was hurt. I don’t know what I would have done if…” She shivered and Jess squeezed her hand.
“Don’t think about that.”
“You’re right. There’s enough to worry about.” She told him the staggering cost of the damage. She had insurance, thank the Lord, but her reputation could be in tatters if she was somehow found at fault—or even if she wasn’t. Bad press could ruin an architectural firm. She might not even keep the jobs already contracted.
When she finished with the details, Jess sighed deeply. “It is what it is. If you made a mistake, which I’m not saying you did, there are ways to deal with it.” He added soberly, “You can do anything you have to, honey, you know that. Just like the Snyder incident.”
Al Snyder had been their third-year design teacher at Cornell. He’d based a major portion of the grade for the semester on a group project. Though Jayne hated being evaluated on others’ efforts, she’d felt comfortable that time because the members of her group were Jess and their two housemates—Ben, her boyfriend of two years, and Sally, a close girlfriend.
At least Jayne had thought they were her friends, until their part of the project came under scrutiny. When it was discovered they’d cut corners by falsifying data, Ben and Sally blamed it on Jess and Jayne. Jayne ended her relationship with Ben, but her confidence had been shaken. If he could betray her so badly, had he ever really cared about her? Had she ever been enough for him?
That event had touched off Naomi’s animosity. Jess had called Naomi, his fiancée at the time, to tell her what had happened. Without informing him of her plans, Naomi had driven up to Ithaca to comfort him. Instead, she found him, literally, in bed with Jayne. Jess was bare chested and in boxers; Jayne wore a skimpy tank top and short pajama bottoms, so the scenario was incriminating. But it was totally innocent—they’d both been devastated after the betrayal of their housemates and Jayne had gone to Jess’s room for comfort. Naomi never believed it, though. And in subsequent years, she’d found more and more reason to be jealous of any time her husband spent with Jayne.
Hurt all over again by her recollection of the devastating event, Jayne shook off the memory. “I know I can get through it. But I never thought I’d have such a monumental thing to deal with again. And I hated that the first one caused you to leave school.”
“It wasn’t the only reason I left, Jaynie.”
“I know it wasn’t. You weren’t really happy at Cornell and couldn’t wait to get back to Riverdale. If it hadn’t been for my dad bringing in a team of New York lawyers, I would have left, too.”
By the end of the year, both she and Jess had been exonerated—and the college had dropped the whole matter, punishing no one—but kind, sweet Jess’s heart wasn’t in architecture like hers was. He’d come home to Riverdale, finished a four-year degree at a local college in social work and went into community service. He’d been ecstatic when, ten years ago, he’d been appointed head of Harmony Housing, which built low-income housing projects subsidized by the government and involving several volunteer groups.
“Anyway, there’s nothing you can do but wait, so you’ll do it here.”
“That’s what your mother said.”
“She’s a smart woman.”
“Luke Corelli doesn’t feel the way you do.”
Jess shook his head. “He’s way overprotective.”
“Because he knows how Naomi feels about me and you?”
“You know about that?”
“Luke made a point of bringing it up.”
“Maybe that’s why he’s protective, but other things have happened to him.”
Jayne didn’t ask what. She’d decided last night that the less she knew about Luke’s life, the better.
“I’m sorry Naomi still misunderstands our relationship.”
“Me, too. I know intellectually it’s because her father and brother cheated on their spouses, and I try to understand that, but I resent her for grouping me in with all of them. Hell, we’ve been married for seventeen years.”
“You can avoid feeding her fears, Jess, like we decided to do six years ago.”
Again his features hardened and his hazel eyes sharpened. “That’s not going to happen. I stopped seeing you then to appease her. It worked. No fights, nothing. I told her, though, if you ever needed me, I was going to be there for you. Now, she’s reneging on her part when I kept my promise. I haven’t put my foot down about anything else, but I won’t let you go through this alone.”
“I…”
“Damn it, Jayne. It infuriates me that we never gave her reason to be jealous and I still had to end my relationship with you.”
“I know.”
“Please say you’ll stay.”
She wanted to, badly. And she was weakening. “Well, it might be a good idea to put off working on those new projects until I’m sure the firm will keep them. What could I do here?”
Jess chuckled. “I know just the thing.”
