Anna Berzani bent over the drafting table, spreading a layer
of vellum over the site plan. Her laptop sat open next to
her, flashing the photos she had taken while visiting the
site. Sketching quickly, she outlined her idea for the new
building, translating the vision in her head from three
dimensions to two. She could see the contours of the land
cradling the glass, steel and concrete. Resting her chin on
her fist for a moment, she considered the drawing before
curving one line and changing the angle on another.
"Nice view."
Anna froze. Her pencil fell to the table. She knew that deep
voice with the thread of amusement running through it. But
it couldn't be him—it
couldn't. He was
three thousand miles away. Slowly, she turned her head,
looking over her shoulder to the door.
A tall man stood smiling at her from the doorway of her
office. He was gorgeous: his jaw chiseled, nose
arrow-straight. His short blond hair gleamed like old gold
under the harsh florescent lights. Anna's fingers itched
to touch it, to thread through the silken strands. Beneath
the perfectly tailored suit he wore, she knew his shoulders
were broad, tapering to a narrow waist. Probably well
tanned, too; the memory of him standing on the dock in the
hot summer sunshine in nothing but swim trunks made her
mouth go dry. His casual stance—hands tucked into the
pockets of his gray suit trousers—made him look like a
model from a glossy magazine: fashionable, smooth and
slightly dangerous.
In seconds, she was snared by laughing green eyes, mischief
radiating from them, luring her in.
The man of my
dreams, Anna thought hazily as she straightened and
turned toward him, pulled by some unbidden force. He walked
to her, holding her eyes captive with his. Her breath caught
as he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. The feel of
his warm lips on her skin sent a shiver down her spine.
"How's it going, Anna-Banana?"
Anna cringed at the nickname and came back to reality with a
bump. "Now I remember why I never miss you," she
said tartly.
Evan McKenzie laughed. "Oh, you miss me," he said,
tapping a finger on her chin. "You just won't admit
it."
"What are you doing here?"
"I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd stop
by."
"Liar."
Anna folded her arms and leaned back against the table with
a studied nonchalance that belied her inner turmoil. Her
heart was thudding crazily and she felt as if there
wasn't enough air in the room. She wanted to move away
from Evan—the next state wouldn't be too
far—but that risked revealing how much he had unsettled
her. She knew better than to show any weakness.
Evan shook his head. "You're a hard woman to fool,
Anna Berzani."
"And don't you ever forget it." Anna tilted her
head to one side. "How did you get in here, anyway?
I'm supposed to have a secretary out there to intercept
intruders like you."
Evan walked over to her desk and picked up a paperweight. As
he shook the small globe, sparkles of color shifted and
whirled around a miniature Golden Gate Bridge. He grinned
and slid a glance over at Anna.
"She's a lovely woman. Very helpful. I'd give
her a generous bonus."
"Meaning you smarmed your way past her." Refusing to
be charmed herself, Anna shook her head in exasperation. She
didn't hold her secretary's laxness against her.
Evan McKenzie could sell honey to bees and coax the stars
from heaven.
"Oh, Annie," he said with a frown, setting the globe
down and turning to face her. "You shouldn't be so
cynical. Besides, I'm not an intruder, I'm
practically
family."
Anna snorted. "Not hardly."
"Your mother claims me."
"She's never been very discriminating."
Evan walked back over to stand directly in front of Anna again.
Despite her best efforts, she felt a flush of color mount
her cheeks as his gaze traveled over her face. This close to
him, she could smell the faint aroma of his
aftershave—citric and sharp—with another
underlying scent that was Evan alone. Dropping her eyes, she
focused on the neatly knotted yellow paisley tie at his
throat. When he reached out an arm, she tensed in
anticipation—of what, she didn't know.
"Where's this?"
His hand slipped past her, pointing to her computer. Lashes
flying up, Anna realized he was looking at the screen of her
laptop, not at her. The click of the mouse as he scrolled
through her photos sounded loud to her ears. Cursing
herself, she willed her heart to settle to a safe, steady pace.
"Arcata. I'm designing a resort."
"Beautiful site. What kind?"
"It's primarily for company retreats, but
there's a full spa along with three pools, a gym and two
restaurants that will be open to the public, too." Anna
shifted away from Evan to look at the pictures—any
excuse to put some distance between them. "I'm going
to site the building overlooking the valley. The corner will
go here, with balconies out this way." She tapped her
pencil on the rough sketch she had done.
