This was brutal. Trinity wasn’t sure she had it in her to redirect another time.
Thankfully, Spencer picked right back up. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking?—”
“Yeah?” She could punch herself for being the one to interrupt this time. She needed to let the man speak but her nerves weren’t cooperating with her mouth today.
“I have.” He smiled sweetly. “You know, my house is going to be finished in just a few weeks here. I’m going to need some helpwhen it comes to the whole interior design thing. My previous home was a fifth wheel, so most of the furniture it came with was attached,” he added, chuckling. “I don’t know the first thing about decorations and I, uh, I thought it might be something you would like to help with.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t seen that coming. She was a florist that specialized in bouquets, which she guessed were considered decorations. But she had little to no experience with home décor, other than the decorations within her own, but currently the majority of those were made up of children’s toys, shoes, or books. There was no rhyme or reason to the design elements there.
“If you don’t have time or you aren’t interested—” Spencer started to say.
“No.” She reached across the table and touched his hand. “I’m definitely interested. I just don’t know that I’m very good. I didn’t go to school for anything like that. I just know how to stick flowers in a vase.”
She could sense the optimism fading from his eyes.
“But I’d love to help you however I can,” she amended.
“You need to give yourself more credit,” he said. “You don’t just stick flowers in a vase. You create beauty that blesses people.”
No one had ever gone so far as to make that claim. In her eyes, her arrangements provided temporary enjoyment while they lasted and then were later forgotten. Sure, they were used for special occasions, some joyous, others sad. Weddings and funerals. Proms and anniversaries. But to say they were a blessing? She didn’t know if that rang true.
“I’d love your help,” he said again. “And if you’re truly up for it, we can start today.”
CHAPTER 13
“Ithink we have a winner!”
It only took twelve paint swatches, as many dirty brushes, and one drop cloth that Spencer would need to replace before the painters came by tomorrow, but they’d finally arrived at a shade of white that looked good in every room and in every type of light.
“I never could have done all of that without you,” Spencer admitted as he hit the brush against the edge of the bucket to flick off the remaining water droplets and dry the bristles. He wiped it on the cloth and set it down next to the others. “Too many options and I tend to freeze.”
“I agree that it’s harder than it looks,” Trinity said. She’d collected all of the paint samples that they had gotten from Sam’s Hardware, hammered the lids back into place, and stored them in a cardboard box off to the side. “And it all starts looking the same after a while, which makes it even more difficult.”
She suddenly rotated her slender wrist over to glance at her watch.
“I’ve still got about a half hour before I need to leave to pick up Mia and Liam. Do you want to walk around and show meexactly what you’re thinking you’ll need help with when it comes to decorating?”
Pushing off of his knees, Spencer stood all the way up. “It’s fair to say I’m going to need help with all of it. But we can start in the bedroom.”
Trinity’s posture changed ever so slightly.
“It’s just that I don’t have a bed or dressers or anything,” he explained, “and I think those should get ordered sooner than later so I’ll have something to sleep on when I’m ready to move in.”
“Right. That makes sense,” she said with a nod and a breath that felt a little like relief.
He walked through the halls toward the master bedroom, which was all but completed, minus the paint and a few finish work details like baseboards and molding. It was his favorite room in the house, simply because it was the most peaceful. On either side of where his bed would go were large paned windows that looked out onto the pasture. The big barn could be spotted in the distance, and in the summer months, the lupines that dotted the hills would create the most beautiful blue backdrop. He knew even when it was nothing but a blanket of white snow outside his window, it would still be breathtaking.
Trinity instantly got the vision, her own breath drawing in sharply. “Oh, wow. What a view.”
“It’s the whole reason I had the house situated this way.” He moved closer to the windows. “I dream of building a little chicken coop right outside here in the springtime. Nothing like waking up every morning to the call of a rooster.”
She laughed. “Can’t say that’s something I’ve ever done. I usually wake up to the noise of a toddler.”
“Probably reaches the same decibels,” he teased, grinning. He stepped back and made a big sweeping gesture. “Obviouslythe bed will go right here. And nightstands on either side. Though I suppose I only need the one since it’s just me.”
“You’ll want two,” she corrected. “For symmetry’s sake.”
“Do you think I need a dresser even though I’ve got that big walk in?” He hooked his thumb behind him in the direction of the closet. “Gotta be honest, I don’t even think I’ve got enough clothes to fill up a quarter of the space in the closet as it is.”
