Sand Castle Bay (Ocean Breeze) - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,105

through the village. Lights sparkled over the snowy landscape the shop owner had created. B.J. had his nose pressed to the glass as Emily and Boone hung back.

“That does bring back memories,” Boone said, giving her hand a squeeze. “I hadn’t thought about that train for years. Thanks for reminding me.”

“You used to talk about it every Christmas,” she recalled. “When I saw this one, I thought it might make the perfect gift for B.J. He’s obviously as enchanted with this one as you were with the one you used to have.”

Boone turned her to face him. He tucked a wayward curl behind her ear as he looked into her eyes. “I know what upset you earlier,” he said quietly. “You don’t think there’s going to be any real give-and-take in this relationship, at least not on my part.”

“Sounded that way to me,” she conceded, surprised that he’d caught on so readily.

“Not so. I may not be able to change all of my commitments, especially at the last minute, but I’ll do my fair share. By next year, I’ll make sure that the catering manager can handle things completely on her own. This year she’s new and untested. I just need to be here. Can you try to understand that?”

Emily sighed. “Of course, I can. And I’ll put it on that list of mine for the day when I need you to understand that I have no choice but to honor a commitment I’ve made.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “As long as we remember the big picture, you and me together, we can figure this out, Em. We have to.”

She nodded, holding his gaze. “I want that more than anything, Boone. I really do.”

* * *

When Emily showed up at Sophia’s a few days after her Thanksgiving break for what she’d assumed would be a consultation on yet another of her client’s redecorating projects, she was surprised to find Marilyn Jennings there, as well.

The shelter’s board chairman smiled as she kissed Emily’s cheek. “Sophia didn’t mention I’d be here, did she?”

“No, but it’s always lovely to see you,” Emily said. “If I’d realized you were going to be here, I’d have brought along the latest information on the safe house. We came in under budget. A lot of the subcontractors wrote off all or a portion of their bills. Once they actually met some of the women and kids and understood how important this was, they all wanted to do their part.”

“That’s marvelous,” Marilyn said, just as Sophia joined them and added, “I expected nothing less of you, Emily.”

“That isn’t why we’re here, though,” Marilyn said, giving Sophia a chiding look. “Didn’t you give her so much as a clue?”

“Not necessary,” Sophia said, winking at Emily. “She always comes when I call.”

Emily laughed at her arrogance, but she couldn’t deny it. “What can I say? She’s one of my best clients.”

“And one of your most demanding, no doubt,” Marilyn suggested.

“No comment,” Emily responded tactfully.

Sophia gave her an approving look. “See how smart and tactful she is? I told you she’d be the perfect person for this.”

Emily gave them a puzzled look. “Perfect person for what?”

Marilyn glanced at Sophia, who shook her head. “I’ll defer to you on this.”

“Okay, then,” Marilyn said briskly. “Emily, we’d like to hire you full-time.”

Emily regarded her with confusion. “To do what?”

“Patience,” Sophia chided.

Emily dutifully fell silent. Clearly these two had some sort of dog-and-pony show for her and planned to draw out the suspense as long as possible. They were too rich and powerful for her not to go along with their timetable.

“We’ve recently received several very sizable donations, thanks to Sophia’s persistence,” Marilyn explained.

“And your connections,” Sophia added, then turned to Emily and added, “Her husband’s studio spearheaded an industry campaign to raise ten million dollars. Some of that will go toward day-to-day operations, but at least half of it will be for capital improvements.”

Marilyn nodded. “Meaning we’ll be able to buy more properties, renovate them and make the spaces available to families in need of temporary protection and housing. The work you’ve done on this current project has persuaded all of us that you’re the person we want to oversee this.”

Stunned and speechless, Emily sat back, trying to absorb the magnitude of the opportunity.

“You’ll be paid, of course, and I’m sure if you have the time, we’d have no objections to you taking on individual clients, but we’d need to be your first priority,” Marilyn continued, filling in the silence left by Emily’s shocked