The Very Thought of You (31 page)

The space between them became compressed to an area normally limited to nothing thicker than a paperback book. Her hands felt good in his, like they belonged there. Since they didn't, she withdrew them. She stepped back and adjusted her skirt.

His eyes strayed to the lined yellow pages and Molly's scrawled notes. “Are you working on another fundraiser?”

“Yes, a western theme. Maybe.” She hadn't felt this awkward since her eighth grade graduation party, when she waited for a boy to ask her to dance.

“Sounds like a good choice.”

He appeared completely at ease. Probably because he'd already forgotten the last time they were together. She had regularly scheduled nightmares about it in which she missed the thug and sprayed Nick senseless. He'd no doubt forgotten exactly twenty-six days before, he'd made love to her. Three times.

“Do you have a few minutes?”

“Uh … I guess so.” She wished her stomach would quit its climb into her throat.

“Most of my project is finished. It's completely sold out, the part that's for sale, anyway.”

She smiled, barely, and only because it would be spiteful not to wish him well. Just because it hadn't worked out between them didn't mean she relished throwing a hex on his condos. She braced herself for him to drop the bomb and tell her he'd bought the clinic property.

“I'd like to show you a couple of the finished units.”

Molly took a few seconds to think about all the bad karma headed her way if she spent any time with him. Even if the news wasn't as bad as she imagined.

“You had a lot to do with the completion of the project,” he said.

“Me?”

“You know … ” He raised a hand, made a fist, and pumped his index finger. “With an aim like that, the Giants could use you in the bullpen.”

“You would have done fine without me.”

“We'll never know. We made a pretty good team.”

The smart thing was to make this snappy and get him out of her office.

“So what do you say?” The wattage in his smile could have caused a surge at the electric company. “Can you spare thirty minutes?”

She wanted to close her eyes and then, when she opened them, he'd be gone.

“We could probably do it in less than thirty.”

“Sure.” Why not get it over with like a bad case of measles? “Whenever you say.”

“How about right now?”

“Right now” didn't sound like such a good idea, but to put it off sounded worse. The anticipation would totally wreck what little emotional balance she'd managed to achieve. “Okay, thirty minutes.”

“Also, I'd like your advice on something.”

If he thought she knew anything about decorating, he should see her apartment. Half of her furniture had come out of a secondhand store. She retrieved her shoes and slipped them on.

“My car's outside. I'll drive you back to the clinic later. We can save time that way.”

That worked for Molly. The block was so long, it would have taken over ten minutes to walk to the other end of it in her wedge heels. She slid into her jacket, grabbed her purse from under her desk, and followed him into the reception area. Cynthia wore the same bemused expression as when Nick had first barged into the clinic.

Molly rolled her eyes. “I'll be back shortly.”

She folded her body into the passenger seat of Nick's car. Her brain scrolled through the “car menu,” like earlier it had done with the sex thing. Could her fourth time in the bucket seat be a charm? Could she change a chocolate kiss into the real deal? No way.

He fired the motor and eased away from the curb. “Do you do that stuff often?”

“What stuff?”

“The lotus thing.”

“Not as often as I'd like.”

“What's so great about tying your body up in knots?”

“Actually, it's very soothing. It's a great stress reliever.” The beginnings of the benefit she'd just achieved from her yoga session gave way to tension that tightened the muscles in her neck and shoulders.

He slowed when they neared the corner. He squeezed the car into a barely recognizable parking space, which would have taken her ten tries to achieve. “I've had too much stress lately.”

“Maybe you should try it.”

“What?”

“Yoga. I could … ” She almost blurted she could show him a couple of body-friendly positions but remembered in time that today he was strictly meet and release, not a permanent catch.

“You could what?”

“Um … you could find a beginner's manual at the bookstore. To, you know, help you relieve your stress.”

“A beginner's manual.” He laughed.

Well, it wasn't that funny.

He cut the motor and popped the locks. That spared her having to pursue the whole stress thing. They got out of the car and stood for a few moments in front of his building. It appeared divided into three distinct sections, with the five stories of condos at either end sheathed in the innovative screens. The late morning sun cast a silvery glow onto them. The central building seemed like a separate entity. The brick façade only rose three stories and did not follow the screen motif. Here were windows large enough to let in ample light. Above this section, the screen motif continued for two floors.

“I really like it,” Molly said.

“I hoped you would.”

A pair of heavy glass doors, interspersed with scrolled ironwork, led to a marble entry. To one side of the doors, a brass plate anchored a double row of bells along with an equal number of slots for occupants' names. No names were inscribed, so Molly assumed the new owners hadn't moved in yet.

Nick inserted a key into the lock and held open the door for her. They crossed the entryway where a shiny brass plate bolted to one wall was sectioned into individual mailboxes. Then they climbed three marble steps to another door that matched the first.

“You have great security,” Molly said.

“Yeah, I planned it that way, even though the neighborhood will soon change for the better.”

Across the street, the Blackstone project had made additional headway. A small park provided a grassy area with benches and a central fountain. Shade trees, their roots still encased in burlap sacks, waited for landscapers to plant them. The steel skeletons of two buildings took shape on either side of it. Maybe before too long a row of town homes would rise. Also, she remembered mention of a planned hotel and office complex.

Once in the marble lobby, Nick rang for an elevator, one of two. Molly did some quick surveillance while they waited. Three wood-framed openings, two on either side and one at the rear of the lobby, appeared ready for exterior doors. What appeared of the finished interiors suggested apartments, not lofts. A stairway cut into the wall adjacent to one of the elevators. Fire stairs, she supposed.

“Let's check out the third floor first,” Nick suggested.

