“Nick! You do one!” Max yelled over to them.
As if jolted by some invisible force, Nick checked his watch. “I can’t, buddy. I’m sorry. I have to go back in.”
While Abbey would’ve liked to have him stay longer, she knew she’d already taken more time from his day than he’d probably like, so she didn’t intervene. “Thank you for coming out today,” she said, genuinely glad that he had. “It was fun.”
“Yes, it was,” he said with a smile. Then, with a quick wave to Max, he headed in.
Chapter Sixteen
Richard had started the fire for Abbey and Max in the ballroom. It was odd for her to choose that large room, because originally, she’d felt that no one should have a room that big, but the memory of sitting in front of that fireplace had stuck with her, and the sofas kept drawing her in. Max had put his pajamas back on and was curled up at one end of the two facing sofas with a pile of his books while Abbey attempted to rearrange her decorating timeline. It was going to take her all day just to tape the ceiling of that enormous bedroom, and it had a ton of woodwork to tape around. She felt anxiety creeping in at the thought of one person trying to paint it but she just couldn’t leave the room white. It would put her way behind.
All her life, Abbey had dreamed of being an interior designer. Even though she had never had a formal class, it just fit as a career for her. She could do it with ease. The problem she was finding as she looked at the timings was that she needed a team for a house this size. She might have to pull an all-nighter just to get this room painted, and stay relatively on track.
Abbey noticed Max eyeing the grand piano on the other side of the room, and she smiled to herself, remembering the sound of the notes as Nick had played. She remembered the curve of his back, the tilt of his head, the ease in which his hands moved over the keys. She wished he were playing now. She looked around the ballroom at the amazing Christmas trees she’d decorated, the pop and sizzle of the fire, the piano, the mistletoe on giant ribbons—this really was the stuff of fairytales.
She had to remind herself that this wasn’t a fairytale. Niggling at the back of her mind was the fact that she kept letting Nick into her life and Max’s life. It was too easy for him to be involved, and she could feel her resolve to keep things professional slipping.
* * *
Abbey had used nearly all the paper in her sketchpad, drawing with Max. They’d played in the snow again, read all his books; Richard had brought a deck of cards and they’d played “Go Fish” and “War”. They’d had lunch in the kitchen, they’d walked over to Caroline’s for her daily check, they’d played “Hide and Seek”, and they’d even tinkered on Nick’s piano. In between all those things, she’d been able to tape some of the bedroom off for painting. The ceiling was done, and the fireplace, but she had none of the doorways or crown moldings finished, and she hadn’t done the floorboards. The sun was setting, and still, she’d only seen Nick that one time.
When Richard walked past the bedroom where she and Max were reading a book, she grabbed his attention and walked into the hallway.
“Have you seen Nick today?” she asked Richard.
“No, ma’am. His office door has been closed all day.”
“Has he eaten? It’s dinner time.”
“He hasn’t requested me, and he’s asked to be left alone so I have. The chef isn’t coming today, due to the snow, so I would guess he’d have made himself some food, but I haven’t seen him.”
“I was going to make dinner for myself and Max. I wonder if Nick would like something to eat.” She thought about the kindness he’d shown her this morning, and she wanted to repay it. “Would you mind keeping an eye on Max for a few minutes? He’s really fine on his own, but if you could just check on him. I won’t be long. I just want to offer Nick some dinner.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Fuller. He’s asked not to be disturbed. By anyone.”
“That’s fine. I’ll tell him you tried to stop me.”
“I wouldn’t advise that you interrupt him.”
“I won’t keep him long.”
Richard was still shaking his head, trying to convince Abbey to stay put, but she wanted to check on him.
When she got to his office, she knocked and he called for her to come in. Nick was at his desk, his hand on his forehead for support. He looked up. He had dark scruff on his face, circles under his eyes.
“Have you been sitting here since you left us?” she asked.
Nick nodded and looked back down at some sort of spreadsheet. He rubbed his temple with his fingers.