Sand Castle Bay

Unfortunately, that didn’t seem feasible with Emily, not with the two of them in the kitchen right this second apparently whooping it up with the rest of the Castles. With Cora Jane’s undoubted encouragement, his son and Emily were probably bonding even now.

B.J. emerged just then, his face sticky with maple syrup and his eyes round with excitement. “Daddy, did you know that Emily knows movie stars?” he asked, pretty much proving Boone’s point.

“Does she really?” Boone said, his tone offhand, though a perverse part of him wanted to know every detail.

“She’s been in their houses and everything,” B.J. reported. “She even met Johnny Depp once. Isn’t that awesome?”

Boone wondered what the appropriate response was. Should he express an enthusiasm he wasn’t feeling, deliver a lecture on the fact that celebrities were merely people just like everyone else, or let the moment pass and accept that Emily had impressed his son with a lifestyle he could never match?

“Hey, Daddy, how come you never told me you knew somebody famous?” B.J. asked.

“I’m not sure that working for celebrities makes Emily famous,” Boone said cautiously.

“Not her,” B.J. said impatiently. “Samantha. She does those soap shows on TV, and she was in a play on Broadway. She even did a commercial for that cereal I like. She was the mom, remember? I didn’t recognize her right off, because she’s prettier in person.”

Boone recalled only that every time he’d spotted Samantha in any commercial, she’d reminded him of Emily and, out of loyalty to Jenny, he’d tried his best to wipe all those memories out of his mind.

“You gotta come in the kitchen, Dad,” B.J. urged. “They’re telling the best stories.”

“We came here to help Ms. Cora Jane clean up, remember?”

“But she’s in the kitchen, too,” B.J. protested. “I think she’s happy her granddaughters came home.”

Boone imagined she was. He’d seen the yearning in her eyes when she’d talked about them. Oh, she’d bragged about their accomplishments, her pride showing, but he’d heard the note of wistfulness she couldn’t successfully hide, at least from him. Undoubtedly she was thrilled to pieces that a hurricane had brought them running home.

Too bad none of them came around when there wasn’t a crisis.

“And guess what else?” B.J. said as he dragged a reluctant Boone toward the kitchen. “Emily’s never been to Disneyland, so I said we’d come to California and she could go with us. We can do that, right?”

Boone stopped in his tracks. Things were suddenly moving way too fast. He hunkered down and looked into his son’s eyes. “B.J., you know Emily’s just here for a visit,” he cautioned.

“I know. That’s why I said we’ll come to see her,” B.J. responded reasonably.

“Son, don’t start counting on Emily, okay?”

B.J. clearly didn’t comprehend the warning. “What about Disneyland, Dad? You promised we’d go there, so why can’t she come with us?”

Boone counted to ten. It wasn’t B.J.’s fault that this entire conversation was making him a little crazy. “Actually I promised to take you to Disney World in Florida, so we could stop by and see your grandparents, remember?” Boone said patiently, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle. B.J. had the tenacity of a pit bull, and he wasn’t going to drop this, at least not right now. To his son, the two amusement parks were clearly interchangeable. And, sadly, Jenny’s folks were likely no competition for the glamorous Emily. He could just imagine the outcry, though, if he chose to take B.J. to California rather than Florida. There would be hell to pay.

“Well, I want to go to Disneyland and I want her to come,” B.J. said, his expression mutinous. “You promised!”

Boone sighed. “We’ll talk about it later.”

Was there even the faintest possibility that he was going to get through Emily’s visit with his sanity intact, especially with his eight-year-old apparently as enamored with her as he’d once been?

* * *

Emily had made herself a promise not to check her cell phone for messages until she’d spent a little time with family, but ingrained habits were hard to break. When she heard the signal for yet another text message in the past half hour, she excused herself from the table.

“Sorry. I need to deal with this,” she said.

“Told you she wouldn’t last an hour without checking her phone,” Samantha teased. “I’m just surprised you haven’t been on yours yet, Gabi.”

