Stone raised an eyebrow at her, and she realized he probably paid for lightning-fast delivery or something.
Well, it is his money.That said, she was going to get the dang things in position herself or die trying.
When he saw her moving the chairs from the back to the center of the salon, he was immediately scandalized.
“You’re not seriously going to move large furniture by yourself?”
“I am. You can watch, or you can grab the other end.”
Stone dutifully helped her move the chairs to the spots she wanted in the center of the salon space. As they lifted the last one into place, she couldn’t help herself.
“Pivot. Pivot!”
“Seriously, Ross Gellar, I’m pivoting.”
She laughed;he got it!
When Stone knew a pop culture reference, it felt totally incongruous to her. She thought of him as watching an opera or ballet or polo match, notFriends. But he was surprisingly down to earth.
The two of them worked all afternoon and into the evening, positioning the furniture that had been delivered that day. The mirror station placement was last.
“I think you should hold this mirror, and I should stand back to see if it’s right.”
J.J. had one row along the wall and a second row in the middle of the salon. She had to see it before they could nail it down, she’d decided.Maybe both rows should be along the wall?
Stone continued to let her take the lead and was her dutiful assistant. She’d stopped trying to make sense of that.
“Okay.” Stone came over to the mirror and put his hand on the top edge above her head. He was tall enough so that she fit underneath his arm. She tried to slide away without sliding up against the man. She failed.
It was hard to ignore the fact that he smelled good. Even after a day working in the salon, he smelled good.
What was that about?
She also tried to ignore the little spark she felt when they bumped elbows or hands as they worked together day in and day out. J.J. realized that she was a hugger and a person who was used to touching people. She’d had zero of that for months as she’d traveled. She had put a wall around herself, one that wasn’t natural to her.
Being in close proximity to a handsome billionaire who continued to let her buy whatever she wanted turned her head. It would anyone’s. It was no more than that.
Stone Stirling had tried to bulldoze her hometown. She had to remember that. And any time she got to thinking he was a changed man, she purposefully thought back to the days, not so long ago, when she and Libby went to war to stop him.
They’d won. Plain and simple. He’d said it over and over and that he just wanted to be a part of helping Irish Hills. That was great, but still.Keep your guard up, J.J. Tucker. Even if he did seem sincere, he was an out-of-towner at best, some sort of corporate raider at worst.
“A little to the left.”
Stone moved the mirror over.
“There! Yes! I think we have it.”
“Yeah?”
“I think so, yes I do.”
The space was now laid out the way she’d envisioned. There was still a lot to do, but it was finally looking like a salon. The sun had gone down, and they didn’t have the natural light anymore, but the interior she’d created was sleek, stylish, and good enough for fancy out-of-towners. J.J. also thought it was cozy enough for Shelly’s old faithful customers.
“Well, you’ve done a great job.”
“I need Viv and Siena to come in and accessorize for me. Is that in your budget? I’m sure I could get a good rate for them.”
“Get them in, whatever the rate is. You drive me crazy with that.”
