Chapter 10
— chapter ten
Fanny wasn’t nervous. Nope. Not even a little bit. She wasn’t nervous at all.
There was no reason to be. All she was doing was delivering a bunch of samples for Hank Arias and his “team” to look at for his library and office. She probably wouldn’t even see him. And if she did? Well, big deal. It wasn’t like he’d remember her.
Then he’d traveled a bit and finally decided to settle down, sit on the boards of a couple of companies, and build his dream house—in the middle of Amish country, of all places.
Fanny shook her head. Nope, she hadn’t been too interested in his life at all.
“You need to get your head together, girl,” she told herself. “This strange fascination you have with the county’s wealthiest citizen isn’t good for you or your company. Plus, if Hank Arias ever found out about your crush, it would be beyond embarrassing.”
She knew she wasn’t wrong. Fixations on clients’ private lives weren’t a good thing. Plus, it would be the type of thing that Nelson would tease her about for the rest of their lives.
“Think about something else,” she muttered.
She should be looking forward to getting off work an hour early and beating the traffic home.
Not that there actually ever was all that much traffic between her house and Wooster.
But there could be. Sometimes the Mt. Hope auction had a lot of people there.
Buggies everywhere. One time, a goat had gotten free and gone rogue.
If something like that happened, it could be a big problem.
But as Fanny carefully drove down Hank’s very long driveway lined with pear trees and blue spruces in an odd way that completely worked, she knew she had to admit the truth to herself at the very least.
And the truth was that she’d practically jumped at the chance to drop the items by. Because she had a crush on him. It didn’t make sense and it wasn’t a good idea, but she couldn’t do much about that. It was what it was.
When she parked at the end of the drive, which just happened to be a circular drive in front of a very, very big house, she realized that her hands were kind of clammy.
“You’ve got to get ahold of yourself, girl,” she whispered. “If not, you’re not only going to embarrass yourself, but Nelson is going to hear about it and he’ll call you into his office to have a heart-to-heart, which would be a whole new low.”
That thought got her back on track. So much so, she even decided not to look in the mirror again. Or put on lipstick.
Because that would just be silly.
She got out of the vehicle, popped the hatch open, grabbed her purse, and strode up the steps to a pair of gorgeous front doors that Jude Troyer, one of the mill’s most treasured craftsmen, had built.
The doors were a dark-stained hickory and opened together in a way that made her think of the movies.
Back in Alliance, she’d chuckled with a couple of the other workers, wondering just how big a house had to be to need a set of doors like them. Now she knew.
You needed a really big one.
She rang the doorbell and prepared herself not to get flustered when she told Hank that she had his samples.
When she heard the door unlock, her foot kind of tapped—a long-forgotten nervous habit that had decided to return. She pasted a smile on her face.
And then gaped.
Because it wasn’t Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome Hank Arias. It was someone blond, slim, and gorgeous. She had dark-brown eyes and was staring at Fanny like she’d never seen a girl like her before.
“May I help you?”
“Yes. I have some samples from Alliance Millworks for Hank.”
She tilted her head to one side. “Hank?”
Why had she asked for him by his first name? “I’m sorry. Mr. Arias.”
“Oh.” She looked her over. “So . . . you’re from the lumber mill?”
“Yes.”
Her expression cleared. “Ah . . . now it makes sense.” She flashed a small smile. “Sorry, I was expecting a man.”
Fanny had been expecting one too. “My cousin Nelson—he’s the head of Alliance Millworks—he was going to drive out here, but he was swamped with work. I told him that I didn’t mind delivering these samples instead. My apologies, we should’ve let you know.”
The woman shrugged as if to say that whoever came from the mill made no difference to her. Looking at Fanny’s empty hands, she added, “Where are they?”
“They?”
“Yes. The samples?”
“Sorry. They’re out in my vehicle. I’ll bring them in.”
“Thank you.” She looked more than ready to get Fanny on her way.
But unfortunately, the awkward conversation was going to continue. “I’m sorry, where would you like me to put them?”
The blond pursed her lips. “Would it be too much trouble to place them in each room?”
“Not at all.” She smiled. “I’d be happy to.”
“Okay . . . thanks.”
Fanny realized that the woman was not going to offer to help her. She shouldn’t either. She was in a bright floral sundress that looked as if it belonged in a country club.
“I’ll be right back.” More aware than ever of her casual outfit of baggy jeans, tennis shoes, and a short-sleeved cotton blouse that looked like it needed to be ironed, Fanny walked out to her SUV, reached inside the open hatch, and pulled out the first two of five samples.
Each was the size of a kitchen cabinet door.
Not terribly heavy but not all that easy for a woman of her size to carry.
Just as she was carefully walking up the wide front steps, the object of her affection called out to her. “Hey, let me get that for you!”
Fanny stilled as he strode forward and pulled them out of her hands.
And then, there he was. Holding those two cabinet doors like they were two pieces of mail. And scowling at her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“You should’ve asked for help, Fan. Why didn’t you ask for me?”
She had. But though she might be younger than him, she sure wasn’t so young that she didn’t know to keep some things to herself. That blond wasn’t going to appreciate her tattling.
So she shrugged. “Would you like me to get the others while you take these inside?”
“No. Wait here a sec.” She did exactly as he asked, standing where she was while he carried the two pieces inside, murmured something to the blond, then walked back out again. “Are the others in your vehicle?”
“Yes, sir.” She followed him back down the walkway and stood while he reached in and retrieved the last three cabinet doors.
Then she closed the hatchback and followed him back to the front door.
“Close that, would you?” he asked after they passed through. “Janine went to the kitchen to get you something to drink.” He flashed a smile her way. “Then we’ll see what these samples look like.”
“Okay,” she said hesitantly, “but there was no need for Janine to wait on me.”