Evan looked at the paper, his eyes narrowed. "Yes, and
if this line curved in over here, you could hide that pool
behind this clump of trees. It would make it more private."
Anna frowned as she absorbed his observation. Looking down
at the drawing, she realized he had a point. She penciled in
his suggestion with a few quick strokes. It would work
surprisingly well. Adding a couple extra shrubs at the base
of the trees, she cocked her head to one side, contemplating
the change.
Yes. And that would make this part of the
building—
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone that you got
help from an unlicensed amateur," Evan said with a chuckle.
Anna glanced up to find him watching her. She flushed again
and put down the pencil. "Why
are you here
bugging me, anyway?" she asked irritably.
Evan's eyelids lowered for a moment. When they lifted,
all laughter had vanished, as if a shutter had been drawn
over his thoughts. Anna couldn't read his expression now
and that worried her. What
did he want? He would
not have flown across the entire country on a whim. There
was a reason for him to be in San Francisco. She just had to
figure out what it was and send him back to Maryland.
Startling her from her thoughts, Evan took her hand, his
fingers lightly lacing into hers. Anna was shaken by the
sizzle of heat that flared from that simple touch.
Stiffening her spine, she stared at him, refusing to look
away this time. She knew he was playing with her; he teased
her every chance he got. Why was it so hard to keep herself
from taking it seriously?
"Come on. What do you want, Evan?" she asked,
keeping her voice even with effort. "Stop playing around
and spill it."
His gaze flickered down to her mouth for a second, then
lifted back to her eyes. The emerald depths drew her into
their heat and promise. "It's simple," he said
softly. "I want
you, Annie."
Anna pulled her hand from his. Reaching back, she gripped
the edge of the worktable, searching for some solid
foundation in a suddenly teetering world. The words were a
shock. She had waited a long time to hear them—thirteen
years, to be exact—ever since she was fifteen years
old. She swallowed hard, her throat dry.
"Here's your coffee, Mr. McKenzie. I'm sorry it
took so long, but I made a fresh pot for you."
Anna jerked as the bright voice of her secretary cut through
the haze in her brain. Evan kept his gaze locked to hers for
another moment longer, then turned to face the other woman.
Anna sucked in a deep breath. The hard edge of the table bit
into her palms, bringing some measure of sanity. What the
hell had just happened?
"You didn't have to do that, Sarah," Evan said.
"Thank you."
"Oh, no problem," she said with a chirp. "Can I
get you anything else?"
"Not a thing. This is more than enough."
Anna watched the exchange in silence, glad for the respite.
She used the opportunity to slide past Evan and walk around
her desk, again putting distance between herself and Evan
McKenzie. She sat in her chair, grateful to get off her
wobbly legs, and stared blindly at the papers strewn across
the desk.
Once, she had had a crush on Evan McKenzie. Her older
brother's best friend, he had been a constant visitor to
their house, a fixture in her life for years. She didn't
know when it had happened exactly, but she had gradually
come to realize that she was in love with him. He, of
course, hardly knew that she was alive. Well, she corrected
herself, he knew she was
there, he just didn't
know she was female. Five years older, Evan had not been
interested in a skinny redheaded girl, the little sister in
his adopted family.
His indifference hadn't spared her from heartache; it
only intensified the pain. She had watched longingly as he
paraded a series of girlfriends past her, wishing all the
time she could be the one he touched, cuddled and kissed.
The only attention he granted young Anna was merciless
teasing, the sort with which any brother tormented his
little sister. Eventually, Anna left for college, giving her
the chance to outgrow her crush. Time and distance had cured
her. She had thought they had. Until today.
Anna looked up at Evan. He was turned away from her, but she
saw Sarah backing out of the office, still smiling and
chattering. Her secretary's face bloomed rosy with
blushes he had no doubt cultivated.
Sighing, she rubbed a hand over her forehead. Somehow, his
sudden appearance had caused her to slip back to the age
when she was young and too hopeful. She didn't want to
be that aching teenager again. She wasn't in love with
Evan McKenzie now. God knew, Evan would never be in love
with her. As far as she knew, he had never been in love with
any woman.
