“That’s not an issue anymore.”Michael ran his hand along the new wall.“In opening up this space by demolishing the old interior wall, we were able to make room for this very sexy new washer and dryer combo.What do you think?”
“It’s the washer and dryer of my dreams, Michael.”
“I’m going to hand you over to Nick now,” he said.“I know he has some exciting things to show you too.”
Claire turned to face Nick, and her heart leapt into her throat.If she could have run to him, she would have, but she was conscious of the cameras.
Her handyman held out his hand, a beautiful smile gracing the face she’d come to love.
Good God.
She loved him.
She wasn’t even sure when it had happened.Not long ago, she’d been trying to convince herself that her attraction wouldn’t go anywhere, wasn’t meant to go anywhere.
And now she wanted to go wherever Nick went.
You’re fooling yourself if you think you can do that.Don’t forget.Pretty soon, that man will be on a plane, heading to the opposite coast.
Do you really believe you can just drop everything and follow him?
She ignored her inner voice and took his hand.
Nick brought her into her office, while a few of the other team members and the cameras followed.“Claire, when we met, you were working in an office that was suffering from a bad case of damp.It was one of the things we made a top priority to fix.I think you’ll agree your new office is much more comfortable now.”
“It is, thanks, Nick.”
“By the way, I love your desk.That thing looks sturdy.”As the camera panned away, he winked at her.
The rogue.
After reacquainting her with the office, Nick led everyone back outside to the cat play place.He spoke into the camera, describing a few of the steps that had gone into creating the structure.
When he was done, they all walked back out front.Nick made a show of checking the time on his watch.Michael and Eli stood next to him.“Hey, guys,” said Nick.“Isn’t it time for an open house?”
“So it is.”Eli grinned and took a few steps down the walkway.He brought his fingers to his mouth and whistled.
All at once, several big yellow school buses drove down the drive to the sanctuary, honking their horns.Lacey directed the cameras to film their progress.
Claire pulled Nick aside.“What’s happening?”
“We knew you were concerned about whether enough people would come to your open house, so we put out the call on our social media.The response was incredible.As it happens, there are a lot of people in theHandymencommunity who would love to adopt a cat, so we arranged the transportation and a whole lot of cat carriers.We just decided to keep it a secret.”
“Oh, Nick!”She jumped into his arms and kissed him hard.She didn’t even care if Lacey captured it on film.“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, beautiful.”He set her down and grabbed her hand.“Let’s go find some forever homes for your furry buddies.”
“Yes!Oh, just one thing—”
“I know, Claire.Mortimer stays.”
She smiled, loving him even more.“Yeah.Mortimer stays.”
Together, they headed into the sanctuary to get ready for the open house.
* * * *
It was late in the evening when Nick and Claire finally allowed themselves to tumble onto the couch in her living room.Between filming the reveal and the open house, as well as a celebration drink afterward, it had been a full day.
