Chapter Nineteen
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Delilah shook her head. “Men. They get into their heads about work. Or sports. Or a hundred other things, and then we slide on down to the bottom of their so called ‘things that are most important to me’ list.”
“Yes, well, I don’t ever intend to be put at the bottom of any man’s list ever again.”
“That’s an excellent way of thinking, honey. Always prioritize yourself. And me. And your clients.”
Natalie laughed. Delilah definitely had her priorities on straight.
She went over her checklist with Delilah to finalize the design on Paula and Fred’s house. They were out of town for the next few days, which was perfect timing. Everything should be delivered to the house by late this afternoon, and she’d have two days to get the design in order. It was a huge order, and unfortunately, Delilah had a major design of her own to finish off for another client and would be unavailable to help her, which meant Natalie had to do this alone.
She’d already enlisted the help of her mother and Hazel, who said they’d take care of the kids and the dog while Natalie concentrated on getting her clients’ house completed.
Delilah laid her hand over Natalie’s arm. “You got this, honey?”
Natalie nodded. “I’ve totally got this. You don’t need to worry about a thing. Paula and Fred are going to love everything.”
“Oh, I don’t worry about you and your design expertise. I meant personally.”
She shrugged. “I’ll be fine. I’m always fine.”
Delilah gave her a half smile. “But maybe indulge yourself with a spa day after you finish this design, okay?”
“Definitely.”
Natalie spent the rest of the day coordinating with the various vendors. She made her way to Paula and Fred’s house to await the first delivery, which, fortunately, arrived promptly as scheduled. She was just about to dig into the first box when her phone buzzed.
It was a call. From Eugene.
He’d texted and called her multiple times over the course of the past few days, and she hadn’t answered. Still furious with him for not bothering to send her one simple text saying he couldn’t make it, she figured she wasn’t important enough to bother with. And now, neither was he.
She let the call go. Except he called again. Which she ignored again. But then he called again.
Dammit. She thought about turning her phone off, but she was waiting for delivery services to call and text, so she pushed the button. “Stop calling me.”
“I’m not going to stop calling you until you agree to see me. We need to talk.”
“No. I’m not going to see you, and we have nothing to talk about.”
“Natalie. I’m sorry. I know I screwed up. Give me a chance to apologize.”
“I’m working. I have a huge client and barely enough time to finish this design on time.”
“Then let me help. We’ll talk things out while you work.”
She frowned. “What? No.”
“I can be your manual labor. I’ll do whatever you say.”
She so wanted to hang up on him and never speak to him again, but she could really use the help. “Fine. I’ll text you the address.”
“Great. I’ll be right there.”
With a disgusted sigh, she hung up and texted him the address.
She’d use him to help her finish up this house on time, and then she’d tell him he was no more important to her than she’d obviously been to him.
And that would be the end of their relationship.
The thought of it made her stomach twinge, but it was for the best. The last thing she wanted was to allow him to hurt her, and what he’d done was a clear sign that falling for Eugene would hurt her.
No way was she going to allow that to happen.
· · ·
Eugene had stopped along the way to pick up a cup of Natalie’s favorite iced coffee, hoping the small token would at least entice her to open the door. Beyond that, he was going to have to do an enormous amount of groveling.
He’d been kicking his own ass ever since he’d been so in his own head about work that he hadn’t bothered to check his phone. He just had to hope she’d forgive him.
He pulled into the driveway of the house.
Big damn house. Fancy, too. He got out of the car, grabbed the coffee, and walked up the steps to the porch to ring the bell.
After a minute, the door opened and Natalie stood there.
“Hey,” he said, keeping it friendly and casual. “I brought you an iced latte.”
She looked at the coffee, then back at him, taking the coffee from his outstretched hand. “Thanks. Come on, we have work to do.”
At least she let him in, which he considered a small victory.
The floors were hardwood, at least wherever there wasn’t marble, like the entryway. As he went in farther, he saw tall ceilings and so much light from all the huge windows.
“This place is outstanding,” he said.
“Yes, it is.”
He also saw boxes strewn everywhere and various people wandering around.
“Your crew?”
She took a sip of the coffee, then nodded. “A few installers for drapes and shutters. Otherwise, I’ll be doing the rest of the décor.”
“Okay, then. Put me to work.”
· · ·
Natalie figured that Eugene would spend all of his time just hanging out and doing nothing while she did all the work.
She was wrong. He’d hung pictures, put up shelving, arranged objects on said shelving over and over again until she was satisfied, and never once complained. He’d fluffed sofa pillows, bed pillows, and even dog bed pillows without making fun of the process or the outcome.
“The client has specific likes—and dislikes,” she explained. “And two very cute but discerning Pomeranians.”
“Which would explain the dog bed setup, right?”
“Yes. The client always gets what they want. Unless I can talk them out of it.”
“Hey, you get paid if they’re happy. And if they’re really happy, you get referrals for even more business.”
“You understand.”
“Yup.”
He walked around to see the place tastefully decorated. Not his style, but he could imagine the clients being extremely happy. It was colorful but not garishly so, with pale lavender colors and bold grays.
Natalie definitely had an eye for design. There were shelves with plants and knickknacks, but not so many that it was overloaded. More conversation pieces and things that added texture to the place.
