Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Emelia, where do you want this chair?” Naomi asked as she carefully held up one of the consignment-shop finds Emelia stumbled upon the previous week.
“Oh, right across from the couch will be fine,” Emelia replied. She’d spotted the two pale-blue-striped chairs in one shop and an off-white sofa bed in another.
Her parents had sent her a check for her birthday—actually, the amount was for many birthdays yet to come.
Somehow, they’d found out her living quarters lacked a lot of necessities. The check was more than enough to spruce up her apartment. Emelia mentioned to her friends she was on the lookout for furniture and appliances, nothing that cost too much money, and the women went into action searching all the shops.
Then, on Sunday afternoon, they all came over and painted the walls. With the bakery closed on Monday, it was the ideal time to have the few furniture pieces she selected delivered and the affordable stove and refrigerator installed.
Felicia and Isabelle had volunteered their significant others, claiming Colt and Will were already experienced movers.
Emelia wasn’t sure that was true, but the guys didn’t seem to mind her saying that.
They painted the living room walls a soft gray and the woodwork white, which opened up the small space. Two large windows took up one wall but let in lots of natural light. She found a darker blue patterned rug that coordinated with the furniture. A coffee table, two end tables and a small buffet with a TV overhead completed it. The only thing left to complement the room would be some artwork, but that could wait.
Grunts from the stairwell indicated either the fridge or stove were coming up. Scents of vanilla and yeasty baked bread from the bakery competed with the scent of the freshly painted walls.
In the small kitchen, a solitary window framed a table and two chairs. She found a small wood-topped island and installed open shelves for dishes. Right now, the island held a variety of sweets and sandwiches, soda and beer, which everyone was picking at.
“Coming through.” Colt and Will wheeled the fridge into its space by the sink after plugging it in.
Isabelle walked over and kissed Will. “My muscle man.”
Will smiled and flexed his arm. “You know it.” He looked at her with hunger in his eyes and leaned in to kiss Isabelle.
Emelia’s face felt impossibly hot. She wanted to fan herself but didn’t. What she would give for a man to look at her with the same intensity that Will looked at Isabelle. Sadly, there was no one yet.
“Okay, you two. You can do that at home,” Colt said, wiping sweat from his brow with a rag.
“That’s no fun,” quipped Isabelle.
Colt rolled his eyes.
“Lover boy, if you can tear yourself away from my sister, we still have to bring up the stove, which shouldn’t be as heavy,” Colt said.
Emelia glanced at the two men and thought it would be fun just sitting and ogling them while they worked. They were fine-looking men, muscular, and sexy—not that she’d ever say anything to Isabelle or Felicia.
“So sorry, Emelia, but I need to leave,” said Naomi. She grabbed a ham and gruyere mini tart and took a bite, then moaned. “Yum! This is the most delicious savory tart I’ve ever had.”
“Thanks. I have plenty. Why don’t you take some food home for Chase?”
Naomi grinned. “Splendid idea.” She narrowed her eyes as she glanced at the living room, where Isabelle, Felicia and Joy were talking with the men. “Are you sure you have enough for everyone?”
“No problem. If I run out of food, I know where there’s a great bakery.” Emelia grabbed one of the bakery’s signature pale pink boxes. “Fill it up and thank you so much for helping me make this place a home.”
Naomi hugged Emelia. “I know how important home is. It was my pleasure, and I just love how your place turned out. It’s so you.”
“I couldn’t have done it without all you girls helping.”
Naomi waved to the group and left. Will and Colt stood and threw paper plates into the trash.
“Delicious,” said Will. “We’ll bring the stove up and connect it. Then we need to leave.”
“Great.” Emelia found a couple of boxes and filled them with assorted savory mini-tarts, blackberry walnut crunch muffins, and two different cookies to give to them when they left.
Felicia and Isabelle picked up a bag stuffed with linens. Felicia smiled warmly. “We’ll make the bed, then you can put the finishing touches on it.”
Emelia was thrilled with her almost girly bedroom.
It was a small room they painted pale pink with white woodwork. It had ample space for a queen bed and a small wooden dresser that hid a door to storage in the eve, a throwback to the attic conversion. Way in the back there were a couple of old dusty boxes that she’d look at when she had more time. A dusty rose chair completed the room. She had a white spread and pillows for the bed—and what woman didn’t love pillows—that were shades of pink and rose. The best part was the small glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling over the bed. It was a bedroom made for romance. Too bad she had no one in her life right now.
It was late afternoon when the women left. Emelia plopped down on her sofa and glanced around the room. It was everything she’d hoped it would be—warm, cozy, sophisticated, and most importantly, hers. For the first time since she moved to Haywood Lake, she felt at home.