“It’s warm out. It’s no trouble.”
Janine came out then, a glass in her hand. “I was going to pour you an iced tea, but some people don’t care for that. So it’s just water.”
“Water is just fine. Thank you.” The glass was filled with ice and had a lemon wedge in it.
“Janine, we’re going to look at these samples. Want to see them now?”
“Yeah, no thanks.” She smiled at Fanny. “I’ve learned that nothing about this house gets decided on easily,” she added as she turned back to the kitchen.
Still holding one of the cabinet doors, Hank led the way down the hall. “Here’s the living room.”
The walls were white, but there were color samples swiped on one of them. There was also a basic fireplace with terra-cotta tile. “Wow. It’s really pretty in here.”
“I like it too. I was thinking of this wood to make the mantel and the bookshelves out of. What do you think?”
“I’m not sure.”
“No?”
“I’ve learned that everyone usually has some specific ideas and wishes. It’s better not to get involved.”
Hank set the door down. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want your opinion.”
“Maybe we should let your, ah . . . Janine decide when she’s ready?”
His eyebrows rose. “Janine?”
A weird, uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach. “Yes, um, maybe she has some fabric or something planned for a sofa or the curtains?” Fanny let her voice trail off.
“Uh, Fanny . . . Frances, Janine is one of my assistants. She works for me.”
She felt like she’d just made the stupidest mistake ever. “Oh. I’m sorry. I thought Janine was your girlfriend.”
Lines around his eyes crinkled—the only evidence that he was amused. “Janine’s engaged. She also started working for me when she was in college. A summer internship turned into a receptionist job, and it went from there.”
“Oh.”
He lowered his voice. “Whatever you do, don’t tell her that you thought she was my girlfriend.”
“No, sir.” She would also start praying that she never saw him again for the rest of her life.
How could she mess something up so badly with so little effort?
“I’m so sorry. I’m really embarrassed.” She also really hoped Mr. Arias didn’t call Nelson about it.
She couldn’t imagine why he would, but she’d also learned over the years that customers complained about far littler things.
Still staring at Fanny with an expression that was both amused and confused, he murmured, “For the record, I’m not dating anyone. My wife . . . my wife died a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry about your loss.”
“It was a long time ago.” He raised an eyebrow. “I guess Janine didn’t introduce herself?”
“No. But it wasn’t like there was time. All I said before you found us was that I was here to deliver samples for Nelson.” Plus, she’d been just planning to drop off the samples and get on her way.
“Gotcha.” He folded his arms over his chest. “Well, now that you know I don’t have a girlfriend to confer with, what do you think?”
Fanny was anxious about telling him that she had no preference. But honestly, she could hardly be able to trust herself buying clothes.
But . . . she kind of did have an opinion. “I think a darker stain would look better than this one.”
“Why?”
“This is cherry. I think it’s too fancy of a hardwood for a rustic home like this.”
He slowly nodded. “I can see your point. Let’s go see about the other rooms.”
“Yes, sir.”
Fanny would later not know how she did it, but for the rest of their time together, she’d quietly shared her thoughts for the library and his office.
And then it was time for her to leave.
“Please tell Nelson that I’ll email him with my choices tomorrow.”
“I’ll do that.” She reached for the door handle.
“Here. I’ll walk you out.”
As they walked toward her SUV, he said, “How old are you, Fanny?” Before she could answer, he added, “Sorry, I just realized that’s inappropriate.”
“I don’t mind you asking. It’s not a secret. Twenty-eight.” Just to tease him, she said, “What about you?”
“I’m forty-two.”
“Fourteen years older.”
Still staring at her, he nodded. “I’ve been a widower for quite a while.”
“It must be really hard going through that.”
He waved a hand. “This isn’t going to come out right, but in a lot of ways, I’ve come to peace with it.”
“I don’t think that came out wrong at all. I’ve always felt that the Lord doesn’t give a burden that He won’t help you through.”
“Years ago, I might have argued that, but I think you might be right.”
She reached for the door handle of her vehicle. “Have a good night. I’ll tell Nelson that you’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks. Oh, Fanny?”
“Yes?”
He looked down at his feet. Almost smiled before he lifted his head again. “You’ll be the one who will be coming back to check on the progress, right?”
“Yes. I mean, I will be if that’s okay with you.”
“It is. I want you to come back.” When her eyes widened, he groaned. “I mean, it would be best if I didn’t have to talk to a bunch of other people, right? A detail could slip through the cracks.”
“Right. Of course.”
“Great. I’ll give you a call soon.”
“Okay! Can’t wait!” she called out before she realized just how idiotic she sounded.
And because she felt like she’d just walked into a scene in one of her favorite rom-coms, she smiled.
She got back into her vehicle in a daze. Actually, she was probably in a daze the entire drive home.
Wondering if he actually would call . . .
And if he did . . . she should tell her boss.
Eager to tell someone, she called her cousin Heidi and put her on speaker.
“Fanny?”
“Hey, can you talk?”
“Um, sure. Hold on a sec.” Fanny heard Heidi say something to one of the dogs she watched, then open and close a cabinet. “Sorry. Just getting settled. Now, what’s going on? Are you not home yet?”
“Nope. I’m on my way from Hank Arias’s house.”
“Who’s he?”
“Oh, just about the dreamiest guy I’ve ever met.”
As she’d hoped, Heidi giggled. “Well, come on. Tell me all about him.” She snapped her fingers. “Hey, wasn’t he the quarterback at Berlin High School?”
“Nope. He’s from Texas, and he’s much older.”
“Wait . . . what? How did you meet him?”
Pretty sure she was smiling hugely, Fanny started at the beginning as she headed back to her apartment. She still kind of doubted that Hank would ever really want to take her out . . . but it sure was fun to think about.
At the very least, it was a nice change from work.