Love by Design (Crystal Falls Book 1) (19 page)

“Yay!” She could hear her clapping in the background. “And he’s going to do it?”

“Yep. Signed a contract with him yesterday. Are you going to be at the house again for the final inspection? I’d love for you to see it all put together.”

“I hope so. I’m a little busy with something else at the moment.” Her voice quieted and she whispered into the phone. “Between you and me, darling, I’m doing a little shopping around. I’ve got to get out of this crazy woman’s grip!”

Lily laughed. She knew exactly what Lydia meant. She couldn’t imagine working for such a horrible boss.

“Good luck with that. You definitely deserve better. Let me know how it all turns out! I’ll text you pictures if you can’t make it, but I hope I get to see you again.”

“Me too, darling. Me too. Okay, gotta go. Kisses to you.”

She laughed again. “Bye.”

Just as she hung up, Noah’s phone rang. He grunted and reached for the phone. “God, it’s Christina.” He didn’t answer but turned over and grabbed Lily’s hips, pulling her back toward him.

“Lydia said she’s on her way up to the cabin. I’m sure she wants you to meet her up there.”

“She can wait. Get back in here with me,” he said, pulling back the sheets and revealing his beautiful hard body. She whimpered and crawled back over. He was right, Christina could wait.

After they made love, Lily went to take a shower and Noah lay in the bed thinking about her. Their night together had once again been amazing and he couldn’t believe how satisfied he felt now. He knew he couldn’t wait any longer to tell her how he really felt, no matter what the outcome. He couldn’t bear the thought of living in the big house without her.

It was a risk, a big one. He sat up in bed and pulled the nightstand drawer open, shuffling around until he found the small black box he’d stashed away. He popped it open and looked at the diamond ring, debating whether he was ready to risk it all and ask her to marry him.

He heard the water turn off and quickly shoved the box back in the nightstand. It was now or never, time to decide. If it went the way he wanted, he would have her forever. If it didn’t, she could walk out on him again.

She was wrapped in the green silk robe when she came out of the bathroom, her hair wrapped in a big towel. Her skin glowed and her smile took his breath away. The chance was one he was willing to take, if it meant being able to see that face every morning. He frowned, gathered his thoughts, tried to calm his nerves.

“Why so serious?” she asked him, bending down to kiss him. His eyes were level with her perfect breasts and he gently slid his fingers up her sides and cupped each one, kissing her nipples through the fabric. She moaned and squirmed beneath him, then swatted him away.

“Stop that! I’ve got to get to work,” she said with a laugh.

He pulled her down to sit next to him on the bed. “You have just a couple more minutes? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“What is it?” she asked as she sat on the edge of the bed, concern knitting her brow.

“I know you said you didn’t want to get involved again, that you wanted to keep things light between us. But I just can’t do that. I need you, Lily. I need to wake up beside you every morning. I need to hear your laugh every day. I’ve never wanted anything more.” He took her hand and looked into her eyes. “I can’t do this thing between us unless it’s serious. I don’t want to lose you again.”

She stilled as she watched him reach into the nightstand and pull out the box, a hand moving automatically to her mouth.

“I want you to marry me, Lily. I want us to live here together, to be together for the rest of our lives. I promise to do everything I can to keep from ever hurting you again. Please, Lily. Marry me.”

He opened the box to reveal a beautifully cut square diamond and she looked at him, tears in her eyes.

He reached up and cupped her face with her hand, kissing her lightly on the lips. She didn’t return the kiss, only sat in stunned silence.

Finally, in barely a whisper, she said,“Would it be okay if I had some time to think about it?”

His mouth turned down and he closed the box quickly. “Of course, think about it as long as you’d like.”

“I won’t take long,” she told him. She grabbed his jaw and pressed her moist lips to his gently. “I love you, Noah. You know that. I’m not saying no. It’s all just so fast. I need a little time to think about it.”

He kissed her back and stood up, trying to shrug off the feeling of rejection. He could understand her hesitation. He just wished she would have said yes instead.

“Sure, like I said. Take all the time you need.”

After sitting awkwardly together on the bed another minute Lily pulled away from him.

“I’ve got to get going,” she told him. He didn’t turn around to look at her, just nodded his head. She stood up and wrapped her arms around him, putting her cheek on his strong back. “I love you, Noah.”

“Love you too. I’ll see you later.”

She changed quickly into the dress she’d worn the night before and scooped up her phone. She gave Noah one last look but he still wouldn’t meet her eye.

Chapter Twelve

After a quick stop at her apartment for a change of clothes and a cup of coffee, Lily headed downtown to visit Francis at The Bungalow. She knew she’d made a lot of progress on the cabin, but there was more to do still and it would be nice to get at least a few more things placed before Mrs. Uptight made her appearance.

There was, of course, the possibility that she would run into Upton again. And that possibility had Lily so scared that she’d almost decided to stay home instead of go up to the cabin. But the perfectionist in her made her push aside her fear and get to work. If Upton attacked her again she thought she could handle it. After the past few weeks of working on the house, putting up with a difficult client, having a few wins like getting the headboard commissioned, and starting to see Noah again, she felt bigger somehow. Stronger. She thought she could handle anything that came her way.

“Francis!” she called as she walked into The Bungalow. Lily walked through each of the showrooms set up in front, admiring a few new curtains and chairs she hadn’t seen before. Francis came out of the back, wiping her mouth.

“Sorry hon,” she said, giving Lily a quick hug. “I was just snacking away the day.”

Lily laughed. “Sorry to bother you. I just wanted to stop in, see if anything else came in for the cabin. The client’s going to be up there today and I want to get it looking as good as possible before she sees it.”

