A Touch of Romance

by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  “That’s good. You don’t want those to slip away.”

  “No. Definitely not.” She turned to face the room at large. “It’s looking so good.”

  “I’m glad you can see past the mess to the progress we’re making. Sometimes it’s hard for people to do that.”

  “I had a hard time with that at first, but it’s getting easier.” She glanced back at him. “So show me what’s been done in the last week.”

  Mitch’s smile brought out the dimples in his cheeks. “Sure thing. Let’s start at the back.”

  Belle enjoyed the tour of the changing room area. While their current location had two separate areas for brides to change into their dresses and then come out to show their entourage, the new location would have four. Each area was large with a spacious room for the bride to change in, and then the area outside the changing room would hold a raised circular stand in front of a selection of comfortable chairs. And of course, there would be mirrors. Lots of mirrors.

  The partitions for the areas as well as the rooms were in place now, some of them already covered in sheetrock. It was amazing to see everything taking shape visit after visit.

  When they’d realized they had to move the business, it had been like a cloak of stress had settled on Belle. With her mom in Europe, she’d known that she’d have to be the one to deal with it all. It had slowly been sucking out what little life she’d had left. The whole process had seemed daunting to her. A challenge that she hadn’t been sure she was up to.

  Then Maya had shown up for an appointment with her brother-in-law-to-be in tow. Belle hadn’t realized it then, but that meeting would change things completely for her. Because through Mitch, she’d met Tristan and Cassidy, and the three of them had each had a significant role in bringing this new location to life. Tristan and Cassidy were done with their parts now, but Mitch…he was still there. He was the one bringing it all to life.

  She felt a light touch on her back and turned to find Mitch watching her.

  His brow was furrowed, a concerned look on his face. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes. I was just thinking back to earlier this year. I never would have imagined being at this point in the relocation process.”

  The pressure of his hand on her back increased slightly then dropped away. “That’s a good thing, right? I mean, if you have any concerns, you can always tell us.”

  “It’s a really good thing,” Belle hurried to assure him.

  “Let’s go have a look upstairs,” Mitch said with a nod of his head then smiled. “That might be an even better thing.”

  There was no railing on the new staircase leading to the second floor, and Mitch again placed his hand on her upper back as they climbed the unfinished stairs. Once they had reached the upper floor, they paused to look out the window. It was a cloudless day, and the water on the river sparkled in the sunlight.

  “Come see the view from your office,” Mitch urged, then led her to a landing that looked down over the foyer though it still lacked a railing. As they got to a doorway, he said, “This is the conference room.”

  Belle peeked inside. It was still unfinished, but at one end of the long room, the windows again ran floor to ceiling. As elsewhere in the building, here, too, she could see the potential.

  There was a short hallway and then another opening that would one day be covered with a door. Last time she’d visited, there hadn’t been walls in place yet. But now…her office.

  Mitch led the way into the room and then stepped back to allow her to see how it looked. Again, there were windows and a beautiful view of the sparkling water.

  “The windows here are reflective so you can see out, but no one can see in. It’s the same with the ones in the conference room.”

  Belle walked around the room, letting her fingers drift just above the dusty surface of the boards on the wall. Paint would give them a different texture. Her fingertips slid across the glass, lightly, so as not to leave smudges. Soon, the beauty that lay beyond the window would be hers to enjoy every day.

  She found that she could hardly wait.

  Impulsively, Belle turned and wrapped her arms around Mitch. She knew she’d taken him off-guard. In truth, she’d taken herself off-guard. He didn’t hug her back, but then she didn’t give him a chance. Almost immediately, she released him but gripped his upper arms.

  “I don’t think you know how grateful I am for everything you’ve done.” She looked up at him, determined in what she needed him to know. “Maybe to you it’s just been a job, but to me, hiring you—your company—has been so much more than just having someone to do a job. You took a load of stress off me, and now everything is looking so much more amazing than I ever thought it would. Than I ever imagined it could. Thank you.”

  Emotion flickered briefly across Mitch’s face, but he didn’t say anything. She felt his muscles flex beneath her hands as his fingers clasped the back of her arms, just above her elbows. They stood there for what felt like an eternity. It was the closest Belle had been to a man in…years. Since Andre. But this felt nothing like it had with him.

  Belle found herself wanting to raise her hands, to touch his cheeks. To feel the scruff beneath her fingertips. To feel the indentation of his dimples. To have him smile at her with affection.

  But no. That wasn’t what she was destined to have in her life. It wasn’t what she really wanted. It was just an emotional response.

  Mitch must have seen something in her expression because his hands fell to his sides, releasing her. Her fingers slipped away from his arms, and she took a step back, swallowing the emotion rising in her throat. What had started out as thankfulness and appreciation had become…more.

  And she just couldn’t handle that.

  Turning to look at the room again, she said, “I think I’ll have this room painted a soft shade of lavender. Maybe just one wall, though. The others will be ivory. Maybe. I’ll have to look at the swatches again now that I’ve seen the room.”

