Love by Design (Crystal Falls Book 1)

by Lee, Lynette

  He still hadn’t slept there. The place had a lonely feel to it and now that he’d seen Lily again, he couldn’t help but think of her as he shuffled through the empty rooms that he’d designed for the two of them together. It was painful, but surely he’d get over it. He just had to continue reminding himself of why they weren’t together anymore.

  And with that, he thought, time to get back to work. He propelled himself down the hall, not even wanting to pause to say goodbye. He made it almost to the door without looking at the women who were bent over the old kitchen counter, Lily drawing something out in her notebook, Upton’s assistant nodding vigorously.

  “Hey, sorry to interrupt the fun in here,” he said as he sauntered over to the kitchen, trying to muster a courage he certainly didn’t feel. “But I’m heading off. I’ll see you both later.”

  “I sure hope so,” the assistant said, giving him a ridiculously suggestive smile. Lily giggled beside her before she bent back over her design plans and he couldn’t help but laugh himself as he rolled his eyes and headed for the door.

  Chapter Three

  The next day, Lily couldn’t help but smile as she pulled into a parking spot in front of her favorite furniture and upholstery store, The Bungalow, and found Lydia already waiting on the sidewalk in a retro psychedelic caftan and sunglasses that were even bigger than the cat-eye glasses she’d worn the day before. Lydia stuck out like a sore thumb on the small downtown street. It was refreshing, seeing someone with style in Crystal Falls where every other person seemed to be wearing jeans or cowboy boots. When the ski crowds came in for the winter the town took on a couture sheen but during the summer when it was mostly locals. Crystal Falls was more of a haven for ranchers than fashionistas. She felt a little less out of place with her mauve stilettos and black crepe dress. It was something Noah had teased her about often, that she had a backwoods personality but a city girl sense of style.

  “Isn’t this a quaint little area?” Lydia asked, motioning toward the small shops, restaurants and bars that lined the sidewalks of Main Street when Lily joined her on the sidewalk.

  “It’s got its charm. Come on in, I think you’re going to like this place.”

  Walking into The Bungalow was like walking into a candy store for Lily. Near the windows several display areas were arranged in room setups with the most interesting furniture she’d ever seen. Everything from antique hutches to Tudor chairs bunched together in ways that got her creative juices flowing. It was always hard for her to walk out of The Bungalow without buying anything, but she often consoled herself with the thought that someday her business would earn her enough that she could design her own home and fill it with fine things.

  The back half of the store was wall to wall samples, everything from curtain fabric and wallpaper to upholstery material and paint swatches.

  “Lily, what a pleasure,” the owner Francis called out. “I’ve been waiting for you to visit.”

  “I know, I’ve been so busy lately. Haven’t had the time to come in. Francis, this is Lydia. She’s working on a remodel with me and we’re here today to spend money.” Lily forced herself not to clap her hands in excitement. She was giddy with the thought.

  “Francis, pleasure.” Lydia took the older woman’s hand in both of hers warmly.

  Francis had owned The Bungalow for as long as Lily had lived in Crystal Falls. She was a small woman but Lily knew from experience that she was also incredibly strong. She’d seen Francis move couches by herself without any effort at all. Francis was a ball of energy, constantly flying around the store, talking as fast as she moved, keeping everyone gasping for breath behind her.

  Francis brought them chairs and set them up at one of her work tables. She stacked piles of samples in front of them and left them alone. Lily was thankful she’d stopped for a large coffee - she knew it was going to be a long day of decisions. But she was looking forward to it. It was just this kind of thing that she lived for.

  After several hours and what felt like hundreds of decisions, Lily thought they were finally close to the finish line. She was surprised when she turned to look out the front windows and found the sun sinking low in the sky. They’d been at it most of the day, and Lily had hardly noticed the time passing.

  “I’m parched. What do you say we knock off and find ourselves a celebratory martini?”

  Lily stretched, feeling her back ache in a very satisfying way. “Sounds good to me.”

