"All this talk of tools is making me hot," joked Christina before kissing Jolly on the cheek.

"Come on I'll drop you off by your car so you can get some rest before you have to go to work tomorrow. I apologize for monopolizing all your time today, but I couldn't bear to let you go."

"You don't have to apologize for that, Jolly. I enjoyed today. And I'm not just saying that because I want nice cabinets in my kitchen either. Just remember the nicer they are the better those dinners I'm going to make you are going to be once you finish putting my kitchen together." Christina loved the contact of Jolly's body so close to hers, so much that she pulled them even closer together.

"You're going to cook for me?"

"I got a look at that great kitchen of yours, the one with no food in it, and I figured I'd have to if I want to keep you looking good."

Jolly looked at her confused by what Christina had said. Then it occurred to her Christina had only seen the refrigerator in the kitchen and not the one in the pantry. "You never know Ms. Griffin, I might just have some hidden tricks up my sleeve you don't know about." Jolly laughed when Christina made a point to look up her sleeves.

When she got into her own car after arriving back at Jolly's place, Christina leaned against the seat and looked at the wonderful sight leaning in from the window. "You put them all on there?" She took the card that Jolly was offering.

"If you can't find me with all this, I've either fallen off your roof or I'm dead."

"Don't say that. Can I call you?"

"Honey, I didn't give you all my numbers because I think I have a good looking business card. I want you to call me. Besides you'll be too busy answering calls from me to call. Drive safe and I'll see you soon." Jolly straightened her legs so she could get further into the car and kiss Christina good night.

"What're you doing?" Was the question that came over the receiver when Jolly picked up.

"I'm carving. You got home ok?" Jolly asked as another fish came to life on the piece of wood she was making for Mimi.

"I was getting ready to go to bed, but I wanted to talk to you first. Thanks for the great weekend, Jolly. I hope we can have a repeat real soon."

"Count on it. Now get some sleep so you can sell lots of stuff. You haven't seen my bill yet, and I don't want to end up with your house by default."

Christina drove to the site before heading into her office just to see if Jolly was there yet. When she got out of the car the only option she had was to sit on the hood and put her hand over her mouth to m.u.f.fle the laugh that wanted to spill out. There on the partially finished second floor was Jolly and a hand full of men doing a line dance to some country western song on the radio. The one thing Christina was grateful for was the dancer she was interested in was the only one without a beer gut.

The group bowed at the end of the song and accepted her applause with grat.i.tude. When Jolly reached her car she looked over her shoulder and gave everyone a glare that meant get back to work.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, twinkle toes. I tried calling you early but you were either in the shower or up there putting down my floor."

"Sorry I missed you but I had to get up early and start work." Jolly looked down at her hands to make sure they were relatively clean before offering one to Christina. "You seem to call me names when you aren't pleased with me."

"You could not drive another nail into this place and I'd be pleased with you."

"Good to know. Kiss me then, you have to go and I have to get back to work."

When they broke apart the applause was coming from the opposite direction of the car and it was Christina that bowed this time. She wiped the pink lipstick off of Jolly's lips before pecking them one more time. Looking in the rearview mirror, she could see Jolly watching the car drive away. Hopefully Jolly would have that half dazed look for a long time to come.

CHAPTER 2.

CHRISTINA PUT HER new key into the elevator and tried to turn it while juggling the bags in her arms. She hadn't seen Jolly's Land Cruiser in the lot so she figured she'd be well into her surprise before the architect got home from work. There was soft music playing and the table was set for two when Christina stepped in and wondered how Jolly knew she was coming over.

From the kitchen, Jolly heard the elevator and waited for her usual Monday night date to come in and keep her company while she cooked dinner. "Madeline, are you going to hang out in the living room all night, or are you going to come in here and kiss me h.e.l.lo?"

The first thought to cross Christina's mind was to pull out the large bottle of olive oil she had bought and throw it at Jolly's head. Instead she calmly put the bags down and walked into the kitchen preparing her goodbye speech with each step. If Jolly was involved with someone, why had she led her on all weekend?

