Page 6 of Once Upon a Holidate
“Purple and blue.”
She smiled. “We’ll get a really great comforter. A thick one that’s soft. And lots of pillows.” She glanced at him, her eyes bright with excitement. “The hall bathroom is pretty plain, so we can continue the color theme in there. Extra thick towels with a matching bath mat. Maybe some accessories.”
“And artwork,” he said dryly. “Don’t forget that.”
She grinned. “I won’t.” She looked at the walls. “Maybe a fairy print. We’ll have to see what they have. Or maybe I can find something online and have it printed on canvas. It’s a great look and not that expensive. We can decide as we go.”
“We?”
She returned her attention to him. “I assumed you weren’t just asking for a shopping list. You have great taste in furniture,but you seem lacking in the softer touches. Unless you want to do it on your own?”
“Absolutely not. I appreciate your willingness to see this through.” He hesitated. “I asked for your help because I knew you’d make her room look good, but I didn’t mean for you to take on a whole project.”
She smiled. “It’s a challenge and I love a challenge. Plus I’m committed now.”
Her voice was teasing, her expression happy. As she’d said, he’d only known her well enough to say hello and comment on the weather. He’d noticed her, of course. No straight guy could be within twenty feet of Wynn and not notice her, but that was physical. He hadn’t thought much about who she was.
Now he found himself enjoying her company and wanting to know more about her.
“With Joylyn arriving next weekend, we don’t have a lot of time,” she added. “How about going shopping tomorrow?”
“If you’re available, that would be great.”
“I’m free.” The smile returned. “You’re going to have to brace yourself. This is going to be a big hit on your credit card.”
“Not a problem.” He had plenty of savings, and except for food and an occasional guys’ night out, he rarely spent any money. “I want Joylyn to feel good about staying here. Thanks for helping me, Wynn.”
She smiled. “You are going to owe me big time.”
“You name your price and I’ll pay it.”
Something flashed in her eyes. For a second he wondered if she was going to suggest something he would find intriguing, but then she looked away.
“I’ll let you know what I decide. In the meantime I’ll get going on the shopping list. I’m going to start in the kitchen.”
She walked down the hall. He allowed himself to admire that view of her, then shook off any lingering desire. Wynn washis neighbor. She was helping him when she didn’t have to, and he would respect that. As for wanting anything else—he knew better. Relationships always ended badly for him. He’d been through enough to know he was done with trying to make one work.
If he wanted to repay her for what she was doing, he would build her a gazebo or expand her back deck. Nothing else. Anything romantic would only be a disaster.
Chapter Two
Wynn was surprised to realize she’d never been shopping with a man before. It seemed an odd kind of event to have missed in her life—after all, she was a business owner and single mom. She’d dated men—sort of—and had been in a couple of semiserious relationships. She’d had sex with men, had dinner, gone to bars, concerts and completed a whole list of normal activities with the opposite gender, but she’d never gone shopping of any kind.
“Thanks again for helping me with my project,” Garrick said, glancing at her briefly before turning his attention to the road.
They were in his ridiculously large black SUV, heading to the outlet mall about forty miles from Happily Inc where there were a couple of big bed-and-bath kind of stores, along with a few furniture places.
“I’m looking forward to it,” she told him with a grin. “I’m going to test your ability to handle fringe.”
“You keep mentioning that. I’m starting to think you’re not kidding.”
“You’re going to have to wait and find out.”
She pulled a list out of her handbag. “We should get the kitchen table and chairs first. Once we have that, we’ll deal with linens and kitchenware, leaving the artwork for last.” She glanced at him. “In case you flake out, we’ll have the most important items taken care of.”
“Flake out? I’m the one who came to you. I want to make this happen.”
“You say that now, but let’s see how you handle all the shopping.”