LUKE SAT on Jess’s front porch and watched dusk fall on Riverdale. He was so glad to be back in town, he sometimes wondered why he’d ever left in the early nineties.
Fame and fortune, Timmy had said. We’ll make millions in the building boom in Dubai. Just think, no more depending on family. No more scrimping or dilapidated cars.
Luke hadn’t minded depending on his family, but the fact that there was never enough money to go around always bothered him. And he’d lost his chance at an athletic scholarship when he blew his knee out playing football, so he’d thrown caution to the winds and gone overseas with Timmy. It had been the worst decision of his life, because they had indeed made money, and it destroyed his friend.
“Want something?” Naomi stood behind the screen leading to the kitchen.
Luke held up his beer. “Already got it.” When she came out, he studied the slim blonde with sad blue eyes. “You look as tired as the girls. I should leave.”
“No, don’t.” She dropped down beside him on a padded porch chair. “I won’t sleep until Jess gets back.”
“Will you fight?”
“Who knows? Now that Jayne Logan is back in our lives, anything could happen.”
“This is so unlike Jess. I can’t figure it out.”
Naomi shook her head. “Join the club.” Her voice trembled. “I can’t believe he’s doing this to me again. It was horrible when he went to California to see her, or when she visited here and they spent time together. But I thought his contact with her was over.”
“He swears there’s nothing between them, Nay. That they never had an affair.”
“I’m so sick of that argument. Even if it never got physical—which I find hard to believe, especially after seeing her again, seeing how pretty she is—the emotional connection between them is enough of a betrayal.” She shook her head. “They’re so close, Luke.”
“I could tell.”
“You don’t like her much, do you?”
He had a blinding flash of tangled sheets, sweaty bodies, and Jayne clinging to him as he drove into her. “Uh, no.”
“Why?”
“For one, I know the part she’s played in the trouble between you and Jess. Second, I met women like her in my old life.” He thought of tall, slender and very sophisticated Elizabeth Madison, whom he thought he was going to marry. “They aren’t known for their loyalty. She also reminds me of me when I was working in that world.”
“You weren’t so bad.”
“Thanks, sweetie. But I was.”
“Is this about Timmy again?”
“I don’t want to talk about Timmy. In any case, Jess should respect your wishes, Nay.”
Slowly, she ran her finger around the top of the glass. “To be fair, he’s done that for six years.”
“What do you mean?”
Looking up at him, she asked, “He didn’t tell you why he hasn’t seen her in all that time?”
“No. I thought he just realized the cost was too high.”
“He didn’t go into specifics?”
Luke shook his head. He’d never wanted to talk about Jayne with Jess, because of what he’d found out when he got back to Riverdale, and because of what had occurred between the two of them in New York.
“Six years ago, she offered him a job as manager of her firm—one with a big salary. When he considered taking it, I freaked out. Things got so bad between us that I threatened to leave him, so he turned the offer down and finally promised me he wouldn’t see her anymore.”
“I didn’t know that. I thought they just drifted apart. Or she got too rich and famous to bother with him anymore.”
“Yeah, well, it was tough all around. My father was in rehab, and his women friends made no bones about visiting him there. My brother was mired in his own marital problems and I was a wreck. So Jess agreed not to see Jayne and I agreed to get some counseling. Except…” She bit her lip. “He did talk to her periodically, but even that dwindled. The only caveat was he told her—and me—that if she ever needed him, he’d be there for her. I, um, agreed to that.”
Damn it to hell. Luke was pissed he hadn’t known all this. They’d kept everything from him.
“Things were so good without the shadow of Jayne Logan in our lives. Why did she have to come back now?”
“She’s in trouble.”
“I figured it had to be something like that. What happened?”
“The walkway of a gallery she designed collapsed. There’s an investigation going on that she can’t be part of, so she came here. For emotional support.”
“Damn. I thought maybe she’d have to get back to her glamorous life.” Naomi shook her head, sending the bob of her hair swirling. “Is she guilty?”
“Most likely. People cut corners all the time.”
“You and Jess don’t at Harmony Housing.”
“No, we don’t.” But Luke had done his share of compromising in his other life and learned his lesson.
Naomi rubbed her temples. “Let’s change the subject. This is giving me a headache. How’s work?”
“Good. I like contracting for Harmony Housing.”
Though he used to take on other projects, Luke now worked exclusively for his best friend’s organization because they’d just gotten approval for twenty units.
