Page 34 of Between Desire and Denial
“Why wouldn’t I look at you closely without your makeup on? It’s when I get to see the real you, without hiding a single thing. I want to see the perfection you hide from everyone.”
“Kee’s right. You can be too charming sometimes.” She sighed before jumping to the other topic on her mind. “So, want to show me the upstairs?”
“Right. About that…” I smirked because I knew she wasn’t going to like the revelation once she was up there. “I don’t have much furnished or anything.”
“Oh, well.” She narrowed her eyes and took a big breath, like she was resigning herself to something. “I can make do.”
I hummed. “I haven’t decorated. We’ll need to get more furniture, and I’d like your ideas on renovation and decorating so that when I sell the house, it’ll look good for potential buyers. What do you think about the arches—"
“Most of the homes here are historic, Dimitri. You might want to get over the idea that you can renovate any of it. And as for redecorating, I’m sure you can get someone to come in and do it for you. Keep it to yourself, though, because no one will love the idea of you leaving quick and moving.” She brushed a hand over the wooden staircase railing and pointed to the crown molding along the trim of the living room. “Ifit were a possibility, the architectural structure of this place with its open concept is ideal for selling anyway. This is a highly sought-after location.”
I smiled at how quickly she could file through her knowledge and provide me with information. “You’ll be perfect at helping redecorate, it seems. You already know a little.”
“I don’t. I did a bit of research a few years ago for a paper, but real estate is fickle. Design trends come and go quickly.”
“You know about real estate too?”
“I don’t know a lot about anything, Dimitri. Just a little of everything. Mingling in my dad’s and stepmom’s circles in this town, and at Kee’s events, made it necessary.” She sighed like maybe she wasn’t so excited about how she’d lived her life so far. “I pivoted a lot in life for people I cared about, probably too much. We strive to make our families and friends and partners happy even when we should be focusing on making ourselves happy first.” I wasn’t sure she was talking to me anymore. She was staring through me, the house, and the world at that moment. Her eyes looked haunted, but then she blinked away the darkness. “Anyway, my past doesn’t really matter.”
“It does,” I corrected her. “It makes you who you are. Plus, I need to know about you, and you need to know about me if we’re going to pull off being a couple.”
“I think we probably need to pull back on that idea.” She wrinkled her nose.
“We can figure it out over dinner. And you can tell me what happened at your family’s house.”
She sighed and combed some of her curls back into place. “It’s just family stuff.”
“‘Just family stuff’ is probably the most important stuff. So, I’m here when you’re ready to share.” I leaned over to the island counter to grab my phone. “What do you want for dinner? We can go over how we met while we eat. Tell me what’s good around here.”
“Haven’t you been staying here on and off?”
“Not really.” I flew in and out for meetings.
“All the more reason Paradise Grove won’t trust you,” she grumbled as she grabbed her phone too. “I’ll put in an orderfor some pizza. What do you normally like for toppings? There’s great Italian down the street.”
“Pepperoni is fine. And do you think it’s necessary I’m here that much?”
She scoffed as she typed in her phone and mumbled to herself while she presumably ordered before she looked up at me like I was dumb. For some damn reason, I wanted to prove her wrong. “I’ll be here, I guess. So, I’ll schmooze Paradise Grove for you. You of all people know it takes that to win a deal.”
“You’re right,” I said softly, thinking I was trying to win her in the deal, not the damn town.
“They won’t trust you if you don’t attend certain things over the next few months and aren’t around. I can fill in most of the time, but you will have to at least come back when needed.”
“What does ‘when needed’ mean to you?”
“Do you have that full of a schedule?” She read my question the wrong way. My ass was sitting there thinking I might just be able to weasel my way into being here all the damn time. She turned to make her way into the kitchen like suddenly she owned the place. “I mean, you were around quite a lot for Kee and seemed to be able to get most things done on your computer.”
“Kee’s my best friend. And we were dealing with the opening of a resort. Plus, she was engaged to my brother. So, I was with family and doing business.”
“Okay, in that case, you can put on your calendar the annual Paradise Grove Carnival at the end of summer.”
“The board meeting is in a month and a half. I won’t need to go to anything after that.”
She hummed like she disagreed. “That’s if they pass what you want them to.”
“They will because I have you.”
Her amber eyes hardened as she glared at me. “You have to be around too.”
