Chapter 10
Presley
“The silver sofa,” Chloe said.
I looked at Rowan for her opinion.
“Silver sofa, definitely,” she agreed.
“With the stain guard warranty at the highest level you can buy,” Chloe said.
“Silver sofa it is,” I said excitedly, in full agreement that it was the right choice for the shop.
A couple of days ago, I’d bought a patio dining set from Lake Life Outfitters, on the opposite corner of the square, and put it inside in the front corner of my shop for now so there’d be a place to sit while construction was going on—or when my girlfriends and I met to choose decor.
I hoped to eventually get a permit for outdoor seating.
This afternoon, I was glad I’d bought it, since Rowan was close to seven months pregnant.
She looked wonderful, but she admitted her back was happy she was sitting after I’d walked them around the wide-open space, explaining where walls, counters, the kitchen, and everything else would go.
West had moved in some of the supplies already, even though we were waiting on the building permit.
“It’ll tie right in with the metal on the chairs and stools,” Rowan said. “I love the silver, blue, and white color scheme. I’m excited for you.”
“I’m excited for this town,” Chloe said.
“The last furniture decision for today is the blue easy chair,” I said. “Single-wide, double-wide, one-and-a-half width?”
I turned my laptop again to show them the differences.
“Not single,” Rowan said.
“Says the pregnant girl.” Chloe laughed, but it was empathetic instead of teasing. “I remember that third trimester feeling, like you’re huge and clumsy and need all the space—even though you absolutely are not huge.”
“I’m not quite to the third trimester, but I already feel that way.” Rowan rested a hand on her belly. “I think the one-and-a-half-width chair. You don’t want it to take up so much room that it crowds the door.”
“Agree,” I said, and added the extra-wide chair to my cart.
I’d spent the morning in Nashville at a furniture store with a helpful clerk.
I didn’t believe in buying comfortable furniture without sitting my butt on it to test it.
The light-colored wood tables and metal chairs, which I’d picked out from a restaurant supplier, were one thing.
Comfort wasn’t the ultimate goal for them but rather frequent turnover of patrons.
The full-length sofa and easy chair for the lounging corner were a different story. I wanted them to be comfortable enough that people could curl up on them for hours to chat with a friend or hammer out work on a laptop.
I’d narrowed down my choices in person, then texted Chloe and Rowan, hoping they could come by after work and weigh in on the final decisions. They’d come through, as girlfriends did. They loved the plans West and I had laid out.
Since there was a three- to four-week delay to get the furniture, I was ordering today.
As I pulled the laptop closer so I could check out, the rain outside picked up intensity.
It was a cozy, insulating sound. I couldn’t wait for a rainy day once the shop was open.
I imagined it as a refuge for people of all kinds regardless of what curveball Mother Nature dished out.
I hit the Place Order button with a whoop. “Thank you, girls. I love our choices,” I told them.
“I can’t wait to see it come together,” Rowan said.
“By the time she opens, you’ll be ready to pop that baby out,” Chloe said.
“Which is going to happen magically and instantly with zero pain,” Rowan said. “Denial is working for me at the moment.”
As I checked that my order had gone through, movement out the window caught my eye. A guy in a ball cap jogged through the rain, getting soaked. He looked to be heading toward my door.
When I recognized West, my body reacted accordingly, as it did every time, against my better judgment. I apparently couldn’t think my woman bits out of their attraction to that man.
I’d left the main door unlocked since we were right here, and West came inside, dripping with water and sex appeal.
Dammit though.
“Hello,” I said, a question in my tone.
“Hey, ladies. I saw the lights on over here when I came out of the town hall.” He shook water off his hands, then unzipped his contractor portfolio and took out an official-looking paper.
“The permit,” I said excitedly.
“Sybil came through.” He took out a roll of tape, went to the window next to the door, and posted the permit.
“So we can start?” I asked.
“I’ll be here tomorrow evening.” He looked over at Rowan. “Sam’s staying with my girls,” he said of her teenage stepdaughter who’d started a babysitting company with a friend. “Tell her to fuel up good. She’ll need the energy.” He grinned.
“She’ll do better than I would,” Rowan said, laughing and rubbing her belly again. “Thanks for hiring her. She seems to be thriving with this business and the way it’s taking off. They’re up to five sitters now.”
“It’s a lifesaver,” West said. “We love Allie, but I can’t have her working fifty hours a week.”
“We love it too,” Chloe said.
