Jack's Surrender (Holiday Cove 5)

“Please, call me Noah. And I appreciate it. I’ll let you get back to your lunch.”

I checked my watch. “You know, actually, I should be getting back to work anyway. If you two want to chat now. You can take my seat.” Noah started to object but I jumped up and cleared away my empty plate and glass. “No, really, I insist. I have to go figure out how to get this one a new cash register,” I teased, jutting my chin in Carly’s direction.

“Yes, please,” Carly said. “I need some of that creative accounting magic.”

I laughed. “On it!”

“You’re an accountant?” Noah asked as we shuffled around one another so he could take my empty seat at the table.

“That’s right.”

“Independent or do you work for a firm?”

My heart leaped. Was he looking for a CPA? I hadn’t clearly seen what business he was in, but if he was new in town and had enough business to hold catered conferences, he could be a handsome blessing from Heaven. “I have my own company but at the moment, it’s just me. I’ve just returned from overseas and getting reestablished, but I had a thriving business in Irvine. I’d be more than happy to discuss your needs if you’re in the market.”

Noah set his coffee down and retrieved another card from his wallet. “As a matter of fact, I am. I’ve just purchased some property on the edge of town and will be looking to build some commercial spaces with luxury condos above—”

“The O’Keefe property?” Carly interjected.

Noah glanced at her as he handed me a card. “That’s right.”

I took the card. Scoville Properties. Impressive. That land wasn’t cheap. Whoever this man was, he obviously had some money behind him. A client like him could kick-start my entire business. Hell, depending on what he was looking for, he could make up eighty percent of my roster all on his own.

“Let’s set a meeting, Holly. Ideally, I’m looking for someone in-house but we could negotiate the contract so you wouldn’t have to give up your clients,” Noah said, flashing a smile at Carly.

Carly laughed. “It would be pretty ballsy to steal her away right in front of me.” She looped her arm through mine and grinned up at him. “Holly is my best friend, in addition to my accountant. So I’ll only let you have her if you promise to treat her right.

He locked eyes with me. “Trust me, I would take very good care of her.”

2

Holly

I was still buzzing with excitement an hour later when I headed up to the Rosen Air Museum with the two dogs in tow to visit Jack at work. Since we got back, Jack had transitioned into the life of a Naval Reserve Officer. His oldest friend, Aaron Rosen, had offered him a job flying tourists up and down the Californian coast from his air museum that sat on top of a bluff overlooking the ocean.

Aaron’s father had started the museum and left it to his son when he passed away. Since Aaron’s takeover, he’d expanded from a hangar full of old planes to a full-scale museum complete with two realistic flight simulation pods, a second wing of exhibits, and built an airstrip to do aerial tours. He was in escrow on his second property and would be launching a second museum within the next twelve months. Jack loved flying, so it seemed like a natural fit for him to work at the air museum. Especially since it meant getting to hang out with his best friend all day.

Princess and Hunter led the way as soon as we entered the museum and I didn’t even have a chance to stop and make small talk with Lola, the girl who worked the ticket desk on the weekends before the dogs were dragging me to the large shop at the back of the museum. I pushed through the door and spotted Aaron and Nick bent over a table that had several layers of blueprint pages spread across its surface. Princess barked and they both jolted upright.

“Hey, Holly.” Aaron dropped a pen to the table and came over to see us. Nick stayed at the table but offered a smile and a wave. “And of course, Princess and Hunty. What are you three up to today?”

I returned Nick’s friendly wave and then smiled at Aaron as he knelt down and scratched Princess’s ears. “Just out for a walk and thought we’d come crash the party over here.”

Aaron ruffled the tuft of fur on Hunter’s head and pushed up to his feet. “Boomer’s out on a tour. He just left so it might be another forty minutes or so. We’ve been jammed all day.”

My eyebrows knit together and I dropped a look at my watch. “Don’t you guys have to get going?”

Aaron rubbed the back of his neck. “Get going? Where to? Trust me, we’ve got more than enough shit to do around here.”