Page 40 of Two Hearts' Ploy

“I’d love to see your place before I actually move in.”

Jeff became thoughtful. “You know what? Maybe it would be a good idea if you did. I’ve got that king-size bed going into the master this afternoon, but I don’t have sheets or a comforter yet. Maybe you could take a look at the room and help me choose what to put in there since that’s where you’ll be staying. There’s a home store in the next town over that’s open until ten.”

“I’d love that. Besides, I’m kind of going stir crazy sitting in my room all the time.”

“That, I can understand,” Jeff admitted. “How about I pick you up at about six fifteen? I’d like to work for at least three or four hours this afternoon in my studio, even though I’ve got those deliveries coming, but I’ll leave my place at six. We can stop for something to eat on the way back if you’d like.”

“I’d enjoy that, Jeff,” she answered matter-of-factly.

“Okay then, Wren. I’ll pick you up right here,” he said, grinning.

She winked, stepping out from the truck. “Okay. It’s a date.”

Slamming shut the door, she turned back momentarily as she headed inside the breezeway leading into the lobby.

He was looking a little dazed when he waved.

Smiling widely, she quickly waved back.

Chapter Twenty-Two

As Jeff drove away, he wondered how he was going to survive their affair, because that’s where this relationship was headed alright. There’s no way she was someone who would ever be ready to settle down.

Least of all, with someone like him. He’d like to think that he was over all of his hangups about losing his leg, but sometimes he felt bogged down with a sense of insecurity about it all, despite being accepted back into active duty.

For a moment, he was concerned, not sure if he could handle the time when she would finally say goodbye.

But then again, there was no way he wouldn’t take what might be offered despite the risk. He’d been crazy about her for far too long. Maybe it would allow him to move on and not compare every woman he met to Wren. He could finally admit that’s what he’d been doing, as stupid as it was.

Jeff shook his head with disgust. What was stupid was thinking only about the personal side of this when Wren’s life was in danger. That’s what he needed to focus on. Everything else was incidental.

He pulled into his driveway another ten minutes later. He still had another forty-five minutes to spare as far as the delivery time of the bedroom suite was concerned. There was a chancethey wouldn’t show until later, but Jeff always seemed to be first on their list when they scheduled his deliveries.

Pulling into the garage, he reached for the bundle of music he’d brought along from the studio. He was actually looking forward to getting to work. Wren’s music was pretty amazing, and it was still surprising to him that no one seemed to know about her talent as a songwriter.

He was still downstairs working another forty minutes later when he heard the truck backing up over the lawn, as the driver butted it up to the front door.

Removing his headphones, Jeff switched all his settings to pause and headed upstairs to let the guys in.

Another ninety minutes later, he gazed around the bedroom with satisfaction. Some of the furniture had been taken apart, not only because of the weight but also because of the difficulty of transporting everything up the flight of stairs.

But now the bed had been reassembled to overlook the lake through the French doors of the balcony, while the intricately framed mirror had been fit into the rack built onto the back of the bureau. The highboy was on a wall of its own near the newly expanded walk-in closet that Jeff had decided was needed using space from the adjoining room. Even the vanity seemed to fit perfectly in the corner, near the door leading into the en suite.

But Jeff’s favorite element inside the master bedroom was the fireplace he’d converted to gas. Finally, only a few months earlier, he’d been able to find a mantle and surround that he felt would be elegant enough to accommodate the grandeur of the room.

After making a quick list of what else would be needed, he glanced around the room one final time. Even the mattresses had arrived immediately after the furniture delivery truck was ready to depart, so with all the extra help, because of his offerof a generous tip, Jeff had the mattresses already laid out on the bedframe.

Another ten minutes later, he was back at work in the basement studio.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jeff showed up at exactly six-fifteen.

Pulling up near the entrance with the truck still running, he stepped out of the truck to meet Wren at the door when she walked outside.

Wearing a short denim skirt and matching jacket covering a brightly patterned tank, something about the heated look in Jeff’s eyes told Wren that he appreciated her dressed down look.

Escorting her to the passenger door, he winked, opening the door for her.

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