Naomi shook her head and sipped her glass of wine. “You work too cheaply for Harmony.”
“Nah.” He smiled. “The foundation’s done for the first house. We start framing on Monday.”
“Jess loves working with you, Luke.”
“I feel the same way. As an added bonus, I can find some jobs for Corrine’s husband.”
“Belle said they’re having a hard time making ends meet.”
“I wouldn’t know. When I asked Corky, she told me to mind my own business.” He shook his head. “Something’s going on with her and Cal, I think, but none of the girls know what. Corky can be pretty private. Probably comes with being the oldest.”
“Poor Luke, still getting bossed around by his four big sisters.”
He chuckled.
The crickets chirped in the yard and they listened to them for a while in companionable silence. Then Naomi asked, “How’s Erica?”
“Not seeing her anymore. I’m dating Elise Jenkins.” He was quiet. “Erica wanted a commitment.”
“Luke, you’re thirty-eight years old. You should be thinking about settling down.”
“I tried. Didn’t work out.”
“Because you picked somebody from your other world to get engaged to.”
“I’m doing okay for now, Nay.”
“You want kids.”
“Yeah, I do. But I content myself with yours and my sisters’ to spoil.”
“The Pied Piper of Riverdale.”
“Want me to go over to Eleanor’s and lure Jess home?”
“The very fact that you’d have to do that makes me sick. No, he’ll come when he’s ready.”
Reaching over, Luke took her hand. “It’ll be okay.”
“Sure.”
Too bad neither one of them believed his reassurance.
CHAPTER FOUR
LUKE STOOD OVER the foundation of the new Harmony Housing and felt a sense of anticipation, as he always did at the beginning of a construction project. He savored the smell of newly poured concrete for the basement. When the outer shell took shape—the joists and girders, the frame and the plywood, and finally the roof—he experienced a father’s pride for what he’d lovingly created. He’d never told anybody about his sense of connection with the buildings he helped put up, not even Timmy or, now, Jess.
“Looking good, isn’t it?” His brother-in-law Cal Sorvino had come up to him. Cal appeared tired this morning, and Luke noticed again how much weight the man had gained.
“Yeah.” Luke tipped back his hard hat, feeling the sweat on his scalp. April had turned into no-coat weather. “Was it okay helping out with the foundation?”
Cal ducked his head, embarrassed. “Yeah, sure. We need the money, with Louie going to college next year.”
Luke bit back his opinion. Cal was an electrician and good at what he did, but with the economy not doing well, there weren’t a ton of jobs in his field, especially in the winter. Still, he should be making ends meet, but he wasn’t good at managing his money. Luke’s sister Corky did her best—she worked full-time as a paralegal—but for as long as Luke could remember, they’d had financial problems. And unbeknownst to Corky, Luke gave Cal money periodically. “You’re industrious, Cal, taking on construction.”
“Not all of us have stashes in the bank.”
Stiffening, Luke glanced away. He’d made more money than he’d ever need in those years overseas, then again when he returned to the U.S. and joined Madison Conglomerates. The cash had flowed freely, but so had the booze and cocaine. He’d been able to handle the latter, but Timmy hadn’t.
Cal said, “I see you hired on Mick O’Malley.”
“Yeah.” Luke’s gaze strayed to Timmy’s older brother. Unlike Cal, Mick was thin and his shoulders were perennially hunched. “He’s strapped, too.”
“He hates your guts.”
“He’s got a reason.”
“No, he doesn’t. Timmy’s drug use wasn’t your fault.”
Of course it was. Luke had been busy himself, trying to get ahead, and then Jayne Logan had entered his life and he’d got wrapped up in her, spent as much time with her as she’d allowed. If he hadn’t been so enthralled with her, maybe Timmy…
Luke was distracted from the thought when Jess’s Jeep pulled up to the site. He wondered how things had gone over the weekend with Naomi. Jess climbed out of the driver’s side, wearing an outfit similar to Luke’s—jeans, work boots and a navy-blue T-shirt that read Live in Harmony.
Then the passenger door opened and Jayne slid out of that side. What the hell was Jess doing bringing her to the site? She wore jeans, too, and a Harmony T-shirt that fit her…nicely. A blinding burst of lust came out of nowhere and slammed into Luke as he remembered exploring every single inch of her.
