“Well, that is... surprising.”
“Yes,” Astrid said, “I told you we...Ihad some changes to—”
“Hold on, hold on,” Emery said, waving a hand at them from behind a camera. “Let’s get this on film.”
“Yeah, of course,” Natasha said, then proceeded to fold her arms and stare down Jordan and Astrid so intently, Jordan was positive she could accurately call out their heart rates.
Astrid glanced at Jordan, and Jordan glanced back, and a slow smile spread over Natasha’s mouth.
“Oh, this is too good,” Natasha said.
“What’s too good?” Jordan asked.
But before Natasha could say anything else, Simon and Pru arrived, and Emery announced they were ready to go. Regina countedoff before Astrid could say a word of explanation to the family about the sage-green cabinet in the room, which, of course, was exactly what Emery wanted.
“Well, this is surprising,” Natasha said again, and they were off.
Simon frowned, but then he spotted the cabinet. “Oh. What...” His frown deepened. “What’s that?”
“I’d like to know the same thing,” Jordan said, eyebrows lifted in Astrid’s direction. They’d talked about this, practiced it even. Jordan, the curmudgeonly carpenter. Astrid, the elegant designer. Still, getting salty with Astrid Parker now felt... strange.
“I’m excited to show you exactly what this is,” Astrid said, her professional voice smooth and bubbly. She was good at this part.
Pru, Simon, Natasha, and Jordan—her arms folded in a tight, skeptical knot—gathered around the island, where Astrid snapped Jordan’s laptop closed and pushed it out of the way. Jordan nearly smiled. They hadn’t rehearsed that bit, but it was effective, Astrid’sget this horrible thing away from meattitude very clear as she set up her own iPad.
Astrid started off the presentation with the Lapis Room, since both Simon and Pru had already seen the blue paint. As the image filled the screen, Jordan’s grandmother gasped.
“Oh” was all Pru said, her fingers trembling at her mouth. Astrid explained the design, the lapis lazuli stone, while Jordan watched Pru’s eyes start to shimmer.
“Wow,” Simon said, leaning closer from where he was standing between Jordan and Pru. “That’s... wow, that’s spectacular.”
“Isn’t it?” Astrid caught Jordan’s eye and lifted her brows. Jordan lifted her own back at her, the conspiratorial spirit between them like a drug.
But then Jordan’s gaze snagged on Natasha, who had most definitely caught the look between the two women. Jordan cleared her throat and smoothed out her expression again.
Astrid continued with the presentation, room after room. As she talked and pointed out certain features, words bubbled onto Jordan’s tongue—things she would add, points she wanted to make, decisions she wanted to explain—but she swallowed them down. She and Astrid knew how these designs came about, Pru clearly adored what they’d created—if her radiant smile, clapping, and gasps of delight with each new room reveal were any proof—and that was all that mattered.
Wasn’t it?
“I love it,” Pru said when Astrid finished. “I love it so much. It’s perfect.”
She looked right at Jordan when she said this, her head tilted and eyes swimming.
Jordan scrubbed a hand through her hair. Showtime. “Okay, yeah, it’s nice. But what about all the work we’ve already done? Why the sudden change?”
That last question hadn’t exactly been planned, and Astrid’s mouth opened in surprise, but a calm smile replaced it so fast, Jordan wondered if she’d imagined it.
“I did some thinking,” Astrid said. “Spent some more time with Alice’s history, and this feels right. This place is special, and it deserves an... inspired design.”
She glanced at Natasha as she said this, and Jordan nearly laughed.
“So why now?” Jordan asked, widening her stance, arms still crossed. “Why not do all this before?”
Astrid’s smile faltered again. Shit. This was going to be trickier than they originally thought. But it seemed like a question a grumpy carpenter would ask the designer, particularly if this change was going to create more work for her and the crew. No one but Jordan and Astrid knew her workshop was currently filled with nearly completed pieces.
Astrid sighed and looked back at the design. “Sometimes, it takes a while to get to know a space, to really understand the spirit of ahouse or room. I’m not perfect, and I can admit when I act too hastily on a design.”
“Well, part of that’s our fault too,” Simon said, waving his hand from him to Pru. “We asked for a modern design.”
