The Ivy House

chapter 19

Phoebe took a step into the shop. It was more than a shop, she supposed. North Coast Outfitters occupied prime real estate along the waterfront of Queensbay Harbor, adjacent to the Osprey Arms, and an easy place to stop for boaters and general tourists. She figured if she were going to make a deal with the devil, then she should get a better feel for him. Plus, she had some concerns over the terms of the contract, and it seemed more expedient to deal with Chase directly than go back and forth using lawyers, hers in Los Angeles and Chase’s in New York. After all, the two of them were in the same town.

Large black-and-white posters hung on the walls of the shop, pictures of people sailing in boats, sunning themselves, generally enjoying the good life. She took a closer look at one of the pictures and saw that, sure enough, it was Chase, at the helm of a large sailboat, standing on the deck like a modern-day pirate, winds filled, water foaming at the bow. She swallowed. He even looked sexy in black and white, his dark hair blown by the wind, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, his hands large and capable at the wheel. She swallowed, suddenly thinking that it might be better to just send her comments to the lawyer.

She heard it then, a trilling happy laugh, and a stunning woman with dark hair stepped into view. Chase walked next to her, one arm around her shoulder. He said something to her, and she looked up at him and laughed again. Phoebe tensed. He hadn’t said he was single when she had given him the chance, but he hadn’t claimed to be dating anyone either. Had she mistaken the vibes she’d been getting from him all along?

Phoebe almost turned, ready to hurry back to Ivy House, when she was spotted.

“Phoebe.” Chase’s voice was sexy, still tinged with the laughter he had been sharing with the woman on his arm.

Without bothering to disentangle himself, he walked over to Phoebe. The woman under his arm glanced up at him and then over at Phoebe.

“Hello, I’m Caitlyn Randall.” She held out a hand and Phoebe couldn’t quite miss the way the light caught the enormous diamond on her hand. Phoebe felt herself stiffen and plastered what she hoped was a cool and professional smile on her face as she shook the other woman’s hand.

“Forgive me. Caitlyn, this is Phoebe Ryan, the new owner of Ivy House.”

Caitlyn’s eyes lit up and she glanced at Phoebe, speculation in her eyes. “Ivy House, you mean that beautiful old house just up from town? The one with the tower?”

“Yes, I suppose that would be the one.”

“Phoebe recently inherited it from her grandmother, Savannah Ryan.”

“Oh.” Interest lit up in Caitlyn’s eyes and Phoebe braced herself.

Instead of the usual questions, Caitlyn’s look turned serious. “I am so sorry for your loss. I loved your grandmother’s movies. All of them.”

“Thank you,” Phoebe managed to say, knowing she sounded stuffy, but she couldn’t help it. So, this was Chase’s type, this East Coast preppy looker. Caitlyn wore a simple wrap dress with knee-high boots and carried an understated leather bag. She looked like she would be equally at home on the deck of a boat in a retro two-piece or riding out on top of some great Charger, leading the hounds in snuffing out their quarry.

Phoebe thought she should have dressed better. What seemed to pass for California chic seemed hopelessly casual here. The morning had promised warmth today, so she had put on a pair of cut-off jeans and a flowing printed blouse and let her hair fall down loose, held back by her sunglasses.

“Well, good luck. Chase says you’re planning on doing some renovations before you sell. I can’t tell you how excited he is, he’s been dreaming of Ivy House…”

“Caitlyn, surely you need to get back to work,” Chase broke in smoothly. Caitlyn shot him a surprised look.

“Yes, the market waits for no woman,” she said and glanced over at Phoebe and then back to Chase.

“Be sure to say hi to Noah. Tell him I have those parts he wanted.”

“I will. And you make sure you keep my little surprise to yourself. His birthday’s coming up and I want him to truly be delighted.”

“My lips are sealed.”

Caitlyn turned to Phoebe again. “It was wonderful to meet you. Perhaps if you’re going to be in town for a while, I can convince you and Chase to come over for drinks. Noah hates to drink alone.”

“I’m sure that would be wonderful,” Phoebe said, puzzled by the comment.

“Chase, I’ll let you explain. Do you have a card, Phoebe? That way I can be sure to track you down. I find men are terrible with details like that.”

Before Phoebe had quite realized what had happened, she had exchanged cards with Caitlyn Randall.

“Noah as in Noah Randall?” she asked. She remembered now what Lynn had told her and realized she had just come in contact with one-half of a power couple.

“The very same. We go way back,” Chase explained, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and Phoebe saw that it was for him. She smiled. Perhaps it was like having a tableful of Hollywood legends over for Thanksgiving.

When she had told Chase she had some questions about the contract, he had quickly ushered her out of the store and across the street to a set of offices above a modern row of shops. People were busy working, and they paid them little mind, except to say hi to Chase as she followed him down the open floor plan and into his own office.

“Coffee, tea?”

“Coffee would be great,” she said. He pressed a button on his phone and ordered it.

“So you go way back with Caitlyn and Noah Randall?” she asked.

“Noah and Caitlyn live up along the east bank of the harbor. Caitlyn loves to entertain, so you better watch out. You will be getting a call from her. Oh, and she’s a financial advisor, so she’s likely to make sure that you’re getting the proper rate of return on your investments, and you can totally trust her. She’s like some sort of uber-mother hen.”

