~Noel~
I have my coffee, extra-large, and I’m ready to tackle this day. If all goes as planned, in just three days, Reed’s house will look like Santa himself lives there.
Traffic headed out of the city isn’t too bad this morning since I’m driving opposite of rush-hour traffic, so getting up to his place should only take me about fifteen minutes.
“Long enough to enjoy this coffee,” I mutter to myself just as my phone rings. My sister’s name comes up on my car’s screen. I click accept on my steering wheel. “Hello there.”
“Hey, I was hoping I’d catch you before you started in with your meetings today,” Joy says. I can hear dogs barking around her, but that’s not unusual, given that my sister is a successful veterinarian in Seattle.
“You did catch me. I’m on my way to a job. What’s up?”
“I think we should do family dinner on Sunday with Dad. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve seen you.”
“I know.” I sigh and take a sip of my coffee. “It seems that everyone in the Seattle metro area suddenly wants their house decorated.”
“This is the time of year everyone has parties, so of course they want their homes to look nice.”
“You have a good point,” I concede and wonder why I didn’t think of that. “But I’ll make time for dinner on Sunday. How is Daddy? Have you talked to him?”
“He’s good. He brought Nancy in for a check-up yesterday, and he looks happy. He said he has a date on Saturday.”
I sit stunned, staring at the red taillights ahead of me.
“Noel?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you hear me?”
“I think so. Dad has a date?”
“I was pretty surprised, too,” she says. “But he seems excited about it.”
“Mom’s only been gone for three years.”
“That’s a long time, Noel,” she says softly. “I know it feels like yesterday, but three years is a long time.”
“Well, as long as he’s happy, I guess.” I swallow hard, still wrapping my head around this. “We’ll ask all of the questions on Sunday.”
“That’s my plan,” Joy replies. “Okay, don’t work too hard. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
She ends the call, and I bite my lip. I don’t know how I feel about my dad dating someone new. I guess I’ll set it aside until we talk to him on Sunday.
I pull into Reed’s driveway, pleased when I see that the crew, along with their big trucks and supplies, made it here before me.
With coffee in hand, I march down the driveway to the house and see Reed talking with one of the men.
“There she is,” Reed says, looking relieved when he sees me.
“Great.” Bob, a man I’ve worked with many times before, turns and smiles at me. He’s old enough to be my father, but I still flirt with him relentlessly.
“Hey there, handsome,” I say to Bob and pat his shoulder. “Are you all ready to go?”
“Your notes were clear, as always. My boys will get started out here right away.”
“Thank you.” I smile up at him, chuckle when he blushes a bit, and watch as he walks back to his truck.
“I think I’m jealous of Bob,” Reed says beside me.
“Why is that?”
“He just got way more attention out of you than I’ve managed to do,” he says. I turn to him and sip my drink.
“Well, Bob does a hell of a job, and I think he’s rather adorable.”
“So you like older men, then.”
I shrug a shoulder, trying not to notice how broad Reed’s chest looks in his blue button-down shirt, or how his forearms flex as he pushes his hands into his pockets.
Good Lord, Reed is something to write home about.
“I’m going to need you to leave,” I inform him and watch as he raises an eyebrow.
“In what capacity?”
“I need you and Piper to move out of here for the few days that this will take. First, because you’ll just be in the way. And second, because I want it to be a surprise when it’s finished.”
“You’re kicking me out of my own house.”
I wink up at him. “Yes. I am.”
I turn to talk to my interior crew, but my toe catches on a rock, and I pitch forward, my coffee flying out of my hands and splattering all over Reed’s driveway.
Strong arms catch me, keeping me from falling on my face, and all I can do is stare longingly at the coffee steaming off the concrete.
“Damn it.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Thanks for catching me.”
He has strong hands. Firm arms. A tight grip around my waist.
I wonder how he’d hold me if we were naked, and—
I shake my head, stopping those thoughts before they have a chance to go anywhere else.
“Come on,” he says, taking my hand and pulling me behind him.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m taking you for a new coffee.”
