by Lynn Galli
He showed us to the row of trailers he rented. Mason enthusiastically ran through each one. They all seemed similar to me, so we talked price and length of contract. Vivian bargained him down and in less than an hour I was hooking up a trailer to my truck and pulling off his lot.
Getting this task done, easily thanks to Vivian and enjoyably thanks to her and Mason, felt like a load off my shoulders. I marveled again at how my life had changed in the space of a few short months, most of it thanks to the woman beside me. I’d have to find a way to let her know that soon.
24 Vivian
So nice to be indoors, finally. As quickly as Natalie’s crew was putting this house up, working in the elements was never fun. I honestly don’t know how Natalie managed every day without constantly complaining.
James had signed off on the insulation inspection yesterday. Drywall was already going up, and suddenly, it was going from a structure to a home. It also meant my time on the jobsite would triple as would the decisions and work I needed to do.
An engine sounded from the bend in the driveway. It would be the lumber yard delivering the floors. When a green BMW nosed into view, I felt disappointment boil in my gut. Yesterday, it had been Brandy’s leased Mercedes, today Joanna’s leased Beemer. They couldn’t just let the ski season end and leave for Denver like usual, could they? Had to come out for one last tease.
“Hey, sexy mama,” Joanna called as soon as she got out of the car.
Luis and Ramón stopped on their way into the house from the tented area to stare at the beautiful blonde. Joanna’s blond hair had dyed white highlights. Brandy preferred golden highlights. Together they were a stunning duo. Not many women could resist their planned seductions.
“What brings you by, Jo?” I met her halfway to her car, hoping to encourage her to get back inside and leave.
“Wanted to see your latest design.” Her hand gestured to the house, but her eyes cut to the tent where Miguel and Natalie were mixing compound.
Terrific. It wouldn’t be just teasing today. Like Brandy yesterday, she’d be pouring on the sizzle. Of the two, Joanna was a little more tactful. Brandy just applied pressure until her prey succumbed. Joanna used romance better. I so didn’t want to witness this.
“Hi, Natalie,” she called out with an exaggerated finger wave. When she didn’t get an immediate response, she tried again, “Yoo-hoo, Natalie, sweetie.”
Really? Yoo-hoo? I let a long sigh leave my lips.
Joanna cut me a glare. She swished her sexy hips around me and over to where Natalie had finally stopped working. Her efforts got a small smile that, much to my stomach’s delight, didn’t reach Natalie’s eyes.
“Joanna, right?” Natalie asked.
My hand clapped over my mouth to contain the giggle that waited at the sight of Joanna’s crestfallen look. I knew for a fact that they’d “bumped” into each other enough times for Natalie not to question her name. She, however, didn’t seem to notice that she’d just taken a huge pile of chips from Joanna’s game.
“You here to see Vivian’s beautiful work?” Natalie flicked smiling eyes at me.
“And yours. I sure am. Want to give me a tour?”
Natalie frowned. “We’re a little busy right now, but feel free to walk around. Grab that hard hat and watch for dropped screws on the subfloor in there.”
The frown transferred to Joanna’s face. She looked over at me, like I’d help her in her quest to bed Natalie. Not likely. Never going to happen. Uh-uh, no way.
“You can’t spare even a few minutes for an admirer?”
“Vivian’s the one who’s spun her magic here. I’m sure she could explain the vision a lot better.”
Miguel’s lips tightened as he watched the interplay. When his eyes shot to mine, he had to turn away to hide his smile. He knew exactly what was going on here. Natalie, however, was playing clueless better than anyone I’d ever seen. After Brandy’s full frontal assault yesterday, I’m surprised she hadn’t felt molested by the encounter.
“If you’re too busy, I understand. But hey, my roommate and I are having a party this Saturday night. Come by and you can tell me everything Vivian missed.”
Natalie didn’t even hesitate before she said, “Sounds fun, but I can’t make it.”
“When can you? We’re hosting parties all the time. Name a night, and we’ll throw a party in your honor to introduce you around.”
