The Love Series Complete Box Set (142 page)

I’ve got it bad. Hook line and sinker style, I’ve fallen for her and it’s the most scared I’ve ever been in my life. In a good way, I think. By no means am I an expert in relationships, but it seems like we’re both tiptoeing a line, too afraid to lose control—to really admit what we’re feeling.

Or maybe it’s just me.

I do know this—the last three weeks that Lucy and I have spent dating or seeing each other—use whatever euphemism you want—have been the happiest three weeks in recent memory. And if things go as I plan, they’ll continue that way.

After my run and shower, I brew a pot of coffee and think about what I need to do today—a whole fat lot of nothing. I decide to call Lucy to make sure that we’re still on for tonight and her next home improvement project. I surprised her last week by fixing her garage door while she was at work. It was a simple task, requiring no more than an hour or two of my time and less than a hundred bucks, but her complete shock at me taking care of her was more pay-off than I’d ever imagined. In that moment, I promised myself that I would help her fix what she saw as broken in her home—no matter what the future held for us. Talking to her will most certainly brighten my day and having another project to work on will keep me somewhat occupied.

“Hey, love.” I hear her sigh into the receiver. “Bad day at the office?” I know she’s been struggling to pull off this charity ball for the Cure-For-Kids Foundation and I hate to see her so stressed at the prospect of not being able to make it work.

“Kind of.” More exasperation seeps into her words. “I had this special horse and carriage thing all set up for Chloe and her family, but her doctors don’t think it’s a good idea for her to be in the open air like that, so I had to cancel. But the real kicker is that I can’t find a decent alternative with only a week left to plan.” The noise of papers crinkling and computer keys being punched sound out in the background. “And, as if that’s not bad enough, we’re a few thousand dollars short of our goal, which means it might not happen at all. So, I’ve been crazy all morning trying to get some last minute donations before I need to call the Palmer’s and let them know that their baby girl’s princess ball might not happen at all.”

“Is there anything I can do?” I feel useless listening to her frustration.

“Thanks, but I don’t think so. I’ve got Linda helping me out and a few other people making calls this morning, so hopefully things will turn around.” After a slight pause, she pitches her voice lower and whispers, “Though, if you want to repeat last night, that might help ease some of my stress.”

A proud grin unfurls across my face. “Yeah, you enjoyed that, huh?”

“I’m pretty sure I already told you how amazing you were. Repeatedly, if I recall correctly.”

“You sure did, love.” We share a laugh, recalling just what she enjoyed.

“So are we still on for tonight?” Now that I know things are getting crazy at work for her, I’m not so sure that a leisurely stroll through Home Depot is exactly what she had in mind. “Unless you’d rather put it off for a few more weeks.”

“We sure as hell are! I’ve been waiting to update my bathroom for years and you did such an amazing job on the garage door last weekend that I can’t possibly turn down your help. Besides, it’ll help take my mind off work for a bit.”

“Oh, believe me. I’ve got plenty of things that’ll keep your mind off work and none of them have anything to do with vanities and tile grout.”

“You’re terrible,” she jokes as I imagine her smiling face begin to blush. “Oh, I’ve gotta run. I just got a memo for an impromptu meeting about the fundraiser. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Okay, love. Bye.”

After hanging up, I begin formulating a few ideas of how I can help her out with her charity ball. I make a quick list of the calls I’ll need to make and get to work. There’s no way on Earth that this little girl is going to miss out on her princess ball over a silly thing like money. And there’s no way in hell I’m just going to stand by and watch Lucy struggle when I can help.

A few hours, and more phone calls than I think I’ve ever made in my life later, I think I’ve got mostly everything taken care of. I had to call Katie for a few things, and she was more than thrilled to hear that Lucy and I were seeing each other. After a quick bite to eat, I punch out a text to Lucy and let her know I’m on my way over to her place to pick her up for our Home Depot date—definitely not the most romantic of places, but I think what I arranged for today more than makes up for that.

When I pull into her driveway fifteen minutes later, she rushes out her front door, never giving me the chance to get out and open it for her. She slides into her seat and leans over the center console, kissing me quickly, a huge smile plastered to her face.

“You’re never going to believe what happened this afternoon?” she gushes. The frustration that was so clear in her voice earlier, is replaced by a happiness, letting me know that part one of my plan was successful.

Without even letting me get a word out, she blurts excitedly, “We got an anonymous ten thousand dollar donation. It looks like Chloe is going to get her princess ball. My boss was actually in the middle of going over our budget and that’s what brought on that meeting—the one I got pulled into when I was on the phone with you. Anyway,” she takes a deep breath, so excited she seems to have forgotten to take one since she sat down, “we were just about to admit defeat, when we got a notice that someone had donated the money to Chloe’s ball. We spent the rest of the afternoon finalizing everything.”

“That’s fantastic!” I lean over and kiss her, trying my best at a poker face that will hopefully reveal nothing of my part in the “anonymous” donation.

She pulls my hands together in hers, and looks up at me. “Would you like to come with me? To the ball I mean? I know it might not be your thing, but−”

“I would love to take you,” I interrupt her, bringing her tiny hands up to my lips. “You’re adorable when you get all excited, you know that?”

She shakes her head and smirks playfully at me as she clicks the seatbelt into place. The ten- minute ride to the store is filled with more details about the ball, about Chloe and her family, about how excited Lucy is to finally feel like things are going to go her way with this project.

She’s been so focused on it all that I don’t think she’s even realized that we’re standing in front of the sinks and faucets. “Which one do you like?” I ask, tipping my chin at the displays in front of us.

“Huh? Oh, those?” She looks on, clearly overwhelmed at the sheer volume of choices laid out before her. “Um, I have no clue. This one’s pretty.” She points at the cheapest one with the lowest customer reviews.