“Hey, guys.” Jess looked as if he hadn’t gotten much sleep, but he managed a smile.
“Jess.” Luke tipped his hard hat to Jayne. “Hi. What brings you here?”
Jayne glanced at Jess. “I came to see Jess’s project. I’ve never been to a Harmony Housing site.” When Luke didn’t respond, she asked, “You head the construction, right?”
Luke nodded to his truck, where Corelli Contracting was scrawled across the door. “Yeah.”
Jess grinned. “He runs the show, is what he does. Gives me time for paperwork and supervision.”
“You’ve hunted up a bricklayer and hammered a few nails yourself,” Luke said.
“Not like you.” Jess leaned closer to Jayne. “Luke usually works alongside whoever he hires.”
“A real man’s man.”
“Yep,” Jess said, his tone full of pride. Apparently he’d missed the sarcasm of her quip.
“Come on, Jaynie.” Jess tugged on her arm. “Let me show you the plans for this set of houses. We’re building twenty-five, and ten of them are in this tract.”
Sadness flitted across Jayne’s face. Briefly, Luke wondered what it would be like to be kept from doing the job you loved. He felt a stab of guilt for not having more sympathy for her, especially when he recalled how vulnerable she had been when he’d first met her in New York.
They walked away and Luke stared after them, mesmerized by the gentle sway of Jayne’s hips until he heard a low whistle behind him. Pivoting, he found one of the framers, a young man in his twenties, tracking his gaze. “Andy, I’d watch that if I were you. Sexual harassment is illegal these days.”
Andy snorted. “I saw you undressin’ her with your eyes, boss.”
Shit. He turned and headed over to a nearby truck, where workers were unloading steel girders. Time for some physical labor if his attraction to Jayne Logan was that easy to spot.
SEATED IN Jess’s trailer at a table by the window, Jayne pored over the plans for the low-income units Harmony Housing was building. She always did this on her own projects—checked the specs, the slopes and the dimensions like a mother carefully going over her child’s weight, height and girth. What on earth would Jayne do if she lost her babies and couldn’t design buildings anymore? If the architectural board found gross negligence? Or just plain stupidity?
Jess put his hands on her shoulders. “You’ll get to do it again, Jaynie.”
“You always could read my mind.”
He dropped down next to her. “It’s written all over your face.” An encouraging smile. “I can help you wait this out.”
“I’m still not sure…”
“Don’t you want to be part of Harmony Housing? The volunteers always need help.”
Jayne ran her fingers over the blue-lined drawings. “Truthfully, I want to. But it’s not the best thing for you.”
“Can we please get off that?”
“No. Think of how Naomi would react if I was working with you every day.”
He drew in an exasperated breath. “Do you have any idea what it’s like when the person you love most in the world thinks you’re a cheater? That she groups me with the men in her family? It hurts like hell.”
Jayne remembered loving Ben so much. When he betrayed her, she thought she’d die. She’d truly believed he was the man for her, and that he meant it when he said he loved her and they’d be together forever. His betrayal had ultimately kept her from throwing herself into a relationship with Luke. At least she hadn’t invested too much in him.
“I only know how bad it felt when Ben turned on me.” Jayne covered his hand with hers. “It’s different when you’re married.”
“Stay, Jaynie. At least until you find out what’s going on with your career.” She hesitated, and he added, “Can I please have my way for a change?”
When she didn’t answer, Jess stood and drew her into a hug. For a minute she let his easy affection comfort her. She wanted to stay here with him. And she needed something to do if she was to delay new projects until the architectural board decided. “All right. I’ll work on your houses until the board makes its decision.”
The door to the trailer opened. Jayne looked over to find Luke in the entrance. His eyes narrowed, and she realized the way she and Jess were standing could be misconstrued.
“Isn’t this cozy? You said nothing was going on between you two.”
Pulling back, Jess took her hand and brought her closer to Luke. “Nothing is. Like you mean, anyway. Actually, we were sealing the deal.”
“What deal?”
“Jayne’s agreed to work at Harmony Housing until she goes back to California.”
She thought Luke was going to pop a blood vessel. “Why? So she can screw up more buildings?”
