Satisfied she’d fully considered and understood both the upside and downside of her plan, Frankie fell asleep.
She dreamed of a tall, broad-shouldered man with black hair and smoky-blue eyes—he held out his arms and her dream self ran joyously toward him.
In her quiet bedroom, she tossed and turned, murmuring and tangling the blankets as she dreamed.
Chapter Two
Two days after dinner at Harry’s house, Frankie left her office on the University of Washington campus midmorning and drove to Ballard. The Seattle community was twenty minutes west of the UW campus and an equal distance northwest of downtown Seattle. Wolf Construction’s business office was located in the industrial section near the Ballard Locks. Except for a diesel pickup truck with a Wolf Construction logo on the door, the parking lot on the south side of the building was empty.
When she entered the outer office, the reception area was quiet and empty, the two secretarial desks vacant.
“Hello?” No one answered her call, and she frowned. Surely the office’s outer door would have been locked if no one was here?
The silence was broken by a loud thump somewhere deeper in the building, followed by a male voice muttering what sounded like swearing. Frankie peered past the desks and down the hallway beyond, where several doors stood open into offices.
“Hello?” she called again. When no one appeared, Frankie waited another moment before determinedly rounding the desk and marching down the hall.
“Damn it,” a male voice rumbled with annoyance. “Where the hell did Connor put those plans?”
Frankie followed the deep voice, stepping into an office. She halted just inside. Eli stood across the room, his back to her as he pulled open a drawer and shuffled through the papers inside. He wore heavy black work boots, jeans and a black T-shirt. He bent over the drawer, and faded denim pulled tight over his rear. Beneath the snug clothes, sculpted muscles shifted and bunched as he stretched to reach the back of the drawer. Frankie stared, riveted, her body heating as her gaze followed the movements of his powerful body.
He straightened, shoving the drawer closed and opening the next one with an impatient jerk.
The noise snapped Frankie out of the spell that held her, and she gathered her composure, taking a deep, calming breath. “Hello, Eli.”
He stiffened and quickly swung around, his eyes flaring with surprise just before his mouth curved in a grin.
“Frankie? What are you doing here?”
Now that she was actually about to propose her plan to Eli, Frankie was suddenly nervous. Her fingers gripped the leather strap of her black Coach purse a bit tighter.
“I need to talk to you about something. Do you have a few minutes?”
Clearly surprised, he cocked his head to the side, considering her for a brief moment. “Sure.” He tossed a roll of blueprints into the open drawer, pushed it closed and moved away from the cabinet. “Come on in. Have a seat.” He gestured at the two leather armchairs facing the desk. “I’d offer you something to drink, but the office staff has the day off and the coffee is probably cold sludge left over from yesterday.”
“Thanks, but I’m fine.” Frankie crossed to the chair and sat, perching on the edge of the comfortable seat.
Eli half sat on the edge of the desk facing her. The position had him much too close to her. She had to look up to meet his gaze. At eye level, the worn denim of his jeans stretched across powerful thighs. Determinedly, she kept her gaze on his face.
“So, tell me,” he prompted when she hesitated. “What brings you to Ballard this morning?”
Now that she was here, faced with explaining her plan to Eli, Frankie was reluctant to begin the conversation.
“What were you looking for when I came in?” she asked, not answering his question. “You sounded frustrated.”
Eli glanced over his shoulder at the cabinet. “Frustrated isn’t a strong enough word,” he said, his gaze swinging back to meet hers. “My brother Connor told his secretary to send the blueprints down to the job site, but she sent the wrong ones. I came back to pick them up, but I’ll be damned if I can find them.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the cabinet with its long drawers. “They’re not in the project drawer.” He sounded thoroughly disgusted.
“Can you call him on his cell and ask him?” Frankie suggested.
“I tried that,” he told her. “He’s not answering.”
“I’m sorry,” she said with sympathy. “I know how disturbing it can be to have a project stopped. I hate wasting time while I wait for someone to respond before I can move forward.”
He nodded, his blue eyes warming. “It’s bloody annoying,” he agreed.
Eli studied Frankie through narrowed eyes.
She’s nervous, he thought with surprise. Making small talk about his search for the blueprints was only a ruse to delay telling him why she was here.
When he’d swung around and saw her framed in the office doorway, he’d been slammed with the same jolt of awareness that had plagued him ever since they’d shared a kiss at her birthday party four months earlier. Though it was meant to be casual, he hadn’t been able to forget the feel and taste of Frankie’s soft, lush mouth under his.
She’d featured prominently in more than one hot, sweaty dream ever since, leaving him sleep deprived and cranky the next morning.
He raked his fingers through his hair and shifted, forcing himself to remember the beautiful blonde sitting in the chair facing him was Justin’s cousin and, therefore, off-limits. “Come on, Frankie,” he coaxed. “Tell me why you’re here.”
She shifted in her chair, slim fingers tucking a strand of hair behind one small ear. She sat primly, feet aligned on the floor, hands now resting quietly on her lap. “I’ve known you a long time, Eli,” she began. “And more importantly, you’ve known my uncle Harry since you were a teenager. I’m sure you’re aware of Harry’s scheme to force his sons to marry, and how Justin fell in love with Lily in spite of Harry’s interference.”
“Of course.” Eli nodded. “Justin told me before the wedding.”
“What you might not be aware of,” Frankie went on, “is that Harry seems to think that since his scheming to force his sons to marry turned out so well, he’s decided to become a matchmaker for the Fairchilds. All four of us—including me.”
Eli was stunned. “You’re kidding” was all he could manage to get out. He shook his head in disbelief, but Frankie’s face didn’t look as if this was a joke. “That doesn’t make any sense. He damn near ruined all four of his sons’ chances at marrying the women they wanted.”
“I know!” Frankie leaned forward. “And he almost did the same with Tommi and Bobbie! Apparently, he thinks he’s successful, however, because he’s turned his sights on me.”
“What the hell?” Eli felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. “Who does Harry want you to marry?”
“Nicholas Dean.”
Oh, hell no! Eli’s rejection of the possibility that Frankie would marry Nicholas Dean was visceral and immediate. Somehow, he kept himself from snarling aloud. “Why did he pick Dean?” he asked, aware his voice was deeper, rougher than it had been only moments before.
Frankie waved one small, graceful hand. “Who knows? I think he picked Nicholas because Dean Construction was on Harry’s radar. Harry told me he’d run the usual background check on the