Page 11 of After the Red Carpet
“Excellent. I already have all kinds of ideas about how we might arrange things for the best flow. I brought several binders with me,” Lorraine noted, gesturing at the materials strewn on the table. “They cover everything: flooring, color palettes, furniture styles, themes. You can tell me some more about your work, and then we can start flipping through them to see what style suits you best.”
NEARLY TWO HOURS LATER, FINNlightly tapped on the door before coming in. The women were laughing uproariously. “I didn’t want to interrupt, but I just wanted to see if you two could use more tea.”
“You’re not interrupting at all,” Ella replied. “We’ve been having a ball.”
“Yes, Ella is a hoot. I think I have everything I need to get started,” Lorraine said, scooping up her folders. “This room is going to be my masterpiece, my magnum opus.”
Ella giggled. “If you don’t mind, I want to go check on my kitten. Please excuse me. It was lovely to meet you, Lorraine.”
“She’s in our room,” Finn said.
After Ella left, Lorraine said, “She’s absolutely delightful. Her spirit is infectious. I can see why you’re so smitten.”
Finn blushed. “Now you know why it’s so important to me that this room comes out just right.”
“Don’t worry, it’s going to be magnificent. I estimate that it will take at least a few weeks to do it right, even working at full speed. My contractor is standing by with a team. The style is going to be French country, white with green pops, plenty of antiques with a few modern touches. I’m going to start scouring my sources in Europe for the perfect antique writing desk. Ella has great, eclectic taste. She didn’t ask for much, but she gave me lots to work with in terms of her lifestyle and aesthetic.”
“Please do absolutely everything she asked for. There are a few ideas I have too, a few surprises. This room has to be more than an office. I want it to show Ella exactly how I feel.”
“That was mind-blowing,” Finn said, rolling onto the bed beside Ella. “You are so sexy.”
“I’m going to miss you tomorrow. I’ve had so much fun with you these past couple of weeks, lounging about, exploring the hiking trails, talking for hours.”
“It will be hard to tear myself away, especially to do press junkets. They can be so boring, and I’d much rather be here with you. But with Willow busy in New York rehearsing for her play and Charlotte in London, Michael and I are doing the lion’s share of promotion. I’m eager to catch up with him and find out how on earth he got Lauren back.”
Ella giggled. “Just make sure he’s being a good boy so he doesn’t foul it up again. Losing someone you love once is heartbreaking; to lose them twice would be unimaginable.”
“It sure would,” he agreed, tracing his finger along her hairline. They stared at each other for a long moment, the energy between them electric. Finally, Finn said, “What about you? I saw that you set up your laptop and notebooks on the dining room table. Planning to get started on your next project?”
“Yes! Until my office is ready, I thought I’d just plop down there, if that’s okay.”
“Of course it is.”
“I promised Lorraine that I wouldn’t peek at the room until it’s done, so I don’t even know what they’re doing in there. She warned me there would be construction this week and it might get noisy. So, I’m meeting an old friend from college at a vegan café and bookshop in Venice Beach.”
“Not an old flame, I hope,” he said playfully as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Should I be jealous?”
“Never. We belong to each other, you and I,” she replied, giving him a smooch. “My friend Marni lives in LA, and I’ve been looking forward to seeing her after all these years. We were tight in college, founding members of our school’s philosophy club. Now she’s the editor at an arts and culture magazine that publishes a lot of highbrow theoretical essays. She’s feminist, snarky, and smart. I emailed her when I moved here, and we’ve been chatting ever since.” He smiled and she continued, “The best part is, she told me she runs a small philosophy group, just her and a couple of other people: a philosophy professor and some sort of conceptual artist. Apparently, they meet once a week for tea or whatever and to talk about big ideas or things they’ve read. They’re both coming tomorrow too, and she said I can join their group if I’m interested. I’ve always had lots of friends who are thinkers and creatives. It fuels my work, and I was worried about whether I’d have that here. This could be the solution.”
“That’s great, sweetheart,” he said, unable to tame his smile.
“What’s that grin about?” she asked.
“I just want you to be happy and fulfilled, that’s all. And . . .”
“What?”
“I’m happy to see you building a life here.”
“Well, that’s the whole point, silly.” She turned onto her side and whispered, “Sweet dreams. Now switch off the light and spoon me, my love.”
“JUST A LITTLE FINISHING SPRAY ANDyou’ll be all set,” the young makeup artist said.
“Good job. You really know your stuff,” Michael replied.
She giggled, batting her false eyelashes. “Well, it’s easy with you.” She cleared her throat and said, “Someone will come get you two as soon as the reporter is ready.”
Michael turned to gawk as she exited the room.