There was nothing to clean up—no food to put away, no mess, nothing for Emelia to do but plan the Halloween celebration at the bakery. It was a week away, and the shop owners were getting together to decorate the alleyway and give out treats.
On the other front, there were no new notes, no missing ingredients, and nothing amiss since she fired Patty, one of her employees, who she caught stealing supplies early one morning. And what a disappointment that was. Patty claimed she sold the supplies because she needed money, but hey, Emelia needed money too but wasn’t stealing.
Everything was going well—for the present and hopefully the future.
Titus walked into his office late in the morning and groaned.
Vanessa had gone all out buying Halloween decorations, candy, and, be still my beating heart, costumes. What in the name of all things holy was she thinking?
A feeling of resignation washed over him as he watched Vanessa unpack a couple of boxes and smile at him when he came in. “This is going to be so much fun. The kids are in for a treat.”
Treat? There was enough candy for a slew of kids to get a sugar high. His eyes darted around the office, taking in the chaotic scene of orange pumpkins sitting in the corner surrounded by skeletons and ghosts and packages of black and orange crepe paper that were stacked on his desk.
“You know Halloween isn’t for a week?” he asked.
“I know, but I wanted to get everything before the stores sold out.” She picked up a pirate’s tricorn hat and a white poofy shirt. “I think you’d be a perfect pirate. Yo ho ho and all that.”
Titus shook his head. This was his own fault for letting a woman who loved the holidays shop. “Seriously?”
“Oh, come on. You have the beard going on. I have tight leather—well, pleather—pants, boots, a sword, and”—she pulled out a stuffed colorful something with a flourish—“a parrot for your shoulder.”
He closed his eyes and huffed. “What other choices do I have?”
“Well, I’m going as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. Sean is going as a policeman. I don’t know what else everyone is wearing.”
“Why can’t I go as a policeman?” Titus hated the whiny tone in his voice, but come on, a pirate? “I’d make a great one.”
Vanessa tsked as she looked him up and down. “You have that whole bad boy with a beard vibe going.” She held up the parrot, made it nod, and pretended to speak. “You’ll make a great pirate, matey.”
Great—just great. He was a security expert, an ex-SEAL, a man who could kill with his bare hands, a warrior, and now he found himself reduced to being a pirate wearing tights with a parrot on his shoulder. Could things get any worse?
“Fine,” he muttered. “How about pushing all this stuff to a corner so I can work?”
“Fine,” she huffed and started moving things over.
Titus strolled into the gym area, leaving Vanessa to finish, and looked out the window. Two men were carrying furniture into the bakery. They looked familiar.
What the hell were Colt and Will doing here? What was their relationship to the bakery? Curiosity got the better of him, and he walked over.
“What’re you two doing?”
Will was holding a chair and stopped to talk to him. “Isabelle and Felicia volunteered our services helping Emelia move in.”
Emelia? What did she need help with?
“Emelia lives in the apartment over the bakery?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you know that?” Will smirked. “Being neighbors and all.”
No, he didn’t know that. In fact, the last time he talked to Emelia, it didn’t end well at all. She was dismissive and rude.
“I don’t keep tabs on my neighbors,” he replied. “Besides, I know for a fact that the apartment is a disaster, and you’re telling me she’s living in that?”
Colt put down the chair he was holding. “It was a mess, but the girls have become good friends with her and came over yesterday to paint. Emelia bought some furniture and appliances. I got to tell you, it’s looking good.”
Humph. Good for her. Not that he cared, but a person, especially a woman, shouldn’t live in squalor, and having seen the bakery and apartment before she bought it, he knew what it looked like. No wonder Emelia was so grumpy when he saw her. How could she feel safe or good about herself with dirty walls, no furniture or appliances?
“Have you met Emelia?” asked Will. “She’s single and…” He looked around and whispered, “Sexy as hell.”
Colt rolled his eyes, then punched Will’s shoulder. “Don’t let Isabelle hear you say that.”
“She is sexy but not as sexy as Isabelle,” replied Will.
Titus blew out his breath. “I’m not interested in Emelia. She’s too arrogant for me.”
Will frowned. “What? Why do you say that?”
“Let’s just say our conversations have been less than welcoming,” Titus replied.
Colt cocked his head and raised a brow. “Whatever.” He smirked and said, “We need to get this done. I have a garage to run, and Will has to chase chickens or Isabelle.”
“Fuck you, Colt.” Will laughed and picked up his chair.
Titus turned and made his way back to the gym.
Everyone seemed to love Emelia. Maybe there was something more about her, but he was missing it. He knew the women in his teammates’ lives didn’t help just anyone. How did they meet Emelia? She was rude and dismissed him. Perhaps she was different around the women. It didn’t matter.
He had too much going on in his life to worry about that woman.