Perfect Fit (12 page)

“Hello?”

“Sage Dunbar?”

Sage raised a brow, trying to place the deep, masculine voice and found that she couldn’t. “Yes, this is Sage.”

“This is Gabe Blackwell. I’m returning your call.”

Gabe finished his drink and glanced around the bar. He had frequented the place several times with business associates from Landmark Industries
and found the one thing he liked about The Garden Club was its classiness. On top of that, the restaurant served the best salmon dishes in the world, prepared by the finest chefs and served just about any way you liked. When Sage Dunbar had inquired about a place the two of them could meet and discuss business, this place had quickly come to mind.

He still wasn’t sure what had driven him to call her at home last night. She had left only her business number on the answering machine, and even then he’d had no intention of contacting her before the next morning. But after hearing her voice, something had compelled him to call her. Instead of reaching her at the office, he had gotten her secretary, who had readily offered him her home number. After thinking about it, he’d decided since she had felt comfortable calling him at home, he would do likewise with her. Their conversation had been brief and very businesslike, with them ending the call less than five minutes after making dinner plans.

He glanced down at his watch. He’d arrived a good thirty minutes early, coming straight from the office. He and Parnell had met in an afternoon-long meeting to make sure they had all the necessary building permits in their possession. Eden would be the most beautiful ski resort to grace the face of the earth, and he was glad that the Regency Corporation had a major part in making it possible.

He was just about to raise his hand to the bartender for a refill when his attention, like every other man’s sitting at the bar, was drawn to the woman entering the establishment. He felt a coiling heat, a deep burning sensation, flow from the base of his foot all the way to the crown of his head
as his gaze took a leisurely sweep of her. Sage Dunbar was just as beautiful as he remembered. He hadn’t realized until that very second that somehow he had committed to memory everything about her, and now it was all coming back to him, with vivid clarity.

He watched as she removed her overcoat and handed it to Rico, the maitre d’. She then whispered something to him, a question perhaps. Rico looked his way and pointed Gabe out to her. When she saw him she smiled—one as radiant and unpretentious as before—and began walking toward him. He stood, determined to meet her halfway while once again seeing the graceful sway of her hips which automatically worked in synergy with the supple movement of her body.

As she got closer, he almost missed a step when he noticed something about her, something he found different. Although she was smiling, and it was a smile that played at the corners of her mouth, emphasizing soft, full lips, the look in her eyes wasn’t the same. That certain sparkle that had pulled him in, drawn him to her like a moth to a flame, was gone. And as she got closer, his gaze instinctively went to her hands.

Her engagement ring was also gone.

“S
o, Gabe, what do you think?”

Gabe studied Sage for a few moments. He doubted if she really wanted an answer to that question, although he knew she was asking what he thought of the marketing proposal she’d just presented for Eden and not what he thought of her.

“I think,” he said, mesmerized by the dark whiskey coloring of her eyes that still captivated him even without their sparkle, “that Denmark knew just what they were doing by sending you here to handle things.”

The radiant gleam in her expressive eyes told him that his comment had pleased her. But then there was another look in her eyes, one that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. It was a look that had indicated she wasn’t sure she could completely trust what he’d said.

“Thanks,” she said softly. “But my job is easy since I’m selling Eden as nothing short of paradise, which I know it will be. You and your work crew are the ones putting everything together. Every
time I take a look at that miniature model of Eden that I have on display in my office, I’m spellbound. I can’t wait to see the finished product.”

Gabe chuckled as he took another sip of his wine. “Just don’t tell Parnell that. We’re committed to finishing up in a year’s time, weather permitting. Alaska isn’t known for its kind weather, especially during the winter months, and January and February are the worst. But we’re determined to put as many man-hours into the project as we have to, even twenty-four/seven, in order to get the job done.”