“Sometime, maybe.”
I wondered if Natalie knew she sounded like she was blowing Joanna off. She wasn’t the blow off type, but she wasn’t giving Joanna any hope she’d ever accept this invitation.
“How about I come back here tonight and take you to dinner?”
Natalie gave another polite smile. “That’s nice, but we’re working pretty late.”
“I could bring you dinner for a little break.”
Desperate much? Joanna’s game had crumbled in the face of clueless. This was actually becoming enjoyable. It didn’t help that my stomach was doing flips every time Natalie shoved her aside.
“Thanks for the offer, but I promised my nephew a pizza when I got home tonight.”
“Oh? Your nephew lives with you?” She was either upset by this news or trying to figure out a way to use it to her advantage.
“Nope,” Natalie said.
That was it. She didn’t offer anything else or any hope. Miguel gripped the side of the work table to keep from doubling over in laughter. I nearly barked out a laugh myself.
Joanna looked perplexed. “You are a lesbian, right?”
“Jo!” I admonished, not believing that once her game left her she became gauche.
“What? I’m just making sure.” She turned back to Natalie. “You’re not with anyone in town; I already checked. So either you’re not gay or you’re not interested. Which is it?”
Miguel’s mouth had nudged open. Luis made a choking sound to hold back his reaction. Poor Natalie.
She stopped what she was doing entirely. Keeping her face impassive, she came around the worktable to stand in front of Joanna. “You seem like a nice person, Joanna. I’m glad to have met you, but I’m not looking for a date.”
As amazing as it was to hear Joanna get turned down, Natalie’s words resonated with me. I felt my chest tighten. She wasn’t looking to date. Until this moment, I hadn’t realized I’d been slowly falling under her enchantment. Not only was I drawn to her but I’d begun to actively seek ways to spend more time with her. I’d thought it was making a new friend, but my stomach twisting at the sight of my beautiful, single, confident, lesbian friend throwing herself at Natalie told me my feelings had to be more than friendship.
Joanna shot another long look at me before she realized I hadn’t poisoned the well. I was now thinking I should have. “If you change your mind, call me.” She gave another finger wave and sashayed back to her car knowing everyone was looking at her shapely ass.
“Hot damn! I wish I’d had my phone out for that,” Ramón said as he walked up to his boss. “Hot chicks throwing themselves at you. Harp, you’re nuts for not taking a bite of that.”
She shot the same dispassionate eyes at him. “Is the rock hanging itself now, Ramón?”
He laughed and punched her shoulder. She lifted the bucket she’d been mixing and handed it to him with a pointed stare toward the house. He chuckled all the way back.
She turned back and caught Miguel’s teasing grin. “What? Is there a holiday or something?”
I watched their interplay with a smile. She could be so sexy ordering the guys around. This was a day of revelations for me. Natalie was sexy, which I’d noticed but not dwelled on, and I didn’t want her to date Brandy or Joanna, which I hadn’t known but now found intriguing.
Natalie shifted her stare to me. “Will that be the last of your single friends stopping by?”
I felt my jaw nudge open. So, she had known exactly what Joanna was doing from the very start. Even though she hadn’t said anything after Brandy’s visit yeste
rday, she knew they’d both come out here to make a run at her.
“Other than Molly, that’s the last of my single friends.”
“Good.”
Did that mean she was interested in Molly? Or did she expect me to keep Molly from coming out here? Jeez, had Molly already asked her out? No, Mol would have told me. Pretty sure about that.
“You’ve had it with dating, have you?” I tried for a tease.
She looked at me, this time her gaze was anything but impassive. “Nope.”
That was it, again, but this time she smiled and it reached her eyes. I swear my stomach felt every inch of that smile.
25 Vivian
Fingers snapped near my face to get my attention, which she’d already had. I’d seen the woman do this with several of her household staff. I don’t know why I now found it surprising she was trying this with me.
