Love by Design (Crystal Falls Book 1) (22 page)

“That could be. But it seems like a lot of trouble to go to just to get into somebody’s pants. Especially for a guy like him, who could have just about anybody. No offense, darling.”

After hesitating a moment more, she said, “If I were you I would hold off on quitting. Christina’s put me completely in charge, so you won’t have to see her again. It’s only a few more days. I’m not just saying this for my own selfish reasons, Lily. It would make my life a whole lot easier if you didn’t quit. But, well, I like you. I don’t want to see you screw things up. Not to mention I think you and Noah are perfect for one another and I want to do whatever I can to get you two together.” She laughed lightly.

She knew Lydia was right. But it was so hard to think about going up there again.

“Okay,” she finally replied. “I’ll finish the job. But if I see her again, I can’t guarantee what I’m going to do. Not that I don’t love working with you, but I just want this thing over and done with.”

“You and me both, honey. You and me both.”

“Thanks for talking me down, Lydia. You’re a good woman.”

“Why thank you, sweet. And thanks for making my life easier. Now go out there and get that gorgeous boy back. You deserve it.”

She didn’t know if she could go that far, but Lily felt good about the decision to finish the cabin. Now she just had to get to work. The sooner she finished, the sooner she could put the whole terrible experience behind her.

Chapter Fourteen

It was the final day of the cabin remodel and Lily was as nervous as she’d been the very first day. She had a lot to do still - a few final pieces needed to be picked up from Francis and delivered to the cabin and the headboard was set for delivery in the afternoon so she would need to be there to direct the installation. Lily also wanted to stop by the store and put together a Welcome Home package. Even though she couldn’t stand the thought of Christina Upton and wouldn’t think twice about giving her a piece of her mind if she ever saw her dreaded client again, Lily had a business to run.

Now, a couple of days after finding Noah and Upton together and her subsequent meltdown, she was thinking a lot more clearly and knew that quitting the job would have been a nightmare in the long run. She had Lydia to thank for saving her butt and she fully intended to put a little something together for her as well.

Lydia had guaranteed Lily that Mrs. Upton wouldn’t be at the cabin again. She’d finally gathered her courage the day before to go up and deliver the things she already had in her car. She held her breath as she’d pulled into the drive and sighed with relief when she didn’t see Noah’s car. She unloaded everything quickly, not even bothering to place it all properly, but stacking everything in a spare bedroom instead and taking off as quickly as possible. She knew could finish placing it all the next day when the headboard arrived. The less time she had to spend there the better.

Today, her last day before the project deadline, she was ready to finish everything and be done with the cabin forever.

Her stomach did flips as she drove up the mountain. She wasn’t in a hurry this time. The clouds hung low over everything and the feel of snow was in the air. The forecast didn’t call for snow until the next day though, so she felt reasonably safe going up one last time.

As she pulled into the driveway she was relieved to find no one else there. She could finish the setup in peace, wait for Isaac to deliver the headboard, and be done. Lydia hadn’t been able to make it for the final inspection but she’d already signed off on the finished project, telling Lily the day before that she was done with Upton so if she wasn’t happy with the place it was just “tough titties” to her.

Which was fine with Lily. The work was already approved. The final payment had been wired to her account. As long as nothing disastrous happened in the next couple of hours, she was in the clear.

The cabin was quiet and calm as she pushed the door open, an expensive floor lamp in one hand. She set the lamp in the living room and slowly walked through the house, getting an idea of how much work she still needed to do. At least she would be able to work in silence. The construction crews that had always been on site before were a distraction and now that they were done Lily could get a much better feel for the house and how well her design worked.

Unloading the car, she noticed the wind change, howling now through the trees, and the temperature drop just enough it made her wish she’d brought her gloves. She looked up at the dark clouds but it seemed like they were holding for the time being. She hurried to grab the last of the things and take them inside. The sooner she was done, the sooner she could get back down the mountain.

With everything finally in place except for her custom headboard, Lily took one last look through the house. Every room carried a theme - simplicity, and a mixture of rustic and modern, playing on both the cabin’s history and surroundings and the client’s tastes. Whites, grays and blues were dominant with the occasional painting or sculpture bringing a splash of color and touch of the unique to each space. Overall she was satisfied with her work. The headboard would make it perfect. She just wished she didn’t have a bitter taste in her mouth about the experience.

Noah came crashing through her mind again as she busied herself waiting for Isaac. She still hadn’t given him much thought since the big talk in the parking lot two days before. It was a sore subject and she found herself smarting from it every time her mind started to remember what they’d been through together in just the last few weeks.

One thing was clear to her now. Rachel was right - she’d been wrong about him. She knew him better than to believe he’d sleep with Christina. She knew in her gut that he was telling the truth. All she had to do was remember the look in his eyes as he’d told her he built the house for her, as he’d sat on the bed and proposed to her, to know he was sincere when he said he loved her.

Why was she still so hesitant then? She couldn’t figure it out except that she was having a hard time letting go of the pain. On some level she knew that the pain would be worse if she didn’t just let go and trust Noah. And she wanted to. She wanted more than anything to drop all the struggle, to say yes to him, to move into that gorgeous house he’d designed with the two of them in mind.

She knew she needed to make a decision, and soon. She just didn’t feel ready yet.

The last thing she needed to do was put together the welcome basket. She ran to the car and got the things - a bottle of good red wine, cheese and crackers, chocolates and a basket - and headed inside to put it all together. When she’d layered it all in just right, she wrapped a big red bow around the whole thing and set it on the counter. It looked welcoming, friendly. Not exactly how she was feeling toward her client, but impressions were important and she wanted to leave the woman with a good one in case she had friends with houses that needed design work in the future.

