Was it the island life, the break from her crazy ridiculous schedule? Or was it the man with the gorgeous warm brown eyes that seemed to see her—the real her. Not the homewares mogul but the woman she could be.
As the wind rattled the glass panes, Mia snuggled under the blanket and closed her eyes as the first bolt of lightning lit up the room. She decided to watch the light show for a little while before going to sleep. Storms had never scared her. Emotions, on the other hand, were a different matter. She had no idea how to handle them. Eventually she couldn’t keep her eyes open and let her mind wander off as she drifted off to sleep.
When she woke the following morning, the air was still, the sky was clear, and the sun was bright. During the night, the storm had blown itself out.
Over breakfast, she offered to help Matt in the attic. “If you’re only going to clean it out and use it, fine, I can help move stuff. But perhaps you’d like to vamp it up a little, make it into a gorgeous usable space. Seriously, that’s my thing.” She gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile. “At least let me have a look and see what I think. Nobody said you have to take my advice. You can ignore me or you can let me help.”
“If you’re sure. I don’t want to take up your time.”
She shook her head. “Seriously. Listen to you. I don’t have anything to do and I’d be honored to have my say. It’s been a while since I actually got to design or decorate anything. Even my shop fronts are all the same, which is easy for set up and stock control but boring now I think of it.” She screwed up her face. That didn’t sound good to her. It sounded downright mundane. Might be time for a switch up when she got back to work.
Matt put down his cutlery and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Cool. After breakfast, I’m all yours.”
An hour later, Mia stood amongst the pile of boxes and glanced around the space. “This is gorgeous. So much potential up here.” She ran her fingers over the wallboards, imagining how they would look after they refurbished them. Shiplap was one of her favorite things. “These are fabulous. I adore old timber with a fresh touch of paint. I can just see the room coming to life.”
She stood at the window, taking her fill of the view. Then she turned back to Matt. “This window screams for someone to sit here and stare out, don’t you think?”
“I think that’s a brilliant idea. But”—he pointed at the boxes—“before we can make it nice, we have to empty this lot out.”
“Easy. Won’t take us more than a couple of hours.”
Matt stood beside her, a look of disgust on his face as he surveyed the mess. “You think?”
She nodded, warming up to the idea of renovating the space. It was what she needed to do—to get her hands dirty and put in the work herself. It would also give her time to think about what Matt had said about doing other things. Perfect timing, in her mind. “Yep, I do. Let’s get started and before you know it, it’ll be done.”
“Sure. I’ll get a dolly and we can take it all down to the garage. I can sort through it later. Or not.”
Mia lifted a cardboard flap. “What’s in these boxes anyway?”
“Family stuff nobody can bear to throw away.” He paused as she pulled out a school yearbook from the first box. “Dad did a big reno job a few years back and wanted to get rid of it all and tried to get us kids to take what was our stuff. Nobody else put their hand up to take it, so I did. Couldn’t bear the idea of it all going to the dump. Now I’m kind of regretting it.”
She crouched down and had a quick look in another box. A pile of very old children’s books were stacked in tight. “We might be able to use some of these for decorating.”
“Have at it. You can use anything you like.” He walked over to the door. “I’ll grab a dolly and be right back.”
* * *
Three hours later, Matt wiped his forehead. He was exhausted from all the trips up and down to the attic. All the boxes were in the garage and the attic was clear. He stood in the middle of the room with Mia as she gave him ideas.
“First, I’d shiplap the end walls for texture so they match the ceiling. Paint the whole room white to brighten it up. Rip up the old carpet. I’m guessing the wooden boards underneath are in good shape, like the rest of the house. If they are, polish them. If not, lay new flooring.”
“But that will make it noisy up here.”
She shook her head. “No it won’t. Rugs. I have just the perfect ones in my shop. Nice and thick and luxurious. They’d look amazing in here. I can order some to be shipped over on Monday.”
Her enthusiasm was starting to get to him. If only she knew how gorgeous she was with that smile lighting her face. Watching her get excited over the attic made him hopeful that there could be something between them. For now, he was loving the change in her since she’d arrived on the island. Matt was going to make the most of her happy mood and willingness to help him out. “Furniture?”
Mia stepped to the far side of the attic. “I’d go for two different zones in here. By that end window, I’d put in a reading nook. A couple of old leather chairs, a small table between them and lots of shelving floor to ceiling. Use some of your father’s old books. Old books are
