Inner Harbor
Page 9
It was typical behavior, she decided as she crossed the street. A person strolling along and seeing three men working to hang an impressive new sign would display curiosity and interest. Particularly a small-town tourist, which was, for this purpose, what she was. She was also a single female, and they were three very attractive men. A mild flirtation would be typical as well.
Still, when she reached the front of the building, she stood back. It seemed to be difficult and precarious work. The sign was bolted to thick black chains and wrapped in rope. They'd worked out a pulley system, with the ad exec on the roof guiding and his brothers on the ground hauling. Encouragement, curses, and directions were issued with equal enthusiasm.
There were certainly a lot of muscles rippling, she observed with a lift of her brow.
"Your end, Cam. Give me another inch. Goddamn." Grunting, Phillip dropped onto his belly and squirmed out far enough that she held her breath and waited for gravity to do its work.
But he managed to balance himself and snag the chain. She could see his mouth working as he fought to loop the heavy link around a thick hook, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. She thought that might be for the best.
"Got it. Hold it steady," he ordered, rising to tightwalk his way across the eaves to the other end. The sun struck his hair, gleamed over his skin. She caught herself goggling. This, she thought, was a prime example of sheer male beauty.
Then he was bellying over the edge again, grabbing for the chain, hauling it into place. And swearing ripely. When he rose, he scowled at the long tear down the front of his shirt where she supposed it had caught on something on the roof.
"I just bought this sucker."
"It was real pretty, too," Cam called up.
"Kiss my ass," Phillip suggested and tugged the shirt off to use it to mop sweat off his face.
Oh, well, now, she thought, appreciating the view on a purely personal level. The young American god, she decided. Designed to make females drool.
He hooked the ruined shirt in his back pocket, started for the ladder. And that's when he spotted her. She couldn't see his eyes, but she could tell by the momentary pause, the angle of the head, that he was looking at her. The evaluation would be instinctive, she knew. Male sees female, studies, considers, decides.
He'd seen her all right and, as he started down the ladder, was already considering. And hoping for a closer look. "We've got company," Phillip murmured, and Cam glanced over his shoulder.
"Hmmm. Very nice."
"Been there ten minutes." Ethan dusted his hands on his hips. "Watching the show."
Phillip stepped off the ladder, turned and smiled. "So," he called out to her, "how's it look?"
Curtain up, she thought and started forward. "Very impressive. I hope you don't mind the audience. I couldn't resist."
"Not at all. It's a big day for the Quinns." He held out a hand. "I'm Phillip."
"I'm Sybill. And you build boats."
"That's what the sign says."
"Fascinating. I'm spending some time in the area. I hadn't expected to stumble across boatbuilders. What sort of boats do you build?"
"Wooden sailing vessels."
"Really?" She turned her easy smile toward his brothers. "And you're partners?"
"Cam." He returned the smile, jerked a thumb. "My brother Ethan."
"Nice to meet you. Cameron," she began, shifting her gaze to read from the sign. "Ethan, Phillip." Her heartbeat accelerated, but she kept the polite smile in place. "Where's Seth?"
"In school," Phillip told her.
"Oh, college?"
"Middle. He's ten."
"I see." There were scars on his chest, she saw now. Old and shiny and riding dangerously close to his heart. "You have a very impressive sign, Boats by Quinn. I'd love to drop by sometime and see you and your brothers at work."
"Anytime. How long are you staying in St. Chris?"
"Depends. It was nice to meet you all." Time to retreat, she decided. Her throat was dry, her pulse unsteady. "Good luck with your boats."
"Drop by tomorrow," Phillip suggested as she walked away. "Catch all four Quinns at work."
She shot a look over her shoulder that she hoped revealed nothing more than amused interest. "I might just do that."
Seth, she thought, careful now to keep her eyes straight ahead. He'd just given her the open door to see Seth the following day.
Cam gave a quiet and male hum. "I gotta say, there's a woman who knows how to walk."
"Yes, indeed." Phillip hooked his hands in his pockets and enjoyed the view. Slim hips and slender legs in breezy maize-colored slacks, a snug little shirt the color of limes tucked into a narrow waist. A sleek and swinging fall of mink-colored hair just skimming strong shoulders.
And the face had been just as attractive. A classic oval with peaches-and-cream skin, a mobile and shapely mouth tinted with a soft, soft pink. Sexy eyebrows, he mused, dark and well arched. He hadn't been able to see the eyes under them, not through the trendy wire-framed sunglasses. They might be dark to match the hair, or light for contrast.
And that smooth contralto voice had set the whole package off nicely.
"You guys going to stand there watching that woman's butt all day?" Ethan wanted to know.
"Yeah, like you didn't notice it." Cam snorted.
"I noticed. I'm just not making a career out of it. Aren't we going to get anything done around here?"
"In a minute," Phillip murmured, smiling to himself when she turned the corner and disappeared. "Sybill. I sure hope you hang around St. Chris for a while."
she didn't know how long she would stay. Her time was her own. She could work where she chose, and for now she'd chosen this little water town on Maryland's southern Eastern Shore. Nearly all of her life had been spent in cities, initially because her parents had preferred them and then because she had.
New York, Boston, Chicago, Paris, London, Milan. She understood the urban landscape and its inhabitants. The fact was, Dr. Sybill Griffin had made a career out of the study of urban life. She'd gathered degrees in anthropology, sociology, and psychology along the way. Four years at Harvard, postgraduate work at Oxford, a doctorate from Columbia.
