Through a Magnolia Filter (20 page)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Every picture tells a story.

Proverb

D
OLLEY
PAUSED
AT
the bottom of the attic stairs, gripping the railing like it was the only thing between her and a hundred-foot fall.

Liam was up there. Waiting.

After the wedding brunch, she'd pleaded exhaustion. He called last night wishing her a good night's sleep. She'd almost raced across the courtyard to be with him.

Courtney's accusations had stopped her.

She'd stayed awake half the night debating whether she should give up her apprenticeship. Her fists clenched. Give up Liam.

If she gave everything up, she'd have to go back and work for Jackson. The idea of a lifetime designing other people's websites...sucked. She wanted a career. She wanted to work with Liam. She wanted Liam.

But was
she using him? Her head ached.

Taking a breath, she headed up the steep stairs.

Liam waited at the top, grinning. “I missed you last night.” He pulled her computer bag from her shoulder and set it on the floor.

She couldn't lie. “I missed you, too.”

He laced their fingers together, reeled her close and kissed her.

Coffee, mint, Liam and passion. She clutched his shoulders, her legs weak from his kiss.

He pulled her into a hug and sighed. “Let's get to work.”

She took a deep breath and locked her knees. She couldn't lose this, lose him.

“I loaded the files into the work area you set up.” He stroked her back. “Get to work.”

“Slave driver.” Dolley grinned.

She went through the steps they'd perfected working on Lisa's wedding pictures. Copy the file so she didn't destroy an original. Open it. Delete if no good. Enhance if necessary. Save.

It could have been monotonous. But she was working in the field she wanted to make her career. And seeing her sister's wedding pictures, having a hand in making them the best they could be, had her body relaxing.

“I love this one,” she said to Liam.

Gray and Abby were sitting, her head on his shoulder. Gray grinned down at her. Abby smiled up at him. Their feet were propped on a spare chair, and Abby was barefoot.

“I had an idea on how to change that up.” He started to take over her computer but stopped. “Try going to black and white.”

She made the change.

“Add back their eye color.”

He'd worked with her on this with Lisa's pictures. She made the changes. In the shades of gray, Abby's green eyes and Gray's bright blue popped.

He leaned closer. “Now her lips.”

She did. Then did the same with Abby's bright pink toenails.

“I love it!” She turned to look at Liam and barely missed bashing his nose.

His breath heaved out, fluttering her curls. His stunning blue eyes stared into hers.

“Dolley?” His gaze dropped to her lips.

Longing flooded through her like a crashing wave.

She closed the distance between their mouths, slipping her tongue between his lips. And the world narrowed to only him.

He pulled her so she straddled his lap and trailed fiery kisses from her chin to her ear and down to her collarbone.

Her hips rolled, settling onto the thick ridge forming under her. When he merged their mouths together, her fingers furrowed through his hair.

Breaking away, he buried his face between her breasts. “We're supposed to be working,” he gasped.

“Mmm-hmm.” How could she ever think about giving him up? She combusted each time they touched.

“Don't suppose you want to head down to my room?” he asked.

More than she wanted to breathe. “As tempting as that sounds, I suppose we should keep working.”

“You Americans. You don't know how to enjoy life.”

This from the man who rarely smiled? Although, he had been smiling all morning.

He set her back on her chair. And brushed a kiss on her lips.

She ran her fingernail down his nose. “Have any plans tonight?”

“I hope so.” A grin made his eyes glitter.

She kissed him again. Because she could. “Let's get to work.”

They turned to their computers. “Speaking of work, are you interested in designing the website for the documentary?”

Her body stilled. “A website?”

“My producer is looking for a new designer. I thought of you.”

Of course. No one thought of her as a photographer. Not even Liam, apparently. “What are you looking for?” she choked out.

“I'll shoot you addresses of some of the previous work. They're not especially creative. I know you can impress Barbara. You're so talented.”

His compliment sounded...canned.

But she needed the money. Masking her hurt, she said, “I'll take a look.”

“You have access to all my photos, so I won't have to sort through anything. I'll give you clips, too. And Barbara's coming next week so you can show her your ideas and negotiate a hefty payment.”

“Sure.” Her throat tightened.

Liam had everything lined up, didn't he? How long had he been planning this? Since he found out she was a website designer? She'd trusted him and instead of considering her for a photography gig, he'd gotten her a
design
job.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. Who was using whom in this relationship?

* * *

D
OLLEY
CHECKED
THE
TIME
. “I'm heading to Carleton House.”

Abby smiled. “Have fun.”

“Would you turn off the beaming smile, already? You're blinding me.”

Abby was back from her week-long mini-honeymoon. She and Gray planned a longer honeymoon in late April after the craziness of St. Patrick's Day.

“I can't help it.” Abby threw out her arms and did a little spin. “I'm so happy!”

“I have no clue who you are.” Dolley added a splash of milk to her tea and headed to the door. “First you come home with a tan—a tan! We're redheads. Now you're spinning in the kitchen.”

Abby did another pirouette. “I married the man of my dreams, Carleton House is open.” Her grin brightened. “And Gray is making tentative plans to convert the carriage house into my restaurant.”

Dolley jerked on her coat. “That must have been some honeymoon. He wants to fund the restaurant?” What would Gray's sister say about that? “I thought it was weird having guests move between the two houses.”

“It's so great! At breakfast this morning, people shared tables, and based on the laughter, they liked it. Two couples decided to visit Tybee together. Who knows, we may be creating lifetime friendships in our B and B.”

Their B and B affected people's lives. Dolley wanted the guests' visits to run smoothly. She did her best to handle the registration system, Wi-Fi, room electronics, business center and now the gift shop.

Abby filled the guests with fabulous food. Bess wowed them with the beauty of her gardens, plants, flowers and orchids that decorated the two houses.

