She stopped before taking her next bite of her sandwich, not sure she understood what he was telling her. “Are you saying that you basically designed the house?”
He focused back on the conversation, pushing the past where it belonged. “Yes.” He winked at her shock. “I’m going to hold you to that marriage proposal earlier.”
She ignored his teasing and stared at him. “So you knew what you wanted to do but no one knew how to create it?”
“Sort of. Everyone kept telling me that it was impossible.”
“But the cantilever. It’s been done before. Decades ago, actually. There’s a house in Pennsylvania by Frank Lloyd Wright that basically does the same thing.”
“I know. I visited the site several times.”
She looked at him with blatant confusion. “So why was it so difficult to find an architect to do the designs?”
“Because no one is as smart as you are about cantilevers and support systems.”
She almost reared back with that compliment, so surprised by the sincerity. “But…”
“Give it up, Sierra. You’re more daring than the others.” He winked at her, enjoying her blush at his sincere compliment.
She looked at the view, her mind racing. “I was still in college when you built the house.”
“Yes. I didn’t catch wind of your work until about a year ago. Which is when I started negotiating on the project you’re on now.”
She bit her lip and looked down, her appetite completely gone with the rush of amazement that washed over her. “That’s very nice of you.”
He looked at her curiously, his eyes squinting slightly in the sunshine. “You don’t take compliments very well, do you? But rest assured, I wanted you on this team from the beginning but my research showed me that you were too loyal to Todd. So I worked it out so that I could get you on the team that will build the next city area, with interesting twists and creative ideas. You’re an original, Sierra. Just accept it.”
“There are other architects out there that are more talented.”
“There are others out there that are just as talented and just as skilled, but I like your preferences. It’s sort of similar to going to a restaurant. Italian food might be extremely good, but if you don’t like Italian, you’re going to dine at the Mexican restaurant. Everyone has their own flair, their own preferences. I think your preferences and mine are similar. So I got you on the team.”
She blushed and had to look away. “I’m flattered.”
He grabbed the bag of chips, eagerly taking one out and tossing it into his mouth. “You should be. I only hire the best. Eat up,” he ordered sternly, changing the subject once again and alleviating some of the tension that had come up with her embarrassment. “I’m not an easy boss. So you might be wishing I’d left Todd’s firm alone.”
She took another bite of her sandwich, feeling enormously better about the whole world. Simply because this man liked her work? That seemed slightly silly. Others had complimented her work before, she’d even been written up in several architectural journals and asked to speak at conferences. She’d turned down the speaking offers, preferring to continue working instead of talking about her work. But nothing compared to the simple statement from Drake.
“So tell me why you wanted to be an architect,” he asked, opening the box of cookies.
“You can’t have cookies now,” she laughed, relieved when he changed the subject.
“Why not?”
“Because you just had chips.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “And?”
She rolled her eyes as if he were being silly. “And…eating a cookie means that you’re finished with lunch. That means I get the bag of chips. Toss it here.”
He caught on at that point, slowly shaking his head. “If you want the chips, you have to come over and get them.”
She looked him up and down and shook her head. “You’re not going to be a gentleman and hand them over?” she asked, wiping her hands on a napkin. She surveyed him carefully, wondering how she could get the bag of chips delicately without ending up in a genuine tussle with him. He was too big and too strong. She’d definitely lose any physical fight she picked with him.
She tried to maintain a straight face, but she was pretty sure he wasn’t buying it. So with a glance over his shoulder, she turned away. Then quickly turned back around, squinting her eyes at some point over his shoulder. With a shake of her head, she stopped looking, then glanced right back to the spot where her eyes had been.
Once again, she shook her head, then shielded her eyes as if she were trying to see something far away.
“What is it?” he asked, his expression indicating that he didn’t quite believe her.
Sierra knew she had to take more drastic actions. She put her half-eaten sandwich down on the plastic wrapper and stood up, still shielding her eyes as she looked out over the horizon. Biting her lip seemed like a good idea because it added to her look of anxiety but also kept her from smiling when he started to buy into the problem.
“Sierra? What’s going on? Do you see something?” he asked, shifting around to try and see what she was concerned about. He shielded his eyes, scanning the horizon himself.
Sierra knew she’d never have another chance. With nimble fingers and a racing heart, she grabbed the bag of chips and took off in the opposite direction. Regrettably, she was laughing so hard she couldn’t run fast enough. Drake realized what she was up to more quickly than she was expecting. Within seconds, he was up and chasing after her.
If she had been more creative, she might have thought about getting him a bit farther away from the pilfered chips. But as it was, he was quick as lightening and was only inches from her within seconds. Before she knew it, he grabbed her around the waist and she screamed out, laughing at her pathetic attempt to steal potato chips.
Her hair was flying around her face, blocking out her ability to see what he was doing but she felt the world spin around slightly. She was also laughing so hard she could barely breathe, gasping for breath. She tried to hold his hands away, but he was so much stronger and much more agile. He had the chip bag away from her as soon as he had her on the blanket, holding them above her body in a taunting fashion.
“Are you going to apologize for trying to steal the chips?” he demanded, one hand holding her down and tickling her while the other arm continued to hold the chips over her head. Because his arms were longer, she couldn’t even reach them when she tried to grab them. But she was still laughing too hard and it also required two hands to try and stop his other hand from tickling her. She had no strength though because of the laughter which was sapping all of her energy. No matter how much she wiggled, she simply couldn’t get out from underneath him or avoid his tickling hand.