“I can’t, I have to talk to Jean about the stairway, and—”
“They’re just unloading and organizing. It will take a while. They don’t need you yet.”
“How do you know what they need?”
He stops and turns to me with a huff. “Are you always this obstinate when a man tries to buy you coffee?”
“When said man tries to pry me away from my job site? Yes. You hired me to make your home beautiful, not to go to a café with you.”
“You’re stubborn.”
And with that, he bends over and slings me over his shoulder, carrying me easily—and in front of my crew—to his car.
“Attaboy!” Bob yells, giving Reed a thumbs-up.
“You’re not helping!” I call back to him, but he just smiles at me.
Finally, Reed sets me next to his boxy Mercedes SUV and opens the passenger door. “Get in.”
“You just made me a laughing stock in front of my crew.”
Reed frowns and looks around the driveway. “The only one looking this way is Bob, and he’s not laughing. He looks proud of me.”
I sigh in agitation and get into the car before I do what I really want to do: stomp on his foot and march away.
I will not admit that being carried by him, having his arms wrapped around me twice in the span of two minutes, made my core tighten.
I won’t give him the satisfaction.
“There’s a Starbucks up the road.”
I wrinkle my nose.
“Not a Starbucks girl?”
“It’ll do in a pinch. Cherry Street coffee is my favorite, but they’re at least thirty minutes away.”
“I’ll remember that,” he murmurs and drives away from his house. “It’s my fault you spilled the coffee. The least I can do is replace it.”
“It’s not your fault I tripped on a rock.”
“It was my rock.”
I shake my head and glance over at him. “I think we’re both stubborn.”
“Me? No way.” He laughs and takes my hand in his, linking our fingers. Before I can pull away, he kisses the back of my hand.
“Reed, you’re a client.”
“Yes, I am.”
“It’s unprofessional for me to have any other sort of relationship with you.”
“If you don’t like what I’m doing, all you have to do is say so, and I will never bother you again,” he says clearly, all humor gone from his face. “I have no interest in harassing you or making you feel uncomfortable.”
“I’m not uncomfortable.”
“Good. I’m not a jerk, Noel. Now, why do you need us to leave the house again?”
“You heard me the first time.”
“Tell me again, I like your voice.”
I can’t help the laugh that comes out at that statement. He grins at me. “There, I like that very much.”
“I need you both to relocate for a couple of days so you’re out of our way, and so I can do a grand reveal when it’s all finished. I think it’ll be fun for Piper.”
“I do, too. Well, the condo hasn’t sold yet, so we’ll go there for a couple of days.”
“Thanks. We should have it all wrapped up in less than three working days. There’s a lot to do, but the crew is organized and quick. I think you’re going to love it.”
“If it’s as good as the photos you sent, we’ll never want to take it down.”
I smile, pleased that he liked my proposal. I worked my ass off on it, and the design came easily to me, as if I’d done it many times before.
Reed pulls the car into the Starbucks parking lot, and we go inside. My coffee order is very different here than at Cherry Street.
“Grande light roast with plenty of room for cream, please.”
Reed stares down at me. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“Okay. I’ll have the same, but make mine a medium roast.”
He pays for our coffees, and once we’ve added the right amount of cream and sweetener, we’re back on the road to his house.
“I could have sworn I smelled caramel in the coffee you spilled,” he says.
“You did. My order at Cherry Street is different. They use a really great, homemade caramel.”
“I’ll have to try it sometime,” he says and smiles. “My condo isn’t far from there.”
My gaze quickly swings to his. “Really? My condo is just around the corner from the First Avenue West location.”
“I’m about a block over.” He grins at me. “How convenient.”
I decide to let that comment slide. I’m so attracted to him, but I don’t have time to get involved right now. The whole client thing isn’t such a big deal because this job is only a couple of days, but the time factor is a thing. “Thank you for this. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome.” He sets his drink in the cup holder and reaches for my hand again. “Now, before we get back, I want to be up-front and say, right here and now, that I’m incredibly attracted to you, Noel. I’d like to date you.”
