Page 17 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
“Good.” She glanced around. “Are you particularly attached to that conservatory?”
He shrugged. “Why, do you think I should get rid of it?”
She shook her head. “If we put in a support beam, we could give you a bigger kitchen with a gorgeous dining area. And you’d have all the extra light coming in.”
“Sounds good.”
“We could also turn one of the reception rooms into a great home office.”
Matt chuckled and Daisy shifted a bit self-consciously. “What?”
“You.” He shook his head. “Sorry, it’s just so cool to see you like this after all this time. l hadn’t thought of you like this.”
So he’d thought of her. She’d thought of him. Too much. It was something she’d never admitted to anyone, not even Laura.
When she said nothing, he added hurriedly, “You were always creative but, here you are, running your own company. I’m just really glad for you.”
Daisy had learned that people tended to assume that creative people weren’t smart at business. Back in their early twenties, Matt had always referred to her as the creative half. And she had always thought of him as the smart one. It had been part of his appeal.
“A home office sounds like a great idea,” he said. “What about you? Do you ever work from home?”
She shook her head. “Not really.” James did. But she didn’t want to talk about James.
“Tell me more about this award.”
She beamed. “It’s like the Oscars for the industry. Laura and I try to enter every year with our best projects.”
“Do you compete against each other?”
“No.” She laughed. “Either of us being shortlisted would be a win. I’ve been longlisted a couple of times, though.”
“So, what happens now?”
She took out her tablet and an A4 pad and placed them on the table. “I want to get some more ideas from you first. Then I’ll go away and draw up plans.”
“I’d like to keep a few bits.” Matt looked around the kitchen. “This table, for example.’
Daisy’s pen stilled on the page and she glanced up.
He shook his head. “What? You’re going to tell me now it’s full of dry rot, aren’t you?”
She blinked. “No, not at all. I was actually thinking the same thing about the table. Most clients just want me to get rid of old furniture they’ve inherited. I usually end up stripping everything out, unless I can convince them it’s worth up-cycling.”
“Is this?”
Daisy took a closer look. “Yes, I think so.”
“Good.” Matt looked pleased. “Apart from that, I’d probably describe my style as pretty minimalist. No clutter.”
Which was not something she’d ever have associated with him.
“I’ve changed a lot since college,” he said.
Daisy’s heart thumped a bit louder as she stared at him. When had he started reading her mind again? It had always been his superpower.
“We can streamline the whole house, make it inviting, but easy to keep. I’d like to introduce some maximalist notes ...” She stopped, noticing Matt’s puzzled expression. “I have some examples on screen that I can show you. Don’t worry, we’ll keep its character, what makes it special. The sooner I can have you approve all the plans, the sooner we can make a start.”
He smiled. “I’m glad we’re doing this, though.”
