Chapter 28
Dave placed his saw on the floor. “What’s happened, Beth?” She had a clipboard tucked against her chest and a small line between her eyebrows.
“I’m hoping you can tell me I’m reading this wrong.” Beth held out the clipboard. “I received this invoice from the plumbing store.”
Dave wiped the dust from his hands before taking it. The moment he saw the first product number, his stomach dropped. Bathroom faucets. Kitchen faucets. Utility sink. Shower fittings.
The upgraded range. The ones Beth had wanted.
He’d gone into the plumbing store after she’d placed the order and changed it himself.
He knew she’d chosen the cheaper faucets because the ones she really liked would have pushed the renovation budget too far.
She’d stood in front of the display for several minutes before finally admitting that nearly eighteen hundred dollars was too much to spend simply because she preferred one style over another.
Dave had agreed with her. Then he’d gone back the following day and paid the difference himself. At the time, it had seemed like a good idea.
He’d imagined Beth walking into the finished bathrooms and kitchen and discovering that somehow, she’d ended up with the faucets she loved after all.
The invoice shouldn’t have landed on her desk. Dave kept his expression neutral as he looked at the total. “That can’t be right.”
“That’s what I thought.” Beth moved closer and pointed to the product number. “Remember the brushed nickel faucets with the curved handles I liked when we first started looking at everything?”
“Yeah.”
“They’re the ones that have been installed.”
Dave looked toward the hallway leading to the bathrooms, buying himself a few seconds to think.
Beth followed his gaze. “I know I ordered the cheaper ones. I remember changing the product numbers myself.”
“Maybe someone at the store changed the order.”
“But why would they do that?”
Good question. Dave handed the clipboard back to her. “Could have been a mix-up.”
“That’s an expensive mix-up.”
Hank wandered closer. “How expensive?”
Beth looked at the invoice. “Almost eighteen hundred dollars.”
Hank gave a low whistle.
Beth closed her eyes briefly.
Dave wished he hadn’t done that.
“The plumber’s already installed everything,” she said. “I called the store, but they won’t take the faucets back now that they’ve been used.”
“You don’t need to take them back,” Dave told her.
Beth looked at him. “We might not have a choice.”
He cleared his throat. Maybe upgrading the faucets wasn’t such a good idea. “I’ll sort it out.”
“I should have checked the boxes when they arrived.”
Beth’s worried frown undid all the good Dave thought he’d done. “You had a hundred other things going on.”
“That doesn’t make eighteen hundred dollars disappear.”
No, Dave thought. But his credit card receipt would.
He probably should tell her. It would be easy enough. He could explain that the project hadn’t paid anything extra. He’d covered the difference because he wanted her to have the faucets she liked.
Except he could already imagine her reaction. She’d tell him it was too much money. Then she’d insist on paying him back. And when he refused, she wouldn’t be happy.
“I know the manager at the plumbing store,” he said. “Let me call him.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know. But I buy a lot from them. It’ll be easier if I talk to him.”
Beth looked down at the invoice again.
She cared about every dollar they spent on the center. She’d spent hours comparing prices, accepting second choices and finding savings wherever she could because she wanted as much of the money as possible to go toward the people who would use the building.
That was one of the reasons Dave had upgraded the faucets in the first place.
Beth rarely chose something simply because she liked it. For once, he’d wanted her to have the first choice instead of the sensible one.
“I’ll call him today,” he said. “Don’t pay this until I’ve spoken to him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Some of the tension left her shoulders. “Okay.”
He folded the invoice and put it in his pocket. “I’ll give this back to you as soon as I’ve sorted out the issue.”
“Thank you.”
Their eyes met, and for a moment, Dave forgot about plumbing stores and invoices. Sunday night came rushing back, and he wondered if she was remembering it too.
The faint color on her cheeks suggested she might be.
Hank cleared his throat and Dave resisted the urge to throw the tape measure at him.
Beth looked away first. “I’d better get back to the office. I’ve got another stack of invoices to go through.”
That caught Dave’s attention. “If anything else seems strange, bring it to me.”
Beth gave him an amused look. “Why? Do you have friends in every store in town?”
“Not every store.”
“That’s good to know.” Beth took a few steps, then turned around. “And Dave?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks. I know you’ve got enough to do without sorting out the plumbing invoice.”
His smile came easily. “Anytime.”
Beth headed back toward the office and Dave watched her go. Again.
Behind him, Hank made a thoughtful sound.
Dave turned around. “I’ll call the store. They made a mistake and sent the full invoice to Beth instead of the original one. They’ll correct it.”
“And then?”
“And then nothing.”
Hank shook his head, still smiling as he returned to the doorframe. “Lovesick.”
If Dave was a betting man, he’d place everything he owned on Hank being right. So, instead of saying anything, he picked up the piece of trim and held it against the doorway.
Forty-three inches. At least this time he remembered the measurement.
Behind him, Hank started sanding again, but Dave’s thoughts stayed with the invoice.
He’d have to call the plumbing store before Beth did anything else with it.
It wasn’t a problem. The renovation budget would only be charged for the faucets Beth had originally ordered, and Dave had already paid the difference.
Just like he’d paid for the sturdier hinges. And the extra timber. And the heavy-duty shelving for the storeroom.
None of it had seemed like much at the time. He wasn’t trying to take over the project. He simply saw things that needed doing and did them. If spending a little of his own money meant the arts center ended up better because of it, he didn’t see the harm.
And the faucets were different anyway. Those had been for Beth.
Dave picked up his pencil and marked the trim. He could already imagine her expression when she eventually realized the faucets she loved were staying.
Hopefully, by then, she’d be too happy to ask any more questions about how they got there.