Something so Grand

by Lynn Galli

  Her arms tightened around my waist, pressing fully against me. “The kids approved it already.”

  So this was what Mason hadn’t been able to keep to himself. Yes, he’d love making sand castles and burying his brother in the sand.

  I stepped back and pulled on her arm, kicking off my sandals as I approached. Within seconds my toes slid onto the soft, warm sand. I groaned in pleasure. My own private beach and this wonderful woman had done this for me. “You are so amazing. Thank you, Natalie.”

  “You’re happy?”

  “Ecstatic.” I leaned down to kiss her, throwing all of my happiness into the effort. “I really can’t believe you’d go this far.”

  “Vivian,” she turned serious eyes to me. “I’ll go as far as I need to win your heart.” Her hand came up to caress my face, mesmerizing me with her words and touch. “And if I’m going for something so grand, I better show up with more than just flowers.”

  30 Vivian

  Samantha stared at me wide-eyed. “She gave you a beach? That’s not an exaggeration?”

  “How did you not sleep with her?” Dwight followed up.

  “Dwight!” Samantha scolded.

  “What? I’d sleep with her for my own private beach, and I’ve never slept with a woman.” He turned back to me. “How big a beach are we talking?”

  I gave a dreamy smile. “You know my favorite spot by the river?”

  “At your place? Sure.”

  “She filled in the dirt patch with glorious, fine grain sand. It feels like velvet in motion when you step on it.”

  “The entire area?”

  “Yep.”

  “Give me her number. I’m definitely sleeping with her now.”

  “Shut up, you ho,” Samantha chided again then turned back to me. “But really, you didn’t close the deal last night? No birthday sex?”

  I shrugged, not telling them about our private conversation when Natalie shared her intentions. The moment she said she wanted my heart I knew that sex should wait until then. I could have been hasty with my feelings because, if I were being honest, she’d already won my heart. Had I told her right then, I wasn’t sure she’d believe me. She might have thought I was responding to her extravagant gesture. I wanted to make sure she knew my feelings were genuine.

  “It’s sweet. They’re spending the time to get to know each other and make sure it’s right.”

  “Girls,” Dwight sighed in mock disgust.

  We laughed but it didn’t stop my own contented sigh. I’d wanted romance. I’d been waiting for romance. I wasn’t sure I really believed I’d get the romance. I just wanted it so much. Now I found myself in the third act of a romance written just for me. I could love her just for that.

  “We should go.” Dwight checked his watch.

  We were planning to combine our efforts on the next big project. Some reality star recently bought one of the first homes built in Woody Creek, and she wanted everything redone. Everything. It wasn’t a project I would have time to do on my own, so I’d called Dwight to see if he wanted to combine efforts on this one. I also knew he watched this woman’s show and would be able to fall all over her, which was what she wanted.

  “Need me to come along and make it look like you’ve got hordes of minions?” Samantha asked.

  “I can play minion well enough, my dear,” Dwight told her.

  We’d helped each other on projects before, but this was the first time we planned to split the project and work together. Design school had given us enough practice. Our strengths didn’t overlap. I’d do the drawings and most of the project management. He could do most of the shopping and client management.

  I probably should have called Natalie before agreeing to this, but she hadn’t mentioned anything major in her schedule. We could always work around the small projects she had to complete. But then again, it would give me an excuse to call her.

  I dialed and waited. She’d probably be too busy to answer, but I could leave a message.

  “Hi, Viv,” she answered on the second ring. She wasn’t alone, I could tell because of the noise and her voice hadn’t dipped when she said my name. She kept things entirely professional on the jobsite, which was fine with me. Giving her crew a girl-on-girl show probably wouldn’t help her keep any respect or keep the guys on task.

  “Hey.” I felt the smile in my voice. “I forgot to tell you that Dwight and I are joining up to tackle a big project soon. I know you’ve got some projects going after we finish with the house, but would you be able to take on this work if the client signs with us?”

