Page 74 of How to Love Your Neighbor
Whatever you say. Meet on the lawn.
Excitement fluttered, making her feel like she could paint another room on her own. Would he like it? They’d talked aboutwhat he liked, so she was fairly confident he would, but this felt… important.
Rob threw his arm around Stacey. “Nice job, crew. We can do my place next week.”
They all laughed. She really liked Noah’s friends. She pulled her tank top away from her sticky skin. Three hours to the minute and they’d worked their asses off. She turned in a slow circle, head tilted just a bit, ignoring the photographer snapping pictures of her movements. It was amazing.
“You’ve got some vision, Gracie,” Tilly said, patting her on the shoulder.
“Thanks. You never really know, until it’s done, how it’s all going to play out.”
“We all finished? Is the pizza ordered?” John came into the room, took a look around. He whistled. “Well done. Looks fantastic. I recognize my son’s handiwork right there.”
He walked closer to the once-useless alcove between the wall and the end of the closet. Grace couldn’t figure out if it was meant to store brooms and mops or if it was poor design. Either way, Shane had added shelves, making it not only useful but aesthetically pleasing.
“Let’s go then,” John said, leading the way out of the finished room. “Meet up on the lawn. Who ordered the pizza?”
Grace’s gaze met Stacey’s and they shared a laugh. “It’s on the way, don’t worry.”
A warmth settled in Grace’s chest as they all came together. Her whole childhood, she’d worried about being alone. She felt relatively safe tucking that worry away. At least, for now.
Noah wandered over, brushed his arm against her shoulder. “You okay, Gracie?”
“I’m great. You?” A subtle buzz started in her toes and moved along her body. She’d never known a man she could feel all the way down to her toes. Once again, she wondered if this was the feeling her mother had given up her family and a different life for.
“I’m pretty excited actually. Your office is kick-ass.”
“If we don’t eat soon, you’re going to have two dead senior citizens on your lawn,” Morty called out.
“I fed you,” Noah called back.
Grace stepped away from Noah. “Let’s wrap this up. Noah, me, and the judges will check out the rooms. You’re all welcome to join but if you’d rather take a break, maybe a dip in the ocean, feel free. Pizza is on the way. It’ll be here in twenty minutes along with a bunch of pasta dishes, a variety of beverage choices, and brownies.”
“Wait, you can order brownies to be delivered?” Stacey raised both hands in a “stop” gesture.
“I could just buy you some on the way back to your place,” Rob said, a charming smile on his lips.
“Not the same. But I’ll take it.”
“I, for one, want to see the rooms,” Tilly said.
Grace showed Morty and John how to use the rating scale to assess the rooms. When they walked into the entryway of Noah’s house, the photographer, Jack, was putting his gear away. Late twenties, he wore black pants and a black T-shirt, and kept his black aviator sunglasses on the top of his jet-black, spiked hair the entire time he weaved in and out like a silent, picture-taking ninja.
“Already got pictures of the finished product here. Going to head over to Grace’s and sneak a peek.”
Grace glanced at Noah, then at Jack. “But mine isn’t being featured in the magazine.”
“Maybe not but I still want to see it.” He winked at her as he hefted his bag onto his shoulder, and then he shook hands with her and Noah, and left.
It didn’t seem real that a photographer for an international magazine was taking pictures of work she’d done.
“You good?” Noah asked.
She wondered if there were stars in her eyes. “It’s surreal.”
He laughed, shook his head like he didn’t get it. He couldn’t. He couldn’t know what this moment meant.
“Let’s go,” she said, nerves starting to swirl, making her feel like she was on one of those giant swing rides at the carnival.
