Good with His Hands(22)

       
           



       

There was a pause on Meg's end. "Thanks for the offer, but I have a lot  to do here at the store. We're transitioning from spring stock to  summer."

Dani bit her lip to keep from laughing. She knew people often put away  sundresses for the winter or shoved boxes of sweatshirts under their  beds once summer rolled around, but she hadn't realized there was a  difference between spring and summer undies. "Are summer thongs more  revealing than the spring ones?"

"Watch it," Meg threatened. "Your friends-and-family discount isn't carved in stone, you know. Respect the thongs."

Not likely. But since she did respect her friend's business  enterprise-and because it was fun to occasionally slip into something  uncharacteristically frilly-she didn't point out that before meeting  Meg, she'd been perfectly content buying basic undergarments at retail  chains.

"If you're really too busy with the seasonal thongs to meet for lunch, I  understand. But promise me you'll eat something?" She'd noticed her  friend's usual appetite had disappeared since Nolan called her plump.  Meg wasn't the least bit overweight, but she'd never been as naturally  slim as her sisters. "If you've been starving yourself because that son  of a-"

"Speaking of which. That 'son of a' is why I'm calling."

"Please tell me it's to say an anvil dropped out of the sky and hit him."

Meg laughed. "What is it with you and anvils?"

She shrugged, then realized Meg couldn't see. "Too much Wile E. Coyote in my formative years."

"Well, Nolan wasn't knocked unconscious by any falling cartoon props.  But he did text me to say we can come get my stuff anytime after four  today."

Meg had been outraged when she'd spoken to him on Monday and he'd told  her he changed the locks. He'd refused to let her pick up her belongings  without him being there to supervise.

"What does he think I'm going to do?" she'd demanded after ending the  call. "Smash his TV set? Steal his spoons? Set his favorite jacket on  fire? I've got more integrity than that!"

"Too bad," Dani had joked. "Because those all sounded like pretty  decent ideas. Except, if we're going to steal something, the TV probably  has a higher street value than the spoons."

"Anyway," Meg continued, "I already talked to Jamie." He was the  brother she'd once tried to fix up with Dani; he was also the brother  who owned an extended-bed pickup truck. "He can make this evening work. I  know you wanted to come with me for moral support, but if you're  busy..."

Dani did a mental rundown of the showings she'd planned to do,  wondering if anything could be rearranged. Having seen how torn up Meg  was this week, she didn't want her friend facing the man who'd broken  her heart alone. Plus, Dani knew how protective Meg's siblings were. If  Jamie found out the reason for the breakup was Nolan treating Meg like a  brood mare, Dani might need to run interference to make sure no noses  were broken.

"I can definitely help you out by five forty-five," Dani said. "But I think I might be able to manage earlier."

"You don't have to come with me," Meg stressed. "You've already done so much."

"Would you do the same for me?"

There was a brief silence.

Dani smiled. "That's what I thought." She was in the middle of disconnecting the call when Judy stuck her head into the office.

"Delivery for you, hon." She held a gorgeous table-top bouquet. Instead  of an elongated vase, the bunch of hydrangea, roses and orchids sat in a  squared-off glass bowl, surrounded by smooth river rocks.

"Those are beautiful."

"No card that I can see," Judy said as she placed the floral  arrangement on the corner of Dani's desk. "What is that at the bottom?"

Dani hadn't noticed, but sitting among the rocks was a small ceramic  fairy holding a wand. The expression on her pixie face was mischievous,  and she looked too young to be anyone's godmother, but the message was  received. Sean had sent her flowers. Since several days had passed  without hearing from him, she'd wondered if he'd finally put her behind  him. She'd told herself that was what she wanted. But the brief flare of  piercing joy she felt disproved that.

She sighed. "You know what? Let's leave these out in the general reception area so they can brighten everyone's day."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm out of my office half the time anyway."                       
       
           



       

Judy tilted her head, regarding her. "This doesn't have anything to do  with Hot Architect coming to see you last week, does it?"

"Bryce. The architect's name is Bryce." She had a newfound fixation for  correctly identifying people. "But he's not the one who came into my  office."

"Sure he was. I know what Hot-Bryce looks like. You could say I've made an informal study of him."

"He has a twin brother."

"There are two of them?" Judy's mouth dropped open. "Well, if that  isn't proof of a benevolent higher power, I don't know what is. So do  the flowers have anything to do with the twin?" she pressed. "I didn't  know you were seeing anyone."

"I'm not," Dani said crisply. "And I think I hear the phone ringing."

It rang again, and Judy scowled. "Some days, getting my job done seriously cuts into my gossip schedule."

In general, Judy had a big heart. If anyone ever called in sick with a  cold or flu, they could expect a brief visit and a container of Judy's  homemade chicken soup. But the woman did love her gossip. Since Judy  couldn't keep a secret to save her life, there was no way Dani would  tell her what was going on with Sean.

Especially since Dani wasn't even sure what was going on with him. Much  as she'd tried not to, she'd been thinking of him a lot since that  charged walk-through with the Andersens.

She picked up her phone. Sean had given her his business card, which  was printed with his cell number. It seemed only right that she call and  thank him for the flowers. But... She hesitated. If she expressed any  gratitude, wasn't she just encouraging him?

Conversely, she could call to tell him he shouldn't have sent the  flowers, but that was still her reaching out to him. She wasn't a fan of  mixed messages. She made it through the rest of the day without phoning  him, redirecting her focus to her clients and shifting her schedule so  that she could drive Meg to Nolan's tonight. There was enough stuff that  they'd need both Dani's car and Jamie's truck. She didn't allow herself  any time to moon over a blue-eyed charmer with lax morals and great  taste in flowers.

But as she crossed through the reception area on her way out for the  night, she went to the vase that had been delivered. Shifting the box of  flyers in her arm, she glanced around to see if anyone was looking.  Then she plucked out the three-inch fairy, gently dropping it into her  pocket and grinning the entire elevator ride down.

* * *

MEG KNOCKED, AND, standing next to her on the concrete stoop, Dani felt  a twinge of sympathy. It had to be difficult, almost demeaning, to have  to knock at the front door of a place you'd called home mere days ago.  Even though they'd arrived at exactly the time Meg had texted, Nolan  made them wait a few minutes before he opened the door.

He was a tall, slim guy with dark hair. Not bad-looking, despite a weak  chin. When Dani had first met him, her only thought about his  appearance was that his features made him look a little petulant. Now,  she reconsidered her opinion, no longer blaming his features. Perhaps  the problem was his attitude. Once he'd let them in, he stalked back to a  desk in the corner and began typing on his laptop. He didn't even spare  a cursory hi for Meg or ask how she was.

Meg sighed. "Come on. Bedroom's this way. We can box stuff up while we wait for Jamie."

He'd called to say he was stuck in traffic, but they could get started  without him. They mostly needed Jamie to transport furniture and help  carry heavy items. The two women had already made several trips to  Dani's car before he finally rolled up in front of the house. Nolan  watched the three of them lift an antique table Meg had inherited from  her great-aunt without offering assistance, only a baleful glare.

It was odd-supposedly Nolan had loved Meg enough to pledge his entire  life to her. Yet when she'd turned down his marriage proposal, his  response was to sulk like a toddler. He hadn't tried to reconcile,  wasn't doing a damn thing to win her back. His attitude was in stark  contrast to Sean's. Sean Grayson hardly knew Dani, had only promised her  a single night, yet he continued to court her, in his own stubborn,  insufferable way.

Well, the flowers were actually beautiful. Maybe they didn't fall under the "insufferable" heading.