Then as she scooted out on the roof, she turned and he was right beside her.
His eyebrows wiggled. “Shall we get this done then?”
She exhaled in relief. “Yes. And thank you.”
“No problem. You could have been finished twice by now if everyone wasn’t so helpful.”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
They worked together, stringing the lights along. She reached down, securing the wire with the staple gun.
“You know, for someone who’s never done this before, you know your way around a staple gun.”
“Well, this tool has many uses in my profession.”
“Ah, decorating. That makes perfect sense.” He pulled the string taut so she could do the next section. “You know, I’ve been kicking myself all day because I never caught your name, or introduced myself properly.”
“You didn’t?” She frowned. “You know, you’re right.”
“So, I’m David McArthur.”
“And I’m Sarah Lester. And thank you for the basket. The muffins saved me for breakfast. I haven’t done much shopping yet so it’s been nice to save myself the trip and get some work done.”
“Glad to be of help. So often people never know who to see or contact for any number of things in a new area.”
“True. And I see you included your personal recommendations. That’s very helpful.”
He totally felt like he was fishing for compliments. What was wrong with him? He knew. He hadn’t talked to a single girl besides his assistant or nurse in over a year now. “Well anyway, the purpose of the visit was to get to know you and I left without your name.” He adjusted his position on the roof. “So, Sarah. I had another something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Oh?” She paused and lifted her eyes to him. He was struck by the golden brown. They provided a warm earthy contrast to her blonde hair. “Your eyes. They have golden flecks in them.”
“Can you see that?”
“Yes, sun is shining on them just right.”
“Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Actually, no. Your eyes totally distracted me. I originally wanted to go into Ophthalmology.”
“You did? That would have been fascinating I think.”
“I agree. But I’m happy I did what I did. It’s practical. It’s needed.”
She nodded.
“So. I was wondering if I could see some of your work? My office needs something. It feels dark and small.”
“Which was so much the style of most offices and homes just a year ago.”
“Oh good, so at least we were not out of date.”
“Not at all. But the move now is more toward white, blues, open spaces.”
“Do you want to come take a look?”
“Sure. Um. I could come as early as tomorrow? In a week or so I’m gonna get pretty busy as I start doing Christmas.”
“Christmas?”
“Yeah, people pay me to set up their houses for Christmas and then take them down after.”
“That’s kind of an awesome job.” He smiled. “So you’re like Santa?”
“Kinda. I mean. Presents aren’t part of the deal.”
“But you bring in the magic.”
Her smile started small and grew. “I like that. I bring in the magic.” She laughed, stapling in the last of the lights. “Magic.”
“Looks like we did it.”
“Do you think they’re gonna light up?”
“I don’t see why not. Should we go down and take a look?”
He climbed down first and then held the ladder for her which he didn’t think about ahead of time, but which put him in close proximity to her as her feet touched the ground. He could have backed away, but she smelled so good, her hair looked so soft, he waited just a moment for her to turn around, just to see what would happen.
She did and as she turned her soft brown eyes up to look at him, her hair shone in the moonlight and he felt things he hadn’t in a long time. His arms craved for the feel of her, and he had to step back before he pulled her as close as he wanted. Instead he smiled. “That was fun.”
“Yeah, it was. Thank you for helping…and for saving me from our neighbors.”
“Any time, on both counts.”
She put her hands in her pockets. “They’re very friendly at least. Mostly.”
“They are. You’ll like them I’m sure. They’re just excited to have a new face. Most everyone has lived here for a long time.”
“David!” Jessie’s voice made Sarah jump. David nearly groaned in annoyance, which was odd since he typically enjoyed Jessie’s company, and she was a fantastic personal assistant.
“Hey, come meet our new neighbor.”
She approached, still in her tall heels. Sarah was certain her gaze had dripped all over every part of Sarah before she stood in front of her and said. “Oh. Hello.”
“Hey. So, I’m Sarah. I hear you’re Jessie?”
She nodded. “Yep. It’s nice to have another young person around. The scene’s not real hot here, but the people are nice.”
“Yeah, that’s what I hear.”
“You single?”
“Yes, are you?”
“We all are. But like I said, scene’s not real hot, if you know what I mean.” She looked from David to Sarah and back.
“It could be.” David said, not sure where he was going with this. “Look, there’s three of us now. We could get a group going, bring in some others.”
Jessie looked at him like he’d sprouted horns and perhaps he had. What was he doing? Did he want to hang out with Jessie and Sarah? The three of them? Not really. Sarah, sure, wow that sounded nice. So why was he trying to include Jessie?
Sarah gestured toward her house. “You are welcome to come in.”
“No wait. We haven’t lit the roof.”
“Oh, of course.” She smacked her forehead. “Oh no, you know what? I’m not done yet. I’ve got to get these lights all switched around the other direction.”
“We’ll totally help.”
“We will?” Jessie raised her eyebrows.
‘Well, sure. It will only take a second. You can take off your shoes if you want.”
“Why would I?” She squatted down at the row of lights. “So do we just take the lights out and switch the strand around?”
“Yeah. Leave the stakes in the ground. That’s what I’m thinking.”
They worked quickly and pretty soon all the lights were plugged in and connected and Sarah seemed more than ready to flip the switch. “We should go turn yours on too.”
“Okay, for the grand opening of Sarah…what’s your last name?”
“Lester.”
“For the grand opening of Sarah Lester’s Christmas lights, can I get a drum roll please?”
Jessie and Sarah patted their hands on their thighs while David held up the cords, ready to plug one into the other. “One. Two. Three.” They connected, and her lights lit.
They stepped back.
“Wow, that looks amazing.” Sarah held a hand to her heart. “Thank you.”
The line of lights on her roof were all lilt. Everything looked great. “Okay, let’s head over to my house. I think I deserve a drum roll too.”
“Of course!” Sarah followed him and Jessie stood at his side. And he wasn’t sure how to change that formation.
But as they approached, he called behind. “Sarah, would you do the honors?”
“Of course.”
He showed her the switch on his extension cord. “Just flip that switch right there.”
“Ready?”
“Drum roll.”
Everyone patted their thighs, and Sarah called out, “One, two, three!” She flipped the switch. But nothing happened.
“No!” David moaned. He really didn’t want to spend any more time messing with this. “What happened?” He moved to inspect the lines, making sure everything was plugged in and connected. Sarah started checking lights also and Jessie c
omplained. “This kind of stuff falls way outside my normal job description.”
“Very funny Jessie, just help me out, will ya?”
After many minutes, he couldn’t figure out what could be wrong and he was about to give up and call it a night when Sarah wiggled things on her end, flipped the switch once on and off and back on again and then everything flickered and stayed on.
They clapped. And Sarah cheered.
“I’ll take it. Whatever you did, Sarah, as my neighbor, I think it’s now officially your job to give my cords the Lester wiggle and get them going again any time they go dark.”
She laughed. “I’ll see what I can do though I’m afraid I could never replicate those exact moves.”
He held up his hand and high-fived Jessie and then did the same for Sarah, but kept her hand in his own for a moment after. “Thank you. This has been nice.” Her soft fingers left his palm too soon and they made him want a reason to hold them again. Thoughts of movies in front of a fire, long walks, or shopping for Christmas immediately flashed through his mind.
“Yeah, I think so too.” She looked back at her house. “It’s beautiful.” Then she totally surprised him by wiping her eyes.
“What is it?”
She looked from him to Jessie and back. “It’s my first home. This is cool.”
Jessie nodded. “I totally get it, I mean, not the Christmas thing. I don’t do Christmas. But own your own home? That’s awesome.”
Sarah nodded.
“Speaking of, I’m gonna hit my Netflix shows before I go down. You’re more than welcome to join me…” Her gaze lingered longest on David, but he didn’t know how to answer. Would he have stayed much longer in Sarah’s company? Yes, but did he want to make it a threesome? No. “Thanks. I’ll let you know. I think I’ll go help Sarah clean up and then see where the night goes.”
Sarah’s gaze flicked to his in surprise. “Thanks.”
“Sure. At least I need to come grab my ladder. “
“Oh yes, of course.”
As they walked back across the street, his hand ached to hold hers, but he held back. It seemed too early for that. But suddenly living in this small town, meeting what sometimes seemed like trivial needs, had a whole new element of enjoyment with someone like Sarah living across the street.
4
Sarah couldn’t believe what was going on inside herself. Never had she felt such a strong immediate attraction to someone. When he’d said he was single, everything inside her amped up. He’d been fun to look at before, almost in jest, now he drew her in like she’d never known to happen. Single. And living across the street, and kind. And handy. And walking next to her. Holding his hand would be nice. He’d sort of held it for a second after their high five. His hands were nice. Smooth and strong.
“So, I’ll just grab this ladder.”
“Do you want to come in?”
‘Yes.”
She grinned. “Okay then.”
“This needs to lay down on its side though. I don’t want it to fall.” He tipped it down on its side on her lawn then followed her up the front steps. “This is an awesome front porch. Great for watching your neighbor.” He indicated his own house.
Her blush flared up across her cheeks. Hopefully he’d never know she had that exact same thought.
As soon as they stepped inside her front door, she felt foolish. “Oh, David. I forgot. I have no furniture.”
“I’m good on the floor. If you have your laptop, you can show me some of the work you’ve done before.”
“Oh right, I forgot you’re like a client.” Some of her happiness deflated just a little. What if his interest was mostly in her decorating business.
He reached out a hand to take hers. As their fingers laced together, he said, “I’m not a client.”
She turned to him, searched his sincere expression, and then smiled. “But I still want to decorate your office.”
“Show me your stuff.” He winked.
“Come on then. We can sit on my mattress. It’s the only soft surface in the house.”
“Ooh, mattress? That sounds fun.”
“Very funny.”
She lifted her laptop up out of her briefcase and then sat on her mattress with her back up against the wall then patted the area next to her. “Here we go. I’ll show you my online portfolio.”
“Thank you.” He scooted close to her and her body hummed with expectation.
She pulled up her website and smiled at the familiar designs.
“Who’s your web designer? They’re fantastic.”
“Thank you. I did a lot of this myself.”
“This is incredible.”
She squeezed his hand in gratitude and then reluctantly lifted hers free so that she could type on her computer. “So, here’s the house I decorate every year for Christmas.” She pulled up her favorite and first Christmas client. “I love their home. It’s like the perfect Christmas getaway, even though they live in it all year long.”
“Do you decorate for people not during the holidays?”
“Yes. So most of my clientele hire me all year and then during Christmas also. My busiest time of year is about to start.” She pulled up a front formal living room she’d decorated. “This reminds me of an office if you want to go more formal.”
“I like that. Maybe I should have you work on my house too. But what I want for the office is more comfort. I want space, light, air and comfort.”
“Like the room should say, come on in. You’re in good hands. This will be pleasant.”
“Yes, push that thought even further, like you’re home. Just don’t make a mess in my clean office.”
“Ah, and that’s where you can be just a little bit formal.”
He tipped his head. “I like that.”
She pulled up several other rooms she’d done, gauging his reaction until she’d figured out more or less what he was envisioning. And then she started messing around with paint color. “What if we painted the whole interior a pale blue. Then we can brighten up the white of the trim and add light colored window treatments.”
She should be working on her other clients, on her Christmas plans, but sitting by him in her new house, planning out his office was the most fun she’d had in a long time. She paused and looked up into his face. “You enjoying this still? If you want I can just come and do a mock up and be done. All this research I can do on my own time.”
“No, I love this. It’s fun to see the process. As you can imagine, I’ve only ever walked into a room and either liked it or not liked it…or honestly maybe not even noticed if I liked it or not.”
“I think a lot of people are that same way. They want to feel a certain way in a room but don’t know how to achieve such a thing.”
They talked some more and he mostly asked her great questions about what she did and how she did it. She’d never enjoyed time in an empty house more.
“And you? What are you doing here in this small town?”
The breath he let out sounded almost painful.
“That bad?”
“What? No. It’s not bad. It’s just not…what I thought I’d be doing.”
“Ophthalmology?”
“Yeah. And maybe a different town with a different vibe.”
“I love the vibe.”
“The small-town family vibe helps our businesses. They need us. You’ll probably make a good living here.” He leaned his head back against the wall.
“But?”
“Well, I just always wanted to live in a bigger city. Dating...would be nice. A night scene.” He snorted. “My night scene consists of patients calling to chat. I literally think they make up reasons to call me.”
After one look at him, Sarah would have thought that to be true.
“I probably sound desperate.”
“You’ve got Jessie?”
“What?” he shook his head. “No. There’s nothing there. She’s a great assistant if you ever need one. But no.”
&nb
sp; “Are you sure she’s looking at things in that way?”
He seemed to consider her words then said, “Nah. She’s got a full life, always hounding me, gets mad at me at least twice a week. I think I drive her crazy more than anything.”
When Sarah’s eyebrow rose, he held up his hands. “In a bad way. She might secretly hate me.”
Sarah’s laugh served as her response. She let the obvious evidence that Jessie was way into David sit quiet for the time being.
“So, can I come by the office to take some measurements? Am I hired?”
“Whoa, you don’t let things sit.”
“Well, I’m coming up on busy season so if you want me to fit this in, I have to get started stat. Do you want me to add some Christmas cheer to the space too while I’m at it?”
“Yes, I think. Talk to Candace about that when you come.”
“Candace?”
“She’s my office manager. She usually does some things, like I know we get one of those singing Santas and a blow up reindeer….” He paused as Sarah’s frown grew. “Yeah, talk to Candace. You guys work it out. And send me an estimate. I’m not made of money.”
“The small town doc isn’t on a quick path to millions?”
“No, I feel I’m destined for the unglamorous.”
“Do you mind if I ask why you aren’t in a big city somewhere looking deeply into people’s eyes?”
“This was my dad’s practice.”
“Oh that’s awesome.”
He shrugged. “My brother was supposed to come help. We were to be partners, but right when I was about to tell the family I wanted to step away and do ophthalmology, he announced he was doing plastic surgery.”
“Ah.”
“Yeah. He lives in LA, drives a Ferrari.”
“He’s got nothing on your Jeep.”
“I tell myself I’m okay with it. But so, then Dad retired. And he left a full line up of patients and a whole town that needed a doctor.”
“I like that. Even if you’re doing it reluctantly, I love that you’re here out of obligation to help others.”
“I’m not just obligated. I like it. More or less.”
She shook her head. “No matter what, it’s a good thing.”
It's a Wonderful Date Page 3
