EPILOGUE #3
If he’d been smart, he would have postponed the meeting until Jessa—the woman who’d originally contacted him—had been able to meet with him. Of course, he could still refuse the job. However, he wasn’t really in any position to turn away work.
When they stepped into the foyer of the building, she tugged off her gloves and stuffed them into her pockets. Her chocolate brown hair sprang free in loose curls as she unwound her scarf and pulled it off.
She looked at him, her light gray eyes large in her face, a face that wasn’t strikingly beautiful but yet held an allure that drew his gaze. “Do you want to hang up your jacket?”
“I’m fine,” Declan told her. He needed to wrap this up as quickly as possible and get back to his place.
Uneasiness sat heavy in his gut. Did this woman know anything about him?
Didn’t Jessa Collingsworth-Evanston know who he was?
Had she even considered that it might not be a good idea for this young relative of hers to be alone with him?
His brother’s words of caution echoed in his mind. Don’t give anyone opportunity to use circumstances to accuse you of anything. Don’t let yourself be alone with a woman.
And yet even with the warning ringing in his head, he hadn’t excused himself and left.
“Okay. Um…” Rose shot him a quick look from beneath long dark lashes. “We can go to the front of the chapel, and I’ll show you what I’m—we’re wanting.”
Declan dragged his cap off and shoved it into his pocket. With his clipboard in one hand, he ran his free hand through his hair. “Lead the way.”
A quick smile lit her face right up to her eyes before she turned and opened one of the large doors.
He looked around as he followed her down the aisle.
There was a rustic look to the décor of the room that appealed to him.
Already, his mind churned with ideas based on what Jessa had described during their brief conversation.
“So, I’m sure Jessa mentioned that we’re looking for an arch.
” Rose climbed the steps to the stage. Standing in the middle of it, she spread her arms, the baggy sleeves of the green sweater she wore swinging with the movement.
“I want something for right here in the center that the bride, groom and minister could stand under. It can’t be too heavy in case a couple doesn’t want to use it and we need to move it.
I was also hoping it could have places on it to intertwine tulle and those small white lights. ”
Declan nodded, seeing the idea unfold in his mind as she described what she wanted. “How wide do you think you’ll need it to be?”
“Well, wide enough for two people to stand underneath it without feeling like they are going to knock it over. And we have to take into account the width of some of the dresses brides choose these days.” She smiled at him, broader this time, and Declan felt his breath catch in his lungs at the way her whole face lit up. “Some of them are a bit ridiculous.”
Dragging his attention from her face, Declan looked back at the stage and forced himself to keep his focus on the topic at hand. “Yeah, I can imagine.”
Actually, though, he couldn’t. He’d spent most of his twenties behind bars which meant he hadn’t attended any weddings.
And the last two and a half years had consisted of trying to get his life back on track.
Women—brides or otherwise—hadn’t been part of his world in a very long time.
And while his experience with women was limited, he was smart enough to know when something was out of his reach.
Rose Collingsworth was not just out of his reach, she was in another realm altogether.
Determined to get through the appointment quickly, Declan bent his head over his clipboard and made notes as Rose talked.
She seemed a bit unsure of her idea at times, but over the next ten minutes she gave him enough to work with, and he was able to take some measurements.
“I should be able to do up a sketch tonight and let you have a look at it tomorrow. If that’s convenient. ”
As she smiled at him once more, Declan wished she’d stop doing that. Her smile made him want to do things for her just so it would always be on her face.
“That would be great. I’ll be here all day so whenever it works for you.”
“Would Jessa be available to meet with us then?” Declan asked, not so eager to be alone with her again.
Her smile faded as a flash of emotion passed across her face. She rubbed a finger right under her lower lip for a moment then said, “I can give her a call and ask her to let you know when it might be convenient for her to meet with you.”
Declan got the feeling he’d upset her with that suggestion and wasn’t entirely sure why, but regardless, it was for the best. If being around her even this little was stirring a longing within him for things that were not to be his, he could only imagine what he’d feel if he spent any more time with her.
Rose pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin as she gave him a brief smile that didn’t reach her soft gray eyes this time. “Thank you for stopping by.”
Declan gripped the clipboard in both hands, not trusting himself to take her small, soft hand in his again. “I appreciate the opportunity to do this work for your chapel.”
It sounded stiff, even to his ears, but it was the best he could do right then. After a final nod at Rose, he headed to the back of the sanctuary then through the foyer before stepping out of the warmth of the small chapel into the cold, harsh light of day.