Christmas Diamonds (7 page)

“We’ll see what happens,” she told Virginia. “Right now, it’s all about giving my client everything he’s paying me for.”

“You’ve already been there, done that, girlfriend. What’s more important now is what you’re willing to give the man for free.”

Paula laughed while keeping pace. “You’re wicked, girl.” She knew that Virginia juggled men the way a circus performer did bowling pins. But that didn’t necessarily make her an expert on men and successful relationships.

“Hey, I’m just being candid,” Virginia said unblinkingly. “You deserve a man who will wait on you hand and foot and doesn’t ask for an arm and a leg in return.”

Paula wrinkled her nose. “Those are a lot of body parts to keep track of, girlfriend. I’d rather he focused at least part of the time on my mind—something that wasn’t the case often enough in some past relationships, as far as I was concerned.” She certainly had no problem with a man who wanted her body as much as she wanted his, as long as he still appreciated her intelligence.

“Give the man a chance,” Virginia urged her. “Don’t assume Chase is anything like Sheldon, heaven forbid, or even Johnny, for that matter.”

Paula would just as soon forget about her last two boyfriends. Neither had the qualities she wanted for a long-term involvement. Johnny was too unstable, and Sheldon failed to keep her interested enough. Chase certainly appeared to be cut from an entirely different cloth.

“I’m not assuming anything,” Paula said, feeling the strain
in her legs. “Chase and I are still a work in progress, much like his house. Let’s just see how things go.”

“Sure, whatever you say,” Virginia said, rolling her eyes.

Chase felt a little jittery as he waited in the restaurant’s lobby for Paula to show up. Though he’d gone out on several dates since becoming a widower, no woman had quite captured his fancy the way Paula had. Apart from a good work ethic and physical attractiveness, he liked her style. She was definitely a smart lady and candid in her thoughts. He wanted to go deeper into who she was as a person and how she got to that point. He wondered how Paula felt about moving their relationship beyond employer and client. Something—perhaps the ease with which they related to one another—told him she was as open to the possibility as he was.

“Hello there…”

Chase looked up and saw Paula come from behind another waiting patron. “Hi,” he said, admiring the beauty she made seem so natural. A gray skirt suit fit well on her slim frame and showed off her nice legs. The briefcase she held firmly reminded him that this was simply a business meeting.

“Sorry I’m a bit late, but I was delayed by a prospective client,” Paula said and took a breath.

“It’s fine.” Chase smiled at her and imagined she probably had clients lined up to take advantage of her talent. “Shall we go in?”

She nodded. “Yes, I’m famished.”

They sat at a window table in the corner and ordered white wine.

“Do you come here a lot?” Chase asked curiously, gazing at Paula over the menu.

“Only when my budget allows,” she said candidly. “I recommended it because it’s close to where we both live and quiet enough to talk without being drowned out by other patrons.”

“Well, it was a good choice, whatever your reasons.” Chase had been there once with Rochelle and another time with
Monica. Both times, he’d enjoyed himself and thought the food was great. He wondered if Paula had dinner at nice restaurants with other clients, or had he been singled out as more worthy of such an occasion? Chase found himself equally inquisitive about who she spent time with socially or otherwise.

“Thank you.” Paula closed her menu. “I love their broiled salmon with Dijon mustard!”

“Sounds tasty,” Chase said.

“Believe me, it is.”

Chase grinned. “In that case, I’ll follow your lead and give the salmon a try, along with a bowl of clam chowder to start things off.”

“Good choice. I’ll have the same,” she told him.

After ordering, Paula set her briefcase on the table. “I’m sure you’re wondering what ideas I came up with for your room.”

“The thought had crossed my mind,” Chase told her drily, sipping his wine. He tried to picture what direction she would take this time and how it would differ from Rochelle’s approach. “What have you got for me?”

Paula removed a sketch and handed it to him. “We start off with a rearrangement of furniture that I believe will create a more natural flow to the room and allow the sun to shine favorably on you when you’re in the sitting room, or maybe reading in bed.”

