LITMIR.BIZ

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isn’t nearly as exciting as kissing you.”

      “But we can’t,” she insisted.

      “Why not?” He backed her up against the edge of the desk and braced his hands beside her hips. Once again, he met no resistance when he kissed her. If anything, she seemed to enjoy it even more this time. He took care to make the kiss deliciously tantalizing, invading her mouth with his tongue.

      “See,” he whispered against her lips. “It’s very simple. I lean forward and you lean forward and it happens.”

      “We can’t,” she said again.

      “Yes, we can,” he said. “Forget the job. I don’t need the job if that’s what’s standing in the way.”

      “But I need you to do the job,” she insisted. “Much more than I need you to do … this. We need to keep it strictly business.”

      “I don’t do business,” he said. “It’s art. There are no rules. And I refuse to consider you my boss. You can, however, be my muse.”

      A smile quirked at the corners of her mouth. “I’ll be a muse for hinges and gates?”

      Danny nodded. “I’ll need one. The job itself promises to be a bit of a snore.”

      “Mr. Quinn, you are completely full of shite.”

      He stepped back as she fixed him with an irritated glare. “I see you’ve picked up the language, if not the mythology,” he said. Sure, he’d pulled the last straight out of his arse, but right now, he’d say just about anything to get her to kiss him again.

      “Will you do the job?”

      “Are you going to let me kiss you again?”

      She shook her head. “This project is very important to me, Mr. Quinn.”

      “If you call me Mr. Quinn again, I’ll walk out of here and you can get Neddy O’Doul to do your work. He usually shoes horses and he makes a hames of that.”

      “Danny,” she said. “My future depends upon this project. It has to come in on time and under budget. You have no idea how much is riding on this. We can’t have any distractions.”

      He wasn’t going to get any closer to Jordan sitting at home. He’d have to take the bad with the good. “I’ll do the job,” he said. “You won’t have to worry.” He pushed away from the desk and saw relief flood her features. All the tension in her body eased. “Tell me why this is so important.”

      “I have a lot to prove to my boss, who just happens to be my father. If I do a good job here, then maybe he’ll finally recognize that I’m competent and trustworthy. And as good as any son he has.”

      “You work for your father?”

      “Yes. I’ve worked for his real estate development and construction firm since I was in high school. Some day, I plan to run it.” Jordan paused, then smiled weakly. “I’ll just have to find a way to get rid of my four older brothers first, but I’m working on that.”

      “Well, I’ll have to make sure that you get what you want while you’re here,” Danny said.

      She nodded. “Yes. Fine. I suppose we should talk about compensation.”

      “I don’t like to talk about money,” he said. “That’s business. And it will be difficult to know how much this will cost until I buy materials and get started.”

      “But I have to have some idea,” she said, concern furrowing her brow.

      “What’s your budget?”

      “Thirty thousand plus materials,” she stated.

      “Materials. There’s where the budget could go to hell. You’ll have to decide if you want iron or steel.”

      “What’s the difference?”

      “Iron is authentic to the time period but very expensive. Steel is cheaper, but it doesn’t have the same look.”

      “Iron,” she said. “When aesthetics make a difference. Steel, when practicality is important. This has to be an authentic restoration.”

      “The labor budget sounds more than reasonable,” he said. In truth, it was enough to live on for a good year. Once he completed this job, he could spend the next twelve months working on his art instead of working in the smithy. “You’ve got your man.”

      She relaxed and smiled. “Good.”

      “Now, why don’t you show me where I’m going to live and where I’ll set up the forge.”

      They made a quick tour of the house, upstairs and down, then walked outside to tour the collection of stone buildings that surrounded the manor. There was a stable, a barn and a huge garden with a newly restored drystone wall. “You’ll need a gate for this?” he asked, peering over.

      An elderly man and woman were inside, wearing wide-brimmed hats and wellies, standing among huge piles of earth. They stared down into a hole in the ground, not noticing Danny and Jordan. “What are they doing?” he asked.

      “That’s Bartie and his friend, Daisy. They run the garden club in Glencairn. They showed up one morning and volunteered to do the work for free if I paid for the plantings. Bartie claims that he played in the garden as a child.”

      “Folks around the county weren’t very happy to hear that an American bought this place,” he said. “They’re kind of suspicious of outsiders.”

      “I know. But I’m employing a lot of local craftsmen and once they find out who bought the place, they’ll be fine. The person is of Irish descent. In fact, she can trace her family back to the original builders of the castle.”

      “Are you going to tell me who it is, then?”

      “You have to promise not to say anything. Until she moves in, she’d like to avoid publicity.”

      Jordan leaned forward and whispered a familiar name into his ear. There weren’t many actors living in County Cork, and now they were about to gain a certified American movie star. “Holy Mary, now there’s some news.”

      She pressed her finger to her lips and shook her head. “Don’t tell.”

      He pressed his own finger to his lips. “Silent as the grave, I’ll be.” Danny glanced back inside the garden. “So, what are they doing in there?”

      “Some Irish thing. Purifying the soil, I believe he calls it. Something about the peat and the sea air and leachings from limestone. I don’t really understand it. But he promises I’ll have a beautiful rose garden in the end.”

      “Where do I stay?” Danny asked. “And where do I set up the forge?”

      Jordan pointed down the path as they continued on. “There’s an old laundry cottage back there with an existing hearth. I think that will do for the forge. And there’s the cottage you can use for your living quarters. It was the first place we renovated,” Jordan explained. “I used it as my home and office until the manor house had a decent roof and plumbing. It’s very comfortable.”

      She unlocked the door and walked inside. Danny followed her to find a cozy place not much different from his cottage in Ballykirk, a bedroom on one end and a kitchen and bath on the other, with a large living area in between.

      “I hope it’s all right.” Jordan motioned to the bedroom. “The bed is brand-new. There’s electric heat and a shower in the bathroom. And a functioning kitchen.”

      “This will be fine,” he said. “I can start moving in tomorrow.”

      “Good,” she murmured.

      He reached out and took her hand in his, weaving their fingers together. “So, I guess that would be it, Miss Kennally. Everything is settled between us?”

      “Yes,”

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