“More bribes?” he asked, eyeing the bag in my hand.
“Of course.” I kicked off my shoes; this time I’d come prepared. Easy, slip-off shoes. And a gift bag, from which I pulled out his gift.
“Don’t tell me you made that in one of your workshops,” he said, when he saw the candle.
“Sure did.”
“I thought that was bullshit.”
“My candle making workshop? Why would it be bullshit?”
“Because who goes to a candle making workshop?”
“Me,” I said as I set his new candle on his kitchen counter. “It’s scented, but the scent is fresh and clean, not girly at all, I promise. It’s basil-lime. Made with soy wax and essential oils. No chemicals.”
Ashley looked from the candle to me. I was expecting some wisecrack, but all he said was, “You didn’t have to do that.”
Anddamn. That brief glimpse of softness in his eyes?
Heart. Flutters.
“I make them for all my clients. It’s not a big deal.” I busied myself rearranging the candle on the counter, turning it unnecessarily, like I was looking for the best side to display.
It looks the same on every damn side. Just look him in the eye.
I didn’t look him in the eye.
“I’m not your client yet,” he reminded me.
I forced myself to look at him. He was still standing in the entryway, his arms crossed over his chest, just like the first time I’d entered his home. He still had his guard up.
Maybe he had his guard up around a lot of people, being famous and all.
And maybe he was still wary about me because of how my sister had treated him. If so… I’d decided that I really couldn’t blame him. My face did look a hell of a lot like hers.
But Iwasn’ther.
And I wasn’t here because of her.
I’d come here today with a renewed sense of purpose, actually. He was a potential client, and I was a professional. I wanted this job.
Simple.
So… why did it feel so damn complicated when he looked at me like that?
“Let’s get started?” I pulled out my tablet. “I have a lot of pictures to show you, and some general ideas to run by you. We can start with the living room.” I took a few steps into the room and he followed, hanging back a bit. “What you’ve done with your furniture is pretty typical. Most people will, by default, push the couch and other large furniture up against the walls. It would actually work a lot better in this space, though, if we pulled it all together over here, around the coffee table.” I pointed at his sad little old crate.
“I don’t have a coffee table.”
“Yet. I suggest angling it all this way instead of that, so that you don’t have the TV in front of the windows and block so much of the view. You get such great northern exposure here, so much light you’re missing out on.”
“I usually just keep the curtains closed because it’s hard to watch the TV.”
“Why did you buy this place?” I asked him. “You could’ve bought a condo anywhere in Vancouver. Why did you buy this one in particular?”
He shrugged. “It’s close to the marina. Quick access to the island. And the view, I guess.”
“And yet you’re not utilizing the view.”
