“Sure. What’s going to be done first?”
“Well, they’re working on the kitchen right now. I thought we’d start in there.”
He nodded and hobbled behind me as we moved to the back of the house toward the kitchen. It was coming along great. There was still plenty to be done, but now that the cabinets were in, I could actually picture what it would look like when it came together. I wanted it to look like an old country house.
“So, I’m going to have an island right here, and the floor will be wide wood planks.”
“Are you keeping the cabinets that color?”
I nodded. “The cabinets are white, but the accents will keep the country theme I’m going for.”
“Alright, so what colors are you thinking?”
I grinned, biting my lip so he wouldn’t see. “Well, I was thinking that a great backsplash for the counter would be grass green, and then I wanted something sunny for over in the breakfast nook, so maybe a bright yellow. Then I was thinking for the opposite wall, I could have an accent wall in red, and—“
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You want to do what?”
I looked at him all innocent and frowned. “What? You don’t think those colors work?”
“Not unless you want everyone to puke when they come in here.”
I frowned and looked down at my color samples. “Well, what about a dark blue?”
He cringed. “This space is huge. You want to expand on that and let the natural light really make this place shine.”
“So…white?”
He sighed and grabbed the color cards from me. “Look, you want something bright and sunny in here. I get that. Green is out. You need a tile backsplash for the counter. Don’t even bother painting. It’ll be easier to clean in the end. As for your breakfast nook, I would go with white or a very pale yellow.”
“You think?”
He took my hand and dragged me over to the wall where I wanted the table and turned me to face him. “Close your eyes.” I did as he said. “Now, imagine that this wall is a bump out. You have windows all over this wall instead of just two. It’ll let all the light in. And then, you can put one of those bench seats with light yellow cushions on it. Then your table goes where we stand and you have a few wooden chairs. And you can paint the walls white to keep it nice and clean looking.”
“What else?” I asked, loving the picture he was painting.
“What do you mean?”
“What else do you see?”
He was silent for a minute and then he cleared his throat. “I see you at the island, putting together breakfast in one of those cute aprons that has some ruffles over the shoulders. You’re filling one of those pitchers that’s just for orange juice, even though you could just pour it out of the bottle. And you have a turntable in the middle of the table, and it has a little dish with sugar cubes and a little carafe for milk, and there’s a little jar of homemade jam too. And in the morning, you sit down with your husband, and the kids all fight over who gets to sit where on the window seat. You make them rotate so that there isn’t an argument every morning. The smell of bacon fills the air and you place everything on the table, then take your seat next to your husband. He smiles at you, tells you how beautiful you are, and you all sit down to eat breakfast together.”
Wow, I was lost in that dream. It was the most perfect dream anyone had ever described, something similar to what I had always desired when I was younger. It was absolutely perfect.
I opened my eyes and stared into his deep blue ones. He was staring at me too, like he wanted that dream as much as I did. I flushed slightly and that’s when he pulled back, running a hand over the back of his neck. “I mean, it’s just an idea.”
“I love it,” I said sincerely. “It’s perfect.”
“Yeah, well, it’s just a dream. I mean you have the house, but you still have to find the husband and kids.”
I nodded, wondering if I would ever have that. I wanted it so badly, but with my past hanging over my head, it was very possible that life just wasn’t in the cards for me.
“I really like it. I think I’ll talk to Eric about your ideas about the bump out. And I like the built-in bench. That sounds absolutely perfect.”
He cleared his throat again and stepped back again, his brows furrowed. “Yeah, well, it’s just an idea. I mean, who actually lives like that?”
I nodded, wishing that he was still holding my hands. The way he just laid that all out for me was perfect, and had me wanting something I had never really dreamt of before. It made me want him.
“So, what else did you need help with?”
“Um…well, I was thinking about the master bedroom…”
He nodded, his brows furrowed as he swallowed hard. “The bedroom. Right. Where you sleep. That makes sense, that you would want that room finished. We should—you know…yeah.”
I nodded and led him up the stairs, making sure to sway my hips from side to side as I walked. I had to keep my goal in mind, and that was to seduce him. That part had to go through. If I got him on my side, I would also get his family on my side. And they seemed to be the pillars of the community or something. I glanced over my shoulder, and sure enough, his eyes were glued to my ass. But that somehow made my heart sink. I wanted him to like me, but I hated that I was manipulating him. I wanted him to like me for the real me. But the real me