  “I’m sure it will look lovely,” Mitch replied, his voice steady. Thankfully, he appeared to be unmoved by the moment they’d shared. Maybe he knew not to read anything into it.

  She’d already made it clear there was no relationship in her future. That nothing between them would ever be considered a date. It was a decision she’d had no trouble sticking with. She didn’t need a man or a relationship. Her job. The business. Her family. That was all she really needed. She found gratification in each of them, even though they did come with some stress and irritation at times.

  They left the room in silence and headed back out onto the landing and down the stairs. When they reached the foyer, Mitch said, “Do you want to see the sewing and employee area in the basement? It’s not quite as far along as these floors though. We’ve had to wait for the electrician to come in and run wires since that space hadn’t been used for anything but storage.”

  “Maybe I’ll wait for next time,” Belle said, giving him a smile that she hoped looked normal. “What I’ve seen today looks great.”

  Mitch didn’t reply right away, but then a small smile curved the corners of his mouth. “Every day it looks better and better.”

  “How long until you need my decision on the paint colors?” Belle asked.

  “The end of the week should be fine. Just send me an email with the area names and what you’ve decided for colors. With that information, we’ll be able to determine how much paint we’ll need.”

  “I’m going to get Jasmine to help me. I wanted to hire an interior designer, but Jazz has ideas about how she wants things. I know she’ll have opinions on colors.”

  “If she needs to come have a look around, just let me know. Maybe we can arrange to all meet after hours when the guys are gone.”

  Belle frowned at his suggestion. He’d never made that offer to her. “Uh, sure. I’ll check with Jazz and let you know what time works best.”

  “I’m available most evenings, but not Wednesday or Friday.” He hesitated. “A
nd possibly not Sunday. Not sure yet.”

  “Okay,” Belle said with a nod as she reached for the door. “See you then.”

  It didn’t escape Belle’s notice that Mitch didn’t walk her to the car like he normally did. Had she messed everything up with her out-of-the-blue reaction to the gratitude she’d felt? All she’d wanted was a friendship with him, but now, it seemed like maybe all she’d done was make things awkward between them.

  Letting out a sigh as she pulled away from the curb, Belle looked into her rear-view mirror and tried to tell herself it meant nothing that Mitch wasn’t standing there watching her drive away.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  When a text alert sounded, Mitch pulled his phone out as he walked from the building where he’d been doing an inspection. This job hadn’t gone nearly as smoothly as the last one, and his temper was frayed from listening to all the excuses for the mess he’d found. There was wall paint smudged on trim in several places. Caulking peeling away from surfaces. Outlets crooked. A faucet leaking in the master bathroom. They had even painted one room the wrong color.

  When things went wrong, they really went wrong. Just one of those things wrong, he could have accepted. It wasn’t that he expected his guys to be perfect—they, like him, were human after all. One mistake spoke to a momentary distraction. But that many mistakes were just plain sloppiness. He was going to have to speak to the site supervisor once they fixed the errors and Mitch had signed off on his inspection. The guy was just lucky that they had a couple of extra days before the deadline, so at least they weren’t upsetting the client by being late because of sloppy work.

  Belle: I’ve spoken with Jazz. Are you available on Thursday night? Around 6:30?

  Mitch let out a sigh as he thought through his week ahead. There was no reason, other than his own reluctance, to not meet with the two of them that night.

  6:30 on Thursday will be fine.

  Belle: See you then.

  Mitch stared at the screen for a moment before responding. He wanted to say so many things, but after what had happened between them on Monday, he knew that wasn’t what she wanted.

  Yep. See you then.

  He shoved his phone into his pocket before climbing behind the wheel of his truck. Then, remembering that Ethan was waiting for a report on the inspection, Mitch pulled his phone out again and called his number.

  After a quick conversation with Ethan, where he briefed him on the issues with the inspection, he reassured him that everything would be fixed and ready for the customer inspection in two days time. That would mean he’d be back there again the next afternoon, wasting time when he should have been done with the site after the inspection.

  He questioned whether he’d made a mistake with the team he’d put on that site. Had he not put enough experienced guys there to make sure they didn’t have issues like that crop up? Up until he had seen the issues at the house, he’d planned to move the whole crew over to a new job site, but now he was rethinking that plan.

  Frustrated, Mitch decided that he’d discuss it with Mark and see what he thought of the situation. He headed over to the bridal reno to have a conversation with the man and to see how things were going. Now that he knew Belle and Jasmine would be visiting the following night, he wanted to make sure the site would be cleaned up as much as possible. Just to give them a clear view of the place.

  He had been looking forward to the men’s Bible study that night, but with this latest turn of events, Mitch had half a mind to stop for fast food on his way home and spend the evening playing video games. But he wouldn’t. Well, he might do the fast food but not the video games. If he didn’t show up after he’d told Bennet he would be there, all it would take was for his brother to walk down a flight of stairs to pound on his door until Mitch answered. Then he’d drag him back upstairs.

  At the bridal reno, Mitch was relieved that there were no issues. Speaking with Mark helped him clarify his thoughts on what to do with the crew at the problematic site. When he left a short time later, he felt more settled. About work anyway.

