by Mia Ross
As he strolled through the lobby, everywhere he looked he saw the touches Chelsea had put on the decor to make the plain space more inviting. It had a welcoming country vibe to it, from the old photos to Gram’s new calico curtains framing the windows. In the office, everything was antique and well used, but now her slick laptop looked right at home there.
Just like its owner, he thought morosely. How the uptown banker’s daughter had managed to fit in here so seamlessly was beyond him, but she’d done that and more since they’d been thrown together to bring the mill back to life. Standing in the middle of what they’d accomplished, he told himself he’d get used to her being gone. It might take some time, but eventually he’d learn how to get along without her.
Unfortunately, running the business on his own would be the easy part.
Sitting patiently beside Paul, Boyd whimpered, his forehead pinched with concern. Paul suspected he looked pretty much the same right now, and he reached down to pet his faithful buddy. “Come on, boy. Let’s get to work.”
The dog padded on ahead of him into the workroom, where Paul grabbed a can of sealer and the sprayer. Carrying them outside, he went around the sealed top of the can with a screwdriver and popped it with a little more force than was strictly necessary. When the metal cover flew up in his face, he jumped back to avoid getting the toxic liquid in his eyes.
That toppled the can, and the sealer spilled all over the ground. While he scrambled to keep his boots out of the growing puddle, he stumbled over Lila’s bench and went sprawling into a pile of wood shavings waiting to be bagged up for sale. As he landed in a cloud of dust, Boyd yelped and took off like a shot.
Paul figured staying in one place for a minute might put a stop to his bizarre run of klutziness, so he closed his eyes and tried to relax. When he heard someone chuckling, he pivoted his head to the side to find Jason staring at him.
Stretching out as if this were the most comfortable position he’d ever been in, Paul growled, “Go away.”
Instead, his nuisance of a little brother ambled over and sat on a nearby stump. “It’s a good thing you’re not using the lathe this morning. You’d be minus a couple fingers.”
“Unless you’re gonna be helpful and fetch me a new can of sealer, get lost.”
“Get your own sealer,” he shot back with a laugh. Then, in a more serious tone, he said, “It’s not like you to be so clumsy. What’s going on?”
“I didn’t sleep much last night, is all. I’ll be fine.”
“Really? When does Chelsea leave?”
“Sunday.”
“Two days from now,” he pressed, as if Paul needed the reminder. “How’re you feeling about that?”
Paul had been asking himself the same thing. Something had changed between them after the reunion, and he’d relived that amazing kiss a million times. But she was still planning to go back to Roanoke, and he was staying here to do everything in his power to keep his family’s business afloat. They both had obligations to keep, expectations to meet.
The misgivings she’d expressed about her job must’ve been a knee-jerk reaction to Theo’s heavy-handedness, he reasoned. She was determined to take over her father’s presidency someday, with all the fancy trappings—and rose bouquets—that came along with it. Paul couldn’t imagine himself ever fitting into that world, so it was probably best to leave things as they were. This way they could both move on and have the kinds of lives they wanted.
Since he wasn’t about to share any of that with Jason, he threaded his hands behind his head and crossed his ankles in a careless pose. “I’m fine with it. She was never planning to stay, y’know.”
“But you like having her here. Any moron with eyes can see that.”
“Sure. She’s super organized, and she makes this place run like a top.”
Not to mention seeing her first thing wasn’t a bad way to start his days. Beautiful and smart, she had a peculiar knack for aggravating and fascinating him at the same time. In his experience, women were either gorgeous or intelligent, but never both. Just one more thing that made her special, he recognized with a mental groan. He had to quit thinking that way, or he’d drive himself nuts.
“Whatever you say.” Standing, Jason kicked Paul’s boot and waited for him to look up. “You can try to fool yourself all you want, but you should know everyone else sees you’ve got it bad for Chelsea.”
Recognizing the truth when he heard it, Paul relented with a sigh. “You think she does, too?”
He took a few seconds to consider that, then shook his head. “I think she’s too busy pretending she’s okay with leaving.”
Paul sat up and slung an arm over his bent knee.
“We’re gonna try getting together for dinner once in a while.”
“You could have dinner with her every night,” Jason argued. “Why would you settle for anything less?”
“I’ve done the domestic thing, little brother,” he said, shaking his head. “It never works.”
“It never worked before,” Jason insisted eagerly. “This is Chelsea you’re talking about. She might’ve changed a lot over the years, but one thing’s still the same. She finds a way to get what she wants.”
But did she want to be with him? Paul asked himself. And if she took that chance, then changed her mind about him, what would he do? Instinct warned him that losing her would leave him nose-diving to a level he wasn’t keen to explore.
“Trust me,” he said as he dragged himself to his feet. “It’s better to leave things the way they are.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Clearly disappointed, Jason left him there and stalked away. Staring after him, Paul muttered, “Yeah, me, too.”
* * *
“I love it!” Lila exclaimed when Chelsea showed her the bench Paul had made for her garden. Running veined hands over the curved back and arms, she beamed at him. “This is just how my old one looked. I didn’t have any pictures to give you. How did you ever match it?”
