Her Summer with the Marine: A Donovan Brothers Novel (Entangled Bliss) (5 page)

Liking the brochures but knowing they needed one little tweak, she sat on her dad’s big office chair. She scanned the brochure into the graphics program and went to work.

…

The following Sunday, Finn flicked the shower faucet knob to stop the water. He stepped out, toweled off, and jumped into jeans and a T-shirt. Barefoot, he padded downstairs, entering the kitchen just as the back door opened.

“Hey, Mom. How was church?”

“Same.” She tossed her purse and sweater on the counter beside the door. A colorful paper fluttered to the floor.

“I hope you don’t mind that I took your little car, the green one you never drive.”

“Of course you can use anything you want.”

“Good.” She bent and picked up the paper. “You know we should probably do something like this for your business, too.”

She handed him a full-color glossy flyer. He glanced down and his eyes widened. “Where did you get this?”

“I think that McDermott girl put them on car windshields while we were at church.”

“You think?”

“I only saw a quick glimpse of her, when I came out of church. She was probably on her way to the Baptist service. If she’s smart she’ll have hit every church in town this morning.”

He gaped at his mom, then glanced at the flyer again. Beautifully, professionally done with a gorgeous picture of the old Victorian house adorning the front. He flipped over the flyer and saw the personal note from Ellie.

“As most of you are aware, my father has fallen ill. I don’t know what his care will cost over the next few years, but I want him to be in the best facility possible. I’m sure you all do too. So I’m asking you to support McDermott’s so we can do right by my father. At one time or another, he’s taken care of everyone in this town. Now it’s our turn to repay him.”

“Shit. Damn. Hell!” He’d left her alone the past few days, not just to give them both a chance to cool down, but also to let her see she was probably going to fail. He pictured her sitting at the desk, tapping her pencil, waiting for the phone to ring. Instead, she’d created a brochure.

His mother frowned. “I thought it was very tasteful. Honest.” She grimaced. “Poor Mark.”

He tossed the brochure to the table. “That’s just the point! It
is
tasteful and honest, and it evokes tons of sympathy, but they’re our competition.”

She grimaced again. “I know.”

“And everybody who likes her dad is going to go racing over.”

“Only if someone in their family dies, sweetie.”

He flicked the brochure across the table. “Crap.” Then, on second thought, he strode over and scooped it up again. He slid his feet into flip-flops, grabbed the Range Rover keys, and pounded into the garage.

Ten minutes later, he jumped out of his SUV and bounded up the walk to McDermott’s. He wanted to hammer on Ellie’s door, but instead, he rang the bell and squeezed his eyes shut as a soft strain of classical music played. Even their damned doorbell was classy.

When no one answered, he hit the bell again. And again. And again. If only because he was mad.

Finally the door opened, and he faced narrow-eyed Ellie. In a different tank top and tight jeans that clung to her rounded hips, she was virtually edible. His heart chugged to a stop. His anger evaporated.

“What do you want?”

What do I want?
Sheesh. With her in that tank top, he wanted what he’d wanted this time last week—the chance to devour her. She was one of those unusual women who dripped sexiness even with cute short curly hair and wide, innocent eyes.

Or maybe he just saw her as sexy because he knew how soft she was, how she melted under his touch, how it felt to have her hands on him—

The paper in his hand picked up the sun and glinted at him, reminding him why he’d come to her house.

He cursed himself for being an idiot. As Devon had said, this needed to be about business. Nothing personal. He shook the brochure at her. “What the hell is this?”

One of her eyebrows arched. “Good advertising?”

“You’re begging people to use your mortuary!”

“Yeah, so?”

“So how the hell am I supposed to compete with that?”

“I’m hoping you can’t.”

He raised his hand as if to make a point, then realized he didn’t have one. Sunday night at the American Legion, he’d been telling Devon he could beat her, telling himself he was a Rottweiler and she was a poodle, yet in one brochure she’d turned the tables?

It was just like middle school when she’d made the volcano that spewed fake lava, and he’d done the crop rotation project that everybody thought was boring.

Of course, after that, she’d never beaten him at a science fair again. He’d figure this out too.

“Okay. You want a fight. You’ll get a fight.”

“I don’t want a fight. I just want to make sure I get my fair share of the business.”

“Right.”

She laughed. “Oh, I see what’s going on.” She poked her finger at him. “This isn’t about me. This is about you. You don’t like it when I beat you.”

