Page 42 of Idle

But this, here, makes me want to shout out to the universeI belong!I’m exactly where I should be. I finish my ice cream and the buzzing from inside my body has nothing to do with the coldness from the sweet. I’ve never felt this way about work. Or college. No, when I think about those things, a weight settles over me. But now, here, Paige has lifted it. The only other time I feel this free is when I’m in my workshop.

I turn my head and take in the beauty before me, and not only the High Line. “You have no idea how right you are.” She takes her final bite of her cone and wipes her hands on the white paper napkin. Looking at me, she reaches over and wipes my cheek. Her simple, thoughtful touch scrambles my brain. Impulsively, I grab my phone and hold it up in front of us. “Selfie?”

“Of course!”

She tilts her head toward mine and I snap a photo from above. Lowering my cell, I glance at her and catch her staring at me, her eyes begging for me. To what? Kiss her? I’ve been warned off her by Theo and Xander. Besides, Bo. And Homer. Not a good idea to let our lips do the talking—despite how right it seems.

After a prolonged moment, I pull myself to standing. Not trusting myself to do more, I don’t offer her my hand to help her up.

My soul may be feeling light, but my heart’s dropping in the opposite direction.

13

Paige

Ever since we returned from our walk on the High Line, my mood’s soared—which sparked my creativity. Over the past few hours, I’ve come up with a window dressing installation unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It takes advantage of the primary bedroom’s high ceilings, while also acknowledging the need for total blackness at night.

I glance over at Jesse, who’s designing the bed. Last I looked, it was amazing. I poke my nose over at his drawing.

“That looks great. Although, what if you added some of your infamous whittling to the headboard?”

His head rears back. “You can’t whittle something this big.”

I flick my wrist. “Then carve it.”

“Carve? Are you crazy? For one, it would take forever. Not to mention I’ve never carved anything larger than a breadbox.”

“Ah-ha! But youhavedone carving before?”

“Well, yes. But as I said.” He holds up his index finger. “Too much time.” He adds his middle finger. “Never this size.”

I tackle the only thing that matters. “How much time do you think it would take to carve the headboard?”

“I don’t know. Three, maybe four days.”

“And we have five. Problem solved.” I offer him my biggest grin. He can do this. Show off his amazing skills.

“Paige,” he stares at me. “I’ve never done anything to this scale. I don’t want to—”

When he trails off, I dive in. “Don’t you see? This would be an excellent place to showcase your skills. Besides the dresser and two end tables, what other pieces do you have to do for the primary suite? The closet organizer will be installed by the crew, and it’s boring anyway. The bathroom doesn’t have anything major for us to do, either. That’s mainly on the plumber and electricians.”

“I’ll have to handle the framing for it.”

“Half day. Max.”

His right foot rocks on the floor. “Too much. I can’t get all of this done in five days.”

“I’ll do the easy stuff. You can do the bathroom framing, bed, and dresser. I’ll take over the side tables.”

He flips through his sketches until he reaches the matching side tables. He stares at them for a while. “They are relatively basic. I wanted to dress them up, though.”

“If they stay basic, I’m sure I can pull it off. Don’t forget, I have done light carpentry before.”

He gives me a skeptical look. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll also handle the window coverings. Check them out!”

I thrust my design at him and his eyes double in size. “I’ve honestly never seen anything quite like this before. They’re breathtaking.”

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