Chase studied the sketch with interest. “I like it.” Though he never read in bed, he did appreciate the sunlight pouring into the room, brightening it and therefore making it more cheery.

“To that effect, I would like to replace the heavy drapes on the windows with cellular shades,” Paula told him. “They’re not only energy efficient, but will absorb sound and complement the wall coloring.”

Chase nodded. “Go right ahead and put in the shades.” At this point, he was open to any suggestions that would give the room a new identity while still maintaining its integrity.

“Now let’s talk about the furniture.” Paula reached back into the briefcase and pulled out a couple of photographs, passing
them to him. “I think a satinwood, bow-front Georgian chest and dresser set like you see in the top photo would be perfect for the room. This would be complemented by a Maltese entertainment cabinet that’s shown in the second photo.”

Chase grinned favorably. “Very nice.”

“Glad you like it.” She paused, took a sip of wine and lifted another photograph from her briefcase. “As the centerpiece of the room, I think you should have a Louis XV hand-carved-walnut king bed with patterned leather insets like this,” she said, pointing at the picture.

“Wow.” Chase studied the picture. “It’s beautiful.”

“I think so, too,” Paula agreed. “And I’d like to add some fluffy pillows along with a quilted duvet cover or a double-woven embossed bedspread.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Chase imagined himself in the bed with her, surrounded by fluffy pillows, making passionate love like two people who couldn’t get enough of one another. A wave of intense desire swept over him, and he wondered if Paula might be thinking the same thing. Surely he wasn’t the only one getting aroused and excited at the mere notion of being naked and engaged in hot, sensual, unbridled sex.

Their clam chowder arrived, quickly stemming Chase’s libido as he turned his attention to the food.

Chapter 6

P
aula tried hard to keep her mind off Chase, but found it to be utterly impossible. He was simply too suave in a navy suit, and his mouth, wide and ultrasexy, seemed tailor-made for kissing. The idea of their lips joined together in rhythmic smooching gave her carnal thoughts that went far beyond a kiss. She imagined them slowly and methodically removing each other’s clothes, pausing with each piece to take pleasure in every inch of their bodies, his lips leaving a burning trail down her quivering body until they united as one like love-starved intimates eager to please.

Feeling her temperature rise and her body tremble with desire, Paula quickly pushed away the vivid images. She managed to refocus on her meal and wrapped up her presentation on refurnishing the master suite in Chase’s home.

“I think putting less formal rattan furniture in the sitting-room area is a great idea,” Chase said while dabbing his mouth with a napkin. “You really do know your stuff.”

Paula blushed. “I try to turn each room into something that truly embodies the client’s persona.”

“Well, so far you’ve really hit the mark on my persona to bring out the best in the space.” Chase crinkled his eyes at her. “My dad was quite impressed with the great room.”

Paula smiled graciously. “That’s nice to hear.” She remembered being slightly intimidated by Sylvester McCord, sensing that he would be a hard one to please. Instead, he had been very open-minded and a great client to work for, just as his son was turning out to be. “Are you and your father pretty close?” she asked Chase, curious.

“Yeah, we’re tight,” he responded. “I can pretty much talk to him about anything, and he’ll actually listen.”

“That’s wonderful.” Paula lifted her fork, ruminating. “What about your mother?”

Chase paused. “The woman you met at my dad’s house is my stepmother. My real mother died when I was twelve.”

Paula felt badly for him. “That must have been hard.”

“Yeah, it was.” He absently moved the food around his plate. “Car accident.”

Paula gasped. “I’m so sorry.”

“For a while there it seemed like just a bad dream, and she would walk through the front door as though nothing had happened. But…she never did.” Chase choked back emotion. “Anyway, that was a long time ago. And I understand now that it was just her time.”

Paula blinked. “I suppose you’re right, sad as that is.”

“But my stepmother has been just like a mother to me,” Chase added.

“That’s good to know,” Paula said.

Chase ate a piece of salmon. “What about your parents?”

“I never knew my father,” Paula said, wishing it weren’t true. “My mother sent me to live with my grandmother when I was five. We don’t see each other much these days.”

