That Night with You
Page 27
“No, I’m hiring you because you know what I want in a home. You know me better than anyone. You know my tastes, preferences, and desires. There is no one else who could design this house for me.” He shrugged his wide shoulders. “As for the rest, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to prove to you that I’m sincere.”
Her eyes darted about the property as she tried to make up her mind.
“Why don’t we discuss this over dinner?” he softly suggested. “I know the best little pizza place, not far from here. It’s cozy and quiet, and very good for long talks.”
“Are you asking me to dinner?”
“No, I’m asking you to pizza.” He slowly grinned. “Tomorrow night we could go someplace nice for dinner on an official date. What do you say?”
Her stomach trembled with excited butterflies. “An official date? I’ll think about it, Mr. Parr.”
He chuckled and ushered her toward his car. “Perhaps you should start calling me Harry.”
“I’ll think about that, too.”
He opened the passenger side door of his car. “Does this mean you’re warming up to the idea of being my architect?”
Stopping at the car door, she sucked in an apprehensive breath. “If I agree to be your architect, I think we need to set some ground rules.”
“Ground rules?” Hayden knitted his brow. “You’re joking, right?”
“No, I’m not.” After Madison had climbed into his car, she gazed back at him. “I’m looking at this as a new kind of arrangement for us, one that starts out as friends. The rest…we’ll see.”
He smashed his lips together, looking like the stubborn man she had come to know. “Not sure if I like the sound of that.”
She grinned at his displeasure. “A wise architect once told me that ‘the only part of a building that matters is its foundation. The rest is just for fun.’ I think we need to work on our foundation…for now.”
He nodded with understanding, giving her a hint of a smile. “In that case, I guess it’s a start.”
“It’s a very good start, Harry.” She admired his handsome face. “It’s our new beginning.”
Epilogue
The long frame of a two-story house with a stunning view of Turtle Creek sat embedded into the side of a ridge at the rear of the wooded property. All around the construction area men were scurrying about wearing hardhats, while heavy moving equipment transported needed building supplies about the site. In the air, the essence of freshly cut pine trees—intermixed with the stench of diesel from the machinery—added a surreal touch to the organized chaos. As Madison slogged through the thick muddy ruts in the ground, she spied the jutting rear porch of the expansive home that looked out toward the creek. Taking a moment to survey her creation, she felt a surge of satisfaction. For the first time in her career, she was watching her design come to life, and in that instant she realized that it didn’t matter if it was a thirty-story skyscraper or a single family home, the effect would have been the same. Size didn’t matter, the achievement did.
“Madison,” a velvety voice called from the rear of the home.
When she careened her head around, she saw him. Standing by a work table set up near the rear porch, he had removed his suit jacket and rolled up his white shirt sleeves. Madison sighed, surprised that he still had the ability to take her breath away. Trudging through the muddy terrain, she nodded at Hayden.
“Hey, baby.” Hayden wrapped his arm about her waist and pulled her close. “We’ve got to go over the interior color scheme sometime today. My decorator needs to know what we want.”
Placing her leather purse on the worktable, she coyly smiled. “It’s your house, Harry. You don’t need me to help you decorate it.”
His eyes came together in a vain attempt at a scowl. “I disagree. I already told you numerous times that your opinion is invaluable to me.”
Madison felt that kick of reservation floating around in her gut. “We talked about this. I know we’ve been spending a lot of time together with dinners and meetings about the house, but my feelings haven’t changed.”
“I’ll wear you down yet. By the time I move into this place, I expect you to feel quite differently about us.”
“I’m better as your architect, rather than your girlfriend.”
“My mother would disagree with you. She keeps asking when I’m bringing my ‘girlfriend’ to dinner again. She likes you.”
Madison smiled, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear. “I don’t think you should be bringing me to your parents’ house for dinner anymore. I only agreed to it that one time last month because you practically forced me into it. If we do it again, it will give them the wrong impression about us.”
“Wrong impression? You’re killing me, Madison.” He tossed something on the table. “You’d better take a look at that.”
Atop the copies of the house plans was a small, square white box. There was no wrapping or bow, just the plain box.