JAYNE SHOOK HER HEAD and gave Luke a look that made him feel like he’d just kicked a puppy. “I’m going to wander around the site, Jess.” Her voice was hoarse. Hurt. Without saying a word to Luke, she went out the still-open door. Jess rounded on Luke.
“That was cruel.”
“Maybe, but I don’t care about her feelings.”
His friend’s face reddened. “How can you say that?”
Because she didn’t care about mine when she left me high and dry. “Because you need to hear the truth, even if you don’t want to. That woman isn’t good for you, and having her in town, let alone at the site, is a very bad idea.”
Jess’s features were stern and very un-Jess-like. “I don’t want to talk to you about Jayne.” Jess cocked his head. “You didn’t want to talk about her, either, when you came back to town. I always wondered why, since you worked with her for almost a year.”
Luke just stared at Jess. “That was the worst time in my life.”
“Because of Timmy.”
Luke didn’t respond.
“All right. You’re entitled to your feelings. But you’re not entitled to hurt Jayne. What were you thinking, saying something like that to her? Do you have any idea how fragile she is now?”
Fragile would be the last word he’d apply to the current Jayne Logan, though that look she’d given him had pierced even his hardened heart. “Because of the building collapse?”
“For one thing. But Luke, she doesn’t have family like we do to support her. And she’s had some pretty big blows in life to deal with alone.” He scowled. “How did you know about the Coulter Gallery collapse, anyway?”
“Isabella looked her up on the Internet.”
“So you’d have ammunition against Jayne.” Wearily, Jess sank behind his desk.
After a moment, Luke dropped into the chair in front of it. “Listen, I’m just worried about Naomi.”
Jess shook his head. “This is all wearing so thin. You know what I’ve been thinking about? When you have to keep doing penance for a sin you didn’t commit, you start wondering if you might as well just do it.”
Luke felt his blood pressure rise. The thought of Jayne and Jess together, like that, like Luke had been with her, enraged him. Damn it, he never got jealous. “Oh, great, she’s back in town only a few days and she’s got you thinking about screwing her.”
Jess didn’t say anything. Often his best weapon was silence.
“Tell me the truth now.” Luke was thinking about how pretty Jayne was, how passionate she’d been in his arms, how great she’d always made him feel in bed. “In the cold light of day. What if you could have more? Have Jayne in your life permanently?”
“You know, maybe if people would let me have her in my life, without insisting it was going to turn into something sexual, then you’d see nothing has happened—or ever will happen.” He stood. “I’m tired of rehashing this. I’m going out to find her. I hope she hasn’t left the site.”
Guilt, deep and heavy, had Luke standing, too. And something else. Residual feelings for Jayne he was forced to acknowledge. Damn! He could understand the white-hot attraction that kept coming back, but how could he still care about her after all this time, after how she’d left him? “No, let me go find her. I’ll apologize.”
Jess watched him with eyes full of real pain. Luke cursed himself for hurting his friend. Maybe some soul baring was in order. “If it helps any, she reminds me of who I used to be, Jessie. Who I was when I knew her in New York.”
“You say that as if she’s committed a crime by choosing the life she has.”
“I hate her world.”
“I think she does, too. You have more in common than you think.”
Luke frowned.
“Be careful with her, Luke. I mean it.”
Outside, the air had gotten even warmer, or maybe it was being on the hot seat that made Luke sweat. He scanned the area and didn’t see Jayne anywhere. Oh, man, he hoped she hadn’t left. Sometimes Luke could kick himself for his tendency to bully, to orchestrate things, to fix them in a way he thought they should be fixed. In times of stress, he couldn’t seem to control that fault. He crossed to the foundation and was relieved to find her in the basement, inspecting the work that had been done.
Seeing her down there catapulted him into the past. One Saturday morning, when the crews had been off and the site where Madison Conglomerates was building the condos was empty, he and Jayne had been walking around the perimeter, and he’d gone down into the foundation. She’d followed him down the ladder and jumped on his back, her legs banding around him. It was about three months into their relationship and she’d gotten more playful by then, her caution because of asshole Ben Scarborough diminishing. Luke had given her a piggyback ride for a few feet. Then he stopped, pivoted suddenly and anchored her against the cinder blocks. She’d encouraged him, and he’d kissed her senseless. He had her shirt open before he realized where they were. They giggled all the way back to her father’s corporate apartment, where she was staying, and they made playful love the rest of the morning.