To Christina's surprise there were three pots going on the stove and Jolly was cutting vegetables on the large work area like a pro. The work clothes had been replaced by a pair of pressed chinos, a pale pink cotton shirt and brown bucks. When she looked up from her task a smile broke out on Jolly's face that reached her eyes only to die away just as quickly when she saw the p.i.s.sed off stance of the woman in her kitchen.

"Sorry to ruin your surprise for Madeline, but I thought the key was for me to use any time I wanted. And gosh you never mentioned you could cook."

"Surprise, what surprise? I do this every Monday."

"You b.i.t.c.h, if you were seeing someone why not just say so before I made a fool of myself by coming over here?" Christina was just getting started when Jolly caught on to the reason the blonde was mad. The deep belly laugh made Christina forget what she was going to say next and drove her anger up another notch.

Jolly stopped laughing and looked at the face she had thought about all day, which now showed more hurt than anger. "You never asked if I could cook, that's a conclusion you came up with all on your own. And this isn't a surprise, I cook for Madeline every Monday night from the day we met. Only you know her as Mimi, great talented artist, not Madeline, annoying shrimpy pest. I mean, who in the h.e.l.l would name their child Mimi?"

"I did it again, didn't I?" Christina buried her face in her hands and waited for Jolly to ask her to leave.

"I'd think you didn't like me anymore if you weren't calling me names. Now come over here and kiss me like you aren't my step sister." Christina let out the breath she was holding and once again thanked G.o.d that Jolly was so forgiving. When she stepped around and kissed Jolly h.e.l.lo the smell coming off the stove made her break it earlier than she wanted, but it was almost like a burning desire to know what was under the lids.

"I saw your icebox and none of this stuff was in there," accused Christina looking at the bubbling pot she had uncovered.

"You didn't go into my pantry where I keep all the food. I put another refrigerator in there since it was closer to the service elevator that comes up in that storage area. You just thought big and goofy couldn't translate into decent cook."

Christina couldn't help but kiss the pout that had formed above her head. "You just don't look like the type who would know her way around a kitchen. Around the bedroom definitely, but I thought you wouldn't know what a flame was much less what to do with it."

"Chris, the great father of architecture Frank Lloyd Wright once said no self respecting architect could design a kitchen if they didn't know how to cook. I figured he knew what he was talking about so I took lessons. The bedroom stuff, you're right, I'm a natural."

"A natural who is obviously tossing me out on my rear," said an over dramatic Mimi from the doorway with her hand over her brow for emphasis. "And this being the only home cooked meal I get all week. You get a girl and I'm out on my a.s.s, is that it?"

"Mimi, behave. Christina came over to surprise us, since she missed us so much and all."

"Yeah, I can see she's been pining away for me all week." Mimi teased as she made her way across the kitchen to kiss Jolly h.e.l.lo then doing the same for the gallery owner. "Well you can forget it, sister, I'm not leaving. You'll just have to learn to share the wonderful person who is Jolly," she said to Christina when they broke from their hug.

"I'll go put out an extra place setting if you show me where the plates and stuff are, Jolly." Christina pulled down all the items she would need after Jolly pointed to where they could be found. She knew in her gut Jolly would tell her sister what had happened before her arrival and that would be the final straw that would drive Mimi into talking Jolly into not seeing her anymore and lead her to find someone else to sell her stuff.

"Christina." Mimi said her name stopping the gallery owner before she left the kitchen.

"Yes?"

"I heard what you said, and I don't want you to agonize over it all night. If I thought Jolly was cheating on anyone, I would've reacted pretty much the same way. But my Babe is as honest as they come. She won't hurt you if that's what you're worried about."

"Thanks." Christina felt a hundred pounds lighter leaving the kitchen.

"She called you a b.i.t.c.h," whispered Mimi, making air quotes toward Jolly. "You're moving up in the world, Babe. When a woman uses those kinds of words with such pa.s.sion she's either an artist or she's in love."

"She's an artist," said Jolly with a sigh.