Grinning, he tapped a finger against his temple. “I got a pretty good memory.”
“I already made a set of cushions for it,” she went on, patting his arm fondly. “You’ll have to come by sometime and see it all put together.”
Cocking his head, he gave her a mildly flirtatious look. “If that offer includes pie, you’re on.”
She laughed in obvious delight and headed off in search of her husband. Impressed with the way he’d so deftly handled the situation, Chelsea smiled at him. “That was really nice. You made her day.”
“Just doing my job,” he replied with a shrug. “Custom furniture, that’s me.”
She’d expected him to be on top of the world today, basking in the glory of Barrett’s Mill Furniture’s grand reopening. Instead, his demeanor struck her as melancholy, as if something else was on his mind, bringing him down.
When she realized he’d spoken to her and she hadn’t heard a word of it, she cupped her ear. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
“I said, you must be really happy with the turnout. I’d guess there’s more than a hundred people here.”
“It’s wonderful, but they’re not here because of me. They want to see what’s going on at the mill, and with you.”
A slow grin spread across his face, and she barely swallowed a feminine sigh of appreciation. No doubt about it, this guy had the kind of personality that sneaked under a girl’s skin and was hard to shake off. Much more than charm, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she had a hunch she’d be comparing other men she met to Paul Barrett for a long time to come.
“So you don’t think they’re here to see what’s up with us?” he asked, eyes twinkling in fun.
“Is there an us?” she drawled, batting her eyelashes in her best Scarlett O’Hara imitation. “I had no idea.”
“You haven’t checked your messages this morning, have you?”
Wanting to avoid distractions, she’d purposefully left her phone at the carriage
house with the few things she hadn’t already shipped back to Roanoke. “I didn’t bring anything electronic with me today. Why?”
In reply, he took out his phone and tapped the screen to show her a message from Brenda. There was no text, just a picture of the two of them during their reunion dance. They were smiling at each other under the spotlight, and she had to admit they certainly looked like a couple enjoying a romantic evening. The problem was, they weren’t. In her current state of confusion, Chelsea couldn’t decide if that bothered her or not.
That thought led to another, more troubling one, and she groaned. “She probably sent this all over town.”
“I’d imagine. Want me to tell her to stop?”
“No,” Chelsea answered with a grimace. “It’ll only make folks talk more. I’m leaving tomorrow, so it should all die down by lunchtime on Tuesday. I’m just sorry you have to deal with it after I’m gone.”
The grin deepened into something more, and very quietly he said, “I don’t mind.”
His voice was so subdued she thought she’d misheard him. But the fondness glimmering in his eyes said otherwise. “You don’t?”
“Not a bit. In fact, I really like this picture.” To prove it, he fingered a couple of buttons, and it showed up on the main screen. “Nice, huh?”
“Very nice.” She was about to say something more but caught sight of her father’s car. When he got out, he was on the phone, and she noticed that he was dressed as if he were going into intense negotiations at some high-profile firm. Apparently, to him a custom Italian suit was appropriate picnic wear. Cautioning herself to remain upbeat, she said, “My father’s here.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I am. Other than project-related emails, I haven’t heard a thing from him since our run-in a couple of weeks ago. I wasn’t sure he’d come.”
Paul angled to look over his shoulder just as the passenger door opened and another guy in a fancy suit stepped out. “I take it that’s Alex.”
“Yes,” she hissed in exasperation. Seeing him here told her Paul’s suggestion that he made her father nervous was bang on. “I supposed I should go say hello.”
“Mind if I tag along?”
Tilting her head, she gave him a hard stare. “To greet my dad or to intimidate Alex?”
“I’m pretty coordinated. I can do both at once.”
While Chelsea normally preferred to fight her own battles, this time she decided to take him up on his offer to back her up. Maybe Alex would assume what everyone in town did and finally accept that she wasn’t interested in him. “Okay, but mind your manners.”
That got her one of his infernal grins, and she couldn’t help laughing. “You’re hopeless, you know that?”
When they reached the car, Dad was finishing up his call. Like a faithful lapdog, Alex stood nearby, close enough to be within reach if needed but far enough away to avoid eavesdropping. At least, that was what he claimed. Chelsea suspected he heard a lot more than he should, which was one of the reasons she didn’t trust him.
“Good morning, pretty lady.” It was his usual greeting for her, but today the smile she’d always interpreted as friendly came across as a cool, polished expression at the opposite end of the spectrum from Paul’s country-boy grin.
She couldn’t believe it had taken her so long to see his true nature. “Alex. I didn’t expect you here today.”
“Good. I wanted to surprise you.”
“I’ve been so busy, I forgot to call and thank you for the roses.”
“I’m glad you liked them.” He offered Paul a hand draped in a vintage watch worth more than the mill’s operating expenses for an entire fiscal quarter. “Alex Gordon. You must be Paul Barrett.”
“Must be,” he agreed, shaking briefly before letting go. “So what brings you all the way out here?”
“Theo told me Chelsea was doing great things with this old place, and I wanted to see her handiwork for myself.”
