Page 29 of Bad Boy Bachelor Christmas
At first, Justin looked like he wanted to push back and stay on the Winter subject but thought better of it. “Shit.”
“Why?”
We continued walking, heading back to the estate.
He sighed. “Everything that could go wrong has. I hired a staging company I’ve worked with in the past and usually have no issue with, and they botched the whole job, which pushed me back a week. I wanted it to be on the market days ago, but I’m still trying to play catch up. I’ve had three showings, all of which have resulted in bored and unengaged clients who didn’t even bother to view the whole property before they decided the place wasn’t for them. It’s a gorgeous house. It just doesn’t feel like it right now. It feels cold and sterile. All the old charm is missing.” He rubbed his forehead in exasperation. “I doubt I’ll sell it before January now, if I’m lucky.”
“There’s still time.”
“I can’t hire stagers this last minute. Everyone is booked. I think I have to cancel my open house. It’s a bitch, but I’ll come back to it in the new year.”
“Maybe I can help.”
Justin grinned. “North, I appreciate your good intentions, but how could you help? You’re spread thin enough as it is.”
“I have an intern who’s an interior designer. Why not put her skills to the test and see if she can stage the house?”
Justin arched an eyebrow. “You think she could handle it?”
“It’s better than doing nothing at all. Personally, I think she’ll knock it out of the park. Don’t tell her I said that.”
He laughed. “And you can spare her for that long?”
“If I can get her in the house tonight and we can have furniture delivered tomorrow? Yeah, I can spare her.”
“How the hell will you pull that off? Furniture in by tomorrow? There’s no way!”
I closed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m a Waylon. We have connections. Let me see what strings I can pull, and I’ll call you tonight to let you know if we’re on.”
CHAPTER14
WINTER
“Alittle to the left. Yes, exactly. Right there.” I nodded in satisfaction after the ragtag group of laborers Justin had recruited finished moving a bench on the front porch. I wanted it right under the bay window in front of a throw rug I’d found at the flea market Cami brought me to.
Beside it, a small side table glowed with faux candles flickering beside staged coffee mugs. Once the laborers went back inside to help finish pulling together the living room, I climbed up the porch steps with a blanket and throw pillows under my arm and haphazardly draped them over the bench.
I stood back to admire my work.
The cozy little “moment” on the porch was exactly what Justin’s heritage house had been missing.
The property was gorgeous, with a rolling front lawn that sloped downward to the street. From the porch, the owners would have a view of their neighborhood unrivaled by the other houses on the block, and I wanted potential buyers to see that as soon as they climbed the porch steps.
This house was about creating moments—tangible spaces that people could see themselves living in. I also wanted to capture a feeling. That was my passion in this job, after all. I hadn’t chosen design just to work with pretty things and maybe get my work featured in a magazine one day, although that would be nice.
I’d chosen this career path because I believed that a space evoked an emotion. Pairing someone with their perfect house was all about finding the right person for the feeling said house exuded.
This house?
It radiated warmth, history, uniqueness, coziness, and playfulness. It didn’t look like any of the others on the street, or town for that matter. Rounded edges with pane glass bubbled windows gave it an almost whimsical look from outside, and when I first arrived this morning to start staging, I’d realized why people weren’t interested in making offers.
For such a fun house, it felt cold.
Almost sterile.
In no way was it acceptable for a heritage house to ever feel that way.
Justin had been eager to walk me through the house, and I’d followed along behind him like an eager puppy dog, just waiting for him to throw me the bone and let me run with the project. North had tagged along but had to bow out halfway through the tour to see to business matters.