  A loud pounding sounded from her end that got fainter as she must have moved into a room where they weren’t working. “I promised the guys a week off for all the Saturdays they’ve put in here. After that I need to finish those two referral jobs from Edna.”

  “It wouldn’t be for over a month. I’d planned to take two weeks off after we’re done over there.”

  “Okay, yeah, that would be great.”

  I heard a bit of hesitation. “But?”

  “We didn’t really make a formal arrangement, so if you need or want to use another crew, I won’t hold it against you.”

  “Are you telling me you’re sick of working with me?” I kidded. I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know she liked working with me as much as I liked working with her.

  “I’m telling you that I want to be the person you can always count on to help, but you don’t have to feel obligated to throw business at me.”

  I sucked in a breath. “You keep going like this, and I’ll start convincing you that you’re too good for me.”

  “Never.”

  She kept doing that. Silencing me with a word.

  “And thanks. I enjoy working with you, and Dwight seems very nice.”

  “He’s pure drama.”

  Dwight’s ears perked up at that word. He cut a glance at me. “Theatrical, darling, not unfounded drama. Tell Nat she’s a goddess, and I’m her outlet if she can’t get you to put out.”

  “What is wrong with you?” I’d covered the phone as soon as I heard the mischief in his voice. I didn’t want Nat to get scared off. She didn’t know Dwight that well. “I’ll tell you about the meeting if you’ll meet me for dinner tonight?”

  “Looking forward to it,” she said and named a place to meet.

  It would have to do because if I invited her to my house, she wouldn’t be leaving. Since we both had to work tomorrow, I didn’t want an early morning to ruin our first night together.

  31 Natalie

  Open house day. Tessa was frantically running from room to room making sure my crew was doing everything Vivian asked to get the house ready. She had thirty plus brokers coming through and needed every detail just so.

  The furniture store guy was directing the Sweeney brothers to unload his truck. They weren’t exactly the most careful workers, so he was keeping his eyes glued on them. Vivian had arranged for his store to furnish the house for the showings. I knew she was a charming woman, but to get him to stage the place with his furniture for free, that was a level of charm I’d never seen.

  “Preston is having a stroke. Are the Sweeneys trying to put him to an early grave?” Vivian’s voice produced a bloom of heat in my stomach. I had it so bad I was tempted to skip some steps to finally have her. The slow romance had been working, but now that we were done with this project, I could amp it up.

  “You’re the one that asked for the careful guys inside. I could give the Sweeneys to you instead.”

  “God, no. They’d scrape every floor, doorway, and wall if they were moving that stuff around.”

  I glanced up from watching them to see her smile. She should be just as stressed as Tessa, but she seemed calm, happy even. I hoped that I was one of the reasons for that mood. “You look beautiful today.”

  Her head shook, but her lips curled. “I’ve worn this outfit many times.”

  “You look beautiful every time.”

  Her eyes glittered
. “You’re trying to make me kiss you, aren’t you?”

  I laughed. “I wasn’t, but now that you mention it…”

  We locked eyes, but neither of us moved. It wasn’t a good idea on the jobsite. We had a date tonight, it could wait till then. I was looking forward to the next week when I would be doing nothing more than going out on client referrals and catching up on bookkeeping. Vivian was taking the week off as well, so I hoped to spend a lot of time with her.

  The Eibens pulled up behind Preston’s truck. They planned to go through the house once before Tessa’s brokers came in.

  “Need help?” Henry asked Preston as he rounded the truck.

  “It’s covered, Henry,” Vivian called out, turning to squeeze my arm and give me an eyebrow flutter before walking out to meet Henry and Dana. “Come have a look. We’re almost done.”

  I’d returned the boys’ trailer last night, and the abandoned area was still bare. Ramón and I were going to tackle the landscaping while everyone else finished the staging.

  I went to my truck and started carrying over the evergreen plants that would fill in the vacant space. The rest of the front, sides, and backyard were completely landscaped. We’d spent three days on the design. It not only looked spectacular, it would be easy to care for and use very little water.