As Rowan and Chloe discussed Sam’s business adventures, West closed his portfolio and turned to me. He flicked his gaze over my casual T-shirt dress, down to my boho slingback sandals. “Yet another pair of shoes,” he said quietly, with what felt like a private half grin.
“You like ’em?” I asked flippantly, keeping my volume down as well. I took in the wetness of his black Dawson Construction tee and the way it clung to his solid chest.
He didn’t answer, but I could swear heat flared in his eyes for a second before he glanced away.
“What are your plans tomorrow?” he asked, seeming to flip into business mode.
“I’m at your beck and call.” The words came out flirtier than I intended. Oops. I needed to reel it in. I knew this, but it popped out before I could stop it.
He hesitated for the slightest instant, as if deciding what to say to that, then glanced at Rowan and Chloe. “I’m hoping to have the drywall delivered, but someone has to be here to let them in.”
“I can be here whenever.”
He checked his watch. “I’ll see if I can catch Wayne tonight and arrange it. I gotta get home to my girls.”
“Thanks for bringing the permit over,” I said as we walked to the door.
“Later, ladies,” he said to Rowan and Chloe, who responded in kind. To me, he said, “I’ll let you know about the delivery.”
He went back out into the rain, and I forced myself not to watch him walk away.
“Well, that was interesting,” Chloe said.
I headed to the table, trying to act like that simple exchange hadn’t had any effect on me whatsoever.
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Rowan said.
“What was interesting?” I asked, playing dumb as I sat.
“The tension between you two was practically making the air crackle,” Chloe said.
I gave her a look that said there was no tension, and she was crazy.
“Are you and West…” Rowan started.
“Sleeping together?” Chloe added.
“No,” I said. “And there was no tension. Really.”
Rowan and Chloe exchanged a look. Then Rowan asked her, “Did you see the way he looked at her?”
“Then he talked to her with that growly, quiet voice,” Chloe said. “Not an ‘I’m here on official business’ voice. More like an ‘I’m imagining you naked’ voice.”
I felt suddenly overheated. “He did not look at me in any way,” I attempted to argue, “nor did he use a voice.”
Rowan laughed. “But he was definitely imagining you naked.”
“God, you guys,” I said on a flustered exhale. I popped back up off my chair and wandered to the window, hoping for one last glimpse of West. “The chemistry is insane. I’ve never reacted to a guy like this.”
“It’s those skinny city guys you were drawn to,” Chloe said, making a face. “Of course you didn’t react like you do to West, who earns a living with his body.”
“Truth. I see the light now.” I couldn’t remember a single one of the skinny city guys at the moment, mainly because there hadn’t been many and none of them had been important in my life.
Rowan made a sound of approval. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“Unfortunately we’re not,” I said. “I’ve made it clear to him I’m interested, but he shut me down.”
“That didn’t look like a shutdown,” Chloe said.
“He couldn’t hide his interest if he tried,” Rowan added.
“He told me in no uncertain terms that we will not be happening,” I said. “He doesn’t do his clients.”
“Pity,” Rowan said.
“Poor decision, at least for this client,” Chloe said. “But I suppose it’s a good policy in general.”
“You won’t be the client forever,” Rowan pointed out. “You live here now. You can hook up once your remodel is done.”
I waved off the idea. “It’s more of a proximity thing. Like, he’s in my house, in my face, so I’m interested in a fling. I don’t want any kind of relationship.”
“Of course you don’t,” Chloe said.
“I’m fixing my life,” I reminded her. “Focusing on me instead of my job for once.” I glanced around. “Well, trying.”
We all laughed, because obviously I loved to work.
“And I haven’t forgotten you’re antimarriage,” Chloe said.
“Only for myself. I’m happy for you two.”
“You never want to get married?” Rowan asked.
I shook my head. “I’m too independent and not willing to give that up.”
“Not all marriages are like your parents’ or your sister’s,” Chloe said. “Two of us in this room are proof.”
“You guys are so cute but not typical,” I said. “I’m thinking about getting a dog.”
“Are you being serious?” Chloe asked, looking stunned.
“They had all these photos of dogs who need homes at the Honeysuckle Festival,” I said.
“A dog’s a great idea,” Rowan said. “Another living soul in that big house of yours. He’ll keep you company. Maybe two dogs.”
“Maybe start with one. Hey, is that Magnolia?” Chloe asked, her attention on two people with umbrellas walking past the side window toward the square. “It is. And Darius.”
“Is she finally doing it?” Rowan asked, sounding excited.
“I haven’t talked to her lately,” Chloe said as she stood.
“Doing what?” I asked. I’d met Magnolia a few times but didn’t know her well.