“It’s nice of you to be involved,” Hunter said, meeting Aaron’s eyes over his coffee mug.
Aaron shrugged. “I’ve mostly provided manual labor, hanging up decorations, stringing lights, hauling away trash, that type of thing. Your mom and Mrs. Myers usually provide pretty specific direction, so there’s not much that can go wrong.”
“Still, I imagine it’s a big commitment of your time. Anyway, it sounds like a fairly solid starting point. Can I take a look?”
Aaron pushed the folder toward Hunter. “Sure. I’m just going to grab a refill while you do that.”
Aaron topped off his coffee and took the pot back to the table. At Hunter’s nod, he filled his cup before putting the pot back on the counter and returning to the table.
“This is really comprehensive. There’s even a floor plan of the entire building, including measurements."
“That must have been why Mrs. Myers was able to get me the dimensions so quickly when I needed them for ordering the new lights. I needed to make sure the strands were long enough to reach across the rafters and down the walls to the power outlets.”
“What was in the boxes Mom had me pick up? By the way, I left some of them out in the main hall, and the rest are in my truck.”
Aaron nodded. “I'll give you a hand to bring them in later. It’s all the new baubles and other decorations. We wanted to brighten things up a bit, to create a new theme.”
“Makes sense,” Hunter said, although he’d most likely have no idea what the theme had been over the last half dozen years. He was flipping through the folder, looking at the photos throughout the years, but stopped when he came to that last year he’d attended, the one that had broken Aaron’s teenage heart.
Aaron couldn’t work out the look on his face—nostalgia maybe, because there was a touch of sadness in his expression. By the time Hunter snapped the folder closed and looked up again, that expression was gone, replaced by a neutral stare.
“I guess, at this stage in the proceedings, you won’t be needing my skills then?”
“Huh?”
“I was sure Mom had asked me to do this because of the interior design angle. You know that’s what I do?”
Aaron nodded. Everyone knew everyone else’s business here in town, so it would have been impossible not to have heard that Hunter had set up his own business. “It did surprise me.”
“That I was asked to help?” Hunter raised a brow.
“No. That you’d set out on your own. I, along with most other people, were sure you’d join your dad’s firm.”
Hunter slumped back against his chair with a sigh. “That wasneversomething that interested me.”
“Not even a little?”
“Not even.” Hunter huffed. “I had to fight tooth and nail to follow my dreams. Even now, Mom and Dad push for me to return to the family fold. They want me in charge of renovating the resorts.”
“Wow. That sounds huge.”
“Yeah. It’s a big contract.”
“If you don’t me asking, what’s holding you back? It’d look pretty impressive on the résumé.”
Hunter straightened. “Let’s just say that appearances are not something that I’m overly worried about. At least not anymore.”
Aaron tilted his head and raised a brow, but Hunter ignored the unspoken question.
“So, if I’m not here for my design skills, how do you want me?”
Well, isn’t that the sixty-thousand-dollar question?Aaron’s mind filled with images of Hunter in very inappropriate positions—images that had haunted his dreams for years. He cleared his throat, forcing himself back to business. “I’m sorry. Most of the planning and decision-making has been done. I have a feeling it’s going to be more physical tasks than anything else.” He nearly choked on his own words and wanted to suck them back in almost before they’d left his mouth.
Hunter smiled. “I’ve got nothing against working with my hands, building up a good sweat. A bit of hard work never hurt anybody.”
Aaron’s thoughts plummeted farther into the gutter, but at the same time he was impressed with the ease Hunter was accepting fairly menial activity. “Okay, that’s good,” he managed to squeak out, then before he could stop himself, he was issuing an invitation. “First step is to review the schedule, but it’s cold in here. Maybe we could reconvene later this evening over a drink?”
Hunter’s eyes widened, and he didn’t answer immediately, but eventually he nodded. “Sure.”
