“I guess it would be wise to be seen in public together.” Cora rose and sashayed past them. “I’ll go get ready and meet you down here in twenty minutes.”
Ed turned to Ghost with a snarl. “She refused me out of spite.”
“No, she agreed to be seen with you to play her part. It’s what you wanted.” Ghost clapped him on the back. “So you say.”
Ed wanted to argue his point, but for the first time in his life, he didn’t feel like having a debate. Why was it every time Cora left a room, he found himself exhausted and confused?
“I’ll get the carriage for you.”
Ghost left, so Ed returned to his office to look over his proposal for the Southern Pacific Railroad and his shipping business. He needed to expand, but into what? New merchandise or new exotic locations? Lost in his work, he didn’t hear Ghost enter.
“Sir? You ready?”
“Yes.” Ed went to the foyer, where Ghost held up his coat for him and handed him his hat.
Cora glided down the stairs with such poise but in the same dress she’d arrived in. “You don’t have another dress?”
She halted at the bottom step, her lips tightening.
Ghost smacked him on the back. “Just ridding you of dust, sir.”
Ed took his hint, though. “I only meant, I gave you the material so you could make more dresses,” he said in a sweet, talk-to-a-baby kind of tone.
“Last night, I was up until early morning working on my ball gown.”
“Right, of course.” Ed took the coat from Ghost and held it up for Cora, who nodded her approval.
Why did one nod snag happiness and pull it to the surface like a fish caught on a line? “I’ll keep the coat on to cover my dress as much as possible, and I’ll work on a new one tonight.”
Ed offered his arm to escort her to the carriage. “I wish I had the funds to purchase you a hundred new dresses. Once this deal is complete, I will buy you all that you need or want.”
She patted his arm. “Thank you for the offer.”
They made it all the way from the house to the carriage without an argument and even settled inside for the ride without a reprimand or sour expression. Maybe Ghost was right and escorting her around town, asking instead of ordering, and doing something she would enjoy was a good idea.
Cora adjusted her gloves. “Tell me more about the city. I know there’s a section where the Chinese live. What other immigrants reside in this town?”
“All of them. German, Irish, French, Mexican… People came from all over when gold was discovered, then silver, now trade and railroad. This land draws people to it.”
“Why were you drawn here?”
He enjoyed her attention on him instead of her gaze being focused on the world outside. “Same as the rest. Gold.”
“But you didn’t acquire your fortune mining.”
He liked that she wanted to know more about him. He told himself it was because she needed more information to pull off this charade, but deep down he liked her interest in him as a man. “No. When I arrived here, William and I worked together to gather supplies. When we returned to work our mine, people were offering a fortune for our goods. We decided we had our claim, so we’d sell our goods and then go back to get more and better equipment. When we saw the people starving and men bent over with age before their time but the gold wasn’t as plentiful as we’d hoped, we decided to start transporting goods and selling them instead of working the claim. That’s how our first shipping business started.”
“You were wise, and if William hadn’t run off with your funds, you’d still be financially secure.”
Was that admiration in her eyes? Something inside him snapped, and he couldn’t lie to her, to make her think he was more of a success than he was. “No.” Ed looked out the window to catch a glimpse of the sand dunes, reminding him of how desolate the mining areas had been when he’d arrived. “I’ve made some poor investments. My ruin does not rest solely on William.”
“I’m sure many businessmen make similar mistakes.”
He relished her kind words, but he knew he couldn’t afford to make mistakes like that again. And the way his pulse quickened at the sight of Cora each time she entered a room or the way he longed to catch her in the hallway, he knew he was on the verge of making the biggest mistake of his life. He needed to remain focused on his plan and his future.
Cora followed his gaze. “Doesn’t look like there will be gardens around here.”
A strange flutter in his belly made him rethink his second cup of coffee, but then he remembered the last time he had this feeling was when he launched his Neal Shipping Company. That was a day he remembered vividly, the cheers. Men flocked to him for advice and congratulations. He’d become someone that day. How did he feel that same excitement sitting alone in a carriage with one woman? “Prepare yourself for more than just gardens. Woodward is a place of wonders. There are exotic animals and artwork and a museum.”
