Griffin shook his head as she drove away, then he began to laugh. Darcy had such lovely, delicate features, and a shapely if petite figure, but clearly she’d picked the right name for her business.
It’d been a long while since a defiant woman had presented him with a challenge and, relishing the prospect, he returned to his kitchen bent on eating his steak rare.
Chapter Three
Christy Joy looked up from a stack of invoices to greet Darcy. “Good morning. I thought you’d be back last night before closing.”
“So did I, but I was so dirty I just went on home.” Dressed in pale blue overalls appliquéd with sweet peas and a pink T-shirt, Darcy looked sparkling clean, now.
“I assume Mr. Moore was thrilled with your work.”
“Thrilled might be an exaggeration. He did seem pleased, though. I’ll pick up the final payment this morning. There’s a lot of work to be done up there. It’ll be like landscaping a small hotel, but I’m not certain the money will be worth it.”
Darcy’s downcast expression puzzled Christy Joy. “Need I remind you that we can’t afford to be choosy?”
“That’s what Griffin said, but I don’t like being around him.”
“Look, if his behavior is out of line—”
“No, he’s exceedingly polite.” Darcy regarded Christy Joy as her closest friend, but she was reluctant to confide that Griffin gave her that same dizzying, foot-tingling feeling she got standing atop a tall building and looking down at the tiny ant-sized people below. It was the primal fear of falling, and a gut-wrenching warning that falling for him posed as terrible a threat.
“Then what’s the matter? If you cultivated his friendship, you might be able to influence him to put his recording studio elsewhere.”
“Prostitute myself, is that what you mean? Why don’t you sleep with him?”
“Darcy! What’s gotten into you? You know I’ve got Twink to consider. If Lyle thought I was sleeping around, he’d sue me for sole custody. I won’t take that risk.”
Darcy propped her elbow on the counter. “Is that your only reason?”
Christy Joy smiled as though she were actually considering an affair with the handsome man. “I’ll bet he’s got great hands, but no, I prefer heart to technique. From what little I’ve seen of Griffin Moore, he appears to confine his emotion to the piano. Still, it can’t hurt to be nice to him.”
The thought wasn’t lost on Darcy. In fact, she’d gotten damn little sleep because of it. “It works both ways, though. He might flirt with me in hopes of winning me over to his side.”
Christy Joy laughed. “When a man looks that good, I doubt he bothers to flirt.”
Unable to dispute that insightful observation, Darcy grabbed her clipboard. “Wish me luck.”
“You know I do,” Christy Joy called after her. “Give my love to Griffin.”
Even with luck, Darcy felt as though she’d already gotten herself in too deep, and as she drove up Ridgecrest, she wished Griffin were a dairy farmer who didn’t mind getting his boots muddy rather than a concert pianist accustomed to being pampered by the doting staffs of exclusive hotels.
He was just bored. That had to be why he’d been coming on to her. Either that, or he came on to anything female, which was an even more distressing thought. She dreaded their next meeting, but as she rolled up his driveway, she found a brand new silver Beamer parked in front of the house.
She checked her watch and, while it was a few minutes to nine, she feared she’d come at a bad time. Maybe the car belonged to Jess Stevens, and he and Griffin were plotting ways to move Defy the World Tomatoes out of their building early. Or the beautiful car could belong to an equally attractive woman who had shown up last night after Darcy had left.
That possibility really rankled, and she used her flower-tipped pen to begin making diagonal slashes along the edge of the worksheet attached to her clipboard. When the front door swung open, she was almost afraid to look, then risked a peek.
The woman was tall, slender, blonde and dressed in a bright red suit with matching stiletto heels. She carried a black leather briefcase and appeared to be furious while Griffin leaned against the doorjamb, his arms folded lazily across his chest.
He let her rant uninterrupted and, while Darcy’s window was down, she caught only snatches of the one-sided argument. The irate blonde seemed to be accusing Griffin of disappointing someone, but obviously he wasn’t overly concerned. Embarrassed to be eavesdropping, Darcy slumped down in her seat, but Griffin had already spotted her and waved.
He took his guest’s elbow, walked her around her car, opened the driver’s door and eased her inside. She was still sputtering angrily when she drove away.
Darcy climbed out of her truck and met Griffin in the middle of the wide, circular driveway. “I don’t even want to hear it,” she cautioned.
“It’s quite an interesting story,” Griffin insisted.
“I’m sure it is, but irrelevant. Now, if I describe the plants I want to use, will you recognize any of the names?”