“These floors are classic,” Natasha said as they reached the top landing. “They’re original to the house?”
“Yes,” Jordan piped up from next to Pru. She had her arm threaded through her grandmother’s, her usual raspberry-red lipstick perfectly in place, winged liner, and a button-up denim shirt over skinny black jeans. She looked adorable, just like she always did. It was irritating, really.
“James and Opal Everwood installed them when they built the house in 1910,” Jordan went on.
“They’re in wonderful shape,” Natasha said, squatting down to run her hands over the deep amber wood. Her long dark hair was in a low ponytail and looped over her shoulder, the perfect kind of carefree look that Astrid could never quite pull off. “You’re preserving them?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Astrid said.
The group continued down the hall, the Lapis Room the first destination of the tour, being the most famous room in the house.
“So has anyone ever seen anything supernatural in here?” Natasha asked. They stopped in front of the closed oak door, and her brown eyes glittered mischievously as she turned the ancient crystal knob. “Please say yes.”
“I haven’t,” Simon said, “but not for lack of trying. When we were little, Jordan and I—”
But before he could finish whatever he was going to say, Natasha swung the door open, blue sunlight spilling into the hallway.
Blue.
Astrid blinked.
Bluesunlight.
She blinked again, but there was no denying what she was seeing. The April sun from another cloudless day streamed through the windows, reflecting off the blue walls.
“Blue,” she said out loud, though she didn’t mean to. She, as the designer, should not be surprised by the color of the room, but damn.
It was blue. Actually and literally dark blue. Not quite navy. Morelike the deepest parts of the sea when the sun shone on its surface. There was a sheen to it as well, a shimmer that made Astrid feel like she was trapped underwater.
But the painters weren’t due to start until tomorrow, and when they did start, this sure as hell wasn’t the color they had on their job list.
“Oh my god,” Simon said, moving past a gaping Astrid to the middle of the room. He spun in a slow circle, as though making sure he was seeing correctly. He looked just as surprised as Astrid.
Natasha was quiet. She walked farther into the room, her head canted at the silver-and-white damask drapes that framed the window. They actually went quite well with the deep color of the walls, but right now, Astrid didn’t care. All she cared about was that she did not pick out those drapes, no matter how lovely they were.
The crew filled the room. Regina behind the camera, Chase holding up a boom mic, Patrick adjusting the lighting, Emery watching it all with their eyebrows raised.
“Interesting,” Natasha said.
Astrid had no clue what to say in response. If she agreed, she would clearly be admitting that she didn’t make this choice, and a good designer knows what’s happening on her projects at all times. If she saidThank you, she’d be taking credit for something she didn’t plan and didn’t even like.
Dark blue? Who in hell did this?
“What do you think, Grandma?”
At Jordan’s soft and gentle voice behind her, Astrid turned around. Slowly, as though the other woman had a gun pointed at her back.
Simon turned too. Natasha. Every bit of energy in the room gravitated toward Pru Everwood. The old woman’s hazel eyes glowed behind her sunflower-yellow glasses, her mouth open just a little.
Astrid’s heart rocketed to her feet. She’d been in this business for almost ten years, and she knew that look.
The look of love.
The look ofhome.
The look of a client one hundred percent satisfied with the work.
“It’s lovely,” Pru said. She pressed a shaking hand to her throat, eyes shiny with what definitely looked like tears. “It’s perfect, Astrid.”
