A Christmas Homecoming (18 page)

“Not at all.” Bailey glanced toward Stephen who nodded approvingly from his corner of the office at Mona’s house. “Now if you’ll run these to this address.” She handed Sierra a sticky note with the address of Rick’s current project. “Rick Belafonte is expecting you, and he needs these tiles right away. When you’re done grab lunch and meet me here afterwards.” She pointed to the address at the bottom of the sticky note. “We’ll be consulting with a new client and taking measurements.”

Sierra’s face lit. “Really? After what you said, I didn’t expect to meet with a client on my first day.”

In truth, Bailey hadn’t expected to include her, but she was a softie. Plus, once Mona had started to include her in client consultations, it helped her grow as a designer and understand the business so much better.

Sierra stood and hoisted two boxes of tile into her arms.

Stephen rose. “I’ll help you get these to your car.” He muscled the three remaining boxes. “Is this it, Bailey?”

“Yes. Thanks.” She rushed ahead of them opening doors. Once they had the boxes loaded, Sierra waved and drove off.

Grinning, Stephen sauntered over to her.

“What?” Her heart beat a rapid staccato. They hadn’t spoken since he’d kissed her.

“You did a good job. And it was nice of you to include Sierra in a consultation on her first day. My mother never would have, but I like your approach.”

She warmed from head to toe under his approving gaze. “Thanks.”

He draped an arm across her shoulders and accompanied her inside. “I’ll leave you ladies to your consultation this afternoon. It looks to me like you have everything well in hand.”

“I should hope so.” She chuckled. “Now that I think about it, other than needing approval from Mona on everything, I’ve been pretty much running the business.” She frowned. “Do I need to come to you for approval on designs?”

He shook his head. “Remember, you are in charge now. Like I said the other day, we’ll meet at least once a week to review all that’s going on. Otherwise, I’ll leave you to your job, and I’ll start mine.”

Her stomach dropped. “You have another job?” What about them? Shouldn’t they talk about last night? Did the kiss mean nothing to him? She dared to hope they were becoming a couple, but she lacked experience when it came to men, so maybe she’d read the kiss wrong. They still stood right inside the doorway.

“Not officially, at least in the capacity I’d like. I’m going to do some research and draw up a series of designs for my brothers. If they don’t want them, I’ll sell them. In addition to my official job in France, I’ve been working freelance for a couple of years. There’s no reason why I can’t continue.”

“I’m happy for you, Stephen. It’s always nice to see someone pursue their passion.” Maybe he had too much on his mind to think about starting a relationship.

“Back at you. Are you and I okay? You ran off so fast last night.”

“Sure. No worries here.”

“Good. Thanks.” He strode along the path that cut through the woods to his cabin.

The quiet house suddenly felt lonely. She shook off the feeling and marched into the office. There was no time to dwell on her emotions. She picked up her briefcase, stuffed her laptop inside along with a measuring tape, then grabbed several product samples she planned to present to the homeowner this afternoon based on their brief conversation.

She sent a text off to Nicole to make sure her friend was still able to meet and to get her coffee order. She’d pick up their drinks and then go visit with her friend at the school. Nicole wanted to talk about her doing a presentation on interior design. Bailey couldn’t imagine why anyone in the fourth grade would care one whit about what she did, but she owed it to Nicole to hear her out.

Thirty minutes later, Bailey strolled into the teachers’ lounge with Nicole by her side.

“Thanks for meeting me here.” Nicole pulled a salad from an insulated bag. “Did you bring lunch?”

“No. This peppermint mocha has enough sugar and calories to count as lunch and dessert.”

Nicole nodded. “Good point. I’m glad I had you get me plain coffee with cream and sugar.” She pried the lid off her salad. “By the way, you look amazing. I noticed you are spending a little more time on your makeup too.”

“Thanks. I don’t want to let Stephen, or for that matter, Mona, down. They’ve been good to me, and I want to represent them well.”

“You are certainly succeeding.” Nicole ginned. “How’s it going with the new girl?”

“Today was her first day. I wasn’t expecting her to start for another week-and-a-half, but when her boss found out she was quitting, he told her he didn’t need her and to enjoy her new job.”

“Ouch. That sounds a little rude.”

“I thought so too, but Sierra didn’t mind, and I’m happy to have her start early. That will give me time to get her trained before Christmas.”

“Have you been busy? I wouldn’t think there’d be much business around the holidays.”

“It’s slower than other times of the year, but there’s enough to keep us both busy since we also work on the construction sites.”

“Cool. So, about visiting my classroom . . .”

“Right. I don’t see how the kids could possibly be interested in anything I’d have to say.”

“I disagree. I have several artistic students in my classroom. We are studying careers until winter break, and you’d be perfect. Plus, I happen to know the kids will love you even if you talk about something boring.”

She chuckled. “When you put it like that, I can’t say no.” True or not, she owed Nicole after the makeover. She looked around then lowered her voice. “I was hoping you’d help me sort something out.”

“If I can.” Concern filled Nicole’s eyes.

“I have a secret admirer.”

Nicole grinned. “Mm-hmm.”

“Well, I’m thinking it’s Stephen, but I’m not sure because there have been some other instances that make me think it could be someone else.”

“What makes you think that?” Nicole’s brow furrowed.