"Chris was right the first time," Mimi released a sigh of her own before s.n.a.t.c.hing a carrot off the cutting board.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Big goober wasn't it? She likes you, Jolly, learn to live with it, and don't let it rattle you too much." For the first time in their talks about Christina Jolly could see Mimi's smile didn't reach her eyes and made a mental note to ask her about it later.

Jolly opened a bottle of wine after she had put all the food on the table letting the two women serve themselves while she poured. They had put all the food Christina had brought over away with the understanding the small blonde could come back and put it to use in the near future.

"Chris, you're going to love this," said Mimi spooning some of the beef stew into her plate. Jolly had also made peas with almonds, rice and an apple pie for dessert. "This is one of Jolly's specialties."

"You look good, you're a carpenter and you cook. Had I known this I would've jumped at that marriage proposal Sat.u.r.day," said Christina reaching up to kiss Jolly when she leaned over to pour her a gla.s.s of wine.

"Jolly, you sly dog, you proposed the minute you saw her in the living room?" asked Mimi.

"I was making an observation about something Christina had said."

"So you didn't mean it?" Christina pouted for effect and got Jolly to come and kneel by her chair. "I'm kidding, but you can kiss me since you're here." Her carpenter delivered on her request and got a pea thrown at her from across the table.

"You have plenty of time for that when I leave, but I'm not leaving until I'm full so cut it out," ordered Mimi.

Jolly spent the rest of the meal listening to Christina and Mimi talk about new art trends and show ideas as she ate. The two women followed her back into the kitchen where they had dessert and watched Jolly load the dishwasher and pack Mimi the leftovers so she would have something to eat at least twice more during the week. Christina told the artist goodbye at the elevator and waited for Jolly to get back from walking her to her car.

"You do this every Monday?" Christina asked Jolly when she came back up.

"It's a good compromise. I get to practice my cooking skills and Mimi gets to eat something other than cheese and crackers, which is her staple when she's working."

"No one with that many plastic containers is doing it for the practice, Jolly. Admit it, you're just sweet." Christina pulled the chef down to sit with her on one of the couches in the living room so they could admire the art painted on the wall. "You think if I cook for her, she would do this for me?"

"Mimi's a special woman, someone who's overly generous, so I'd imagine if you asked real nice she would. Just like someone who was going to come over here and cook me dinner." Jolly pulled Christina closer to her and kissed her on the temple.

"I could do it tomorrow if you like?"

"That would be great, if you're not too busy."

Christina turned and pulled Jolly closer to her so she could kiss her like she had wanted to all night. She was starting to crave this woman, but wanted this relationship to be different. There'd been too many one night stands in her life, and the thought of a chance of something more sounded good. "I'll never be too busy for you."

The gallery owner made good on her promise the next night and it turned into a nightly ritual for almost the next month. They shared the meals on Mondays with Mimi, and spent the rest of the nights getting to know each other better.

On their fifth Monday together they sat out on the deck watching the tugs float by on the river after Mimi had left for the night. Christina was sitting pressed up against Jolly running her fingers along a muscled tan arm.

"Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?" asked Christina.

"I would love that, but I'll have to take a rain check."

"Don't tell me you have other sisters who you take care of and cook for?" asked Christina.

"I have three sisters in the eyes of the law, but Mimi's the only one I love to take care of, so no. Actually I'm declining because I'm flying out to Atlanta tomorrow for a couple of days to give a presentation at the architectural school for inner city children. It's part of a national mentoring program Mimi got me involved in a couple of years ago."

"I won't get to see you for a couple of days?"

Jolly kissed her before answering the question hoping it would get her off the hook. "Not until next Sat.u.r.day. I'm doing the workshop and then Tim and I are pitching some ideas for a project the city's proposing."

"You won't forget about me while you're gone, will you?" A slim finger ran around the rim of Jolly's ear sending a chill down the architect's body. Christina was moving closer and it was wreaking havoc with Jolly's self-control.

"Chris, I have a hard time keeping my fingers intact when I'm driving nails I think about you so much, so no, a week isn't going to erase you from my memory banks."

