Page 7 of Elijah
Amy
aged 28
As I wrote down the measurement of the huge French windows that overlooked the area that was to be a terrace, I could see Elijah from the corner of my eye. He was doing the same thing I was; measuring and taking photographs. He’d been taking lots of measurements – I knew because I’d barely been able to stop taking secretive glances. It was like poking at a loose tooth, it damn well hurt, but you couldn’t stop doing it as you relished a little in the pain. That’s what Elijah was; a pain that I relished.
Seeing his truck had sent my heart into over drive, but seeing him and being in the same airspace had almost knocked me off my feet. I thought I was going to pass out as a deep, cloying heat suffocated my body and my mind. Concentrating on being bitchy was the only way I was able to stop myself from collapsing in a heap on the floor.
His gorgeous, brown eyes and long lashes still took my breath away, as with every blink they fluttered against his tanned cheeks. His face had gone from boyish and beautiful to handsome and manly, his chiselled jaw now covered in stubble and his hair no longer messy and slightly outgrown but cropped close to his head. Everything about him had improved over the five years since I’d last seen him, and he’d been almost flawless then. Even the tattoos on his arms were better – there were more of them for a start and without trying to stare too much, I could see the once monotone pictures were now full of colour. But it wasn’t simply his looks that had been perfect, he’d been an amazing husband. Yes, we had our rows like any couple, but we loved each other, and he’d cherished and respected me – well, until that night at least.
Blowing out a breath, I got back to the job in hand - designing the interior for five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a lounge, a family and a dining room, all of which was going to take me some time. That being said, I knew Elijah’s task was even bigger than mine. Tino had told me that he and Sophie wanted two terraces that would both catch the sun at different times of the day, a garden where the kids could play and kick a ball around, one with plants and flowers where he and Sophie could relax, an herb garden, and somewhere for his llamas; all in all, a major amount of work. Add the fact that the land surrounding the house was currently mud, weeds, and rubble- it was going to take him and the guys who worked for him some time.
My remit was to provide homely yet modern and stylish rooms that were contrasting to the exterior of the house with its cream, stuccoed walls, low pitched, red tiled roof and arched windows. If it had been up to Tino, there’d be Rubenesque art, marble pillars, and gilt-edged furniture, Sophie however, had a different idea. She’d given Tino carte blanche with the style of the house and the gardens, but she was insisting she made the decisions on the interior, which I was glad about – I loved modern and stylish- renaissance, not so much.
“He’s going to be busy,” Claudia said, nodding toward Elijah who was writing something in a notepad.
“Good.” I noted the width of the window and gave him a cursory glance. “It means I won’t have to speak to him too much.”
“Got to be honest,” Claudia said, taking a photograph of the window. “He seems okay. Not half as monstrous as you made out.”
“God, he’s bloody entranced you with those bloody long eyelashes, hasn’t he?”
Claudia closed her eyes and tilted her head to the ceiling.
“What are you doing?” I asked, eyeing her up and down.
“Just checking if imagining a penis does anything for me,” she replied, her eyes still closed. “But no, sorry.” She opened her eyes and shrugged. “I’m still gay. He didn’t manage to entrance me.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I snapped. “And you know it.”
“Oh really?” she asked in mock surprise. “I thought you meant I found him so attractive I’d be vacuous enough to ignore his monstrous personality. Is that not what you meant?”
She gave me a false smile and snapped another photograph. Sometimes I wondered why I kept her on, she was so bloody sarcastic and seemed to find great joy in winding me up. Problem was she was a damn good assistant and barely needed any direction.
“I take people as I find them,” Claudia said from behind the camera. “And I found him to be perfectly pleasant. However, I realise I wasn’t married to him and you were.”
“Yes, I was.”
I didn’t elaborate because truth be told, it was still too painful to think about. Everything around our short-lived marriage made my chest ache. Actually, that was a lie, everything around the last three hours of our marriage made my chest ache.
“We done in here?” Claudia asked.
I looked down at my notes and measurements, tapping my pen against my chin. I had everything I needed and already had an idea of which fabrics I might use for curtains and throw cushions.
“Yep, all done,” I replied, looking at my watch. “Shall we grab a coffee before we start on the dining room?”
“Did you bring any?”
I nodded. “In my bag, in the hall. There’s a jar of coffee and some insulated paper cups.”
“Did you bring milk?” Claudia frowned as she handed me the camera.
“Yep. I even brought some small packets of sugar.”
She grinned and left me in the middle of the room, looking through the pictures she’d taken to see if I needed to take any others. Taking a few more, I then made my way to the gorgeous, state of the art kitchen, which had already been installed by the house builder.
When I got there, Claudia was just pouring water into three cups.
“Who’s the other drink for?” I asked, pulling out one of the stools at the huge kitchen island.