  Lily finalized the order for the furniture and drapes they’d decided on while Lydia packed up her things.

  “That’s it for now, Francis. I’ll let you know if I need anything else. And thanks again for all your help.” Francis had been one of her favorite vendors to work with at Blackwood and she was thrilled when Francis had agreed to keep working with her once she started Daly Design.

  Lydia gave Francis a two-cheeked goodbye kiss, making her blush. “Now don’t go forgetting me, darling.”

  “Oh, I don’t think that’s possible,” Francis replied.

  Lily waved goodbye and stepped outside with Lydia into the late afternoon sun.

  “Tell me there’s a sexy place to drink around here.” Lydia turned her gaze up and down the small street. “Oh! Look at that! Plush. Sounds promising.” She lifted her eyebrows at Lily.

  Lily hesitated, trying in vain to think of any other place they could go.

  “What on earth is the matter? You look like I just suggested we rob a bank.”

  “Nothing. It’s just that I used to go there with an ex. I haven’t been since we’ve broken up.”

  Lydia rolled her eyes. “Honey, you have got to get over that shit, and quick. Never let an ex stop you from living your life. That’s my motto. One of them at least.” She laughed, grabbing Lily’s hand and pulling her down the street toward Plush. Lily could have pulled away but something in Lydia’s words hit home. She was tired of constantly avoiding Noah. And what was the point, now that she was forced to see him practically every day?

  “Oh, yes. This is just what we need,” Lydia said as they walked into the dark bar. It had been redesigned recently, and had a much cooler, more retro vibe than Lily remembered. The purple walls gave it a feeling of luxury and as she sank down into the padded leather seat of the booth she felt the stress of all the decisions they’d made throughout the day melt away.

  “So this ex, he wouldn’t happen to be the sexy architect Noah would he?”

  Lily nodded.

  “Well, that explains a few things. Did he dump you hard?”

  “I dumped him actually.”

  She gasped. “Now why would you go and do a silly thing like that?”

  Where to start? “He cheated on me.”

  Thankfully their conversation was interrupted by the waitress. After looking over the three pages of craft cocktails, Lily finally decided on something called The Saintly Sinner. It sounded like just the thing she needed.

  “So the beautiful architect has a flawed character. How delicious,” Lydia continued after the waitress moved away.

  “I wish I could see it that way.”

  “What other way is there to see it? The man is gorgeous. And he has a little bit of the untrustworthy about him. That makes him even more tempting to a girl like me.”

  Lily avoided the conversation, not sure how she felt about Noah anymore. Instead she gazed around the room, noting every detail of the bar’s redesign. She would bet her only paycheck that Blackwood had been behind it.

  A full cocktail glass slid in front of Lily and she grabbed at it for dear life. She took a careful sip of the lavender and orange cocktail and closed her eyes. Oh yes, that is good, she thought, giving her shoulders another roll. The Blonde Bear was like home to her, but Plush made the best cocktails in town. She’d forgotten that until now.

  “You wouldn’t understand,” Lily told her and took another sip of her drink.

  “Try me.”

  “I found out he was cheating on me with a friend of a friend when we were
all on vacation together. I got mad at him. He said awful things to me. I told him to go to hell and never to talk to me again. It was a big deal. Happened in front of practically everyone we know.” Lily felt her cheeks go red, thinking back to what a fool she’d made of herself. She wished she’d at least had the presence of mind to confront Noah privately. But the box of wine she’d been sharing with Rachel and Angie that day had made presence of mind hard to come by.

  “That skanky ho,” she commiserated. “But wait, back up. You said you found out he was cheating. Did you catch him in bed with her? Oh that must have been awful.”

  Lily looked around the room. It was something she’d debated with Rachel and Angie many times before, but somehow hearing it from a stranger made it feel different. Maybe she had been too quick to give Noah the boot. But after all this time, all the effort she’d put into cutting him out of her life it seemed impossible to even consider going back. Not to mention all those hurtful things he’d said to her that she’d been brooding over for months.