I didn’t bother to hide my displeasure at her gesture. “I heard you. As I was saying, the renovations you’re asking for are major and do require building permits.”
“Permits are useless. We never have to get them in L.A.”
I didn’t believe that for a minute. “This isn’t L.A. Here, you’ll definitely need permits for the work you’re thinking of doing.”
“It’s my house. Who’s going to know?”
“I’ll know as will the contractor you hire.”
She leaned in close and wrapped a conspiratorial arm around me. “You’re resourceful. I’m sure you know a contractor who wouldn’t have a problem doing this work without the hassle and delay of permits.”
Natalie’s face popped into my mind, as it often did, but especially at the mention of contractors. She wouldn’t work without a permit—normally. I had the feeling she would if I asked her. She’d become that kind of friend. I shouldn’t find pleasure in knowing I had a friend who liked me enough to break the law, but I did.
“I don’t work like that,” I tried not to sound condescending. “If you want my design and my help, you’ll require the permits.”
She stepped back to run her gaze over me. She was probably trying to decide if I was going to stick to my position. The next words would either involve an insult or a bribe, neither would be a surprise. I’d dealt with these kinds of clients throughout my career.
After tossing out other designers’ names as a threat, she told me she’d think about a smaller project until the permits could come through. I walked away knowing she’d either bring in someone from L.A. or call Ursula, who didn’t have renovation experience. It was a good bet that Ursula wouldn’t know to apply for permits.
I walked away feeling exhausted and vaguely dirty. Clients with zero regard for civil law or professionalism always made me feel icky.
As a saving grace, I stopped by the Eiben jobsite just to check in. I didn’t need to. Natalie had everything under control. I only needed to check in every few days, but I liked being there. Liked being near Natalie the most. She was calming and exciting all in one. And she was thoughtful, a trait that most people, or at least the people I dated, seemed to lack these days.
When I pulled up, I recognized Owen working in the tent area. He was pulling planks of wood through a machine. I smiled. He loved working on the jobsite. Natalie didn’t really need his help, but she brought him out on a weekly basis, again demonstrating how thoughtful she was. He wanted to feel helpful and useful and not under his wife or granddaughter’s feet at home. Natalie provided the perfect outlet for that, and she made him feel like he was a member of her crew.
Most of her crew was outside, slapping the planks they retrieved from Owen’s workspace onto the deck frame they’d built. The planks looked new, but they were from an old barn that Natalie had torn down in her days working for Cal. When she’d proposed using them instead of buying new lumber for the deck, I was doubly happy. We’d save forests and money.
“Hey, Viv,” Miguel called out as I circled around to the deck.
I greeted him and the rest of the crew as he gave me a rundown on the status of the deck. My eyes kept wandering to the accordion doors off the great room. I realized I hadn’t swung by the project to check in. I’d swung by to see Natalie. To use her, really, just to feel a little endorphin rush.
“She’s inside working on the tile pattern you drew up.” Miguel guessed what my wandering eyes were looking for.
“The deck looks great, guys. Keep up the good work.” Platitudes, that’s what I was reduced to just so I could get inside the house. After the last client meeting, I didn’t feel one bit of guilt about it.
Natalie was on her knees, dry placing the marble tiles in the pattern I’d drawn out. Several cuts would need to be made, but the pattern would look stunning for everyone who entered the home.
I stood back and watched her work for a moment. Like always, she was completely involved in the process. Not even Goblin’s thumping tail could break her concentration. When Goblin got up from her travel bed and headed over to me for a lick, Natalie swung her head around. The smile that greeted me set a healthy rhythm to my heartbeat.
“I didn’t think you’d make it out today. How was your meeting?” Natalie stood and unsnapped her kneepads. Her entire concentration was now on me, and it felt incredible.
“Feh,” was all I could manage. I didn’t want to talk about my client meeting. I wanted to talk about this project or how she was or what she wanted to do with her share of the profits or what she liked to do on rainy days or pretty much anything she wanted to tell me.
“Demanding, huh?”