Sage nodded as she placed her fork on her plate and leaned back. The place Gabe had chosen for their dinner meeting was exquisite. Its décor was ornately elegant in a rustic sort of way, from the towering arched windows that displayed snowcapped mountains in the background, to the wrought-iron oil lanterns that hung on several of the walls. The furnishings came from a period in European history that was fit for a king, and a sheath of rich silk flowed from one corner of the room to the other, giving a startling effect to the fire that was blazing in the huge fireplace that sat in the center of the room.

“I met some of the members of your construction team this week and was surprised to discover some of them brought their families with them,” Sage said, meeting Gabe’s gaze.

He grinned. “Yes. Although it was their decision to make, Chris and I recommended that they do that.”

Sage arched a brow. “Why?”

“Because the majority of the men are married and between the ages of twenty-five and forty. A
year is a long time for them to be away from the women they love.” Gabe’s smile widened. “Statistics have shown that you can get more work out of a happy, satisfied man.”

He gently rubbed his smooth-shaven chin as he gazed thoughtfully at her. “I guess the same would hold true for a woman.”

She met his gaze before taking a sip of her wine. “I wouldn’t know.”

An invisible red flag suddenly went up in Gabe’s mind when he saw the despairing look that appeared in her eyes. Although the subject hadn’t come up, he had a feeling the reason she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring had nothing to do with the size of it no longer being a fit. Evidently, there had been, or presently was, trouble in paradise. He decided not to play games and to just go ahead and cross the boundaries of what was considered proper by asking the question that had been on his mind all evening.

“And your fiancé?” he inquired quietly, watching the play of emotions that lit into her face—hurt and pain, another telltale sign which caused another red flag to go up.

Several long moments passed before she responded. “I’m no longer engaged.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, with all sincerity, thinking he was really damn sorry and was thinking that for whatever the reason, and without even knowing the details of what happened, her fiancé was a fool for losing her.

Sage shrugged lightly, remembering what Erol had done and how she was still trying to recover financially. “Don’t be sorry.”

He smiled. “All right. Then, I won’t.”

She smiled back and went one step further when her mouth tipped up into a dignified chuckle. “Are you always this agreeable?”

He raised his chin and looked at her, suddenly thinking that yes, with her he could always be this agreeable. Another red flag went up. “No, not always. I guess tonight it’s the mood.”

She tilted her head and raised a brow inquiringly. “And what mood is that?”

“The mood to not disagree.”

Sage laughed then, actually laughed, and realized just how long it had been since she’d done that. “Thanks,” she said, her amusement subsiding.

Gabe arched a brow, knowing what she meant but deciding to pretend not to. “For dinner?”

She smiled. “Yes, that, too. But mainly for making me laugh. I’m surprised that I still know how to.”

He lifted a brow. “It’s been that long?”

She took a slow sip of wine before saying, “Yes, nearly four months.”

Gabe nodded. Whatever had happened between her and her fiancé had taken place not long after he’d last seen her. And whatever had happened had left a look of distrust and sadness in her eyes. “Well, I’m just going to have to make it my business to see that you have a reason to laugh more.”

She looked away, and he could feel her backing off, slowly easing some distance between them. “Don’t bother because it’s easier said than done.”

A part of Gabe began questioning his sanity. The signs were all there; the red flags had gone up, all three of them. For whatever reason, the confident, self-assured woman he’d met four
months ago now had problems, issues, was on the rebound. She was the last type of woman he needed to be interested in.

At the first sign, the raising of the first red flag, he should have brought the evening to a close, an end, zilch. Yet he was still sitting at a table in an exclusive restaurant, across from a very beautiful woman who had excess baggage, namely an ex-fiancé who had probably done her wrong, and even worse, an ex-fiancé she probably still cared deeply for. Hell, he’d been there and done that and for the longest time had endured a broken heart as a reminder. A woman on the rebound was known to straddle the fence, not knowing which way her heart would go, and more times than not was nothing but trouble. He’d made a vow to steer clear of women whose hearts had been led astray and were having problems finding their way back. He didn’t have time to play Dear Abby. So why in heaven’s name was he still meekly sitting there? He should be halfway home by now. Good grief!