“Okay.” The elevator arrived, and they entered the car. As it rose, Nick jammed his hands into his pants pockets and jiggled loose change. She wondered if that signaled some anxiety. Interesting since her nerves had calmed once they'd arrived at the complex. Her curiosity had superseded her awkwardness. Maybe she could spend a little time with Nick without her stomach twisting into knots.

They exited the elevator on the third floor. There were also three standard openings here, none of which had doors. A faint smell of paint hung in the air.

“Let's check this one.” Nick took Molly's arm and led her into the unit that faced the street. “When the Blackstone project is finished, it'll have a nice view of the park.”

The dimensions seemed right for a one-bedroom condo. She mentioned it to Nick.

“The units in this section aren't condos, and they're not for sale. They're rentals.” He ran a hand through his hair and laughed softly. “Actually, it you want the truth, they're more like giveaways.”

“Really.” Why would he give anything away?

“The layout pretty much replicates that of the old building.”

“What old building?”

“The one we took the wrecking ball to. It used to stand right here.”

“You mean the apartment house?”

“That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm almost ready to move my tenants back in, but I'm having a hell of a time getting the run-around at social services.”

Molly's mouth dropped open. Cool air dried the saliva on her tongue.

“I get stuck in menu hell whenever I phone over there. When I finally make connect with a human, I'm shunted to another department. I went down Friday, spent a good part of the day, with the same result. When I tell them I need to locate some people, I'm directed to yet another office. It's the same runaround.”

“You're moving your tenants back in?” Molly could hardly believe it.

“Well, yeah. Isn't that what you wanted? What we both wanted?”

Tears glistened in Molly's eyes. She balled her hands into fists and squeezed hard.

“It is, isn't it?” he said.

“You wanted it, too?”

“Yeah. Maybe I should have taken you over to social services with me. You know the people. You might have had better luck navigating the bureaucracy. But I wanted everything perfect before I brought you here.”

Molly, a lapsed believer in perfection, thought he'd come close enough.

“Can I count on your help?”

“Sure. I'll do whatever I can.”

“Good. First, we need to locate my tenants.”

We.

Exactly how much time could she spend with him before her emotions plunged into free fall?

“Then we need to get them ready to move.”

She wanted to hug him but couldn't. Well, maybe just a small one. She put a hand on his shoulder and quickly withdrew it. “You thought of everything.”

“I did my best. We can work around your schedule, whatever's good for you.”

How about some heavy petting followed by the most incredible sex? She wondered what he'd say to that. “My time is flexible.”

“In that case, can you spare a few more minutes? I'd like to show you one of the lofts on the fifth floor.”

All the talk about rentals and lofts reminded Molly about the building Nick had purchased next to the clinic. “You know, you never did fully answer my question about the rumor that's been floating around on the block.”

“What rumor?”

“Hmmm … the one that you … ah … might buy the empty building next to the clinic and … ah … maybe even the clinic.”
Especially the clinic.
She didn't dare tell him she already knew he's purchased the corner property.

“Yeah, since I lost space here, I figured I'd make it up down at your end. The corner spot stood empty. I put a small office building I own up for collateral and arranged financing. One of the better restaurants in town is ready to expand and sign a lease for the ground floor. Once I earthquake proof the place, I'll start on the units above. What I make selling them should offset some of what I lose on the rentals I'm saving for my tenants.”

“And the clinic?”

“That's never been part of my plans.”

Molly breathed a sigh of relief. “I'm glad.”

“How do these rumors start, anyway?”

Molly shrugged.

“So, would you like to see one of the lofts?”

Since she'd discovered she could actually occupy the same planet with him without her heart swing dancing in her chest, she agreed.

They stepped into the hallway. With the touch of a button, the elevator door quietly slid open. Molly preceded Nick into the car. Brushed steel, shiny brass accents, and polished wood moldings made up the enclosure. Mrs. Z would have no more steps to climb even if she wound up on the third floor again. Still, Molly thought Nick would agree to situate her on the ground level. She made the suggestion.

“Sure. I suppose they'll still want a tenants' association. She can field their complaints. One plus, though. Duncan Serk won't join them any time soon.”

“That's good news.” Molly couldn't blame Nick if he excluded him from the building.

“He wound up caught in a sting when he tried to sell drugs to a DEA agent. I read about it in this morning's paper. It's not his first arrest. Anyway, I didn't plan to spend any time locating him. I would have offered him a couple of thousand to go away permanently if he were to find out about the new arrangement. There wouldn't be anything he could do about it. Now, even that won't be necessary.”

The ride to the fifth floor took seconds. Nick used a key, and a separate door opened directly onto an entry foyer. A few steps took them into the loft.

“This is convenient.” Now she understood why the elevator had two sets of doors, one opposite the other.

“There's only one loft per floor, with five floors anchoring each end of the project and two above the center rentals. Twelve lofts in all.”

Molly wondered about the purchase price. When she'd glanced at the real estate section of the
Chronicle
, she'd noticed new lofts in the South of Market area generally sold in the seven hundred thousands and up. Her haphazard search hadn't come across any ads for Nick's units. Since he'd carved out three floors for rentals, his profit must have seriously nosedived. She felt a momentary pang of guilt. She wondered if he resented her costing him so much money. At least he had good financial prospects for the new corner property.

“There are no exterior hallways. It should be pretty quiet,” Nick said.

Molly followed him to the front of the unit where four floor-to-ceiling glass panels created a wall. Nick pressed a button and the aluminum screens that sheathed the exterior rose. The park, along with the completed Blackstone project, would provide a great view.

She turned away from the windows and toward the interior of the large space. Polished steel columns, most likely structural, created a sleek modern look. Someone with decorating savvy could turn this space into a fabulous home.