She'd always thought her sisters made the bigger contributions, but maybe it was the package. Maybe she was a key contributor, too.

“I think you're crazy. But a good crazy.” She gave Abby a hug. “See you later. I need to get to this meeting.”

She was nervous about meeting Liam's crew and producer. Whenever he talked about Barbara, respect filled his voice.

She swiped her card over the reader and entered the Carleton House kitchen. A massive coffeemaker filled one counter.

They'd really done it. They'd converted another mansion into a B and B.

“Hello,” a young woman called, grabbing a coffee mug. “You're Dolley, right?”

“I am.” She'd checked in the newlyweds. “Melanie?”

“Yes.” The bride smiled.

“How's your stay?”

“Awesome. I wish we could be here another week.”

“I can arrange that for you,” Dolley offered with a grin.

“Oh, I wish. We both have to go back to work.” She heaved out an exaggerated sigh. “See you later.”

Dolley headed to the dining room, where Liam and his team had begun meeting yesterday. The production company was based in New York, but Liam's team was international. One woman was from Sweden and the rest from all over the States. And of course Liam was from Ireland.

She'd barely left Chatham County.

At the door she drew in a deep breath and knocked.

“Come in,” an unfamiliar female voice called.

“There she is.” Liam scrambled from his chair. “Dolley, come meet everyone.”

He was dressed in black, looking long and lean.

But she knew about the muscles hidden under his clothes, because ever since the Monday after the wedding, they'd been together every night except last night.

A projector sat in the middle of the table. Along the walls hung Liam's flip charts and the Fitzgerald family tree.

On another wall was a chart listing the names they'd discovered in James's shipping company ledgers and Fiona's household journals.

Liam put a hand on her shoulder, but as soon as they approached the table, it slipped away. He introduced the four people in the room. Jerry, Tom, Sonjia and Barb.

Barb was stunning. A personality with—force. She was a study in black. Black blouse, black skirt, black stockings and black flats. Sharply cut black hair curled around her chin.

Dolley's hand brushed her uncooperative curls.

The only non-black accessories were Barbara's red-framed glasses and a red silk shawl thrown over the back of her chair.

Barb moved to the pass-through, grabbed the carafe and poured coffee. Leaning against the counter, she was a slim silhouette against the warm wainscoting and wood counter. “You and your sisters run the B and Bs?”

“We own the B and Bs,” Dolley clarified.

“Right, right. That's what I meant.”

“The three sisters are incredibly talented,” Liam added, talking only to Barbara. “It's been lovely to watch the family work together.”

“I can't imagine working with my two sisters.” Barbara rolled her eyes. “We'd beat each other bloody within a month.”

Dolley blinked.

“Did you bring your website ideas?” Liam asked, filling the silence.

“That's why I'm here, right?” Could she sound more stupid?

“Good, good. Let's get to it.” Liam headed to the other side of the table.

Dolley flipped open her Mac.

“Tom and I are going to take background shots.” Jerry picked up a clipboard with a list written in Liam's handwriting. Tom grabbed a camera bag that was bigger than the video camera Liam had been using.

Barb pointed at a stack of papers. “Don't forget releases.”

Dolley connected her computer to the projector. “I've looked at some of your websites and gotten a sense of what you've used before. I'd be interested in knowing the hits you're getting on the sites.”

“I'd be interested in getting more hits on
all
the sites.” Barb sat back at the head of the table. The power chair.

“The last designer wasn't very creative,” Liam said.

“You got that right,” Barb said. Liam's boss had a slight accent. Brooklyn?

Liam sat to Barb's right, and Sonjia was at the opposite end of the table with a pad of paper covered in notes.

Dolley took a seat next to the projector.

“This is a mock-up of the website's first page.”

The page loaded with pictures of Savannah she'd taken from Daniel's sailboat last summer. “The concept is to take the visitors through what the immigrants would have seen as they landed in port.”

Barb sat up, her dark eyes gleaming. “Show me more.”

Liam stared first at Barbara's face and then her hands. What was that about?

“I've also included the letters between the brothers and copies of the household journals.” She'd included pictures she and Liam had taken on their
rambles
through Savannah. “I thought the page links could be set up in a timeline.”

“Great idea.” Liam looked at his producer.

Dolley took them through the few pages she'd developed.

Barb nodded. Liam nodded back, shooting Dolley a smile every now and then.

“I like it.” Barb slapped her hand on the table.

Liam grinned. “I thought you would.”

The producer speared her with a dark gaze. “Can you shoot me a bid?”

“Absolutely.” Dolley unplugged and packed away her equipment. Happy, but something wasn't right. Her gut was churning. Was it because Liam hadn't said anything about her photography? “I'll get it to you this afternoon.”

He walked Dolley into the hallway. Glancing back through the open doorway, he whispered, “Nice work.”

“Thanks. I'll see you later?”

He glanced back again. “Barb's only here one more day.”

He shifted so they weren't visible from inside the room and touched his lips to hers. “I'll let you know when I get clear. Abby's bringing over lunch and dinner for us, so...”

He might not be available. She got it. But they'd only spent two nights apart since Abby's wedding. She rolled her shoulders. “Let me know.”

She headed to the carriage house apartment to work up the bid. And what was different about Liam clicked. He'd been looking for cues from Barb on how to react to her work.

The light bulb exploded in her head. He always looked for cues from people. He changed to match his environment. He'd worn black because his boss wore black. He was looking to Barb to see if he should be enthusiastic about her designs, even though when she'd given him a dry run he'd been thrilled.

Around Gray and Daniel, he mimicked their uniform of flannel shirts and blue jeans. Good lord, he'd even started drinking his Jameson with ice.

He was a...a chameleon!