I shrugged and walked closer. I could touch her, just to see how she’d react. Or to see how she felt. I’d been thinking these thoughts more often lately. That even though we worked together, we could still date. Natalie was different. She knew what she wanted, she was comfortable in her skin, and she thought of others before she thought of herself. We could manage a working and personal relationship.
“What do you think?” She gestured back to the pattern.
“Looks like I should have redrawn it so you don’t have to spend a lot of time with the tile saw.”
She smiled, her perfect teeth coming into full view. I had the sudden urge to run my tongue over them and felt my heart kick into another gear. “It would be off-center, and I don’t mind.”
I gripped her shoulder for a squeeze. “I know you don’t.”
Her eyes darted to my hand, but otherwise, there was no indication that she felt anything from my attempt to connect with her. I released her and glanced around to see what else she’d done since the last time I saw her a couple days ago. The hardwoods were completely done and under two layers of construction paper. I’d check them out another time. I had another appointment to get to.
“Looks good in here.”
“Henry was out this morning to take a look. He’s very pleased.”
“That’s wonderful to hear. A client who doesn’t give me grief every moment.”
Natalie’s eyes clouded. She took a step closer. “Are you okay?”
“Just a little tired.” I glanced at my watch. “I’ve got to get to another meeting. You’re doing a fabulous job.”
Her brow crinkled. “See you soon?”
I waved but didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure what I should say. I had shopping trips, client meetings, and another project that was keeping me busy. I couldn’t just keep coming back over to the one headache-free project because seeing her made me feel better.
I spent the next two hours consulting with another potentially demanding client. I thought about checking in at the office to see if Samantha had found the window coverings we’d discussed earlier, but I headed home instead. I didn’t have the energy to stop for dinner. I’d probably fall right into bed before I could think about eating anyway.
When I pulled into my carport, I noticed something sitting on my doorstep. Maybe Cassie had dropped something off, but she’d normally just use her key and set it on the bench inside. It was a white paper bag, no writing on the side. I s
cooped it up and unlocked my front door. Dropping my purse and keys on the bench, I headed into the kitchen to see what Zach or Cass had left me.
I pulled out a foam cooler and placed it on the counter. Popping the top, I peeked inside and found a pint of my favorite ice cream. My mouth started salivating. This was such a bad dinner idea, but after the day I’d had, I deserved it.
Finding a spoon, I twisted the lid off and dug in. Oh, that first blast of flavor as it hit my tongue. The chill, the chocolate, the creamy texture, everything that made ice cream bad for me also made it sinfully delicious. I’d have to stop before I ate the whole thing.
The paper bag held a note. I plucked it out while a spoonful dissolved in my mouth. My lips spread into a smile when I read it.
There’s no better antidote for a tough day. Enjoy.
No signature, but I didn’t need to know the handwriting wasn’t Cass or Zach’s to know who wrote it. She was too good to be true. Thoughtful to the point of disbelief. I thought I’d hid my frustration well, but I should have known I wouldn’t fool her.
Before I could think my way out of it, I picked up the phone and dialed her number. She answered on the second ring.
“You are too good to me,” I told her, not bothering with a greeting or identifying myself. She should recognize my voice by now.
Natalie chuckled. “That’s not possible.”
I sucked in a breath. She actually meant that. That it wasn’t possible for her to be too good to me. Amazing. “How did you know?”
“Not one but two client meetings? Even if you hadn’t shown up, I would have guessed at least one of them would have been rough.”
“I don’t deserve your spoiling me.”
“Everyone deserves to be spoiled.”
“Thank you. It’s my favorite kind.”
“I remember.”
She remembered this, too? “I told you?”
“Yep. Hope it hits the spot.”
“It does. Thanks, Nat. You’re really sweet. I’ll return the gesture sometime.”
“Goodnight, Viv.”
“See you soon.” Her voice had done the trick better than the ice cream. None of my other friends had this effect on me. Maybe it was time to start considering just how much she meant to me.