  “It’s great he agreed to meet us after hours,” Jasmine said as they drove from the shop to the renovation site.

  “Yeah, it is.” Belle agreed. “The site can be noisy during the day. It will be easier to talk about things without all that racket.”

  “I can’t wait to see it.” Jasmine looked over at her. “How about you?”

  Belle hesitated then said, “I’ve been to see it every week or so.”

  “Seriously? That often? Why didn’t you say anything? When did you last go?”

  “Monday. And yes, I’ve gone a few times. It’s good to keep an eye on things.”

  Jasmine laughed. “Ever the control freak, eh, sis?”

  She wasn’t completely wrong. And if anyone questioned her frequent visits to the reno site, that was the story Belle would go with.

  The only vehicle in front of the building was Mitch’s truck. Belle pulled to a stop behind it and turned off the engine. Jasmine was already out of the car before Belle had even undone her seatbelt. She’d talked of nothing but the visit since Belle had mentioned it to her.

  There were lights on inside, and Belle could see Mitch’s figure as they approached the front door. Belle moved more slowly than Jasmine, so Mitch held the door open as he waited. He greeted her with a smile and a nod, then followed her in to join Jasmine.

  “Do we need to wear hard hats?” Belle asked, preparing to go back to her car and grab hers.

  “Not at the moment,” Mitch said. “Most the ceiling work is done, and there shouldn’t be any danger right now. If we had work going on while you were here, you’d have to.”

  “So I can retire the lavender one?” Belle asked.

  “Not if you still plan to visit during work hours,” Mitch said with a smile before he turned to Jasmine. “Ready for your tour?”

  Belle hung back as Mitch gave Jasmine her tour of the site. She looked around, trying to identify what had been done in the past couple of days, but she couldn’t see anything specific.

  “This is just amazing, Mitch,” Jasmine said, taking a moment to look around one of the changing areas. She rested her hand on his arm for a moment before turning in a circle. “There’s going to be mirrors on these walls, and a pedestal stand here.”

  “A pedestal?” Mitch asked as he watched Jasmine.

  Belle tried to ignore the burn of jealousy she felt as she watched Jasmine and Mitch interact. Though she was sure Jasmine had no interest in Mitch, she wasn’t sure if the same could be said in reverse. She had no right to be jealous, regardless. The decision had been made years ago to not get involved with another man, so if she really did feel jealous over something, it was up to her to change that decision.

  But she wouldn’t. She couldn’t.

  Jasmine kept up a running commentary on all the plans she had for the furniture and décor. Mitch interjected comments or questions periodically, but basically, he was quiet. Just like Belle. Thankfully, Jasmine’s chatter helped distract her from the jealousy she didn’t want to think about.

  “So you do have a better idea now?” Mitch asked when they once again stood at the front door. He looked at Belle then at Jasmine. “For the paint?”

  Jasmine nodded. “Belle showed me that huge book of colors. I think I may have to throw darts to make some decisions. The shades are so close that it’s hard to settle on just one.”

  “If you’re tossing darts around, maybe I should send some safety gear home with you.”

  “That might be a good idea.” Jasmine giggled. “I might need some extras for anyone else in the room since I’ve never actually thrown a dart before.”

  Belle felt old and emotionally dried up as she watched the two of them share a laugh together. Sometimes it felt like more than her ability to love had left when she’d escaped Andre. During her times with him, there had been precious little laughter. And ever since escaping him, she hadn’t been able to laugh as easily even when those arou
nd her did.

  For five years, she’d had stability. Nothing and no one had been able to upset her emotionally. Oh sure, she’d been frustrated with her mom on several occasions, but at the end of the day, she knew that she had stability with her job and with her family. Pretty much every weekend, she witnessed men and women pledging their love to each other in the most romantic of ways, and yet it had never made her long for that for herself. But then she’d met Gabe and Maya, and she’d been drawn into their lives in a way she hadn’t expected. Maybe it had been the personal connection through Maya’s parents and her mom and Patrick. They’d been more than just a client, right from the start.

  That still would have been okay, except then she’d met Mitch. He’d watched her with those piercing blue eyes of his. Not in a creepy way, but as if he wanted to figure her out. No one had ever wanted that before. Even Andre had been more interested in using her experience in a bridal boutique than in getting to know her and understanding what made her tick.

  Without even trying to, Mitch had begun to slowly weaken the stability of the walls around her heart. He’d made her feel vulnerable, but not in a bad way. At least not at first. Now, however, the vulnerability scared her because she wasn’t sure that Mitch wanted anything to do with her. And she had no one to blame but herself for that.

  “Thanks so much for showing us around,” Jasmine said. “You guys are doing a great job. I’m really excited about the move now.”

  “I’m glad you’re happy with it. We aim to please our clients. If you need to come back, just let me know, and we can make arrangements.” Mitch’s gaze met Belle’s as he smiled. “Of course, you’re both welcome to stop by at any time as long as you don’t mind the noise.”

  “It is much quieter at night,” Belle agreed.

  Mitch pushed open the door then held it for them. “Take care of yourselves.”