Page 3 of Designs on You

Exciting.

She hated it.

• • •

Eugene circled the house, thrilled for Linc and Hazel to be finally settled. He knew living in another renovation zone had been a hassle for them this past year, but they hadn’t once complainedabout it. And while he’d stayed in California to finish up a project before officially moving out here to start his new job, he’d been back and forth a lot, getting to know Hazel better. And all five of the dogs, of course.

He’d never figured his brother for the settling down type. Linc had previously lived a vagabond lifestyle of renovating a house, then moving to another state to do the next one. Eugene had barely been able to keep up with what city Linc had been living in.

Not that he’d really cared. He had his own world and that had kept him happy. But seeing his brother in love? Yeah, that had been a shocker. After meeting Hazel, he could see the reason why. She was perfect for Linc, had turned the freewheeling workaholic into someone who seemed more caring, more settled. And definitely in love.

Eugene took a long swallow of his beer and walked outside, finding Linc sitting at a table with Hazel next to him, all five of the dogs either on their laps or lying on the ground next to them.

Yeah, pretty good life for his brother.

Eugene wasn’t anywhere near ready for a life like that.

His gaze tracked to where Natalie sat chatting with some older guy who could be her grandpa. He shook his head. Leave it to her to play it safe. He’d have to fix that.

He’d learned plenty about her from listening to Hazel and Linc talk. Natalie had been through it with her shitty ex-husband, who not only treated her like she worked for him, but then fought her every step of the way in the divorce. But instead of breaking her, it only made her more determined to never let a man control her life again.

A woman like that was just the kind of woman Eugene found attractive. He had to admit he found her fascinating as hell. And beautiful, with her dark hair and piercing green eyes, not to mention her incredible body. Plus she had the smart mouth to go with the already perfect package. What more could a guy want?

They’d tussled since they first met, and he’d been happy as hell that she’d thrown his teasing comments right back at him. He could tell he got under her skin, but he hadn’t even given her his best stuff yet.

That was yet to come.

CHAPTER TWO

Natalie pulled out wallpaper samples, standing at the big table in the interior design shop where she worked. She stared down at the plethora of samples and let out a satisfied sigh.

She worked. She had a job. She was free, independent, able to make her own decisions now. She did work for someone, but Delilah was an absolute delight, her design company was perfect for Natalie, and even more importantly, she trusted Natalie and gave her the freedom to do whatever she wanted for her clients.

Sean had never wanted her to work, preferring she stay home to take care of the house and kids. As someone who’d been so excited to get her degree and plan her career, she had no idea what had happened to her, how she had lost herself so fully. Because she was full of zest and desire, and she could have capably handled a marriage, kids, and a career. So how could she have let Sean sideline her life like that? How had she so completely given up control?

Shaking off thoughts of the past, she loaded up the wallpaper samples along with a few other awesome plans for her client, thenheaded out on the road, grateful to crack the window and feel the spring breeze flowing in her face.

Her phone buzzed, and she waited until she pulled up in front of the client’s house to look at it, seeing that she had missed a call from Hazel. She sent her a quick text to let her know she was meeting with a client and she’d call her back once she was finished.

It took about an hour to go over the samples with her client. They were renovating the living room and kitchen, and right now everything was a dusty mess, but Natalie didn’t concern herself with the construction aspect. Her job was to show the homeowners the fun, pretty things, like wallpaper and paint colors and hardware and countertops. Marianne was open and enthusiastic about updating her twenty-year-old home and loved all of Natalie’s ideas. She threw in a few requests of her own, and Natalie made notes. They wrapped up, and she headed out, telling her phone to call Hazel while she drove.

“I’m so sorry to bother you while you’re working,” Hazel said.

“It’s no bother. What’s up?”

“Are you and the kids free for dinner tonight?”

“Cammie and Christopher are with Sean tonight, but I’m available.”

“Oh great. Can you come over? I’m trying out a new seafood pasta recipe.”

Her mouth watered at the thought, especially since her sister was a phenomenal cook. “Count me in. Thanks for the invite.”

“You’re welcome. See you about seven.”

“See you then.”

She clicked off and sent herself a voice note to add tonight’s dinner to her calendar. Then she made voice notes about her visit with Marianne.

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