He nearly caught her finger, but remembered how soft her fingers were and swallowed hard. “We’ll see if you beat me. You’re not the only one who needs the money. And you’re not the only one with business smarts.”

She stepped into his personal space. “Oh, yeah? What are you going to do?”

Right at that very second, if she were a normal girl, he would have kissed her. He would have kissed her because he was attracted to her. He would have kissed her to shut her up. He would have kissed her because that’s what his body was telling him to do.

When he didn’t answer, she took another step closer.

Now she wasn’t merely in his personal space—their bodies were virtually touching. He could smell her shampoo, feel waves of femininity drifting from her, awakening his hormones.

As if she’d finally figured out what she’d done, she looked up and caught his gaze, her brown eyes wide and confused. Their gazes stayed locked. Seconds ticked off the clock. The urge to kiss her shifted from hot and demanding to something he couldn’t quite identify. This woman who’d always been a thorn in his side had also been the first person to listen when he talked about his dad. And now with her dad sick, part of him wanted to soothe her, to comfort her with a warm kiss that would melt both of their bones.

Oh, great. Thinking about sleeping with her he could handle. But soothing her?

That was crazy.

Stupid
.

What the hell was he thinking?

He sucked in a breath, stepped back, turned, and walked away.

Chapter Six

Ellie watched Finn stride down the sidewalk, her pulse hammering in her throat.

Had he just wanted to kiss her?

Right before he’d spun away, she could swear he was fighting to keep himself from kissing her.

All these years she’d thought their tryst in his car had been nothing but a conquest to him, a way to befuddle her so much she’d stumble in the calculus exam, but this morning she swore she’d seen real lust in his eyes.

She sighed with disgust at herself. Really?
That
was her priority today? They were competing for business. She had a sick dad. And she was standing by her open door like a loon, wondering whether or not he wanted to kiss her?

Turning to go up the stairs to her apartment, she tried to get it out of her head, but that look in his eyes seemed to be burned into her brain. It was hungry.

Predatory.

A shiver ran through her. The things that look made her feel were definitely sinful—

She frowned. No. Not sinful. Delicious.

Really
delicious. As in…right, normal, supposed-to-happen, the way she’d felt the night before the calc exam.

The memory of sitting in that old Buick, talking with Finn like friends for hours, tiptoed back to her. Then he’d kissed her, long and slow. Not like a horny, hurried teenager, but like somebody who truly cared for her…

Shimmery warmth coursed through her.

She stifled a scream as she searched for her purse. What the devil was she thinking about this for? If he’d truly cared about her, he would have talked to her the next day. Not avoided her like the plague. The kid had used her. For sex. To psych her out. He’d lied to soften her toward him and then he’d moved in for the kill. He did not “like” her.

Though it took the strength of Samson, she wouldn’t let herself think about Finn on the drive to Harmony Hills Hideaway.

Eager to see her dad and feel normal again, she raced into his room, but he didn’t recognize her. She couldn’t tell him about the brochures. They couldn’t talk about anything personal. She just made small talk, as if she were a stranger, until her dad fell asleep. Then she watched two hours of TV, hoping he’d awaken and know her, but he didn’t. Worse, no forwarded calls from McDermott’s came to her cell phone. She wondered if the brochure that had gotten Finn so angry had actually done any good.

Her phone didn’t ring.

Her brochures hadn’t worked.

Her dad didn’t know her.

And she was now imagining lust in Finn’s eyes.

Leaving her dad’s little suite, she reminded herself it had been a very long week. Working long distance was getting difficult, but she also needed a break. A few days in Pittsburgh would remind her of her real life, and show her that she didn’t need to be thinking about Finn.

She pulled her silent cell phone from her jeans pocket and called Dan.

“What can I do you for?”

She laughed. His comment wasn’t all that funny, but she needed a favor. “I’m going to Pittsburgh tomorrow morning.”

“O-kay.”

The word was more of a question. Probably Dan couldn’t understand why she’d feel the need to tell him. She bit her bottom lip. “I want to stay a few days to get caught up on my work, but without me there, McDermott’s will look deserted and that’s not good. Would it be possible for you to sit in the office for a few hours every day in case somebody comes by?”

He sucked in a breath as if he’s just been crowned Miss America. “I’d be happy to. Honored.”

