“Mrs. Matisse?”
Christel looked up from her desk and immediately melted into a wide smile. “Well, hello there Mr. Matisse.” She clicked out of her accounting software program and closed her laptop. Grinning, she stood and held up her hand, admiring her wedding ring. “I still can’t believe I’m your wife.”
Evan pulled her into his arms. “You still owe me that honeymoon,” he whispered against her ear.
She leaned back, enjoying the kisses he brushed against her neck. “I—I’m sorry I’m so busy,” she said, breathless. “Your proposal came as a surprise. So did the ceremony. I—” She paused, enjoying the way his lips felt against her skin. “I promise we’ll get away soon.”
She felt his hand in her hair. “We’ll just have to practice until then.” His mouth found hers and Christel closed her eyes, enjoying the taste of him, the feel of him pressed against her.
Someone cleared their throat from the doorway. “Get a room, you two!”
Christel pulled back to find her sister standing just inside the door with her hands on her hips and an amused look on her face.
“I’m sorry, am I interrupting?” Katie grinned. “Clearly, I came at a wrong time.”
“What do you need?” Christel asked, her voice filled with annoyance.
Katie glanced around Christel’s office. “I think we could redo your office to include a trundle bed for the newlyweds. There’s plenty of room.”
Evan laughed. “I wouldn’t argue against that. So long as a lock is added to the door,” he teased.
Christel shook her head. “Stop. Both of you.” Nonplussed, she directed her full attention to her sister. “What did you need?”
“I needed to talk to you about something.” She glanced between Christel and Evan. “But I can come back a little later.”
Evan lifted his hand. “No, stay. I was on my way to the hospital and just dropped by to say hi…to my new wife.” He looked over at Christel like he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. “But I have a surgery in a couple of hours and need to get going.” He turned to Christel. “So, I’ll see you at home tonight?”
She smiled and winked at him. “See you at home.”
Evan brushed her cheek with a kiss and headed out the door. Christel then motioned to her guest chair, still smiling. “Sit. What do you need?”
Katie sat and started picking lint off her pants. “I need to tell you something.”
Christel placed her clasped hands on the top of her desk and steepled her fingers. “I’m listening.”
Katie opened her mouth but before she could speak Christel’s phone rang. She held up a finger. “Sorry. Hold that thought.”
The call was from an OSHA representative who had a question about an accident report they’d filed after a worker mistakenly walked straight into one of the electric fences meant to keep out feral pigs. The fact he was standing in a small puddle of water magnified the shock.
Christel had the foresight to anticipate this call and had conducted a good measure of legal research as to what ramifications Pali Maui might expect. In the end, the representative simply needed to be assured corrective measures had been instituted and were in place to keep a similar incident from occurring in the future. Thanks to Mig’s idea, the current to their fencing would be cut anytime workers were in the area. It wasn’t likely feral pigs would breach the perimeter when people were nearby. Most of the incidents occurred at night, when the pigs rooted for food.
When the call ended, Christel looked up to find Katie gone. She shrugged and opened her laptop. No doubt her sister would return…if it was important.
Katie groaned. What she needed to tell Christel was extremely important. She desperately needed to warn her sister about Greer Latham and come clean about what had happened. She’d been foolish to think she’d have her sister’s uninterrupted attention while Christel was at work. Katie would simply have to catch her later.
Admittedly, she didn’t relish revealing the real reason why her trip to Honolulu months ago had gone down in flames—about how her manufacturing proposal for a project she had dreamed up had hit a wall. She’d have to answer why she didn’t tell anyone about the ill-fated incident with Greer Latham…especially Jon.
While she didn’t have a great answer for keeping what had happened on her trip secret, she remembered Christel was already against proceeding with the proposal, stating the timing was off. It was simply too close after their father had died. She urged Katie to put her idea to expand the gift shop and introduce new product lines on hold until Christel had more time to focus on the situation. The fact was, Christel didn’t think she was up for the job without her help.
Katie also knew her sister and mom hoped to redesign the golf course soon. The renovation project would take precedence and any extra capital or use of credit lines, would be directed there.
Ignoring all that, Katie had hoped that she could put the deal together on her own, one with financial terms no one could balk at. And her idea had been a good one. The meeting went well and concluded with a promise of funding, just like she’d hoped. The only problem she encountered was Greer Latham. Unfortunately, she’d learned he was a sleazeball.
Katie shuddered remembering how he’d slipped his hand onto her leg suggestively on the way to the airport. He had more in mind than extending a loan, that was apparent.
What was Jon going to say when he found out?
They had just weathered a marital storm and now she was about to send their relationship headlong into another squall, one with potential gale force winds.
Katie had tossed and turned all last night pondering how to avoid coming clean. Truth was, she couldn’t—not now. Not when Pali Maui was at stake.
Katie straightened her shoulders and drew a deep breath. She couldn’t put this off any longer. If Christel was busy, she needed to go talk to Jon before he got swept up with the lunch crowd. If she told him now, he might have time to cool off before getting home this evening.
She found her husband over at the restaurant in the kitchen going over payroll and attendance records, a task that would already have him in a foul mood. How many times had Jon complained that his wait staff was notorious for showing up for work late but expected to be paid for the missed time?
“Honey, do you have a minute?”
Jon barely looked up. “What do you need, babe?”
“I need to talk to you.” When his attention remained on the paperwork, she added, “It’s important.”
Jon held up an open palm. “Just a minute.”
Katie waited impatiently for several seconds before she’d had enough. “Jon! I said we need to talk.”
Jon slowly raised his head and looked her way. “What is it?”
“Could we go outside a minute?” She pointed to the deck.
He wiped his hands on a kitchen towel. “Sure, but I can’t be long.”
Katie headed for the deck and leaned her elbows on the railing, letting the vista buoy her spirits. Before she could bail on her intention, she opened her mouth and began telling Jon about her trip.
“You remember when I took that business trip to Honolulu and you picked me up at the airport?”
His face broke into a smile. “Yeah, I remember. I picked you up thinking you were pregnant.”
Katie joined him in the memory. “Oh, yeah. I remember. Upon learning the truth, that the pregnancy test you’d found in the trash was not mine, we both immediately assumed it belonged to Willa.”
Jon leaned his elbows over the deck and looked out over the golf course. “Thank goodness we were wrong…on both counts.”
Katie knew that was her moment. “Well, there was something I’d intended to tell you but didn’t because of all that distraction. I mean, immediately we were focused on our daughter.”
Jon looked at her. “Yeah?”
“Well, what I didn’t tell you was that the guy I met with offered to take me to the airport. On the way, he made a play.”
Jon scowled. “What do you mean…a play?”
She told him how Greer Latham had suggested they were each lonely and might meet each other’s needs. “I immediately set him straight, of course.”
Jon looked, his expression a mixture of puzzlement and anger. “Why are you telling me all this now?”
Katie chewed at her lip. “Because Mom and Christel have agreed to a bridge loan with Latham Enterprises to finance the golf course renovation.”