  No, she couldn’t go back.

  She blushed and shrugged, took a drink of her martini. “I heard it from someone else.”

  “Interesting,” she said after several uncomfortable seconds.

  Lily felt silly suddenly and wanted to turn the conversation away from Noah. What was the use of revisiting this old hurtful past anyway?

  Lydia obviously felt for her because she finally shrugged her shoulders and sank back against the chair. Lily tried not to sigh with relief as Lydia began dishing out gossip about Christina Upton, dropping the topic of Noah completely.

  If only Lily could push him out of her mind as easily.

  Rick Epstein did a quick spin in the vast open living space that made up most of Noah’s new house.

  “God, Noah. You are a genius,” he said, his voice echoing off all the empty space as he walked around Noah’s newly finished kitchen. “Is this marble?”

  Rick pointed at the rose colored tiles that zigzagged throughout the main living area. Noah nodded his head and pulled two beers out of the mostly empty fridge, handing one to Rick.

  Rick popped the cap off his bottle and held it out to Noah. “Cheers on completing your dream house, bud.” Noah clinked glasses and took a long drink.

  “There are a few things I need to touch up here and there, but it’s definitely livable.”

  “Down right luxurious, if you ask me.”

  Noah leaned on the long granite bar that wrapped around the kitchen and took a drink of his beer, watching as Rick continued to circle the living area.

  Not only was Rick Noah’s closest friend, he’d been the one to convince Noah to come to Crystal Falls in the first place. A real estate developer, he’d met Noah when he hired him for a condo development he put in near San Francisco years before and the two had hit it off, both as friends and colleagues. So when a new project popped up in Colorado, Rick invited him to work on the development on a freelance basis. Noah gladly left the company he’d worked for and started his own firm, Caldwell Enterprises. In the four years since, the business had grown and was now the preeminent architectural company in the area.

  It wasn’t just the business Noah had stayed in Crystal Falls for however. The rugged small town life had appealed to him much more than the hectic bustle of San Francisco. He loved having time off to go horseback riding through the mountains, hike and camp in the area during the summer, and ski when it started to snow. And when he’d met Lily on a job three years ago, he knew he was never going to leave.

  “It does seem to need something still. Some furniture perhaps?” Rick walked around the empty space, his wingtip shoes echoing off the marble tile. Rick was shorter than Noah and stocky but his presence was considerable. He had sandy brown hair and blue eyes and the only time Noah could remember seeing him in something other than an expensive suit was when they’d all gone to Lake Mead together over spring break. Rick hadn’t put on anything other than a swimsuit the entire time and had come home with the beet red skin to prove it.

  Noah laughed. “I’m moving the rest of my stuff over this weekend. Thanks for offering.”

  “Boy, you know how much I love physical labor. But I’m in Reno this weekend. Sorry I won’t be lifting any couches with you.”

  “I know, I know.” Noah chuckled again. “No worries. I’ve got that new kid, Brandon, from my office coming to give me a hand.”

  Rick not only had offices in Crystal Falls but owned a condo in the same building as Noah’s as well. On the rare occasion that Rick was in town he and Noah were almost joined at the hip but he spent most of his time in his palatial home in Reno where his main offices were located. As brash and loud as Rick could be, Noah loved the guy. With Rick’s help, Noah had grown from a minor cog in a very big wheel in San Francisco to owning his own company with more than twenty employees. He couldn’t have done it without Rick’s constant advice. Certainly not without his friendship.

  “So, how’s the new job going?” Rick asked, looking out the floor to ceiling windows over a spectacular view of the sun sinking below the ridge of the opposite mountain.

  “Okay, so far. Upton is a pain in the ass. She doesn’t even seem to care about the house, just keeps hitting on me.”

  Rick chuckled. “I don’t know how you do it. All these rich women throwing themselves at you, you just ignoring them. If it were me, I’d have done every one of them.”

  “Yeah, well I’m not you.”