And on that thought he spoke up, surprising himself by meeting her gaze, giving her a quick grin and saying, “I’m Gabriel; an angel, remember. There’s no job too difficult for an angel.”

Before giving her time to respond, he stood. “I think we’d better leave before the weather gets worse. Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.”

An hour or so later Gabe entered his home. A long, deep breath rushed through his lungs from the intense cold weather outside. He’d endured cold days and nights in Detroit, but nothing compared to this.

He shifted his gaze around the room, appreciating
the warmth and comfort it brought, and grateful still for the return of his sanity. Sage Dunbar was beautiful enough, alluring enough and way too desirable. She could make even the strongest man lose his resolve, forget any vows he’d made and even lose his common sense.

But he intended to hang on to his.

Quickly crossing the room, he picked up the phone and began dialing. If his problem was a result of the fact that he needed a woman, then he would offer a remedy to that, real quick like and in a hurry.

He smiled when he heard the sound of the soft, sleepy feminine voice. He’d forgotten about the four-hour time difference and had evidently awakened her. “Debbie? Hi, this is Gabe. I’m flying home this weekend and would very much like to see you.”

S
age took a deep breath at the same time adrenaline pumped fast and furious through her veins. She studied the miniature layout of Eden that was displayed on the huge table in front of her. This was the part of her job that she enjoyed most, when everything started pulling together in anticipation of the final product. However, in this case, there would be no finality. Eden would grow and prosper for many years to come. John Landmark had ingeniously mastered not just a plan, but a concept that would rival even the likes of Vail, Colorado.

Over the past four weeks, she had visited a number of ski resorts including Vail, which was known as the largest one in America and was frequented by just as many Europeans as Americans. It would be Eden’s strongest competitor. While there she had studied everything she could about it. To properly market Eden as the snow skier’s paradise, she had to know just what it was about Vail that kept people coming back.

“So what do you think?” she finally asked
Malcolm Grainger, the thirty-four-year-old man who was an instrumental part of her marketing team. Transferred in from Denmark’s West Coast office in California, he had a strong background in marketing research and had accompanied her to Vail. Since returning, the two of them had worked diligently in putting together the first phase of Eden’s marketing campaign.

A smile played around the corners of Malcolm’s mouth. “I think you have the right idea, and John Landmark had it, too. It’s evident by the way he has situated the buildings around the resort. Like Vail, he wants anyone coming to Eden to have all the shops, restaurants and nightlife they could possibly want within a short walking distance of their hotel or condo.”

Sage nodded. That was the one thing she had liked most about Vail, its accessibility. Once they had parked and unloaded their rental car, they hadn’t needed to use it again until it was time for them to leave. She wanted the same ease of convenience for Eden and intended to do whatever had to be done to bring in a number of upscale restaurants, lodgings and trendy shops. Already the likes of Armani Steak House, the Ritz Carlton Hotel and several well-known, upscale clothing stores had committed their presence. She was also working on a marketing plan to attract a number of nightclubs and casinos. People may like to ski in the daylight, but later they would want to enjoy the excitement of nightlife. “Can you imagine how much more marketable Eden would be if we included a state-of-the-art dinner theater, one that showed live plays as well as motion pictures?”

Malcolm pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. “Yes, I can actually visualize just what
you have in mind, but to pull that off means restructuring this entire area and making it larger,” he said, pointing to the scale model of Eden on the table. “We already have the space if we knock down this wall and combine these two buildings, which shouldn’t be much of a problem due to their close proximity. An architect will have to redesign the interior to include a stage and vaulted ceiling.”

Sage lifted an anxious brow. “But it can be done?”

Malcolm chuckled. “Yes, and I’m sure the architect would jump at the chance to do it since it would mean additional money in his pocket. But even if you convince John Landmark of the feasibility of your idea, you still have to tread lightly with the guy whose company is building the resort. His crew is working under tight time restraints, and he won’t like it if he has to do anything major that will take more time. And what you’re thinking about doing is pretty major.”