“Let’s scoot it back and get the benches in place. Then we can build around it.”
They got to work. The table was heavy and had to be duck-walked along. Once it was deeper in the tent, Dorothy wanted the outdoor couch on the right and two Adirondack chairs facing with the coffee table in between. “If people can picture the furniture in their space and how it will be used, it will be easier for them to decide they want it.”
“I want to make it as easy as possible for them.” Wynn brushed her hands down her jeans and then tugged at the knot holding a hoodie around her middle. She needed to put it on now that the heavy lifting was done.
Dorothy placed two lanterns of different heights on the coffee table and stepped back to look. She tapped her chin. “You need some bits.”
“Bits?”
“Pumpkins. Leaves. Garlands. Even Halloween decorations will do.”
Wynn’s heart sank. “I didn’t think of any of that.”
“No worries. I have some stuff left over from doing the entry. I’ll be back in a jiff.”
Wynn picked up a mirror. She’d framed it, etching the wordBeautifulinto the bottom right corner. She leaned the whole thing against the table bench and stepped back. Now that things were set up, a few ideas began to pop into her head. She dug into the box of small projects and arranged three sets of coasters on the coffee table in stacks, putting them slightly off center. Three cutting boards, set at an angle, went atop the big table. She’d done matching cheeseboards with resin, and the colors popped against the wood. A couple of wooden spoons were laid out beautifully.
She continued to lay out items until Dorothy got back with a wheelbarrow full of pumpkins, ribbons, twine, and tin buckets. “Hey, those are great.”
Wynn held up a wooden spoon with an angled end, great for scraping the bottom of a pan. She should know; she had an identical one in her kitchen. It was Judd’s favorite. “Thanks. The spoons were my first project. I guess you could say I started small and went big.” She spread her hand out to encompass the furniture.
Dorothy handed her a stack of buckets. “See if you can find spots for these. You don’t happen to make cakes stands too, do you?”
“I have a couple I made out of tree stumps in the garage. I can text Judd to make sure he grabs them.”
“Perfect. They’ll add some height.” She set aside a couple pumpkins and then walked around, draping a swath of fabric here and winding a garland there. The display was really starting to come together.
“He says he found them.” Wynn looked up from the screen. “Anything else?” Her stress level had gone down by seventy-five percent.
“More resin pieces, if you have them.”
She typed.
“So.” Dorothy played with some sticks that were spray-painted gold. She put them in one place, shook her head, and then moved them to another. “Did you have a chance to talk to Judd about me?”
Wynn’s phone flipped out of her hand, and she scrambled to grab it in the air. It landed on the grass. “Umm …” She’d had the chance, but had she taken it? “Not really.”
Dorothy’s face fell.
Guilt was an ugly friend—one that Wynn didn’t want. “I’m sorry. I’ve been really busy with all this. But I promise I’ll do it.”
Her brain screamed at her for agreeing to do something she didn’t think was a good idea in the first place. But she couldn’t sayno—not after Dorothy put in an hour helping her get organized and look professional. Dorothy was being a good friend, and Wynn would be a horrible one if she didn’t at least talk to Judd about a date.
The man in the middle of the mud puddle in her brain took that moment to arrive. He parked and opened the door, the scent of pizza billowing out of the truck. Both women stopped and sniffed. Wynn’s mouth began to water. She could already taste the sausage, peppers, and pepperoni—Judd’s standard order.Oh, pizza—you temptress, you.
A green box with a white stripe preceded him out of the car.
“You splurged on Wicked Dough?” she cried. There were a couple pizza places in town, but Wicked Dough was the most expensive—and the best. They only ordered from there on special occasions. Every other pizza night was a take-and-bake.
He grinned. “I thought we could celebrate your future success.”
He looked over the booth, his eyebrows climbing. Wynn stepped beside him, her arm brushing his, and tried to see what he saw. Though her furniture was beautiful on its own, the added pops of fall color made everything come to life. Her booth looked like something in a magazine.
Judd patted her back. “This looks really good. You got a lot done.”
Wynn’s heart sank, and her mouth filled with grit and sand, making it difficult to get the next words out. “It wasn’t me. Dorothy is the decorating wiz. She’s like a tornado of organization.” Why was it so hard to be nice?
Judd turned to Dorothy, giving her his full and undivided attention, as if he were looking at her for the first time. “Sounds like you earned the first slice of celebratory pizza.”