“I still don’t get the drinking-alone thing,” Phoebe said.

“She’s expecting. About three months along.”

“Looks great.” Phoebe felt her heart rate return to normal. So, the glow that hovered about Caitlyn had not been due to Chase’s grin.

Chase gave a shrug and a smile. “Hey, when I knew him, he was just a computer geek who liked playing video games. Who knew where it would lead him.”

Phoebe shot another look at Chase.

“What? Think I’m not refined enough for the likes of Noah Randall?”

“No, not at all. But you do seem a bit like the odd couple,” Phoebe said. There was a knock on the door and an older woman with reddish hair and freckles brought in a tray with a pot of coffee, cups, milk, and sugar. She set it down, reminded Chase he had a meeting, and left with a brisk, efficient nod in Phoebe’s direction.

“We were an odd couple,” Chase said, pouring her some coffee and then a cup for himself. “At first, but we both loved to sail. But I was better. So, Noah used me to win the Junior Cup at the Yacht Club.”

Phoebe frowned. “What did you get out of the deal?”

Chase shrugged. “You’d be surprised.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means Noah and I have been business partners for a long time. I invested in some software, and he invested in some hardware.” Chase made an encompassing gesture and Phoebe nodded.

“Smart.”

“And some luck. You never know where a friendship is going to lead you.”

Chase’s voice had dropped an octave and his grin was wolfish. “Caitlyn and Noah dated each other back when they were teenagers. I’ve known both of them a long time.”

Something about the easy way he said it made Phoebe jealous all over again. Chase seemed to be suggesting he had known both of them—in different ways—for a very long time. They had been very comfortable together. But then she remembered the look in Caitlyn’s eyes when she had said her husband’s name.

“Well, it’s nice to have old friends.” She kept the wistfulness out of her voice, glancing around the office as she did so. It was spare, a modern place or, she realized as she studied it, more like a ship’s cabin with lots of polished wood and discreet storage space. It was masculine without being overpowering. Unassuming, yet powerful and completely confident, much like Chase himself.

“So, you had some questions?” Chase’s eyes sparkled, the sunlight from the expansive windows catching them. His eyes were a deep, deep blue and she felt herself drawn into them, and then remembered why she had decided to track him down in the first place.

“Yes. I thought it would be easier to talk face-to-face instead of going through lawyers.”

“Quite right,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Well, I’m fine with just about everything but this part.” She handed him over a copy of the contract with the section highlighted.

He glanced it over and then looked over at her, amusement on his lips. “You’re saying that we can use your name, but not Savannah’s? Is there a problem with her?”

Phoebe shook her head, wiping her hands on her shorts. This was where she could have used some of Savannah’s acting skill. A scene played out, Savannah done up as a gangster moll, staring down some scary mob boss as she negotiated for the life of her lover. Or maybe it had been for her brother. There had been so many movies, it was hard to keep them all straight.

“No problem with her. But I would just prefer to make a go of it on my name alone. I have no problem with the catalog or press releases talking about me, but I would prefer not to have my relationship with her mentioned.”

“I thought you were close to her.”

Phoebe swallowed. “I was. And that’s why it would be nice to know people liked my work on its own merit. Not because of some old screen legend.”

“So no trading on famous relatives.” Chase took out a pen, crossed out a few lines of text, and put his initials next to it.

“Anything else?” he asked. There was a buzz on his phone. His eyes held her and the buzz was insistent. He pressed a button and his assistant’s voice filtered through. “Your next appointment is here.”

“That’s all,” Phoebe said. She knew she should go. They both had things to do, but something about his eyes pinned her in her seat and she felt a warmth spread over her, starting between her legs and crawling up over her body. She’d never had this reaction to a man just from his look. The question was what to do about it.

“Well, then I guess we have a deal.”

Phoebe smiled. “I suppose so.”

“Well, here’s to a profitable friendship,” he said. His eyes held hers and his intercom rang again.

She got up, pulling her bag with her.

“Thanks for stopping by. Next time, I’ll give you the grand tour.”

“That would be lovely,” Phoebe said, feeling awkward. “I guess I’ll be hearing from you.”

“Consider the deal done. I guess you better get to work. Are you going to be heading back to California to get started? I have to get out to the stores there soon. I am sure I could look you up?”

Phoebe remembered what Caitlyn had started to say about the house, so she smiled, chin drawn up, and channeled her best Savannah look.

“You know, one of the best things about a job like mine is that I take inspiration wherever I can find it.”

Chase had moved around the desk and they were standing close to one another. She could see the way his lips curled up in amusement, and she could feel in her stomach the way his low voice unnerved her.

“Are you feeling inspired?” he asked, his voice dangerously low.

“As it so happens, I have always found that being by the water fills me with a lot of energy.”

He looked at her, a slow grin spreading over his face and she felt her body respond to him, heat licking through her as he took her hand to shake it and then brought it up to skim against his lips.

“Just creative energy?” he murmured.

“You can have my designs, but you can’t have me,” she responded.

“Are you sure about that? I told you: I always get what I want.”

She was stunned into silence for a moment, until the door opened, and the redheaded lady bustled in.

“Looks like that’s my cue to go,” she managed to stammer out, knowing she needed to get out and away from him.