Evan set his mug down on Anna's desk. "Why the
fierce look, Annie? Does your secretary making coffee for me
offend your feminist principles? "
Anna frowned, then flicked a hand in a dismissive gesture.
"That's her business. No one orders anyone around
here. We all pitch in to get the work done, whatever the job
requires."
"How egalitarian of you." Evan sat in the chair
across from her, hitching up his pant legs and settling
himself comfortably. He looked relaxed and cool, everything
Anna wasn't.
She leaned back in her chair, forcing herself to act
unperturbed. "And speaking of jobs, I ought to get back
to mine."
"Ah, but you
are working. You're meeting
with a potential client right now." When Evan smiled,
Anna tensed even more.
"You?" she asked, her eyes narrowing on his face.
"I thought you just bought a new house."
"No. It's bigger than that. Much bigger."
"Does this involve Patrick in some way?"
Evan tilted his head. "It might." His face was
innocence personified. "Why'd you ask?"
Anna snorted in derision. "I'm not getting snared
into one of your schemes. Every stunt you guys dream up
usually ends in disaster of some kind."
"Give us a chance, Annie," he said, his eyes alight
with mischief once more. "You haven't heard the
details."
"I don't need to. I've experienced some of the
details before," Anna said drily. "Remember
that submarine idea you two cooked up?"
"We were kids then."
"And you're
so mature now." She shook
her head. "Patty should have known I'd say no, Evan.
Is that why he sent you to do the dirty work?"
"He thinks I can be more persuasive in this particular
situation," Evan said with a smirk.
"I see." She tapped a pencil on the desk. "Just
out of curiosity, what big idea are we talking about?"
she asked. If she was wise, she would skip the question and
get rid of him. Immediately.
"Nothing special. Just redeveloping your parents'
property."
"What?" Anna stared at him. Of all the
possibilities, this was the last thing she expected him to
say. "The boatyard? Into
what?"
"Anything but a boatyard. It's a beautiful
location," Evan said. "Perfect for a few condos,
some retail, maybe even a restaurant."
"But what about the business?" Anna asked, bewildered.
"We definitely keep the marina. It'll be a real draw
once we get all the other stuff in place." Evan leaned
forward. "Here's the deal. First, you do the design.
Next stop is the planning commission, which should be a slam
dunk, and we're in business. We could break ground by
March first."
"Wait a minute here," Anna said, holding up one
hand. "March
first? It's August, Evan."
"I know it's pushing it, but we can do it, Annie."
"You're nuts." Anna shook her head. "Even if
I—"
"Okay, we don't have to break ground by March,"
Evan said. "But we
have to get the planning
commission stamp by November first. After that we can relax
the schedule."
"November?" Anna's voice rose to a
squeak. The man was insane. "
What is the rush?"
"Funding," he said, his green eyes intent as they
stared into hers. "There's a temporary federal
program, the Small Community Development Fund, to help
encourage projects like this one. We qualify and honestly,
we can't do the project without that money. But it
expires sooner than we thought."
Anna's head was spinning from all the information Evan
had thrown at her. The fact that her parents wanted to
redevelop the boatyard was the first mystery, but she set
that aside for the moment. She had to nip this craziness in
the bud.
"It's completely unrealistic. First off, the
planning process alone is likely to take months."
"I have a connection on the commission. Miriam Shermer.
She's a pretty strong voice. If we give her plans and
applications, she'll get us the approval we need in
time."
"Even still, there's a lot to be done before you
apply for permits, like site surveys, traffic studies, a
public comment period. And all that takes place
after
the design is worked out."
"That's why I'm here. You know the property, the
area and, most important, the clients," he countered
smoothly. "You can put together a design your parents
will love in no time at all, Annie."
"That's presuming my parents even know what they
want."
"Since when does your father
not have an
opinion about anything?"
"Knowing my father, he probably has ten opinions, all
contradictory to each other," Anna said with a snap,
then gave an irritated sigh. "This is ridiculous. I
haven't lived in Crab Creek for eleven years, Evan. I
have no idea what's being built out there. I'd have
to dig through all the local ordinances for restrictions,
variances, zoning. Besides that, I'm not licensed in
Maryland."
"Don't worry," he said, waving a hand in
dismissal. "I know an architect who's willing to do
a reciprocal stamp for you. Whatever you don't know, he
can fill in the gaps."
"Then why aren't you using him?"
"Because we want you."
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