  “It’s hot out here, Harp. Let’s make Miguel do this,” Ramón complained as he joined me and grabbed a shovel.

  “And listen to him whine all day?”

  He laughed, nudging his big body against my shoulder. “You’re right. We’re safer out here, anyway. That realtor lady is going to explode all over everyone pretty soon.”

  “Viv will calm her down.”

  He looked over at me with a cheeky smile. “Probably, she’s awful good at that.”

  So he noticed that, too? I wondered what Vivian would think about that.

  *

  My plans to take Vivian to dinner and a movie got scrapped when I took one look at her after she opened the cabin door. She was dressed up and ready to go, but utterly exhausted. She’d stayed with Tessa all day to help show brokers through the house; whereas my crew got to start our week off early.

  When I suggested we stay in for dinner, Vivian sighed and hugged me in gratitude. It was a dangerous proposition for me. I was having a hard time clamping down on the growing desire I felt for her, but it was next to impossible when we were alone. I wouldn’t push this, though. I wanted to romance her for real. I hadn’t been kidding when I’d said I wanted her heart before I got her body.

  For dinner, we put some chicken and foil wrapped corn on her grill outside. Her patio area was tiny and closed in, but it fit with the century old cabin. I could see why she’d want to build on the more open space less than a hundred yards away. I hadn’t seen the plans yet, but I could guess it would have some beachside and mountainside features. She seemed to love both equally. No doubt it would fit perfectly with the style of her brother’s house nearer to the entrance of their lot. She could make any two styles mesh. She was that talented a designer.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked, looking up from the grill.

  I glanced over at her with a soft smile. “You.”

  She sucked in a breath, her face flushing. “What did I do to deserve you?”

  I tried to think of some witty response, but nothing came to me. I decided to go with honesty. That had worked all right so far. “Everything.”

  She smiled wide and crossed over to me. Her hands cupped my face. A second later she was kissing me. I felt the jolt down to my toes. Her lips could start fires; they were so hot. I loved exploring her mouth, running my hands up her back, crushing my body against hers. It made the anticipation of making love with her that much more delicious.

  “I like you so much, Nat,” she whispered as she pulled back and looked into my eyes.

  “Well, I’m pretty crazy about you, Viv.” I smiled, tipping up to capture her mouth for another kiss. “Something’s burning.”

  Her slightly dazed look vanished as she hopped back and attended to the grill. I didn’t care if she burned our dinner. I only cared that she felt the way she did and that I seemed to make her happy. I’d never wanted anything more from my life. That it came in a package as wonderful as Vivian was a spectacular bonus.

  32 Vivian

  Knocking on the door, I peeked through the glass. My body flushed at the sight of her. I never thought someone could make me giddy, but I was happy to be wrong.

  The door swung open. Natalie smiled with the same sparkling eyes that bid me goodbye twenty minutes ago. I waited for her to ask why I was here, back so soon after already saying goodnight. But that wasn’t Natalie, and it was why I was back.

  “I realized I wasn’t ready to go tonight.”

  Her smile widened, pulling those tempting lips across her beautiful face and crinkling the corners of her eyes. She stepped back, a gesture for me to come in. I was so glad I didn’t have to defend why I came back when we’d already ended our evening.

  The television was on behind her, some cooking show by the sound of it. Goblin slalomed the coffee table and sofa to come greet me. She was such a sweet dog, almost as sweet as her companion. I leaned down for a pet before turning to face Natalie.

  She’d washed her face of the date makeup and looked just as beautiful freshly scrubbed. She still had on the date clothes, but she’d kicked off her loafers. She appeared relaxed, ready to spend time chilling in front of the television before heading off to bed. I liked seeing this side of her. I hoped I’d see it a lot more.

  Butterflies flittered in my stomach. I’d come back after our night at the movies for a purpose, and I was now incredibly nervous about it. My heart started to pound. I didn’t have a reason to be nervous, but that wasn’t enough to stop the nerves.