  “Isn’t that the truth,” Rick said with a chuckle, taking a deep swallow of beer before easing himself into one of the two barstools, the only furniture in the room. Noah sat in the other stool and leaned his long forearms against the white granite bar top.

  “There is a little hitch with the job though,” Noah said.

  Rick raised his eyebrows.

  “Lily.”

  Rick’s eyebrows shot up even further.

  “She was hired to do the design. So I’ve been working with her.”

  Rick let out a low whistle. “Is it the first time you’ve seen her since…”

  Noah nodded and frowned.

  “God. I’m sorry, man. That’s got to be rough.”

  “It’s strange. Frustrating. She looks good, man.”

  “Of course she does. Lily has always looked good. But boy, that temper. I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with it. Not after I saw the way she exploded on you at the lake. That was some crazy shit.” Rick shook his head and polished off his beer.

  “We were all drinking too much. And I should have taken the time to explain to her what really happened between me and Maggie. But she just kept screaming at me and I lost my head.”

  Noah frowned and hopped up to get them both another beer.

  “I know, bud. I was there. I am kind of surprised the two of you never worked it out though. It isn’t like you actually cheated on her. Sure you guys said some pretty messed up things to one another, but that can always be fixed. I jstill don’t understand why you didn’t just tell her what really happened once everything calmed down.”

  Noah sat back down beside Rick with a sigh.

  “I don’t really understand it either. It just took me so long to get over her going off on me in public the way she did that I guess when I finally did it seemed like it was too late. That, and maybe I started thinking I’d be okay without her.”

  “And you still feel like that?”

  “Honestly? I don’t know. Seeing her again has been rough. It’s brought up a lot of feelings I thought I was over. On top of that, moving into this house is doing strange things to me. It feels wrong somehow, almost like she’s been here already, like she belongs here. I guess I just had so many plans as I created this place that it feels like we’ve already lived here together.”

  “That makes sense. You and Lily were joined at the hip for years. And, yeah,” Rick said, looking around the house again, “I can see Lily here. She would have loved this place.”

  “I’m starting to wonder if I ca
n handle it. Seeing her again, living here. It feels like it’s too much for me all of a sudden. I’ve even started thinking about moving lately, just so I can shake her. Start over or something.”

  Rick sipped his beer. “Well, you know I don’t want you to leave town. I’ve invested too much in that overblown firm you’ve got.” Rick smiled at Noah’s mock anger. “Not to mention, well, I’d just miss you.”

  It was as personal a thing as Rick had ever said and Noah knew he meant it.

  “So if you need help, let me know. If you want to try to get her back I’ll support you all the way. And if you just need a little manly diversion, I’ve got that covered too.” Rick laughed and whacked Noah on the back. “Bottom line, I’ll do what I can to keep you here. For purely selfish reasons, of course.”

  Noah smiled and patted Rick on the shoulder. “Of course.”

  He knew Rick well and knew he was good for his word, although Noah hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Hopefully he could handle his feeling for Lily, however complicated, on his own.

  A week ago, as Lydia had said goodbye to Lily outside of Plush, she’d given her a set of keys for the cabin along with a big hug. It hadn’t quite seemed real to her until that moment, with the keys to someone else’s property in her hands, that she was actually working on her first real job as a business owner.

  Finding a friend in Lydia had changed everything for her. She’d been determined from the beginning to make it work, but that first day with the surprise of Noah and the rudeness of her client had tested her. Knowing that she would mostly be working with Lydia and that they had a similar eye for design made it all seem bearable. She thought she might even be able to tolerate Noah. Or at least find plenty of ways to avoid him.

  Now, she hesitated at the door of the cabin before putting the key in the lock. This was it, her very first real job. She was determined to make it perfect. She readjusted the bag on her shoulder, heavy with samples and magazines, and turned the key, pushing the door open.

  The cabin was musty and as she walked through the big empty living area, the dust she kicked up making streaks in the late afternoon sun. She’d hoped to time her visit so she would miss Noah and whatever crews were already working on the remodel and the complete quiet inside told her she’d done just that.