Love Finds You on Christmas Morning (29 page)

“But I’m sure he’ll appreciate your apologizing anyway.” This last comment was punctuated with a quick smile that seemed to insinuate that Nikki would fall short as a decent person if she ran roughshod over Drew’s good graces.

Even though she bristled at the smile, Nikki agreed.

Gigi said, “It shows what a nice girl you are to even notice that you snapped at him. Sometimes I’m like that with my husband, Phil, and I don’t think about it at all. It’s a wonder he stays with me.
He’s
a wonder.”

Now she had both Nikki and Hannah smiling. Nikki couldn’t help it. Happy marriages had that effect on the Tronnier women.

“And Drew is a wonder too,” Gigi said.

The door opened and a pretty, teenaged version of Gigi peeked in and chuckled. “Mom! I thought Daddy lost you. He said we need to go as soon as possible.”

“ ’Kay, baby.” Gigi walked to the door and tossed another comment over her shoulder to Nikki. “Anyway, you don’t want to let that one get away. Nice meeting you girls.”

Hannah and Nikki called out their good-byes. Nikki waited for the door to close before she spoke again.

“I wonder how much of this is going to get reported to Drew.”

“Ten bucks says she’s pulling her cell phone out as we speak. And she’ll tell him everything but your shoe size, and only because she can’t figure that out on her own.”

“I don’t think we were talking about the house at all in here, right? So she won’t say anything about that.”

“No, I don’t think so either. She’ll only be able to tell him you were floored by his kiss.”

Nikki groaned. “How desperate do
I
sound?”

“Judging by what you’ve told me so far, the guy is due a little encouragement. You haven’t been the easiest catch, that’s for sure.”

“Hey, I’m not caught yet.”

Hannah turned her palm up at Nikki. “Case in point.”

“There’s nothing wrong with moving slowly.”

“Whatever. I don’t get the impression Gigi shares that attitude. Not about romance, and probably not about spreading the word to Drew.”

“She can’t be calling him already. Not if her hubby is hurrying her to leave.”

“Hey, I have to get out there too,” Hannah said. “David’s supposed to meet me here.”

They walked out of the ladies’ room together.

Nikki pulled her keys from her purse. “I’m just going to have to call Drew before Gigi gets to him. I don’t want him to think I’m only apologizing because she told me to.”

“There’s David.” Hannah waved at him, and the sisters walked in his direction. “Then you’d better call him on the way home. I don’t get the impression news sits idle at Chez Gigi for long.

No matter how hard he tried, Drew couldn’t quite wipe the smile off his face.

“What are you so happy about?” Nikki gave him that smile of hers, the one that went along with an amused but suspicious sideways glance. “Haven’t you ever been apologized to before? It’s not very valiant of you to gloat, you know.”

They were driving to the home design center together. Several days had passed since Nikki called and apologized for being so rude to him. But this was the first time they’d gotten together since then, and one of the first things he had done was tease her about how obviously difficult the apology had been.

“I don’t mean to gloat. This is happiness you see, not gloating. It says a lot that you apologized, and I’m glad you’re not still angry with me.”

“I told you, I wasn’t actually angry with you. I was angry with myself.”

He nodded. “Then I hope you apologized to yourself too. Everything worked out all right, didn’t it? And Harvey’s home, safe and sound? And best of all, you haven’t let his fall keep you from leaving his side once in a while and seeing me. And saving me from making my beautiful house a nightmare inside.”

And there it was yet again, that subtle cloud across her features. Something just didn’t sit right with her about him. But he wasn’t about to rock the boat, not now that things were going well between them. She’d open up with him eventually. He was sure of it.

Several hours rushed by while they strolled through the design center and discussed decorating options. Drew happened to glance at a clock on the wall.

“Is that a display clock?” He looked at his watch. “No, it really is four! Man, I usually hate window-shopping, but this has been fun. For a number of reasons.”

She returned his smile. “The company you’re keeping has a lot to do with it, I assume?”

“That’s the main reason, yes.” Nikki’s hand brushed against his. He took hold of it as casually as he could, and she didn’t pull away. “And you have great ideas. I knew you would.”