Gabi flushed guiltily. “Actually I made a few calls and sent a couple of emails right before you all got here. My very efficient assistant is on top of things at the office. She knows how to reach me if anything crops up that she can’t handle.”

“I wish I had one of those,” Emily said. “Mine’s great at taking messages and following up on details, but when it comes to taking the initiative or pacifying clients, that’s all on me.” She gestured with the phone. “And that’s what I’m dealing with now.”

“Go ahead and make your calls,” Cora Jane told her.

On the deck, Emily returned a call from Sophia Grayson, a high-maintenance Beverly Hills socialite who expected everything to be done yesterday. She paid top dollar to make that happen, and her acceptance of Emily had been a huge recommendation in certain circles.

“You’re up early,” Emily said when she’d reached her. “It’s barely eight o’clock out there.”

“I’m up early because I haven’t slept all night,” Sophia complained with a dramatic sigh. “I’ve been fretting about that disastrous mix-up with the drapery fabric. You know I’m throwing a very important party in less than two weeks, Emily. You promised every last detail would be completed in plenty of time.”

“And they will be,” Emily assured her. “The new drapes are being made as we speak. I spoke to Enrico myself, and he’s appalled by the mistake. He’s put his best people on the job and he’ll have the replacements ready to be installed tomorrow.”

“What about the paint in the dining room?” Sophia complained. “It’s just awful. I would never have chosen that color. People will feel as if they’re inside a pumpkin.”

“I did warn you that orange could be overwhelming,” Emily felt compelled to say, “but we have the backup ready to go. I think you’ll be much happier with the taupe. It’s so classy, definitely much more expressive of your excellent taste and style. The crew will be there at nine and should be out by this afternoon.”

“I know taupe will be just fine, but I’d hoped for a little pop of color for a change,” Sophia said with a sigh of regret.

“And we’ll have that in the accessories,” Emily assured her. “You have an appointment with Steve from Rodeo Gallery to look at art this afternoon. I think you’ll find a lovely painting for your collection of fresh new artists that will give you exactly the splash of color you want. Once you’ve chosen that, we can add a few other touches to bring it all together.”

“I suppose,” Sophia said. “You do know I trust you, Emily. You haven’t let me down yet. Where are you, though? Why aren’t you here? Isn’t on-site oversight part of that fee I pay for your services?”

“I’m dealing with a bit of a family emergency in North Carolina, Sophia, but you’re not to worry. Everything’s under control. If you need me, all you have to do is call.”

A beep told her she had another call. “Sweetie, I have to run,” she told Sophia. “I’ll speak to you later today, make sure everything’s on track. Text me if you need me before then.”

She cut off the call before Sophia could come up with another crisis. Glancing at the caller ID, she saw the name of the client she’d just met with in Aspen.

“We like your ideas,” Derek Young said without preamble. “How soon can you get back here to get started? We’d like to have the lodge up and running by December first to take full advantage of the ski season. Thanksgiving would be even better.”

Emily hated the thought of putting him off, but she had little choice. “It’ll be a couple of weeks at least,” she admitted. “If there’s any way to make it sooner, I will. I’ll be honest with you, though, Derek. December might be optimistic even if I could be there tomorrow. You’re going to have to decide if you want quality work or an expedited timetable.”

“I want both,” he said without hesitation. “If that means doubling up on work crews, then do it.”

Emily got the message. “Of course.”

“This is a big job,” he reminded her, clearly intending to emphasize the stakes. “It’s an entire ski lodge. I’m sure you could get some PR mileage out of that.”

“I understand what a fabulous opportunity you’re giving me, Derek, but I can’t abandon my family right now. The hurricane’s left a mess in its wake.”

He hesitated, leaving her with her heart in her throat. She thought she could hear his wife murmuring in the background.

“Okay, fine, do the best you can,” he said eventually. “Tricia has reminded me that, contrary to the way I live my life, family should take priority over business from time to time.”