Not wanting her to feel like an idiot, I pick up another one, stepping in front of the price tag as I do so. “How about this one?” She turns it over in her hand. Seemingly satisfied with it, she nods her approval and tosses it in the cart.

Her focus is completely lost as we stroll aimlessly through the aisles, her chatter entirely centered on the excitement of Chloe’s fundraiser. After taking another call from Linda, she slides her cell into her pocket and looks over at me as I’m inspecting some tiles for the backsplash. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m being a crappy date, huh?”

I pull her to my side, wrap my arm around her shoulder and pop a quick kiss to the top of her head. “Not at all.” When her phone rings for a fourth time, I can’t help but chuckle at her. She steps away and takes the call from Linda while I busy myself in picking out some samples. After a few minutes, she’s back at my side.

“Do you trust me?”

She seems more than a little taken back by my question. “Of course I do. Why?” she asks skeptically, but her trust is also implicit.

“Because I’m going to go drop you off at Linda’s so you two can finalize whatever details you need to work on, and then I’m going to come back here and pick up everything I’ll need for tomorrow.” She pulls a face at me, arching an ‘are you kidding’ eyebrow.

“No, really, it’s good. I’m fine.” Her phone rings again and she concedes when she sees that it’s Linda again. I only hear her side of the conversation, but the smile that splits her face as she explains her change of plans to Linda totally disarms me.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you hanging.”

“I’m positive. You’ll just have to owe me.” I wink and she swats my arm before planting a sweet kiss on my cheek.

I drive her to Linda’s and make her promise to call me the minute she gets home. She promises to repay me, a beautifully mischievous look playing across her face that has me anxious to cash in on her plan.

I arrive at Lucy’s bright and early the next morning. So early, in fact, I’m pretty sure I wake her up. The bathroom is small enough and only in need of a few hours of work that I want to get it done in one day for her. Nothing major is being replaced, but all of the fixtures and surfaces are getting an update. I went with a pale blue and cream color scheme—very beach-like, airy and soft. It reminded me of a conversation we had about a week ago about where she’d like to go on vacation. She said somewhere tropical and relaxing. So while we might not be ready to vacation together yet, I’d like to at least give her a place where she can feel calm and unwind after a crazy day at work.

After a few hours of work, the small bathroom is stripped of all that’s unnecessary and it’s ready to be overhauled. Wanting it to be a surprise, I kicked her out of her own house for the afternoon. Some manual labor, mixed in with a little creativity is just what I needed. Before I even realize it, it’s early evening, the sky darkening as the sun descends behind the mountains. Twelve hours flew by and now Lucy has a beautifully updated beachside inspired bathroom to show for it. Not having much input into it, all I can hope is that she likes it.

With one last touch of glossy white paint to the wainscoting and floorboard, I stand, stretching my back. I have to say, it looks fantastic. Packing away the last of my supplies, I hear her come through the front door.

I hear her gasp from behind me as I fold up the final drop cloth. “Oh, my God! Evan, this is gorgeous. It’s perfect.” She snakes her arm around my waist and squeezes me tightly. “Wow. I can’t believe you did this all in one day.”

A proud feeling blooms in my chest at her approval. Always feeling like I’ve let someone down, it’s been too long since I felt like I really deserved praise. “I’m so happy you like it. I remember you saying something about how you wanted a beach house, so I thought this would be a nice place for you to relax.”

“You remembered that?” she asks, seemingly shocked that I recalled a tiny detail about her. She turns in my arms and looks up at me, a mystified look on her face.

“Of course I remembered. I was just worried that you wouldn’t like it.”

“No. I don’t
like
it. I
love
it.” She stretches up on her toes and kisses me quickly before inspecting her new bathroom.

“This work is beautiful.” Awe colors her words as she traces her fingers over the just-dried paint on the whitewashed wainscoting. “I had no idea you were so talented.”

“I’m not so sure about talented, bored maybe. It’s been too long since my hands and my brain were occupied.”

Seductively, she slides up next to me again. “I could figure out another way to occupy your hands.” She winks and smiles slyly.

“Oh yeah?” I ask, pulling her close to me.

“Absolutely, perhaps that could happen over there.” She runs her hands up the back of my t-shirt, her nails lightly raking across my skin as she tips her chin at the soaker tub that was already part of the room. Shivers race across my body, the base of my spine tingling at the simplest touch from her.

I mumble against our pressed-together lips, “I think that can be arranged.”

Lucy steps over the tub and touches the new fixtures with a mixture of reverence and gratitude. “I feel like I can’t say ‘thank you’ enough. I’ve never had something just for me.”

“It’s just a few updates. If I could have, I would have gutted the whole room and did it the right way for you—changed everything from top to bottom.”

“No, it’s perfect just the way it is,” she says quietly as she turns on the hot water. Steam billows up from the tub as the water fills the basin. Lucy grabs some bottles out of the small linen closet and drops some liquid into the tub. The smell of lavender curls into the air, relaxing and intoxicating at the same time.

I pull my shirt off as she watches, her eyes glued to my chest as she reaches out to brush her finger across my muscles. “Your turn.” I trace the hem of her shirt, letting my fingers press against her heated skin. When she doesn’t move right away, I lift her shirt over her head and pull her closer to me, my fingers tucked into the waistband of her jeans. Avoiding eye contact, she looks over my shoulder.

Suddenly, confused by her shyness, I cup her cheek and pull her face toward mine. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, um nothing,” she tries, but fails to deflect my question.

“You’re a terrible liar, love. Tell me what’s wrong, please.” I pull us both down onto the ledge of the tub and reach behind us, turning the water off.