She peers around before bringing her attention back to me. "Can we do this? Can we work together without complicating things with our history?"
A part of me wants to demand more answers, but it's clear she's holding back. She's right about one thing. The woman standing in front of me is not who I spent time with. But she's in there and I will find her again.
I chuckle, shaking my head. "Yeah, we can do this without complications. You have any beer around here?"
"I haven't stocked up on anything, knowing the kitchen will be gutted soon."
"The kitchen is where you want to start?"
"I think so. The kitchen and my bedroom will be the most important. For now, I'm fine living in the front room, but soon I will need dedicated office space."
"Darby mentioned you opening your own firm."
"Yes, maybe. I'm not sure of my direction. It'll be hard to build a business and renovate at the same time. And to be honest, I'm not sure what my next steps are in my legal profession."
It's easy to see there's more to this story, but now is not the time to pry.
"That's what you hired us for. If you need to concentrate on your business, you can trust me to see this through."
"I appreciate that, but I want to be hands-on."
"There's only so much you can do, and it's going to be dirty work."
She narrows her eyes and takes another sip of her wine. "I don't mind getting dirty."
The innuendo hits her as soon as the words are out, and she snaps her mouth shut.
"Suit yourself."
"You don't think I can help do you?"
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to. It's written all over your face. You don't know me, but I'm determined when I set my mind to something. Since the moment I saw this house online, I knew exactly what I wanted it to be."
"Then I'll help you get it that way. As long as you know that watching a few renovation shows doesn't make you a professional."
"Noted. But you'll find I'm a quick learner."
"Looking forward to it."
Her phone rings again, but she makes no move to answer it. The irritation from earlier reappears and her lips press into a fine line.
"Everything okay?"
"Yep, it's been long enough that Andrew has passed the ball onto Austin, who thinks he can change my mind."
"Who are Andrew and Austin?"
"My older brothers who think I have lost my mind and don't have faith I made a good decision here. They take turns harassing me."
"Sounds unpleasant."
"Unpleasant is one way to put it," she half-laughs.
"They'll come around."
"I sure hope so."
"Well, think of it this way. If they don't, you can shove it in their faces when they see the finished product. You'll get your redemption."
She seems to think about this, and one side of her lip curls up. "That's a great visual."
"Andrew, Austin, Ashlyn…" I trail off.
"Don't ask!" She throws up a hand. "My parents thought it was cute, and we've suffered since birth. My grandparents referred to us as the A-Team."
"Let me guess, you were Faceman?"
"Hell no! I was B.A. all the way. If you ever meet my brothers, you'll understand why."
"Oh, I think I already understand." I wiggle my eyebrows at her.
Her face softens, and she gives me a simple grin.
"You have plans tomorrow?"
"I thought you were bringing the plumber and electrician by."
"You don't need to be here for that."
She opens her mouth to argue, but I take the business card out of my back pocket and hold it out for her. "This is my card. I wrote the names of some suppliers we contract with on the back. It's smart for you to make some decisions on interior materials, so once I get measurements, we can get prices. Check out their selections, look around their showrooms, decide what you like. You don't have to make concrete decisions tomorrow. All these vendors will let you bring home samples, and you can think about it."
"Don't I need to make an appointment?"
"I'll give them a heads up to expect you."
"What about here?"
"I'll be here in the morning and take my guys through. When they are done, I will make arrangements to get a dumpster so we can yank out all the rotten wood."
"Really?"
"You sound shocked."
"I guess I didn't think it would go this fast."
"I don't fuck around. You caught me at a good time of the year for this. Take the next few days to select your interior, then get ready to get dirty." I grab my toolbox and start to leave. Something she said pops into my head and I stop at the doorway, turning to face her.
"You'll find I'm usually sharp. I didn't catch onto you stealing the bartender's name because the second I laid eyes on you, you had my attention."
"Miller—"
"That's not all, Ashlyn. I will find out why you lied to me. I’ll show you that friendly gestures in Charleston don't come with expectations. You can say the woman I spent time with was imaginary, but I have a head full of memories that are anything but imaginary. That woman is standing in front of me. And this time she has ALL my attention."
Chapter 2
Ashlyn
"Let's start a process of elimination," Stephanie suggests, squatting on the floor and arranging my samples.
"This is the process of elimination. These are my top choices." I chew my thumbnail, glancing between the four groups of selections.
"Well, if it helps, you have a theme going. They are all beautiful." Darby lounges on the sofa in her office with her dog, Runner, lying beside her.
After spending hours in design centers, I called Stephanie to get her opinion. She told me to meet her at Darby's bakery where she was working. When I got here, Darby was finishing for the day, and we came back to her office to spread out what I brought.
"That's the problem. The similarities are clouding my mind."
This excuse is only a half-truth. All the options are overwhelming, but three days ago, I'd