She’d just adjusted the marble statues in the living room for the last time when she heard a truck pull up in the drive. Her heart pounded as she took a peak out the back window, breathing a sigh of relief when it wasn’t Noah. Little flurries of snow whipped around in the wind. She frowned and checked her phone to see what time it was. She’d been so intent on finishing the work that she hadn’t even looked outside and the sight of snow worried her. Hopefully they could get the headboard placed quickly. The last thing she wanted was to be stranded in the cabin during a snowstorm.

“Isaac!” she shouted, coming out the back door as she wrapped her coat tight around her. He grinned and ran up the steps to give her hand a quick shake.

“This is Mike,” he said, waving his hand at a burly guy standing by the truck. “He’s going to help me mount the headboard.”

Lily nodded and motioned them inside so she could show them where the massive slab of marble sitting in the back of his truck needed to go.

“It’ll be back here,” she told them as they followed her down the hallway. “I’ve got the bed in place now so you can see how it should be, but we can just push it out of the way so you can do what you need to do.”

“Sounds good. It’s going to be a little complicated, making sure it’s mounted securely enough that there’s no threat to it falling,” he gave a short laugh, “but it shouldn’t take too long once we get going. It would be nice to get back to Denver before the sun sets.”

“I’m as anxious to hit the road as you are, Isaac.” Lily led them into the room and stood back as they quickly measured, marked out spaces on the wall and slid the bed out of the way.

She started to follow them back outside but stilled as she saw Noah’s truck pull up behind Isaac’s.

Her pulse thundered in her head. No, no, no. She couldn’t, she wasn’t ready to see him. She put her hand to her cheek, knowing that she was blushing, and debated running out the back door. She knew it was hopeless though - not only would he have seen her car as soon as he pulled into the drive, she was blocked in by Isaac and the headboard.

As she stood there watching his long body climb out of the truck she held her breath and made her decision. He was right, he deserved better than doubt and suspicion. Noah was a good man, and if he would have her, she wanted to commit to him completely.

He bounded up the stairs after Isaac and Mike, smiling at both of them, displaying his gorgeous dimples. Lily fought the pulse of electricity that shot through her body.
Keep it together
, she warned herself. Just then he turned to her and their eyes met.

So much for keeping it together.

It felt as if everything around them evaporated. In his gaze she saw it all - love, passion, excitement, a future. Her eyes danced with tears but she held them in check as he came over to her.

“Lily,” he whispered, his voice husky.

“Noah, up for the final walk-through?” She tried to sound professional but her voice wavered and they both heard it.

“Yep. I’m so ready to be done with this project. I’m sure you are too.”

She blew out a breath and a chuckle. “Oh yeah.”

As Isaac and Mike came in, Lily introduced them to Noah. He admired the white and rose slab of marble they carried and went into the bedroom with them in case they needed any help mounting it to the wall.

Lily took the opportunity to try to collect herself. Noah knocked her way off and she had a hard time remembering what else it was she needed to do. She walked to the window and looked out at the snow that fell in earnest now. But she didn’t think about heading back down the mountain. She thought instead of Noah’s big beautiful body wrapped around her own, how he’d carried her like she didn’t weigh an ounce in the pool that night, how good it felt waking up beside him. Her thoughts were interrupted by Isaac.

“We’ve got the headboard up if you want to take a look, make sure it’s the way you want it.”

She turned and gave him a smile, heading down the hall behind him. The last piece - her heart fluttered with excitement to see all her hard work come together.

And it really had. Taking up a major portion of wall behind the king bed, the headboard made the room truly special, at once cozy and off-the-charts unique. Together with the rugs, tiles, bedding and other furniture Lily had carefully chosen, the room was fit for a magazine shoot. She could only hope the client would think so as well. Her job was finally done. She glanced at Noah and he gave her a big smile. She couldn’t help but let a small sigh escape as she smiled back at him.

“It’s amazing Isaac, really gorgeous. And thanks again for working so fast to get it done. I know it wasn’t ideal,” she said, ushering him and Mike back down the hall. They all looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the falling snow as they entered the living room.

“Wow, we better get a move on. Wouldn’t want to get trapped up here.” Isaac stuck out his hand, giving Lily and then Noah a warm handshake and a smile. “It’s been a pleasure Lily. I hope we get the chance to work together again sometime.”

“Same here,” she said, seeing them to the door. She looked out at her car and saw the snow piling up on the driveway. She should get a move on too. But first she needed to talk to Noah.

She turned and caught her breath when she realized how close Noah was. Sparks flew between them and although it took every effort for her to stay where she was, what she really wanted to do was lean in and feel him touching her.

“We need to talk,” she almost whispered.

“I think so,” he replied, coming just a tiny bit closer to her. She felt her body respond to his and cursed it again. If she could just get through what she wanted to say without attacking him she could be happy.

“I wanted to apologize for not believing you about Upton. And also about the lake. You’ve treated me better than I deserve and I shouldn’t have doubted you. You were right the other day. You deserve my respect and trust. If you’ll have me still, I want to give it to you.”

He leaned in, brushed a strand of her hair back from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. A quick intake of breath had her feeling dizzy.

“I love you, Noah. I couldn’t imagine my life without you-”

He pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers, cutting off the rest of her speech. His lips were moist and pliant and he devoured her as if they’d been apart for decades. She was helpless in his embrace. All she could do was put her hands on his chest and let him take her mouth, suddenly knowing that she would never need anything else again.