Bailey told her about the cards and the flowers. “The flowers confuse me. It makes no sense to have Spencer deliver them. Especially since they don’t really know one another. Then there’s the fact that Stephen kissed me.”

Her eyes widened. “He did? So are the two of you seeing each other or what?”

“Or what.” She shrugged. “I have no idea what we’re doing.”

A bell rang. “I want to hear more, but I need to go get my class from the playground. Call me later if you can. I’ll email the details for your presentation on Friday.”

Bailey followed her friend as far as the end of the hall, then veered toward the office where she would sign out. A young girl sat in the office near the principal’s door. Bailey hesitated for a second when she saw the child’s face, which resembled her cousin’s at that age so much they could be related. Her stomach knotted as the memories of that slumber party once again flooded her. She shook off the dread and quickly signed out, ignoring the girl.

Stephen sat at his drafting table in his cabin staring at a blank page. He’d been so excited about presenting his brothers with new designs, but now everything he thought of seemed boring. He wanted to try something bold. Cutting edge. Something homebuyers would wonder how they had ever lived without. But nothing he thought of was good enough.

Knocking drew his attention. A quick glance at the window showed the sun had gone down. He wasn’t expecting anyone, but he strode to the door and pulled it open. “Bailey! This is a surprise.” He opened it wider. “Come in.”

She shook her head. “I made stew and thought you might be hungry.” She thrust a pot mostly wrapped in a dishtowel toward him.

“Thank you. That was nice. Please come in and tell me how it went with Sierra today.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to interrupt anything.” From her position right outside the door, she glanced around his cabin. Her eyes stopped at his drafting table. “That’s new.” She stepped inside.

He closed the door. “I moved it out of my bedroom. I prefer to work out here.”

“Can I see what you’ve done?”

Stephen shook his head as he strode to the table. “I wish I had something to show you.”

“You’ve done nothing? All afternoon?”

He laughed drily at the incredulous tone of her voice. “Trust me. I’m as shocked as you. I don’t know what’s wrong. I usually have tons of ideas flying through my head.” He unwrapped the pot and lifted the lid. Steam surged up along with the savory smell of root vegetables and seasonings. “This smells delicious. When did you have time to cook?”

“It’s been in the crock pot all day.”

“I’m surprised I didn’t smell it this morning.” He pulled two bowls from the cupboard. “Will you join me? There’s plenty.”

“Sure. I left the rest in the crockpot on warm and haven’t eaten yet. Sorry. I didn’t think to buy any bread.”

“No problem.” He dished up the stew then pulled out a chair for her. After he blessed the food he took a bite. “So how did it go with Sierra?”

“She’s a quick study. If she continues to work hard and pay close attention to detail, she’ll be a huge asset.”

He studied her face. Although they’d known one another a short time, he was beginning to know her looks. He recognized concern, or perhaps it was worry, in her eyes. Maybe that was why she was really here this evening. “Penny for your thoughts.”

“Not sure they’re worth that much.”

“Try me.”

“I’m supposed to be the guest speaker in Nicole’s classroom on Friday, and I’m not so sure it’s a good idea.”

“Why’s that? Other than the whole public speaking thing.”

She stuffed a huge bite of stew into her mouth and chewed very slowly.

He chuckled at her obvious avoidance of his question. “Fine. Don’t answer.” He devoured the rest of the stew. He hadn’t realized he was hungry until he’d smelled her creation.

Bailey studied the contents of her bowl and finally met his gaze. “I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“What if the kids hate me and make faces at me, or talk over me, or—”

“Stop.” He scooted his chair closer to her and cradled her hand in his. “Where is this coming from?”

She looked away from him. “There was a girl in the office today that was the spitting image of my cousin when we were kids, and it reminded me of that night and how it made me feel.”

He ran his thumb gently across the top of her hand. “Ah, Bailey. That’s your fear talking. Those kids are going to love you. Just like Lacy and Collin do. You’re great with kids, so relax.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Thanks. I know I’m being silly. Old habits are difficult to break.”

“Very true.” He removed his hands from hers and stood, collecting their bowls. “I have peppermint ice cream. Would you like a scoop?”

“Of course. That’s my favorite this time of year.”

He pulled the tub from the freezer and took his time. His brother’s stern warning hit him like a bucket of ice water. He really enjoyed Bailey’s company and wondered if there could be more than friendship between them, but he never should have kissed her last night. His mother would not approve, and he strongly believed in honoring his mother—after all it was one of the Ten Commandments. He scooped up the ice cream then turned to find that Bailey was no longer at the table. “Bailey?”

“In here.”

He followed the sound of her voice and found her on the backside of the Christmas tree. “What are you doing?” he asked as he handed her the dessert.

She took the dish. “Thanks. I wanted to see this side too. Your tree turned out nice. I didn’t notice it last night though.”

He grinned and walked toward the couch. “It was right there.”

She followed him to the couch and sat. “I figured as much.” She crossed one leg over the other. “I was thinking. Wouldn’t it be fun if you joined me in Nicole’s class on Friday?”

He nearly spat out his ice cream. “Why?”

“Two designers are better than one.” She slid a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

“I don’t know about that.” Did she need the moral support? Of course, that had to be it. “On second thought, it could be fun, and maybe I’ll be inspired. Count me in. Email me the details.”