59. Rose
ROSE
Eeeeeeeeeek! Waking up with Dante in my bed this morning was definitely not on my client bingo card, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. I feel like I’ve been floating on a cloud since getting up this morning. How am I supposed to get any work done today? But I need to focus!
Today is a big day because today is the day Dante’s primary bedroom furniture is being delivered.
Now is not the time to be thinking about Dante and bedrooms, but I can’t wipe the smile off my face.
Last night felt like I finally had a huge weight lifted off my shoulders after sharing everything with Dante and then after. Whoa, after is a whole other story.
I have to fan myself just thinking about how um…
talented…Dante is with his hands…and mouth.
God, am I blushing right now? How embarrassing!
I just need to grab my coffee from the diner and then get back to the house for the deliveries.
Nothing untoward happening here. Just a normal adult doing her work.
The work she was paid for. Oh god! Does Dante think that last night was somehow ‘part of my services’?
Does he think I’m a hooker? No. No way. I know we’ve blurred the professional boundaries we tried to keep in place, but my overactive brain is just trying to get the better of me, and today, I’m not going to let it.
Last night felt…special. Different in a way that I’ve never felt with a partner.
Like he knew what I wanted or needed without me having to say anything.
It feels like we’ve known each other so much longer than just the few weeks I’ve been working for him.
He anticipates my needs in a way a girl could get used to.
And I plan on getting used to it…very used to it.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been working on getting Dante’s primary suite just right, but my coffee from the diner is long gone, and I know I’ve missed lunch again if the audible rumble in my stomach is any indication. I almost jump out of my skin when a playful voice from behind me speaks.
“Are you hungry? Or just happy to see me?” Luc stands casually leaning against the frame of the open door.
“Luc! You scared me!” I whirl around, clutching my chest, and I can feel my heart pounding beneath my palm. “What are you doing here?”
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d see if you wanted to grab lunch. My treat this time, remember?”
“You were just ‘in the neighborhood’? That’s kind of hard to do considering Dante’s property is very secluded without any other houses for miles.” I challenge him with a raise of my eyebrow but can’t hold back a little smirk as well.
“Fine, Ro. I wanted to see how the house was coming along and I…I also wanted to see you. I don’t like how we left things at the diner the last time we were together.”
Well, I did not expect that level of honesty or his response, but warmth flows through my body with his words.
Which only confuses me. I had the most incredible night of my life with Dante last night, and I could really see something growing between us, but here is Luc.
Standing in front of me with a hopeful look on his face, and I’m transported back to high school again when I would’ve done anything he asked, risked everything I had, just to be with him.
But now things have changed. I have changed, and he has changed.
I don’t know if we can ever get back to that point, but I would like to try to at least be friends.
I miss him so deeply, but he hurt me worse than I’ve ever been hurt, and it’s hard to separate those two truths—my love for him while still recovering from the pain.
“I can’t today. I’m trying to get this room finished before Dante comes home.
” I’m impressed by my resolve when normally I would’ve put anything aside for Luc.
His hopeful look falls from his handsome face, so I quickly add, “But maybe we can get lunch tomorrow or the next day? I have to check my delivery schedules for the next few days, but I would love to grab lunch with you.”
With that, the smile is back on his face, which brings a matching one to my own.
My smile only grows when I think through the last few weeks and how my life has irrevocably changed for the better.
I landed my first client as a new independent business owner, and that person turns out to be a man who has become so much more than a client to me, and I somehow reconnected with my childhood best friend by some twist of fate?
It feels like everything in my life is aligning and I have never been so happy. My cheeks hurt from smiling so broadly, and I can tell Luc must see the joy written across my face because he tilts his head to the side like he’s never seen me before.
“You look…different, Rosey.”
I try not to take offense from Luc’s words because he delivers them with a softness and almost wonder I haven’t experienced from him in a long time.
“I feel different, Lucy.” I don’t know what else to say because I am different now. I am forever changed.
“So, lunch soon then? There’s so much we need to catch up on.”
“I’d love that. I’ll text you once I have a chance to look at my calendar.”
“Okay sounds good. Chat soon.” With that, Luc pushes off the doorframe and pauses for a second like he wants to say something more but instead turns and strides down the hallway toward the stairs.
Taking Luc’s interruption as a sign to take a quick break, I decide to head downstairs and grab a quick snack and another coffee before I finish up Dante’s room. I’m so excited to show it to him when he gets home. Home. Maybe someday this could be my home too—my first actual home.