Page 5 of Tempting Tessa

Caroline: LOL, girl are you actually admitting to being attracted to someone??? Luke and him grew up together and have been friends for a long time. I don’t think he’s seeing anyone and I know he isn’t married. I can get more scoop from Luke when he’s home from work tonight.

Tessa: Maybe… He was so nice and professional. If I can get the flooring picked out and they can get it ordered by the beginning of next week, then they can fit me in before they start a huge building project that is scheduled to last all summer.

Caroline: Wow that’s awesome! Have fun picking out your new flooring!

I start looking at the brands that are listed as the preferred brands on the list Jake gave me and narrow down what I like to four options. The associate helping me tells me I can take samples home of the ones I like to see what they look like in my kitchen. This way I can get a couple of opinions from my parents and Caroline. I make it home in time to meet the insurance adjuster.

After waiting for the adjuster to look over everything, she gives me a printout showing what damage they show, as well as what they will cover. Thankfully, it looks like they will cover most, if not all of the repairs.

Tessa: Hey Jake, I just got done meeting with the insurance adjuster regarding the kitchen repairs and per the printout she gave me, it looks like they are going to cover most of the repairs! Can I drop off a copy of this report to you? I also have narrowed down the flooring to four options. I brought home samples to see how they look in my kitchen.

Jake: Sounds good, Tessa. I just finished a final walk-through and am not far from your subdivision. I can swing by and pick up the paperwork and take a look at what flooring options you are considering if you need another opinion.

Tessa: Thanks! I’ll see you when you get here.

Cue freak-out. I run up to my room to freshen up before he arrives. I can’t believe I have butterflies in my stomach because he is coming back over. I really need to rein in this attraction I have developed suddenly. I hope Caroline is correct and he isn’t dating anyone. But am I ready to jump into the dating ring?

About 10 minutes later my doorbell rings and I have a huge smile plastered on my face as I answer the door.

“Hey, Jake, that was fast. Thanks for stopping back over. I know you’re busy.” I can’t stop myself from all the word vomit nor the huge smile plastered on my face.

“No problem at all. Like I said, I wasn’t far from here and it saved you the trip to our office.”

We stand there at the door for a few seconds just looking at each other before I realize what I’m doing, and finally step to the side to let him in. “I’m sorry, please, come in. I have the insurance paperwork in the kitchen, as well as the flooring samples.”

Looking at the samples, Jake grins at me. “These options are all great quality and top brands. They will all install beautifully in the kitchen. I think options 2 and 3 match best with the cabinets and trim that you already have in here.”

“That’s what I was thinking myself. I’m so glad that the store offered the samples to me so I could see the options in my actual kitchen and not just try and imagine what they would look like in here. Oh, and here is a copy of the paperwork from my insurance company for the kitchen. I also had a thought when I was at the store. Do I need to pick out the roofing stuff or does your company handle that?”

“We purchase it in bulk, so as long as you don’t want a different color than what is already on your roof, we will just replace it with the same color.”

“The same color is perfect. As for the flooring, Caroline and Luke are going to stop by tonight to look at what I have and my parents are going to come by as well. Once I have made my final decision do I let you know or call the store to order it?”

“You can call, text or email me your selection. On the back of each of the samples they should have a sticker with a code. I just need that info and we will get it all ordered. I have the measurements, so we will be sure to order the correct amount needed. I will also have a construction dumpster delivered on Monday morning next week. Is there a specific place you would like us to have it put or an area that we need to avoid?”

“Along the side of the house is fine with me, unless you would prefer it somewhere else? I would just ask that it not block my garage or the area by the swing set, as that is where my son plays when we are outside.”

“The side will work perfectly. I will put that information on the order when it gets sent in. If you don’t have any more questions, I will get out of your way. Once I’m back at the office I will get your estimate finished and emailed over to you.”

“Thanks again, Jake, I will be in touch soon,” I say as I smile up at him.

I walk Jake out and decide to head over to my parents’ house. I’ve missed Ty today and am ready to see my little man. Once I arrive there, I go over everything from today with my parents and we eat an early dinner so that we have time for them to come see the flooring options that I have at the house.

“You picked some great options, Tessa,” my dad says to me as he looks over the flooring samples.

“Yes, sweetie, they are great. It is going to be hard to choose just one,” my mom adds.

“I know, but I’m glad that I was able to bring the samples home. With them in my kitchen I realize options 1 and 4 don’t work. So now I just have to decide between 2 and 3.”

“I like 3 best, the color goes so well with the cabinets and trim in here. I also really love the texture,” my mom says.

“I agree with your mother,” my dad adds.

“I think I like the third one best as well, and I agree about the color and texture. When I have looked at flooring before, I was always drawn to the hand scraped options and that is what this one is.”

Just then there is a knock on the door as it opens. In walks Caroline, Luke, and the boys. The boys take off looking for Ty who is in the playroom building his next great project. Caroline and Luke come into the kitchen to give us their opinions on the flooring options.

“Tessa, these options are beautiful, you did a great job this morning picking them out,” Caroline says as she looks over the flooring samples.

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