Christina relaxed under the hands running along her back and enjoyed the kisses being placed on her neck. "Jolly, why didn't you ever want to go to work for your father? I would think with the size of his firm you would've gotten the chance to do more projects like the one you're going to Atlanta to do."

The question surprised her, but Jolly chalked it up to getting to know someone and how they ticked. "I did work for my father when I first started out, Tim and I both did. After a few very frustrating months of him turning down all my drafts and ideas I couldn't take it anymore and I left."

"He didn't like them because you were still inexperienced?"

"No, he thought with his form of criticism he could break me into seeing the world through his eyes. He's all about control, in his work and in his family. With one it makes him very good at what he does because he's consistent, and vigilant about every detail. But it makes it h.e.l.l when it comes to his family. It drove my mother away and eventually drove a wedge between my siblings and her. Anthony's golden rule always was, he who has the gold makes all the rules. My brother and sister couldn't get used to the lesser things in life, so their mother was a small price to pay to keep the cars and jobs. I guess I can be counted on the evil side of the family since I took her side and am still in contact with her."

Christina reached up and ran her hand along Jolly's cheek in comfort. "I'm sorry I asked."

"I don't tell people that because I'm trying to hide it or get sympathy when asked. I just got over it and moved on to find my own path. He's my father but he's still a liar and a bully. We wanted different things for my life and I thought I was the only one who held a vote that counted. I can look back now and see I have what I have because I worked for it, not because I owe it to him. As for family, I've made my own and they love me and make me happy."

"You're not anything like him, and I really like that about you." Christina kissed Jolly and sat with her until past midnight getting up to leave without much gusto. She knew she had to get up before they got too carried away. New clients meant she had an early day in the morning and that's not how she wanted to start on the next phase of her relationship with Jolly.

"Will you call me?"

"Count on it, Chris." Jolly walked her to her car and kissed her good night before letting Christina drive away.

During the days that followed, Tim took over as foreman at Christina's house until he was due to fly out, and Jolly enjoyed her time on the phone learning about the woman that was slowly getting her to open her heart. Between her partner and Christina, Jolly knew how the house was progressing and what was waiting for her when she got home.

"It's Friday, does that mean you can stop your pining now?" asked Lisa as they were getting ready to lock the gallery for the night.

Over the four days Jolly had been gone Christina had figured phone calls weren't enough. She was planning on meeting the plane tomorrow morning and locking Jolly in her loft for the rest of the weekend. There were merits to moving slow and getting to know each other, but there was also something to be said for hot s.e.x.

"Almost, I figure another thirty six hours then you're home free until Jolly's next business trip," said Christina with the closest thing to a smile she had displayed all day. The day had been a series of small crises at the gallery from the time they had arrived including a small electrical fire, and she was ready to go home.

The chime over the door rang out and they both groaned at the thought of having to get rid of whoever had wandered in ignoring the closed sign. It was a contest as to which of the two tired women was more surprised. At the door stood Dell and Hillary Griffin home early from their trip, and with them was Jan Shaffer.

Christina had met Jan Shaffer as a soph.o.m.ore in college. The tall athletic blonde with the looks of a Greek G.o.ddess had pursued her with a relentlessness and charm that was impossible to resist. It was the first time Christina had slept with someone on their first date, but Jan had been like a drug there was no rehab for. Jan had made her feel so wanted Christina didn't feel like she could hold out.

After two months of seeing each other they moved in together, sharing a small apartment close to campus. As the weeks pa.s.sed, Christina was sure she'd found the one person she could share the rest of her life with. Jan listened and encouraged her when Christina spoke of her future plans, and at night the tall blonde fueled her pa.s.sions with the type of s.e.x Christina had only read about.

They were happy until the night Christina made plans to meet her study group for a late cramming session for their upcoming midterms. A headache caused her to go home a few hours early. The sight of Jan in their bed with a beautiful freshman had made Christina physically ill. The girl was the first of many over the next two years she and Jan would stay together.