Chapter Two
CHAPTER TWO
Natalie pulled out wallpaper samples, standing at the big table in the interior design shop where she worked. She stared down at the plethora of samples and let out a satisfied sigh.
She worked. She had a job. She was free, independent, able to make her own decisions now. She did work for someone, but Delilah was an absolute delight, her design company was perfect for Natalie, and even more importantly, she trusted Natalie and gave her the freedom to do whatever she wanted for her clients.
Sean had never wanted her to work, preferring she stay home to take care of the house and kids. As someone who’d been so excited to get her degree and plan her career, she had no idea what had happened to her, how she had lost herself so fully. Because she was full of zest and desire, and she could have capably handled a marriage, kids, and a career. So how could she have let Sean sideline her life like that? How had she so completely given up control?
Shaking off thoughts of the past, she loaded up the wallpaper samples along with a few other awesome plans for her client, then headed out on the road, grateful to crack the window and feel the spring breeze flowing in her face.
Her phone buzzed, and she waited until she pulled up in front of the client’s house to look at it, seeing that she had missed a call from Hazel. She sent her a quick text to let her know she was meeting with a client and she’d call her back once she was finished.
It took about an hour to go over the samples with her client. They were renovating the living room and kitchen, and right now everything was a dusty mess, but Natalie didn’t concern herself with the construction aspect. Her job was to show the homeowners the fun, pretty things, like wallpaper and paint colors and hardware and countertops. Marianne was open and enthusiastic about updating her twenty-year-old home and loved all of Natalie’s ideas. She threw in a few requests of her own, and Natalie made notes. They wrapped up, and she headed out, telling her phone to call Hazel while she drove.
“I’m so sorry to bother you while you’re working,” Hazel said.
“It’s no bother. What’s up?”
“Are you and the kids free for dinner tonight?”
“Cammie and Christopher are with Sean tonight, but I’m available.”
“Oh great. Can you come over? I’m trying out a new seafood pasta recipe.”
Her mouth watered at the thought, especially since her sister was a phenomenal cook. “Count me in. Thanks for the invite.”
“You’re welcome. See you about seven.”
“See you then.”
She clicked off and sent herself a voice note to add tonight’s dinner to her calendar. Then she made voice notes about her visit with Marianne.
So far, today was going exceptionally well. Even better, now she wouldn’t have to find something for dinner tonight.
· · ·
Eugene left his office and drove to the house—one of the many he’d looked at since moving here. He had yet to find one that would suit his needs. And the small executive rental the company put him in was nice enough, but not for what he needed since he often worked at home. He had to get out of there.
He pulled up in front of a two-story white house with black shutters, the landscaping utterly perfect. It was private, and he liked his privacy. The Realtor met him at the front door.
“Hey, Mark,” Eugene said. “Love the outside of the place.”
“You’ll like the inside even more. It has everything you need.”
Mark had shown him enough spaces that he’d learned that Eugene didn’t need him to talk up a place. He wanted to walk around and get a feel.
Living room had arched ceilings, but a slider leading to the backyard. He would change that to accordion sliding glass doors to let in more light and give him a better view of…He opened the door and stepped outside.
Oh yeah. Killer backyard. Pool, lush green landscaping, and a pool house in the back. Plenty of space for parties. Big covered patio. Needed an outside kitchen, though.
He walked back inside and went to the kitchen, which was closed off to the living room. That would have to change, along with the décor, which was about twenty years old. The kitchen was dark, the dining area small, so opening it up would help all of that. And every room needed updated lighting.
There were four bedrooms, so he wandered through all of those. Mostly cosmetic things like changing carpet to tile or hardwoods, but the rooms were all big, and that helped. And there was a bonus room that was set up as a media room, which would be perfect for his office. With a few modifications, of course.
Once he finished, he turned to Mark. “I like this one.”
Mark looked surprised. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Because you haven’t liked anything I’ve shown you for the past month.”
Eugene laughed. “Hey, I have certain needs, and I don’t want to have to raze a house to make it livable. This one needs some adjustments, but I think I can make it work. But I want my brother to come look at it since he does renovations.”
Mark nodded. “Sure. Just let me know.”
“Will do.”
When he got out to his car, he called Linc. It took him a few rings to answer.
“I’m in the middle of installing a bathtub. What do you want?”
Eugene laughed. “I might have found a house.”
“Yeah?—No, don’t put that there. Hang on.—Hey, Eugene, come for dinner tonight and tell me about it.”
“Sure.”
“I’ll text you the time. I gotta go.”
He hung up and Eugene grinned.
The day was looking up.