Marc hesitated when he saw her expression. “Come here,” he said after a moment.
She approached the window slowly. When he palmed her jaw he saw tears swell in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered. “Why do you look so serious?”
“I just don’t want to screw up things any further than they already are.”
He placed a hand on her hip and leaned forward, pressing a kiss just below her ribs.
“I know you’ve felt lonely for a long time now,” he told her. “But you’re not going to be standing alone this time. I promise.”
He placed another kiss on her upper abdomen and felt a shudder go through her. He kept his face pressed just below the fullness of her breasts for a few seconds. She smelled so good he needed to concentrate all of his will in order to leave. After a moment, he lifted his head and looked up at her face. She watched him with liquid, fathomless eyes.
“Okay?” he whispered.
She nodded. He leaned forward and kissed her once more—this time on the naked skin above her left breast—and ducked out of the window.
Chapter Ten
Mari arrived at the facility the following afternoon and exclaimed in pleasure when she saw all the bushes and flowers that had been planted. As she alighted from the car, Mari caught a glimpse of her brother carrying a shovel and walking toward the back of the building. Eric Reyes, on the other hand, was crouching and maneuvering a lilac bush into the newly dug earth. He stood as she approached and waved.
“It looks fantastic,” Mari enthused. “I can’t believe how much you and Ryan have done.”
“It’s coming along,” Eric agreed as he removed a pair of gloves. They were practically the only things he was wearing, besides a pair of shorts, socks and tennis shoes. The sun had deepened his muscular torso to a dark bronze. Mari glanced around when she heard the sound of another car pulling into the lot. Eric’s expression stiffened when he saw Colleen step out of the car and start toward them. Mari knew the second Colleen recognized Eric because she halted momentarily and kicked up a few pieces of gravel before she resumed walking.
Mari cleared her throat, acutely aware of the tension in the air as Colleen joined them.
“You two are going to be working together in the future. I’m hoping you’ll end up respecting each other as much as I respect both of you,” Mari said after she’d greeted Colleen.
She glanced at Colleen, whose chin was slightly raised as she regarded Eric. His expression was also rigid.
Suddenly he smiled, his white teeth flashing in his tanned face. “It’s not going to be me starting any fights,” he said significantly. “Welcome to The Family Center, Colleen. From what Mari tells me, we’re lucky to get you.”
Colleen looked a little taken aback, as if she was deciding which parts of Eric’s greeting were sarcastic and which parts genuine. “Thank you,” she murmured.
Mari sighed and led Colleen into the building to show her around, hoping fervently she hadn’t made a mistake by involving both of them. But the fact was, she trusted Colleen and Eric implicitly. It was their working together that created some cause for concern.
After they’d toured the facility and Colleen had chosen an office, they sat down together to go over the employment contract.
“Mari… I’ll have to tell my mom about the job soon,” Colleen said when they were wrapping things up an hour later. “From some of the things you’ve said so far, I’ve gotten the impression you were trying to keep the Center under wraps for the time being. Is it okay with you that Mom knows?”
Mari paused in the action of putting a stack of papers into her briefcase. “Of course you should tell her,” she said firmly, although it was trepidation that filled her, not confidence. “She’ll have to find out sometime, right? It’s inevitable.”
“I thought…perhaps you’d like to tell her,” Colleen said cautiously. “Me? I don’t think that’s a very good idea. You saw yesterday how your mom feels about me.” She sighed when she saw Colleen’s worried expression. “Look, I’d like to think that the news about The Family Center will be welcome to Brigit, but I have a feeling she might view it as an insult.”
“An insult?” Colleen asked.
Mari nodded. “I hope she doesn’t, of course. But that’s been haunting me, that your mother might see me starting this project as a sort of sanctimonious slap to the face. It’s her town, after all. She might consider it intrusive, as if I’m purposefully throwing the crash into the spotlight again…re-opening old wounds.”
“But you’re trying to heal old wounds. This project is about the future, not the past,” Colleen exclaimed.
“I’m so glad you see it that way. But you must see what I mean. Not everyone will agree.”
“Like your brother?”
Mari sighed. “Yeah. Like Ryan. He also believes the past should remain safely buried and contained.”
Colleen inhaled deeply. “Well, we’ll just have to take it one day at a time. People have their opinions, it’s human nature. Just because everyone in Harbor Town isn’t on board initially doesn’t mean we can’t change their mind. They’ll come around once they see the positive things that come out of The Family Center. The proof is in the pudding, right?”