I cough on the sip of light roast I just took and then stare at him. “Well, I give you props for your honesty. And in that spirit, I’ll tell you right here and now that I don’t have time to date you—or anyone else for that matter.”
“I’m not concerned about anyone else,” he says, his voice perfectly calm as he watches the road in front of us. “I’m only concerned with me, and you’re just going to have to make time because not seeing you isn’t an option for me.”
I’m still staring at him, and then I bust up laughing.
“I don’t know what you find funny.”
“This whole thing,” I say, wiping the tears from my eyes. “Make time? How do you propose I do that? There are only twenty-four hours in a day, and I work roughly sixteen of those hours. So when you find a way to add some minutes to the day, you let me know.”
He pulls into the driveway, but before I can open the door, he says, “Wait for me.”
I’ve never been the kind of girl attracted to the alpha type. That’s not to say I want a pushover, but the whole, I’m man, I tell you what to do thing has never appealed to me.
Yet here I am. Waiting.
He opens my door, offers his hand, and when I’m standing, he closes the door and leans into me, effectively pinning me against his expensive automobile.
I absolutely do not want to push him away. Is he being bossy? Yes. Is he sexy as hell? Also, yes.
He plants one hand on the car and dips his head next to mine.
“We make time for the things that matter,” he whispers into my ear. “Like, just now, we carved out fifteen minutes to go and get a coffee. I had you all to myself. We had a conversation, a harmless flirtation. I even made you laugh. If all I can get is fifteen minutes here and there, so be it.”
He kisses my neck—my freaking neck—and then winks at me as he walks away.
“I’ll be out of your hair in about ten minutes,” he tosses over his shoulder as I struggle to breathe.
Oh my God, I’m turned on. If there weren’t people around, I’d be fanning my face.
Damn him!
I. Don’t. Have. Time.
* * * *
It’s been a crazy day.
Reed’s house is looking fantastic. If I get lucky, it may be finished by tomorrow evening.
Maybe.
But if not, it’ll still be done on time, and that’s all I can really ask for.
I’ve just walked into my condo, kicked my heels off, and opened the fridge for the bottle of white I have on hand.
Sometimes a girl just needs a glass of wine.
Or two.
I smirk and pull the cork out of the bottle and fill a glass half full. On my way into my bedroom, where I’m headed to change, I get a text.
From Reed.
My body is still tingling from that little encounter in his driveway this morning.
He’s potent.
And hot as hell.
And I’m reminded as I stare down at the silly photo of Reed and Piper sticking their tongues out at the camera, that he’s a dad.
I don’t overthink it as I flip on the camera and snap a quick picture of me sticking out my tongue at them and send it off.
Rather than just changing my clothes, I think I want a hot shower. I worked hard today, hanging garlands and decorating Christmas trees, and my muscles are weary.
I usually take my phone into the bathroom with me so I can listen to podcasts while I bathe, and this time is no different. I’ve just started my favorite show, My Favorite Murder, which never fails to both creep me out and make me laugh when another text comes through.
Reed: We’re at my condo in the city, having pizza for dinner. You should join us.
I smile at the mental image of the two of them eating pizza with the skyline in the background. I have no idea what Reed’s condo looks like, or even where it is for sure, but I like the image in my mind.
Me: Thanks for the invitation. I’m in the shower, so I think I’m in for the night. I hope you enjoy your dinner!
Several minutes pass. The hosts of my podcast talk about a serial killer in Hawaii as I lather up my hair and then rinse it. Finally, when I’ve finished with the shower and I’m drying off, another text comes through from Reed.
Reed: It’s not fair to tell me you’re in the shower when I’m hanging out with my four-year-old daughter.
I laugh and snap a photo of myself in my towel and send it off to him. Yes, I’m flirting with a client. No, I don’t have time for him.
Yes, this could get messy. I’m well aware of the what-ifs and how it could all go wrong.
But you know what? I don’t care. I’m not usually a risk-taker. I always follow the rules.
But something tells me Reed’s worth it. And you only live once, right?