Divine Phoenix(Divine Creek Ranch 10)(58)

“Oh, that must be terrible to crave something you can’t have.”

Tabitha’s eyes flashed, and she very pointedly said, “You have no idea.” Her words seemed more acerbic than the statement called for, but Tabitha was like that sometimes. Maybe she had PMS.



* * * *



After Del took off, Clay was back at his desk, once again looking at that design pinned to his bulletin board. What was missing? The drawing itself was as close as he’d ever come to perfect, but something wasn’t quite right.

He took out another piece of cardstock for another round of torture and began to draw. It had the vine elements like the ring he’d done for the Warners, but he was trying to achieve a more dimensional effect. The design went well to a certain point, and then he blinked, looked at it, and growled. What am I doing wrong? He crumpled the paper and threw it over his shoulder.

“Two points!” Lily said with a chuckle.

He looked over his shoulder, fighting back his frustration, and saw her grinning, holding the paper ball in her hand.

“I’m sorry. Did I hit you?”

“Nope. But you made a basket in overtime. What’s wrong?”

Clay sat up, straightening his shoulders out of their frustrated hunch. “A design. Frustrating me.” He stretched his arms over his head.

“Mind if I look?” Lily asked as she peeled open the tight paper ball.

With a shrug, Clay shook his head and turned to the bulletin board. He removed the design and showed it to her. “It’s supposed to be for a new line, a series of designs that I’ll make available in various pieces that would all match. Did you by chance see the cuff bracelet Grace had on today?”

“Yes. It’s gorgeous.”

“That’s what I’m shooting for, a whole series of new designs that can be bought in sets like that. She has five pieces that all match her wedding band.”

Her amber eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. “What a wonderful idea. I like this, but you know what it’s missing, right?”

Clay sat there looking at her. Tell me, please. It’s probably obvious. “What’s missing?”

Lily blushed and looked at him shyly as she brought the sketch and placed it on the workbench under his task light. “I’m not an expert. I probably should’ve kept my mouth shut. It’s not what’s missing. It’s what’s…there that’s not right. These are vines, right?” She pointed with the pencil lead at the drawing.

“Yes.”

“Remove this part of the band, between here and here.” She gestured to the band, to one side of the square cut diamond. “Taper the vine from the opening in the band to connect with the setting, so it looks like the stems and thicker tendrils hold the setting in place. It won’t look out of balance because the band is narrow, but it’ll give it a delicate, leafy look, maybe wrap a leaf motif around the smaller stones?”

Clay felt the tension in his shoulders release as she handed him the design. He penciled in a rough idea of what he understood her to mean. “Like this?”

“Sort of, yeah,” she said with a smile.

He pulled up her stool beside his and handed her the pencil and laid a fresh piece of cardstock out for her when she sat down.

“Show me.”

“I’m a little rusty, Clay.”

“Can you picture it?”

“Sure.”

“Between the two of us, we’ll get it worked out. Just do your best to interpret what you were saying a minute ago.”

Lily took the paper and pencil and glanced at him, and then went to work. Her drawing was hesitant at first, but once the design took over she seemed to lose her self-consciousness. He could see what she was trying to tell him earlier. It was organic. His designs varied, but they’d gotten steadily heavier in the last two years. It looked like it could’ve sprouted and weaved its way around her finger.

He switched to watching Lily as she worked, the unconscious way she bit her lip while she sketched and how she squinted at the drawing, erased and then smiled when it was to her liking. Clay remembered what Chance Carlisle had said to him when they’d talked about designing Lydia’s statue. “There’s just something about her, Clay.”

Yeah, there sure is.

She must’ve felt his eyes on her because she looked up and caught him staring. “You okay?” she asked. A pink blush stained her cheeks.

Clay nodded and whispered, “Yeah.”

Her eyes locked with his and wouldn’t release him.

The next thing he knew, she was in his arms, her lips pressed to his. She groaned and willingly wound her arms around his shoulders, raking her fingernails lightly through his hair, their lips and tongues dueling passionately. He slid his hands down her back and pulled her to him so she was half out of the stool and had to hold on to him.