Jack's Surrender (Holiday Cove 5)

“I’m just dandy. How about you, Scoville?”

I stepped in. “Jack McGuire,” I said, offering him my hand.

His lips quirked and his eyebrows creased together. “Jack McGuire? Have we met before?”

“Nope.”

“Oh! I know. You’re Holly Parker’s fiancé.” He rocked back onto his heels and smiled. “Nice to meet you. Holly spoke very highly of you.”

She’d talked about me during her interview?

“You know,” Noah continued, “I actually meant to call her later today. I’m going to offer her the position.”

“Oh? Well, that’s great,” I replied, trying to muster up some enthusiasm.

The man smiled widely. “I think she’ll be a wonderful addition. She’s the total package. You’re a lucky man.”

Total package? Total package of what? My jaw flexed and tightened. I smiled but it was through clenched teeth. “That I am.”

“When do you break ground on your beachside monstrosity?” Aaron asked sharply.

Noah’s smile flickered as he met Aaron’s gaze—bordering on glare. But his tone was cool and unruffled as he answered. “We start in April.”

“Noah, here’s your mocha,” Carly called from the counter.

All three of us swiveled in her direction and Noah smiled and raised two fingers. “It was nice to meet you, Jack. And Aaron, I was serious about my offer. Give my office a call and we’ll set something up. My assistant knows you go right to the top of my schedule.”

He wandered toward the front of the shop before either one of us could reply, but as soon as he was out the door, I turned to Aaron. “What offer?”

Aaron stiffened. “It doesn’t matter. He’s just another rich bastard who thinks he can carve out the rest of the world using his wallet as a shovel.”

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but one thing was clear—I didn’t want Holly messed up in any of it.

8

Holly

My cell phone rang as soon as I reached the front door. I fumbled with my keys and the two vinyl leashes in my hands as I reached for the phone in my jacket pocket. Princess and Hunter, eager to get inside, starting tugging and I dropped the phone onto the front steps. “Guys! Chill!” I muttered, bending to retrieve my phone.

I didn’t recognize the number, but the area code was local so I answered. “Hello?”

“Is this Holly?”

I stiffened. It was Noah Scoville. I recognized his voice. How could I forget it? Princess tugged forward and I lost tabs on her leash. “Shit!”

“Excuse me?”

Fuck!

“Sorry—” I grimaced and snagged the leash. I shot Princess a dirty look and looped both dog leashes around the door handle. They could wait a minute. “I’m so sorry, Noah. I was out walking the dogs and just dropped a leash.”

My cheeks felt like they were on fire and I was relieved we weren’t having the conversation face-to-face. I knew I was red as a tomato.

Noah chuckled and I drew in a silent—but relieved—breath. “No worries, Holly. Did your fiancé spill the beans?”

“Beans?”

“I ran into Jack this morning at the coffee shop. I told him I was going to offer you the job. I figured he’d have told you about the good news before I got a chance to call.”

My heart raced. “Oh! Wow. No. No, he didn’t.”

“Oh? Well, now I feel like I should have made you sweat it out a little,” he teased, the smile audible in his honey-smooth voice.

I tried to laugh but it came out sounding strangled.

“So, what do you say?” Noah asked. “Still interested in the position?”

“Yes! Yeah, I’m definitely still interested. I would be—I am—thrilled to hear the news.”

“Excellent. Why don’t you swing by the office anytime tomorrow and we’ll get the paperwork out of the way and then you can pick your start date. Since it’s a new position, it’s pretty flexible.”

“Okay. Great. Yeah.” I nodded along as I tried to reshuffle my thoughts into intelligible sentences. “I can stop in around two o’clock tomorrow. Would that work?”

He paused and I pictured him at his sleek desk, consulting his schedule. “Works just fine for me. Check in with my assistant and I’ll get you all taken care of.”

“Great! Thank you so much, Noah. I’m really excited to be given the opportunity and I know we’ll make a great team.”

“I don’t have any doubts, Holly. I’ll see you tomorrow. That is, if the dogs don’t run off with you before then.”

I laughed. “They won’t. See you then.”

We ended the call and I slipped the phone back into my pocket. “Woohoo!” I pumped my fist in the air. “You hear that, babies? Mama’s got a new gig!”

Neither of the oversized dogs looked terribly impressed. I waved a hand at them and went to untangle their leashes. Once inside, I changed out of my workout gear, rinsed off in the shower, and bundled into a soft, terrycloth robe. I padded downstairs and found my cell phone. I dialed Jack’s number but got sent through to voicemail. I frowned but quickly dismissed my own disappointment. He was just busy at work. I called Rachel, my best friend, who lived in Newport Beach. Despite having a full-time job and crazy active social life, she always answered my calls.