“Great.” A hundred-pound weight lifted from her shoulders. Guilt tried to replace it, but she held it off with the reminder that the Tidy Whitiez money was every bit as important to her father’s care as the funeral home income. “We’ll pay you, of course. And I’ll be home on Wednesday night.” She grimaced. “Unless I have to come back sooner because somebody dies.”

Dan said, “Here’s hoping.”

She grimaced again. She really hated that part of the business.

But at least she was getting away from Finn. Not just the distraction of his good looks and fake charm, but their exhausting competition. Hopefully, by the time she returned, he wouldn’t be angry over her brochures anymore, and people would also think of her instead of him when they lost a loved one.

…

Finn had just gone to his room to get ready for bed when his phone rang. He glanced at caller ID.

His second brother, Cade.

“Don’t you know what time it is?”

“It’s seven.” Cade laughed. “In Montana.”

“Very funny.”

“How’s Mom?”

“Why don’t you call her?”

“I did. She told me she was fine. Now I’m calling you to make sure.”

He set his phone on the sink’s granite countertop and hit speaker. “So far so good.” He pulled his white T-shirt over his head.

“Dad’s not sniffing around?”

His jaw hardened. “Some days I wish he would.”

“You just stifle that, Marine. The very worst thing you could do is get into a fight with him.”

“Easy for you to say when you’re a convenient two thousand miles away.”

He could picture Cade squirming in the silence that followed. He and Devon had enlisted in the marines immediately after high school. But Cade had been smitten with Lonnie Simmons, prettiest girl in his class at Harmony Hills High. She’d finally noticed him their senior year, and almost immediately after they began dating, she’d gotten pregnant. Cade was supposed to marry her after they graduated. But the day of their wedding, he’d seen DNA test results that proved Lonnie’s baby wasn’t his—and she’d known. He couldn’t tell anyone the doctor had shown him the results or Doc would lose his license. The whole town believed he’d deserted her when he’d left her at the altar. If he came back, he faced a shitstorm.

“I’ll be home,” Cade growled. “Eventually. So what’s up with you and the McDermott girl competing again?”

Finn cursed. “Devon’s got a big mouth.”

“Come on.” Cade laughed. “You used to be able to take teasing better than this.”

“This isn’t funny. Her dad is sick. She hates her family’s funeral home. She works in Pittsburgh. There’s no reason for her to be here.”

“Except she is.”

He slipped on a pair of sweatpants. “Right.”

“Don’t let her get in your head, little brother. You’ve been working that town for its business for six months.”

Dressed now, he picked up his phone and took it off speaker. “I have.”

“And you were doing well.”

He turned off the master bathroom light and walked into his bedroom. “I was. I was getting the advance business—prepaid funerals. A much better way to earn a living than sitting around waiting for people to die.”

“So go back to doing what you were doing.”

“Right.” He sat on his bed and ran a hand down his face. He did have a few ideas. And he’d never so easily let Ellie McDermott walk all over him.

So she was in advertising? So she had a few tools he didn’t? He could be every bit as crafty as she was.

…

Late Wednesday night, Ellie turned off the highway and drove the next five miles on back roads that wound through the mountains of west-central Pennsylvania. Having had three full days to get the Tidy Whitiez campaign going in the right direction, she felt comfortable, relaxed. After two nights’ sleep in her own bed, her energy was back—and her optimism. No blond-haired, blue-eyed charmer was getting the better of her. She was ready to run McDermott’s.

She winced. Just as soon as somebody died.

The closer she got to Harmony Hills, the more signs of civilization. Houses. Telephone poles. Billboards.

The new electronic billboards sort of surprised her. She saw them regularly in cities, used them for her own ad campaigns. She simply wasn’t accustomed to seeing them in the trees of the forest that lined the rickety road to Harmony Hills.

Especially not one with…

She leaned forward, narrowed her eyes.

Were those angels?

The closer she got to the billboard, the clearer it became that they were indeed angels. In fact, the billboard pictured Finn Donovan flanked by angels.
Donovan’s Funeral Home…let us lead your loved ones home.

She pulled her car to the side of the road, screeched to a stop, and got out, staring at the brightly colored electric sign that rotated to an advertisement for the town mechanic, the used car dealer, the diner, someone’s birthday, and finally back to Finn.

Her mouth fell open. Every version that rolled by had an even stronger message.

We’ll carry your loved ones home.