She pointed to a display wall. “Drew!
That’s
the color I was talking about for the living room. What do you think of that?”

It was yellow, as far as he could tell. “Um…it’s…nice?”

She laughed. “You see how it has creamy undertones, like custard, rather than a sharp, lemony feel?”

“Hmm. Why is that wall suddenly making me hungry?”

“And if you incorporated some molding along here”—she pointed to the edges of the display-room walls—”it would give the room such character. And even use a bit of sheen, just the slightest bit, like eggshell. Then you’ll get a bit of warmth reflecting off other items and fabrics in the room.”

“Oh, yeah. I like that idea.”

“I know you’re thinking about taking down that wall between the dining room and living room, and I agree with that. It should never have been added. But if you just put in a half wall, with…with maybe a half post from the wall up to the ceiling? You know—so you’d still see from one room into the next? You’d hint at separate rooms without losing the openness you want.”

He watched her as she spoke. She clearly had a vivid image in her mind now, almost as if it were a memory rather than something she imagined for his future home.

She said, “You’d be able to prepare the table for your family while they gathered in the living room. And you’d still be able to be part of the conversation. No one likes when the cook has to be apart from everyone else while she’s preparing the meal.”

“Are you remembering a room from one of the homes where you and Armand catered?”

She looked up quickly. “Uh, no.” She looked away, referring to the little notebook she’d brought with her. “Let’s go find that salesperson again and ask what this paint is called—what do you say?”

Hmm. Maybe an old boyfriend’s home inspired her vision and she didn’t want to talk about it. Whatever. It wasn’t a problem for him. He loved her ideas.

“Sure. Find the salesperson. Sounds like a plan.”

They walked away from the display.

“And then how about we check out that model home you mentioned?” he said. “And after that maybe we could get a bite of dinner. Do you have to get back to Harvey?”

“Not tonight. His son and daughter-in-law are back in town from their trip to Europe. They’ve talked him into spending some time with them, since he’s supposed to relax for a few days.”

“So you’re free for those few days?”

She smiled. “Not completely. I’m sort of on call. Harvey took me aside and confided that he wasn’t sure how long he’d last at Morgan’s place. They clash sometimes.”

“I thought you said they were really close.”

“That’s Harvey and his grandson, Nathan. The two of them are tight. Very similar personalities and priorities. Apparently Morgan, his son, has never had much interest in Harvey’s business. Or in Harvey, really. He and his wife travel all the time. He writes articles and books about travel. But Nathan has always found his grandfather and his work fascinating. He’ll be the one to take over someday, I’m sure.”

“Interesting to have the camaraderie skip a generation like that.”

“Mmm-hmm. Personally, I was always really close with my
great-
grandparents, Grampa William and Granny Lillian. I mean, I was still fairly young when they passed away, but I absolutely loved spending time with them. I really miss them.”

“Were they from around here?”

She nodded, and an expression crossed her face as if he had just caught her in a lie. What was it with her? His little mystery woman.

“Yeah,” she said. “Oh, there’s our salesman.” And she rushed ahead, nearly leaving him behind.

As they finished up, the salesman gave his business card to Nikki.

While they walked to the car, Drew’s curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to plunge in. “Nikki, is there something you need to tell me?”

She paused in her step for the briefest moment before walking on. She smiled at him, but a little frown marred her expression. “No. I think we’re off to a really good start with these ideas. Don’t you like what I’ve suggested so far?”

“Oh, I love the ideas. It’s just that sometimes you get this…look.” He smiled in an effort to keep the conversation light. “It’s as if you’re an amnesia patient in one of those soap operas and little bits of trouble keep dropping back into your memory.”

They both laughed at that.

She looked ahead, at his car, as she spoke. “No, no amnesia here.”

“And sometimes the look is more like…” He wasn’t sure he wanted to say this. It made him sound a little needy. He opened the passenger-side door of his Audi for her.

She tossed her purse onto the floor of the car, got in, and opened those beautiful brown eyes at him without the slightest hint of discontent showing. “Thanks. Like what?”

