Page 37 of Jordan

The key had been left under the welcome mat. Fishing it out, he opened the door, swinging it open and stepped back so she could see the full effect. And he wanted to see her reaction. It had taken a week to get it ready, but he had commissioned a team of carpenters to get it done and paid for any overtime necessary.

"Oh my." She stepped into the foyer which had been wallpapered in apple green silk and wandered into the open space of the living room.

"Caleb helped by offering suggestions. He thought you'd like the new look."

He stood behind as she turned a slow circle around the room. The old, faded sofas were gone to be replaced by graceful antiques of muted tan and yellow. A lovely redwood table stood in the middle and the rug echoed the theme of the room, with touches of green and red.

Curtains, with the same colors fluttered at windows that had been replaced.

"What happened to the old furniture?"

"Donated to the shelter. Look, I don't know if I overstepped-"

"No." She shook her head, unwilling to meet his eyes. He had done this for her, and she had no idea what to do about it. She did not want to feel obligated to him and was scared that what had started out as an arrangement was swiftly becoming something else. Something she wasn't ready for.

"It's perfect." She forced the smile to her lips. "Upstairs?"

"The same."

"You got this done in just a week?"

"More or less." He was watching her closely and saw the hesitancy in her features.

"If you don't like what was done, it can be discarded."

"Then I would be ungrateful." She walked towards him then. "Thanks. This is quite a coming home surprise."

He was not convinced that she was grateful but left it at that.

"Hungry?"

"Starving. But I want to see upstairs. Then I'll rustle something up for us to eat."

"We could go out."

"No. I want to cook."

*****

She prepared a delicious vegetable stew and warmed up the homemade bread that a neighbor had left for them. And insisted on having the meal in the dining room with the proper place settings. The tour of the rooms upstairs had left her speechless. Her old bedroom had been transformed-the pearl pink wallpaper a perfect complement for the matching curtains and stained white furnishing.

The other bedrooms had been done in rich blue and green, the old furniture replaced by new ones that somehow looked as if they had been there for years. The floors had been stripped and polished to a high gloss. The bathrooms had also been redone.

She wanted to ask how much everything cost, but that would have put a damper on the mood. She decided to leave it for now and was determined to show him how much she appreciated what he did.

A bottle of Chianti went well with the meal, and she had even found some raspberry tarte that had been left in the freezer.

As they sat down to eat, the atmosphere grew warmer, more relaxed. The wine seemed to loosen their tongues, and soon they were sharing stories, laughter punctuating their conversation. The stew was delectable, the bread soft and fragrant, and the tarte a delightful finish.

After dinner, they moved to the living room, where a fire crackled in the hearth. She curled up on the sofa, feeling more at home than she had in years. He sat beside her, close but not too close, respecting her space. They continued talking, the hours slipping by unnoticed. And he found her a delightful source of information. And a rather charming wit.

She had a way of spinning stories around the people she had met during her travels. He loved the sound of her laughter and how she loosened up as soon as she soaked up the wine. Kicking off her shoes, she curled her feet beneath her and entertained him with stories of her agent.

"I would like you to meet him."

"Why's that?" They were on the porch, with the slightly chilly spring breeze dancing on their skin. It was so quiet-the ambiance perfect with the scent of flowers blooming and a hint of rain in the air.

"He's this portly gentleman who looks very much like a scholar but has an Irish temper and a habit of getting his own way." She shook her head with a laugh. She was feeling slightly tipsy, but did not mind it one bit. "When I called him, he invited me to lunch at his place."

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