“I haven’t seen anything, although I did get a new shipment in last night. Let’s poke our heads in, see if we can find anything fun.” She ushered Lily into the back room where an old desk and computer sat, looking like they hadn’t been used in years. Storage racks took up every other wall, full of samples and rugs, statues and lamp shades. Lily loved this part of the store. It always felt like getting to see Santa’s workshop. She knew Francis let few customers into her inner sanctum and Lily always felt honored to be one of them.

Francis grabbed a box cutter and went to work opening a large container.

After several minutes unwrapping lamps and packages of curtains, Francis finally found one of Lily’s pieces.

“Ah ha!” she cried as she pulled plastic off a modern marble statue. She handed it to Lily and Lily turned it around, inspecting it from every angle. She was just as happy with the piece now as she’d been when she’d picked it out. It would be perfect for the bedroom fireplace mantel. She even thought the marble was a close match to the one the headboard would be made of. A happy coincidence.

She took it to the car and went back to the shop for more. And more there was. By the time Francis had finished unpacking three large containers, Lily had more than her little car could carry.

“I’ll be by tomorrow to pick the rest of it up,” she told Francis with a kiss as she grabbed a set of couch pillows and headed out the door.

With her trunk packed full of art and kitchenware, Lily pulled out of the downtown area and headed toward the mountain. The sky was turning quickly gray but her heart was light and she hummed as she began up the winding road. Noah’s proposal was in the back of her mind, where she wanted it to stay until she had a good chunk of time to herself to sort out her feelings.

Noah decided the easiest thing would be to lose himself in work. Thinking of Lily only made him hurt and that was something he was tired of doing. He shouldn’t have asked her. He knew now that he’d moved too soon. But damn it! He wanted her. He wanted her to be his wife. There was only so much pretending a man could do.

He checked his messages - two from Christina asking him to meet her up at the cabin, and several more about the complex he was working on with Rick - and debated heading into town to check in at the office or just heading up to the cabin.

Keeping Christina happy was important. But he couldn’t stand the woman and he knew there was nothing she really needed him for. It was tempting to blow her off, go and put a full day in at the office.
Only a few days left
, he reminded himself with a sigh. It wouldn’t do to piss Christina off after he’d spent so much time and effort pleasing her, especially this close to the finish line.

He zipped into town and went to the office, hoping he could get at least a couple of hours of quiet work done before heading up to the cabin for his ass-kissing session. The office was quiet when he came in and he breathed a sigh of relief as he gathered messages from Beth and asked her to bring him a latte.

A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and Beth came smoothly in with his steaming cup.

“Thanks, Beth.”

“Did you want to take care of a few of those messages while I’m here? Or would you rather I take care of some of them myself?”

He frowned and took a sip of the latte. Why did people have to leave him so many messages?

“You can take care of some of them for me,” he told her. “When I leave I’ll get a few together and give them to you. Thanks.”

“Is there anything else you need?”

“Nope, just some uninterrupted time. I’ve got a project I need to work on. You can hold my calls,” he told her with a smile.

She smiled pleasantly, pretending not to be annoyed, and with an “of course, sir,” and a quiet retreat, she closed the big door to his office.

He sat down at his drafting table, pulling out his pencil and eraser and trying to remember where he’d been on the design for a new house he was working on. Nothing could pull him out of his own head like designing a new building. It was just the distraction he needed.

He’d only been working an hour when his cellphone rang again. When he picked it up and saw it was Christina he cursed and turned the thing off. He would deal with her when he was good and ready. He had a feeling she would wait for him.

But the disturbance had shaken him. Somehow he’d hoped it would be Lily calling. Calling to say she would accept his proposal.

He threw the pencil down and paced the room. He couldn’t force her to marry him. He couldn’t even hurry her decision. He would just have to wait and be tortured until she made up his mind. He wondered if there was anything he could do that he hadn’t already done to sway her opinion. Exotic vacations and pricey presents came to mind, but he knew Lily wasn’t that kind of girl. She wouldn’t be wooed by money or romance. She needed to make the decision for herself.

There was no use being at the office at all, he decided. He was completely useless with his heart thumping away in his chest. He hadn’t felt so nervous since his very first jobs. Actually, he’d never felt so nervous. He knew there was a possibility of her saying no. And it was a possibility he just couldn’t live with.

He grabbed his jacket and computer bag and decided to head up to the cabin after all. At least there he would have Christina to distract him.

When Noah arrived at the cabin, he found Christina’s car and a whole crew of men working on the kitchen. After briefly saying hi and checking on the men’s progress he went to find Christina. He checked the rooms but didn’t see her. Frowning, he looked out the windows into the yard and finally spotted her in an outrageous fur coat sauntering down the path from the birdbath to the house.

He tried to clear the grimace from his face before she came in and busied himself looking over the remodel going on around him, wanting to make sure there was nothing he or his men had overlooked. The cabin was just about there. The kitchen was the final piece, and the men would likely be finished with it by tomorrow. Then he could get a polish and clean crew up and do the final inspection the day after.

“Noah, there you are!” Christina cried as she came in the door. Her coat hung open, and he took in her tiny black dress, overly-exposed cleavage and red heels with trepidation. Looked like she wasn’t done trying to seduce him.

“Hi Christina,” he said.

“I tried to call you several times but you never answered,” she pouted.

“Sorry about that. I was stuck in meetings all morning and couldn’t get to my phone.”

“I was beginning to think you were ignoring me.”

“Of course not,” he said with an easy smile. Why on earth would he do something like that?