“What’s this?”
“My back-up plan, in case you continue pushing me away. I have been apologizing profusely for four months now, and decided this is what I needed to do to allay your fears about me.”
“What back-up plan?”
He pointed to the box. “Open it.”
Carefully removing the top of the box, Madison noticed something gold shining back at her. On further inspection, she discovered the gold object was a key chain with a circular gold disc attached to it. Fingering the key chain, she lifted it from the box.
“It’s a key chain.”
“It’s an invitation,” he told her, inching closer. “I figured I could get the electronic lock combination carved into it once we move in.”
“We?” She gripped the key chain in her hand. “Hayden, I agreed to be your architect on the condition that we would not—”
“Turn it over,” he interjected, pointing to the key chain. “I think you’ll find what you’re looking for on the other side.”
Flipping over the round disc, she spied an engraving.
I love you, Madison.
Madison was at a loss for words. This was not what she had expected.
He motioned to the key chain. “I thought putting the words on something permanent would show you how I really feel.”
“You love me?”
He gazed into her eyes. “I always have. I was just too afraid tell you, and I didn’t want to risk losing you in case you didn’t feel the same way about me.”
She wanted desperately to believe him, but the pain of their past break-up still smarted, tempering her willingness to take him back. “Hayden, how can I trust you not to shut me out like you did before?”
“This time will be different because I have a plan. You asked me once to describe my plans for us, as an architect.” He gestured to the key chain. “This is our foundation. The rest,” he shrugged, “we’ll just draw as we go.”
Madison’s toes tingled. This was more than she had ever hoped for. “That’s quite a plan.”
“But it won’t work without you, Madison.” He took in a nervous breath, keeping his eyes on her. “So am I forgiven?”
Gripping the key chain in her hand, her heart caved. She couldn’t resist him any longer. Perhaps it was time to give him a second chance. Nodding her head, she declared, “Yeah, you’re forgiven.”
“Took you long enough.” He clasped her left hand and started guiding her toward a long white trailer set up to the side of the construction site. “I’m glad that’s settled, because there is something else we need to do right away.”
“Where are we going?” Madison halted, and waited as Hayden came back to her.
He motioned to the white trailer up ahead. “I had an office set up close to the site because the condo I’m leasing is too damn small. I’ve even had my big desk moved out here. Interested?” He bobbed his eyebrows up and down.
“I don’t know.” She eased up to him with a Cheshire cat grin curling her deep red lips. “Maybe I should
be the one tossing you over the desk. I think I might want to take control for a while.”
“I definitely like the sound of that.” His arms went about her. “Is this the start of a new kind of arrangement?”
“No more arrangements.” She edged her lips closer to his. “And, Hayden…call me Ms. Barnett.”
Frowning, he let her go and took a step back. “No, that doesn’t work for me. Not quite the fantasy I had in mind.” He paused, and tipped his head thoughtfully to the side. “How does Mrs. Parr sound?”
Madison’s heart skipped a beat. “You’re serious?”
“I wanted to put it on the back of that key chain,” he nodded to the key chain still in her hand, “but it wouldn’t fit.”
“Are you sure, Hayden? Are you sure you want me?”
With a spectacular smile, he inched right in front of her. “Marry me, Madison. You’ve been the only woman for me ever since our first night together.” He put his hands about her face. “Be mine, utterly and completely, forever.”
“Wow,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “For a man who isn’t good with words, you sure found the perfect ones.”
His thumb wiped away the single tear that had begun trickling down her left cheek. “Is that a yes?”
Nodding, she took his hand in hers and pulled him toward the trailer. “Come on, Mr. Parr. Let’s go and break in that desk.”
The End
Alexandrea Weis is an advanced practice registered nurse who was born and raised in New Orleans. Having been brought up in the motion picture industry, she learned to tell stories from a different perspective and began writing at the age of eight. Infusing the rich tapestry of her hometown into her award-winning novels, she believes that creating vivid characters makes a story moving and memorable. A permitted/certified wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Weis rescues orphaned and injured wildlife. She lives with her husband and pets in New Orleans.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue