I looked up at the concrete steps that led to my apartment door. At the large brown building that housed so many people. It had been my place for a lot of years, but it wasn't a home. Maybe it was time that I moved on.
Chapter 37
I struggled as I pulled up the last strip of that spotless maroon carpet, thrilled to see the plywood sub floor. I was having the new carpet installed the next day, and I couldn't wait to see what the room would look like with the light cream color I'd picked out.
I rolled up the last strip and hauled it out to the dumpster that was in my driveway. The dumpster, I was proud to see, was almost full. I'd closed on the house three weeks ago, and I had spent every free moment I had gutting the place. I had removed all the carpet, I had pried fake wood paneling off the walls in the sunken family room, relieved to find already painted sheet rock underneath. The border in the hall bathroom was gone, and I had painted the entire house.
In other words, I was exhausted. I went back into the house, smiling again at the sub floors as I gathered my tools and put them in the garage. I hopped in the shower and then collapsed onto my mattress, that was currently in the kitchen. I had my TV sitting on my kitchen table. The majority of my new house was empty, and it would stay empty for a while. I'd spent a large chunk of my savings on the closing costs and all the hardware trips for paint and other supplies. I smiled as I looked at my sunny kitchen walls. I loved the smell and look of fresh paint. And I adored the sight of something other than white on my walls.
I sighed and got off my mattress, headed to the backyard. I looked out at the large trees and green grass. Every time I looked at the yard, I pictured dogs, but I couldn't get them yet. The inside of the house was such a mess, I couldn't imagine keeping them out of everything.
I smiled as I thought of all the work I'd done in the past few weeks. The place was really coming along. Kami had been right, I was so glad I'd stopped waiting for some guy. I had done this all by myself, and that felt amazing.
From the back pocket of my jeans, I heard my phone ring. It was Kami. I answered, “I was just thinking about what a great friend you are.”
She was breathing hard. “That's great. I hate to interrupt that, but my water just broke. Jack and I are on the way to the hospital.”
“Oh my God! I'm on my way!”
“Good, because so is my daughter. Get me something cute from the gift shop.”
I laughed and ran to grab my keys. I was almost to the car before I turned and grabbed my purse. I needed my wallet. I knew Kami wasn't kidding about the gift.
“She is the most beautiful girl in the entire world,” I said, holding Kami's daughter. “And Cara is the sweetest name.”
Kami took her from my arms. “I know, right? Jack was really pushing for us to spell it with a K, but I didn't want to be so cutesy. Two J's and two K's? Too much.”
“Where is Jack anyway?”
“He's working on the discharge papers. I can't wait to take her home!”
“I'll bet. What did LBJ think?”
Kami laughed. “Not much I think. He's still so young. But I think he's going to be a good big brother.”
“You bet he is,” Jack agreed, as he entered the room. “We're all set. They're just getting the wheelchair, and I already brought the car around.”
“Fantastic. Take her, would you?” Kami held Cara out to Jack.
“Come to Daddy, little girl.” Jack smiled at his daughter.
I stood up from the bed where I had been perched. “I better get outta here. I know you're itching to get her home.”
“You're not coming?”
I shook my head at Kami. “No way! It's nice to have the invite, but you guys need to take her home and have some family time.” I grabbed my purse from the chair in the corner. “But call me if you need help.” I pointed first to Kami, then Jack. “I'm serious, now. If you need another set of hands, or you need me to run to get groceries, whatever. Promise?”
Kami nodded. Jack didn't bother to tear his eyes from his daughter, but said, “I promise to bother you constantly.”
I nodded, satisfied. “Good. I'm off to check in at the office. I told Gina I'd check out some new listings. She's been a little busy lately.”
Kami's eyes lit up with interest. “Oh, that's right! The new man. How's that going?”
I shrugged. “I think pretty well. I haven't met him yet. Gina's taking everything slow. You know, she doesn't want to deal with another situation like she did with Steven.”
“Yeah. That's okay, there's nothing wrong with slow.”
“Yep.” I smiled, taking in the picture of the three of them. “Okay, you two. Text me when you get home. Have a good night Little Cara,” I patted her head. “I'll see you soon, and spoil you rotten.”
I pulled into the parking lot of Warren Properties and called Gina. She picked up after the second ring. “How's the baby?”
“Adorable, of course. They're probably home by now, getting settled in.”
“Wow, good for them.”
I felt bad because I knew Gina wanted kids. “You okay?”
Her voice sounded strong, “I'm okay, I promise. I'll have kids eventually. Besides, I'm having a good time with Marcus, and I'm in no rush.”
“I know I'm interrupting that time right now so I'll make it quick, what do you need me to do at the office?”
Well, I got a call from two new clients, one is looking for a bigger place, and I already sent her some listings. The other one is kind of a huge favor.”
“Uh-oh. What?”
“No, it's not an uh-oh. At least I hope not. A guy called about listing his house, and really was hoping someone could come by today and do a walk through. Interested?”
I sighed. “Yeah, I can do it. I owe you anyway, you've picked up the slack while I've been working on the house. What's the address?”
She gave me the address and I punched it into my GPS. “Can you do me a favor and call to let him know I can be there in about an hour? I just have to run home and change first.”
“No problem. He said he'd be home the rest of the day, so I don't think it'll be a problem. I'll let you know for sure though.”
I was just slipping on my black skirt when I heard my cell beep. It was a text from Gina. Hey, he said and hour is good. Seems eager to sell, and that's good for us, right? Let me know how it goes, G.
I tossed my phone in my purse and grabbed my keys. I started out toward the house, grateful for my GPS. I hadn't heard of the street the house was on, and without my trusty GPS I would have been up a creek.
I made turn after turn until suddenly, things started looking familiar. I began to feel a buzzing in my stomach, realizing that the new client had a house somewhere near Drew's cabin. As each turn took me closer to his place, I started to wonder. I hadn't gotten the clients name. I tried to slow my heart rate, knowing that the odds of it being Drew were almost nothing. Drew would never sell his house. Unless...I groaned when I realized what was going on. This was Trina. She was making him sell it.
But that didn't make sense either. Why wouldn't she use Mick? She had do be doing this just to mess with me. To show me that she's the winner. I couldn't argue I guess, but I didn't need it rubbed in my face either.
My GPS told me to make one last left. As I heard, “Arriving at destination,” I drove down a gravel road that was far less bumpy than the last time I'd been down it. I guess Drew had finally gotten around to getting it fixed. I wondered if he'd finished the whole house.
I came around the last bend in the road and I saw the house in front of me. It was amazing. The tall grass in the front had been mowed, making the house even easier to see. The front porch that had once been sagging, was repaired and level, and painted bright white. It stood out in sharp contrast to the dark gray paint on the house. The trim on the windows was also bright white, while that hot pink door was now a glossy black.
I parked my car and got out. I was so amazed by the changes that all I could think about
was how much work he'd done. I slowly made my way up the porch, marveling at the changes. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It was only then that I had the chance to think about Trina. I started to panic. Oh God, what if she was here?
It took a few moments before I heard shuffling behind the door. I could hear someone talking. I strained to hear a voice, but I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman behind the door. It didn't really matter though. If someone was talking, that meant there were two people in there, and that meant one of them was Trina.
Finally, the door swung open and there was Drew. He looked even better than I remembered. “Hey,” He said as he took a step back. “Want to come inside?”
Chapter 38
I stammered, “Uh, no. I really shouldn't.” I turned and hurried across the porch toward the stairs.
I heard Drew behind me, “Stella, Wait!”
I shook my head, still heading to my car. “No. I'm sorry about this Drew. I'll tell Gina to come out here herself. I know I said I wanted you and Trina to be happy, but I'm just not this mature, okay?”
“Trina isn't here. Stella, would you stop running away from me and listen for a second?”
I was almost to my car, but his words made me stop and reconsider. I turned around. “She's not here?”
He shook his head. “No. She's not here.”
“Well, where is she? I know a woman like that wouldn't sell a house without meeting the listing agent.”
Drew gripped the crisp white porch rail with both hands. “She's not coming here. We broke up months ago.” He tilted his head toward the front door. “Will you please come inside so I can explain?”
I stood there looking at him. I was dying to go inside, but I was terrified of getting hurt again. So, I just kept standing there, waiting for one feeling to outweigh the other. After a minute, Drew sighed and walked toward me. I watched him come down the porch steps. I watched him approach me with caution, as if I might spook. Which I felt like I might.
He stopped when he was in front of me and took my hand. Touching him again gave me butterflies. “Listen, I know I hurt you before. I wasn't trying to do that. I was just confused. I thought I still loved Trina. But I didn't. I just felt obligated to still love her, if that makes any sense?”
It did make sense, but I didn't trust myself to speak, so I gave him a little nod.
Encouraged by the nod, he continued, “So I did what I thought I was supposed to. I went back to her. But I started to notice how little we had in common. How we didn't really laugh together anymore, how we didn't really even like each other that much. So, after about a week, I broke it off.” He chuckled at the memory. “She wasn't even upset. I think she felt the same way deep down. After I ended things, I moved out here.”
I finally had something to say. “You've been broken up this whole time?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I wanted to call you, or come and see you, but I wanted to get myself together first. I wanted to make sure I was ready before I knocked on your door.” He smiled. “But then, a couple weeks ago, when I finally did knock on your door, a big bald guy said that he'd never heard of a 'chick named Stella'.”
“I got tired of living there.”
“I figured.” He moved to take both of my hands. “Listen, when I realized I didn't know where to find you, I freaked. It proved to me how much I wanted you.” He squeezed my hands. “So I did the only thing I could, I called Lawson & Stone. I asked for you, but the person told me that you didn't work there anymore. So, I asked for Gina, and they told me that she didn't work there any more either. Luckily, after I begged, the person on the phone was nice enough to give me her cell phone number.”
“How did you know to ask for Gina?”
“I remembered her name from that night she was passed out in your apartment, remember?”
I smiled. “I remember. That was the night we looked at those magazines.”
He nodded, returning my smile. “I had so much fun that night. I wanted to kiss you so much. It took everything in me to stop myself.”
I felt myself blushing. “You did? I wish you would have said something.”
“I wish I would have done something sooner. I should have ended things with Trina months, hell, years ago.”
I grinned. “Better late than never, right?”
He nodded. “Will you please come inside? Brillo's in the back yard, and I know he'd be thrilled to see you.”
“Brillo?” My heart melted at the thought of that sweet dog. I looked back at Drew. “Yes, I'll come inside.”
Drew led me up the steps and through the front door.
The hard wood floors were just as beautiful as I remembered, but now the room was made even warmer with the brown leather couch and oversized club chair. On the other side of the room, close to the kitchen, there was a cherry wood dining table large enough for six.
I couldn't believe the difference. “Oh my God, Drew...” I looked at him in amazement. “I can't believe this place.”
He grinned. “I'm glad you like it.”
“I love it.” I walked past the dining room table into the kitchen, which, true to his word, had bright orange appliances. He'd painted the cabinets white, and had black granite installed. The back splash had been done in white subway tile. It was still small, but so clean and the pop of orange made the whole room fun.
“What? No orange tile?”
He shook his head. “Not after I thought it over. It occurred to me that if I ever wanted different appliances, I wouldn't want to have to rip out tile. White seemed safer.”
“You did an amazing job, Drew. Really.”
“Want to see the upstairs?”
“Show me.”
He took my hand again and we jogged up the stairs. I looked into the bathroom, prepared to see that spa paradise, but instead, saw a black and white hexagon tile, light blue walls, with white wainscoting, and a beautiful, bright white, claw-foot bathtub.
I turned to see Drew smiling behind me. “What happened to the glass shower and marble?”
“I thought your idea was better. Turned out pretty good, right?”
I nodded. “It's beautiful, Drew.”
“Come on, check out the bedrooms.”
The bedroom on the left was set up as an office. Drew had painted it a medium blue, and the wood floors glowed from the light coming through the large window. His large oak desk fit perfectly in the space. “This turned out so nice.” I said, leaning against the white door frame. “What a difference.”
“You want to see a change? Come and look at the master.”
He led me into the bedroom which was painted sage green. There was a queen sized sleigh bed, made with all white sheets. On each side, he'd placed a nightstand. On the wall across from the bed was a highboy dresser. All of the furniture was obviously a different style, but all the wood was the same shade. It looked like something out of a luxury hotel. Then I looked past the furniture and saw the change he was referring to. He'd installed french doors on the back wall. I walked over and opened them, stepping out onto a balcony that held a small bistro table and two chairs.
I looked back at him, my mouth open in shock. “You added a balcony?”
He nodded. “Yep. Pretty cool, right? I thought it would be great for morning coffee.”
“You were right,” I said as I looked out at the view. It was perfect.
“Wait,” I turned to him. “Why did you do all this?”
He looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, why fix this place up just to sell it? I thought you loved it here.”
“I do love it. I'm not selling it.”
“You're not?”
He laughed. “No. I guess I got sidetracked in my story. When I called Gina, I told her that I really needed to speak with you. I explained everything to her, and she agreed to help me.” He smiled at me. “This whole thing was a set up, just to get you out here.”
I looked around, then back at him. “So, you're not sel
ling this place?”
“No way. I love it here.”
I narrowed my eyes. “So what you're telling me is that you lied.”
He gave me a grin and moved toward me. “Like you've never told a lie.”
I was about to argue when he grabbed me and kissed me. After a very long, very nice kiss I said, “I guess I can forgive one tiny lie,” I pulled him toward the bed. “But you had better make it up to me.”
The Millionaire Myth Page 19