We’ll escort your loved ones to the pearly gates.

In your time of need, let us carry the burden the way less-experienced proprietors can’t.

Oh, for God’s sake! That was a jab at her! Which was probably exactly what he’d needed to counter the plea in her brochure. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.

The screen flipped again. The town mechanic, the used car dealer, the diner, someone’s birthday, and back to Finn.

She looked closer…

Was one of those angels flanking him Barbara Beth
—
blond and beautiful—looking angelic in her white robe and big white wings?

It was Barbara Beth! Posing in an ad for the opposition!

Oh, she was
so
fired.

Driving home, she saw the ads two more times. He’d plastered the town with them!

She stomped up the porch steps, shoved her key into the lock, and just barely resisted screaming as she ran up the stairs to the apartment.

This was war.

…

Friday morning, Finn entered the diner dressed for work in gray trousers, a white oxford shirt, and a tie, which he left loose at the neck as a nod to the fact that he worked in a comfortable small town. Newspaper tucked under his arm, he ambled to a back booth.

He ordered coffee and the big breakfast, since he was trying very hard to counter Ellie’s brochures by looking unaffected by them. When the waitress left, he opened the paper and there it was.

FREE FLORAL ARRANGEMENT. A $200 VALUE. MCDERMOTT’S FUNERAL HOME. WHERE WE PUT FAMILY FIRST.

His mouth fell open. A coupon? Seriously?

With every second that passed, he got angrier and antsier. Still, he finished his breakfast, flirted with the waitress, gave her a good tip, and then strolled up the street as if nothing were wrong. Except he tossed the newspaper in the trash because her coupon had him virtually vibrating with anger.

He had to counter this. Even though they were going on two long weeks with no deaths, he had to counter.

He stopped himself. Did he really have to? Ellie only seemed to be going after immediate funerals, while he was working the prepaid funeral angle. Technically, unless she went after the prepaid funerals, her coupon was worthless. Her brochures a moot point.

Still, he couldn’t let her keep the psychological advantage. If he wanted her to sell that place, she had to hit her limit. See that she’d taken on too much. Remember how much she hated living in Harmony Hills. In other words, she had to be miserable. And he didn’t need to spend money to make her miserable.

A thought came. He chuckled.

Yep, he didn’t have to spend money to get to her.

…

Ellie returned from another trip to O’Riley’s Market with two bags of groceries. Steaks. Potatoes. Fixings for salad. And fresh veggies. Now that the living quarters were clean, she would take care of her diet. No more sadness cupcakes.

She pulled her car into a parking space in front of the funeral home for easier access to the house, opened the door, and swung out.

Seeing Finn sitting on the park bench across the street, the one that faced McDermott’s, she narrowed her eyes.

Was he reading a book?

She gave herself a mental shake and opened the back door of her car. What did she care if he was reading a book across from her funeral home? It was a free country. He could read in the park if he so desired.

She wouldn’t let her eyes stroll across the quiet small-town street. Refused. She could hear kids playing in the playground. She knew their parents or babysitters would be standing in clusters, chitchatting. It would be ridiculously foolish to look at him. It would be worse to march across the street and ask if he was sitting there, focusing on her business, doing some kind of positive-thinking voodoo to try to mess with her mind, so she’d sell McDermott’s to him.

When she bent into the backseat to retrieve her two bags of groceries, she was hidden by the car, so she let her eyes inch upward. Through the window she saw he hadn’t moved. And he wasn’t looking at her.

The bastard.

What the hell did he want? What the hell was he doing?

Well, physically, he was reading a book. But why directly across from her business?

She pulled the bags out of the car, turned, and walked up her sidewalk. On the big front porch, she set her groceries on one of the two wicker chairs in front of the swing and unlocked the door. She retrieved the bags, fighting her eyes that wanted to look at him, and walked inside, up the stairs. At the top, she unlocked the door to the living quarters.

She stowed her groceries in a cabinet, and realized it was high time she tossed the outdated food. As a bonus, that would keep her too busy to look out the window until Finn was gone.

But her dad had let the coffers get pathetically low, so low it took only a half hour to empty the cupboards and wipe down the shelves.

Still, that was plenty of time for Finn to get bored and leave. Standing by the side of the kitchen window, she pushed the curtain slightly to the left, not so far that she could be seen but enough that she could see, and damned if he wasn’t still there.

What a pain in the ass.