He gave Paul no credit at all, she noted bitterly. It was as if she’d managed to drag the mill into the current century through the power of spreadsheets alone. If Paul hadn’t been bristling next to her, she’d have hauled Alex aside and given him a piece of her mind. While the two men sized each other up, she realized it was up to her to keep this little powwow as civil as possible. “After you see the improvements, I’m confident you’ll agree we had a great team working on the project.”
Alex didn’t respond, and his pale brown eyes were locked with Paul’s darker ones in a battle of wills. She couldn’t imagine why they were acting like a couple of possessive roosters, but she prayed they’d stop before things got ugly.
Thankfully, her father joined them and broke the tension by diverting their attention from each other to himself. After the obligatory handshaking, he said, “Good to see you again, Paul. This is quite a turnout you’ve got here.”
“We’re happy with it. Thanks for coming, sir.”
“You sent an invitation, and I RSVP’d,” he stated, glancing at his watch in an obvious hint that he was in a hurry as usual. “Alex and I have a meeting downstate early this afternoon. Could we get a quick tour before we go?”
“Sure. Follow me.”
He fell in beside Paul, but to Chelsea’s dismay, Alex hung back with her. As his steps slowed, it occurred to her that he was trying to herd her away from the crowd. While she wasn’t thrilled with the prospect, she didn’t know how to put an end to it without sounding rude, so she reluctantly went along.
When they were basically alone, he reached out and pulled her to a stop. “Could I have a minute?”
A glance ahead showed her Paul was talking to her father but keeping her within sight. That simple, protective gesture warmed her straight through, and she sent him a quick, reassuring smile. Before facing Alex, she dropped the grin and got serious. “Go ahead.”
Apparently, he’d picked up on her exchange with Paul, because he moved to block her view of him. “Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on here.”
The accusing tone spiked her temper, and she snarled, “Oh, get a grip. We grew up together, and we’re friends.”
“That’s not what Theo told me.” Crossing his arms in a stern gesture that reminded her vividly of her father, he went on. “He said you never liked Barrett when you were kids, and he hardly knew you existed.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but we’re older now, and we’ve gotten to be good friends. Us working so well together helped bring this project in over expectations and under budget.”
“I’m sure it did.”
His insulting smirk was the last straw for Chelsea, and she decided it was pointless to continue this particular conversation. When she turned to walk away, though, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward him. “We’re not finished.”
She was so astonished by his manhandling of her, she didn’t notice anyone approaching until Alex began to inexplicably back away. His stumbling motion alerted her that it wasn’t his idea to move, but someone else’s.
Someone large and incredibly strong, it turned out. She’d never heard footsteps approaching, but somehow Paul had sneaked up and put their unwelcome guest in some kind of wrestling hold. With him firmly in hand, the lumberjack-turned-businessman was making short work of forcibly persuading Alex back to the car.
“What’s going on?” her father demanded as he hurried over. “What’s Paul doing?”
“Something I should’ve done a long time ago. Not that way,” she explained when he gave her a confused look. “But you need to stop encouraging Alex to pursue a relationship with me. I’ve never thought of him that way, and I never will.”
“I had no idea,” he confessed with a frown. “You’re both so bright and ambitious, I thought you were a perfect match.”
“Well, we’re not,” she said gently. “I should’ve told you that before, but you’re so fond of him I wasn’t sure how.”
As he took in the tense scene outside his car, he aston
ished her with a rare chuckle. “Why do I have the feeling Paul has something to do with your ability to tell me now?”
The comment threw her, and she needed a moment before she trusted herself to speak normally. “I can’t imagine where you got that idea.”
“I see.” Smiling, he kissed her forehead the way he used to when she was younger. “When you figure it out, I hope you’ll let me know.”
His uncharacteristically sentimental tone baffled her, but he didn’t seem inclined to explain it, so she thought it best for everyone if he just took Alex and left. “Of course. Have a good meeting.”
“I’m sure we will.” When he neared the car, he called out, “Turn him loose, Paul. I need him in one piece.”
Paul complied easily enough, and Alex eyed him with grudging respect before slipping into the luxury sedan. As her father shook hands with Paul, they traded one of those male looks she’d never quite understood. That it had passed between those two men in particular made her very uneasy.
All her life, she’d considered Dad a fair but stringent man. His sudden—and obvious—fondness for Paul had come out of the blue, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
* * *
While he mingled with the crowd who’d come to see what was up at the old mill, Paul kept an eye on the lane winding in from the road. At breakfast that morning, Granddad had announced he was coming to the grand reopening.
“Of course we’ll be there,” he insisted. “Thanks to you and Chelsea, our prayers for the business have been answered. Where else would we be?”
For her part, Gram had quietly sipped her tea, but Paul couldn’t miss the worry in her eyes. It told him she wasn’t sure Will was strong enough to attend, and because of that, Paul wasn’t, either. Every time a car emerged from the tree-shrouded road, he glanced over, hoping to see his grandparents. So far he hadn’t, but he wasn’t ready to give up just yet.
During a quiet moment, he glanced around to be sure no one could see him send a hopeful look upward. “You know how much it would mean to him to be here. If You could help make that happen, I’d really appreciate it.”