This was one of Paula’s biggest regrets—not having her birth mother around to share the ups and downs of life with.
But it wasn’t her choice. Her mother had decided she couldn’t handle raising a child on her own and had found someone else to take the responsibility.

Chase’s brow furrowed. “Wow. Where’s your mother now?”

“The last I heard, she was living with a man in the Bahamas.”

“I’m sure you’ve struggled with her decision making. Losing a mother to tragedy is one thing, but if she’s still alive yet mostly absent from your life…”

Paula stiffened. “I stopped feeling sorry for myself a long time ago. We all do what we have to do for whatever reason. I’ve just had to deal with it and move on with my life.”

“Is your grandmother still alive?” Chase asked.

“Yes, thank goodness.” Paula smiled at the thought. “She’s seventy-one years old and still has a lot of spunk. Isa has been my rock over the years.”

“Well, that’s good.” Chase reached for a slice of bread. “Everyone needs such a person in their life.”

“That’s true.” Paula felt they were both fortunate in that regard, as his father obviously filled this role in Chase’s life. But what about his romantic life? She sensed there was no one serious there right now, meaning he was on the market. So was she. The notion excited Paula. As did learning more about the handsome man before her.

“So tell me about the diamond business?” she asked with fascination.

Chase gazed at her. “What do you want to know about it?”

“Well, what is it that you do, exactly? I mean, in terms a layperson can understand.”

Chase leaned back thoughtfully in his chair. “As president of the company, I do a little bit of everything. I purchase diamonds and other gemstones, advise clients, promote the company, do a little design work and more.”

“Sounds impressive.”

Chase chuckled. “No big deal, really. I just do my job like anyone else.”

“Have you done any other type of work?” Paula asked curiously.

“In college, I worked at the front desk in my dorm, put in some all-nighters at a local grocery store and even did a little bartending.”

“Hmm, so I imagine you were probably pretty good at getting those college girls drunk?” Paula teased.

He chuckled. “Well, I usually knew when they reached their limit even if they didn’t.”

“Good answer.” She liked him better all the time.

Chase smiled. “I’ve been a jeweler ever since the good old days,” he told her.

“It obviously agrees with you.”

“I’m happy with my job most of the time,” Chase said.

“Your dad must be proud of you,” Paula speculated.

Chase nodded. “Yeah, I guess he is. He doesn’t exactly pat me on the back every other day for a job well done, but we both seem to be on the same wavelength when it comes to running the company.”

“That’s great.”

“Not to say that we don’t have our disagreements from time to time,” Chase said evenly. “It usually comes down to who can be the most stubborn.”

“Sounds a lot like me and my grandmother,” Paula confessed.

Chase grinned. “I know we’re both smart enough to let them win most of the time.”

“Exactly,” she agreed.

As Chase refilled their wineglasses, Paula sensed he was a man who knew how to take charge on a date. Not that she considered this a date. Or maybe it was, now that they had concluded their business and she had given him the estimate of costs. Paula realized that she enjoyed spending time with Chase whatever the purpose. He seemed to feel the same way.

Chase gazed at Paula over the rim of his glass. “So, how did you turn a girl’s dream into professional success as an interior decorator?”

“Through sheer determination and a good talking to by my grandmother,” she had to admit.

“That may be, but I think you left out one thing,” Chase suggested.

Paula’s eyes widened. “What?”

He gave her a straight look. “Talent. You really know how to arrange and decorate a room so everything flows naturally. That’s something you can’t teach. It has to come from within.”

“Keep that up and I’m going to really get bigheaded,” she said, only half joking.

Chase laughed. “I doubt that. Something tells me you have both feet on the ground as much as I do.”

That was a compliment Paula was happy to accept. It also told her more about the man and how he took his success in stride, which was a quality she appreciated. She was excited at the prospect of getting to know Chase better.

“I think you’re right about that,” she said, her voice betraying the common philosophy.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” He spoke with assurance.

Paula chuckled. “Well, I happen to be a big Motown fan. I love all those great artists like the Four Tops, Temptations, Supremes, Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson…”