“Like I’m getting on your nerves.” He gently closed her door and walked around to his side of the car. When he looked at her again, he could tell she was trying to either figure out what he was referring to or decide whether to lower the boom on him. Now he wished he had kept his mouth shut. They obviously had chemistry. Whatever it was about him that bothered her was sure to work itself out. This pressure could annoy her right out of his life before they really got a chance to—

“Drew, you haven’t gotten on my nerves at all. I think you’re—Well, I really love being with you. I can’t remember the last time I looked forward to seeing someone like I do you. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?” He knew exactly how he was looking at her. He just wanted to hear her describe it.

Her smile turned up on one side, as if she could only keep half of it from happening. “All romanticky.”

He burst out laughing and saw the other half of her smile turn up. “I guess you make me feel all romanticky.” He leaned toward her and gave her a kiss. Right there in the home design center parking lot. And she kissed him back, almost as enthusiastically as she had outside the restaurant. They were starting to develop a pattern: conduct some form of business in a building, leave the building, and kiss. He quickly formed a mental list of all of the buildings they might visit over the coming days.

He realized she hadn’t answered his initial question, but at the moment he struggled to remember what the question had been.

Still, he slowly pulled away and saw she had more to say.

“I think I’ve been giving you the wrong impression without realizing it,” she said. She sighed. “It’s about the house.”

Oh no. He had been certain she liked the house. Yes, the two of them were a new couple—hardly even a couple yet, really. But he loved involving her in the remodeling, having her be a part of making it beautiful.

“You don’t like the house?”

“Oh, I love the house. That’s just it.”

He drew the back of his hand across his forehead and grinned. “Phew! You had me worried for a second. I swear I felt something almost divine when I first saw the place. I was sure God saved it for me, especially when I learned it had been on the market for so long before I found it. I can’t wait to finish restoring and remodeling it.”

That little frown returned to her features, even while she nodded. “I can imagine exactly how you feel.”

“So what’s wrong with the house?”

His cell phone interrupted them.

“It’s my mom. Excuse me just a second.” He took the call. “Hi, Mom.”

She started crying the moment he spoke. “Drew?”

“Mom? What is it? What’s wrong? Is it Dad?”

“Oh, honey. It’s another heart attack. I’m at the emergency room.”

Drew shot a look at Nikki and saw she already looked concerned. He shook his head to signal his dismay.

“I’ll come out there. Should I? You want me to come out there?”

His mother hesitated a moment. “I–I’m not sure. I don’t know how bad it is this time. The doctor—”

“You know what, Mom? I’m just going to come out. I don’t want to take a chance that—” He looked at Nikki again. “Well, I’ll just get there as quickly as I can. I’ll let you know when to expect me as soon as I know, but I’ll take a cab from the airport. You call me after you hear from the doctor, okay?”

The moment he hung up, he started the car. “He’s had another heart attack.”

“Oh, Drew, I’m so sorry.”

“I’ve got to get out there.”

“Of course. Just drop me off at Harvey’s. You want me to see if I can get your flight booked while we drive?”

They spent the rest of the drive tending to details, and he called her on the way to the airport. “I just talked with Mom again. They’re going to do another bypass. But they’re pretty confident he’s going to pull through.”

“I’ll pray for him.”

“Thanks, babe.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Had he just called her “babe”? He grimaced. He had indeed. His feelings for her had definitely been growing, but that was pretty forward. And some women hated that endearment.

“I’ll pray for you too,” she said.

He wasn’t certain, but he was fairly sure he heard a smile in her soft voice.

“Nikki, when Mom called, you were about to tell me something. About my house.”

“Oh. Yeah, let’s just leave that alone, okay? It’s not important, and it’s not about the house. It’s about me. I have an issue I need to pray about. Everything’s fine between you and me, and everything’s fine about the house. You just focus on your dad and give me a little time to work this out. Will you do that?”

He didn’t really have a choice. He preferred open communication—it was one reason he tended to work well with people. It was why he and most of his old girlfriends remained friends. But Nikki obviously needed time before she was comfortable telling him whatever bothered her.