Still, when she reached the front of the building, she stood back. It seemed to be difficult and precarious work. The sign was bolted to thick black chains and wrapped in rope. They'd worked out a pulley system, with the ad exec on the roof guiding and his brothers on the ground hauling. Encouragement, curses, and directions were issued with equal enthusiasm.
There were certainly a lot of muscles rippling, she observed with a lift of her brow.
"Your end, Cam. Give me another inch. Goddamn." Grunting, Phillip dropped onto his belly and squirmed out far enough that she held her breath and waited for gravity to do its work.
But he managed to balance himself and snag the chain. She could see his mouth working as he fought to loop the heavy link around a thick hook, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. She thought that might be for the best.
"Got it. Hold it steady," he ordered, rising to tightwalk his way across the eaves to the other end. The sun struck his hair, gleamed over his skin. She caught herself goggling. This, she thought, was a prime example of sheer male beauty.
Then he was bellying over the edge again, grabbing for the chain, hauling it into place. And swearing ripely. When he rose, he scowled at the long tear down the front of his shirt where she supposed it had caught on something on the roof.
"I just bought this sucker."
"It was real pretty, too," Cam called up.
"Kiss my ass," Phillip suggested and tugged the shirt off to use it to mop sweat off his face.
Oh, well, now, she thought, appreciating the view on a purely personal level. The young American god, she decided. Designed to make females drool.
He hooked the ruined shirt in his back pocket, started for the ladder. And that's when he spotted her. She couldn't see his eyes, but she could tell by the momentary pause, the angle of the head, that he was looking at her. The evaluation would be instinctive, she knew. Male sees female, studies, considers, decides.
He'd seen her all right and, as he started down the ladder, was already considering. And hoping for a closer look. "We've got company," Phillip murmured, and Cam glanced over his shoulder.
"Hmmm. Very nice."
"Been there ten minutes." Ethan dusted his hands on his hips. "Watching the show."
Phillip stepped off the ladder, turned and smiled. "So," he called out to her, "how's it look?"
Curtain up, she thought and started forward. "Very impressive. I hope you don't mind the audience. I couldn't resist."
"Not at all. It's a big day for the Quinns." He held out a hand. "I'm Phillip."
"I'm Sybill. And you build boats."
"That's what the sign says."
"Fascinating. I'm spending some time in the area. I hadn't expected to stumble across boatbuilders. What sort of boats do you build?"
"Wooden sailing vessels."
"Really?" She turned her easy smile toward his brothers. "And you're partners?"
"Cam." He returned the smile, jerked a thumb. "My brother Ethan."
"Nice to meet you. Cameron," she began, shifting her gaze to read from the sign. "Ethan, Phillip." Her heartbeat accelerated, but she kept the polite smile in place. "Where's Seth?"
"In school," Phillip told her.
"Oh, college?"
"Middle. He's ten."
"I see." There were scars on his chest, she saw now. Old and shiny and riding dangerously close to his heart. "You have a very impressive sign, Boats by Quinn. I'd love to drop by sometime and see you and your brothers at work."
"Anytime. How long are you staying in St. Chris?"
"Depends. It was nice to meet you all." Time to retreat, she decided. Her throat was dry, her pulse unsteady. "Good luck with your boats."
"Drop by tomorrow," Phillip suggested as she walked away. "Catch all four Quinns at work."
She shot a look over her shoulder that she hoped revealed nothing more than amused interest. "I might just do that."
Seth, she thought, careful now to keep her eyes straight ahead. He'd just given her the open door to see Seth the following day.
Cam gave a quiet and male hum. "I gotta say, there's a woman who knows how to walk."
"Yes, indeed." Phillip hooked his hands in his pockets and enjoyed the view. Slim hips and slender legs in breezy maize-colored slacks, a snug little shirt the color of limes tucked into a narrow waist. A sleek and swinging fall of mink-colored hair just skimming strong shoulders.
And the face had been just as attractive. A classic oval with peaches-and-cream skin, a mobile and shapely mouth tinted with a soft, soft pink. Sexy eyebrows, he mused, dark and well arched. He hadn't been able to see the eyes under them, not through the trendy wire-framed sunglasses. They might be dark to match the hair, or light for contrast.
And that smooth contralto voice had set the whole package off nicely.
"You guys going to stand there watching that woman's butt all day?" Ethan wanted to know.
"Yeah, like you didn't notice it." Cam snorted.
"I noticed. I'm just not making a career out of it. Aren't we going to get anything done around here?"
"In a minute," Phillip murmured, smiling to himself when she turned the corner and disappeared. "Sybill. I sure hope you hang around St. Chris for a while."
she didn't know how long she would stay. Her time was her own. She could work where she chose, and for now she'd chosen this little water town on Maryland's southern Eastern Shore. Nearly all of her life had been spent in cities, initially because her parents had preferred them and then because she had.
New York, Boston, Chicago, Paris, London, Milan. She understood the urban landscape and its inhabitants. The fact was, Dr. Sybill Griffin had made a career out of the study of urban life. She'd gathered degrees in anthropology, sociology, and psychology along the way. Four years at Harvard, postgraduate work at Oxford, a doctorate from Columbia.