The art was outstanding.
“How do you choose the art?” he asked after he hung a beautiful modern oil with mixed colors in the entryway.
She studied the picture, and he didn’t know if she thought it was crooked or if she just liked the art. “I have long conversations with the clients before the project starts. We go over their likes and dislikes. Some people dislike art entirely and only want family portraits adorning their walls. Others like bare walls.”
“Ugh. That’s kind of sterile.”
“Right? Anyway, Paula and Fred love colorful art, something that tells a story that every viewer can interpret on their own. So no people or faces or objects, just impressions.”
He looked at the myriad of colors and shapes in the art in the foyer. “You have a good eye. This is some cool shit.”
She laughed. “Thank you. Though the homeowners already had some fantastic art pieces. I just picked up a few more.”
He turned to face her. “You’re gonna do the same with my house, right?”
“You want art?”
“Well, yeah.”
“So, no framed pieces of your video games?”
He snorted out a laugh. “Maybe in the game room. Nowhere else.”
She nodded. “We’ll discuss what you like. We can go shopping at some of the art shops so you can peruse in person. Or, you can do that on your own and tell me what you like.”
“I’d rather we do that together. If you want to.”
With every step in their conversation, she felt that icy resolve melting, and she didn’t want it to. So, instead, she lifted a shoulder. “You’re the client. Whatever your preference.”
“Natalie.” He moved in closer. “Can we take a minute and talk?”
She didn’t want to talk. She was still angry. And hurt. But she’d told him they could have a conversation, and he had worked his ass off all day.
“Fine. We’ll take a short break.” She turned and walked into the kitchen, reached into the cooler she’d brought and pulled out two bottles of cold water, handing one to him. They took seats at the kitchen table.
Eugene scooted the chair within an inch of hers, their knees touching. Just the simple touch of his knees to hers sent a jolt through her.
Ridiculous.
“Natalie. I am so sorry about what happened. I could make excuses and tell you that when something goes wrong with game design everything other than fixing it gets pushed to the side, but that’s no excuse. It was a terrible thing to do to you and I know it must have hurt you to think that I blew you off.”
“I was worried about you. I know I have no right—”
“You have every right. We had plans and I didn’t show up. And when you texted and called, I didn’t respond. If our situations had been reversed, I’d have panicked. I’m so sorry I put you through that, and I don’t blame you for being angry. I know you don’t trust me, but believe me when I tell you this has been a wake-up call. It won’t happen again.”
She blew out a breath. “I appreciate the apology.”
He picked up her hand, reading her hesitation. “But?”
“But…I don’t know. I’ve already had years of not being a priority in someone’s life. I’m not fond of repeating that.”
“Give me a chance to show you that you are important to me. Let me make up for this.”
Part of her wanted to shut him down, to tell him whatever it was between them was over. But the flame between them still burned hot. And his apology had felt sincere. Plus, he looked so damn hot right now in his dark jeans and black-and-white button-down shirt with the sleeves pushed up over his muscular forearms that all she could think about was climbing on his lap and rocking against him until he threw her to the floor and…
Wait. She was working. And this wasn’t even her house.
Banishing those thoughts, she stood. “We’ll give it another shot.”
His lips curved. “Okay. But for some reason that felt like a job interview.”
He had a point, so she raised up on her toes and curved her hand around his neck, pulling him down for a blazing-hot kiss. He wrapped his arm around her and drew her against his rock-hard body, making her want to climb all over him.
Damn. Why had she kissed him? Why had she started this when she knew they wouldn’t be able to finish?
Before she lost herself completely and they ended up on her clients’ very polished kitchen floor, she pulled herself away from Eugene’s very delicious mouth and body, taking in a deep breath and grounding herself back in reality.
“Sorry,” Eugene said, dragging his fingers through his lush hair.
Honestly. Did every movement he made have to be such a turn-on? She needed to get rid of him.
“I have to get back to work.”
He cleared his throat and took a step back. “Right. Sorry. What do you need me to do?”
“I need you to leave so I can concentrate on said work without wanting to get naked and then get you naked.”
His lips curved. “Okay, then. So…when can we pick this up again? Because I’d really like to see you.” He smoothed his hands down her arms. “And touch you. I have much more apologizing to do.”
She quivered in all the right places. “Sean has the kids Thursday night. You could come over. Or we could go out.”
“I’ll be happy to come over. Or go out. You choose.”
“I’ll text you then.”
“Okay.”
She walked him to the front door. He bent and brushed his lips across hers.
“Thursday,” he said.
“Right.” She closed the door behind him, then sighed in utter sexual frustration.
She pushed off the door and grabbed her phone, checking off what she’d accomplished from the to-do list.
Thanks to Eugene’s help, she didn’t have much left to do. Which meant she’d be out of here earlier than expected. She’d planned for a long night, so she’d gotten a sitter for the kids.
Free night. She grinned and texted Hazel.
How would you feel about dinner and a spa night with your sister?
Hazel texted back a few minutes later. Sounds perfect!
Natalie booked the spa reservations, then made plans with Hazel to eat at their favorite Italian restaurant.
It was going to be a perfect night.