  Natalie’s eyes flicked all the way down my body and back up. Her lips quirked into a smile. “Want to watch some TV?”

  I did and I didn’t. I could take this anywhere I wanted it to go. She’d let me decide. That power helped with the butterflies and dry mouth and pounding heart. “No.”

  Her smile flared wider before she pulled me to her. Her mouth took mine, kissing with command. No restraint this time, she was kissing me with a purpose. The same purpose I’d had earlier when I turned the car around and came back to her.

  I lost the control sometime during the kiss. I came here intent on making this a special night. I usually always took the lead in these situations, but this time it was Natalie who turned off the television, settled Goblin into her bed at the foot of the stairs, and walked us up the stairs to her loft. I hadn’t tried to yank on her hand or strip her before we even reached the stairs. She kept me off guard with kisses and touches that lit my mouth and skin and must have put a spell on my brain.

  “You’re so beautiful, Vivian,” she whispered, her eyes shimmering with moisture.

  I swallowed hard when I saw the effect this moment was having on her. This wasn’t just an obvious progression of a relationship, she was expecting so much more. I reached for her hand and placed it on my pounding heart so she’d know I was feeling the same way.

  Her eyes flared and dropped to the placement of her hand before coming back to my eyes. She leaned in for another smoldering kiss, making my knees weak. The hand on my heart slid to the first button on my blouse and made quick work of the rest.

  I gathered my senses enough to pull her shirt free of her pants, but she brushed my hands away and slipped the shirt off herself. Miles of magnificent tan skin came into view broken only by a pale blue cotton bra. My eyes dropped to her breasts, small and firm. I would have bared them if Natalie’s mouth hadn’t started nipping down my neck. My head pushed back to give her better access.

  “You have the rest of the night to stop doing that,” I moaned, gripping her arms for support.

  She gave a husky chuckle, hot breath spilling across my throat. It made me shiver. Her head came up to look at me. “Found a good spot. Wonder h
ow many more you have.”

  I smiled widely. I couldn’t remember smiling when I’d been about to make love before. My concentration would be on making it good for my partner rather than allowing myself to just experience the moment. With Natalie, it was comfortable, hot, and fun.

  She slipped my shirt off, running her eyes over me. I’d worn my sexiest bra, red lace, not exactly the most comfortable but it did look hot. Her mouth parted as she studied it. Desire spilled from her eyes like warm water lapping at me in a constant rush of waves. Intoxicating but not overwhelming.

  She knelt in front of me, working to undo my slacks. Her mouth brushed against my stomach and those butterflies became pterodactyls swooping through the area just under her mouth.

  “There’s another good one,” she said when I groaned, her lips pressing above the band of my lace panties.

  “Yes,” I whispered. My vulnerable position didn’t bother me. Hell, it didn’t even register, not when her tongue was slipping under the edge of my panties. It skated along, turning my shiver into a tremble.

  Her fingers looped under the panties and slowly, so very slowly, inched them down my hips and thighs. They stilled halfway down as Natalie’s eyes stared at what she’d revealed. Her face was an inch away, hot breath rushing over my now throbbing clit.

  “God, Vivi,” she breathed out and placed a single kiss on the strip of hair covering my mound. Her head tilted up to look me in the eyes. Something more than desire slipped into the look.

  The same feeling welled up in me. I reached down to pull her to a stand. “Natalie,” I whispered, planning to say more, but one glance at her beautiful, caring eyes, and I couldn’t think of what I wanted to say.

  Her mouth crashed onto mine, her hands winding around my back to bring us as close together as possible. Her kiss was more frantic this time. I matched her fervor, reaching to strip her pants from her hips.

  A second later, her body was pressing mine onto the bed. I watched as she kicked off her pants then reached behind her back to unhook her bra. Those small breasts broke free, nipples hard and ready. I wanted my hands on them now. I wanted my mouth on them. I couldn’t remember wanting anything more.