cream at Rich’s and walk in the park while we eat it!” A note of childlike glee had entered her voice, and Calvin found himself unable to say no.
In fact, as he followed her to Rich’s, which turned out to be a small roadside stand next to the park, and then along the wending path between the leafy trees, Calvin forgot about the will and the mystery of his great-aunt’s money and his intent to find a wife. For a few moments, he didn’t think of anything but the cold mint chocolate chip ice cream against his tongue, the fresh smell of the cool breeze, and the pretty smile that Ellie Parker flashed up at him every so often.
Chapter 7
Two weeks later, Ellie was singing along cheerfully in the car on the way out of the Parker Home Design parking lot.
The renovation of Calvin’s house was going brilliantly, a thought that made her feel quite proud. Together, they had developed a plan of action for almost every room in the house, and in a few days she had workers coming in with a truck to take all the furniture to her store for reupholstering. She had been putting in half days at the shop, since honestly she didn’t need to do eight hours of work a day with the small amount of business they had, and it was doing her good to have a big project to focus on.
And Calvin… Well, the handsome New Yorker had been surprisingly good company for the last two weeks. When she was at work in the house, she only saw him every hour or two, when she checked in to get his input on room design. But it was somehow comforting just to hear him humming away in whatever room he was packing as she walked by from room to room, taking dozens of measurements and setting up preliminary design sketches for his approval.
Best of all, though, were their lunches together every few days. Not only did she enjoy the time with Calvin, but Ellie also felt like she was falling in love with her hometown all over again. Pointing out the good places to Calvin made her appreciate the small community even more.
Hmm, where to go today? She tapped her lip thoughtfully as she drove up the highway and the dirt road. It struck her that she had stopped thinking of the house as Miss Meyer’s place, and started thinking of it as Calvin’s, which drew an unbidden smile from her lips. However, that still didn’t answer the question of lunch. They had hit up all the good restaurants in town already—Carterville was small, after all. But for some reason Ellie couldn’t bring herself to say Calvin had seen everything. She had to admit that she didn’t want to stop having lunch with him. In fact, she was coming out to his house far more often than she needed to just so she could have more of his company.
As she stared at the passing trees, inspiration struck. Of course! One of the best things in Carterville wasn’t a store or anything manmade, but the natural surroundings themselves.
When she pulled up alongside Calvin’s rental car and parked, Ellie swung open the door and then hesitated. Without stopping to question her behavior, she opened her glove box and rummaged around for a minute before emerging with an old tube of soft pink lipstick. She swiped a light coat of it on, using her rearview mirror to check the application, and then grinned at herself before getting out of the car and grabbing her equipment. She had to admit she could have done a lot of the sketches and product selection in her office, but for some reason she preferred to be near Calvin.
Ellie tapped on the thick wooden door of the purple house, but when there was no answer she went ahead and swung it open.
“Helloooo?” she called cheerfully. “I brought the upholstery samples like we talked about!”
“Hi!” called Calvin’s familiar deep voice. He wasn’t visible, but she could hear that he was just in the next room to the left, the living room.
“Hi!” said Ellie, smiling a little. “So, I had an idea for lunch! What do
In fact, as he followed her to Rich’s, which turned out to be a small roadside stand next to the park, and then along the wending path between the leafy trees, Calvin forgot about the will and the mystery of his great-aunt’s money and his intent to find a wife. For a few moments, he didn’t think of anything but the cold mint chocolate chip ice cream against his tongue, the fresh smell of the cool breeze, and the pretty smile that Ellie Parker flashed up at him every so often.
Chapter 7
Two weeks later, Ellie was singing along cheerfully in the car on the way out of the Parker Home Design parking lot.
The renovation of Calvin’s house was going brilliantly, a thought that made her feel quite proud. Together, they had developed a plan of action for almost every room in the house, and in a few days she had workers coming in with a truck to take all the furniture to her store for reupholstering. She had been putting in half days at the shop, since honestly she didn’t need to do eight hours of work a day with the small amount of business they had, and it was doing her good to have a big project to focus on.
And Calvin… Well, the handsome New Yorker had been surprisingly good company for the last two weeks. When she was at work in the house, she only saw him every hour or two, when she checked in to get his input on room design. But it was somehow comforting just to hear him humming away in whatever room he was packing as she walked by from room to room, taking dozens of measurements and setting up preliminary design sketches for his approval.
Best of all, though, were their lunches together every few days. Not only did she enjoy the time with Calvin, but Ellie also felt like she was falling in love with her hometown all over again. Pointing out the good places to Calvin made her appreciate the small community even more.
Hmm, where to go today? She tapped her lip thoughtfully as she drove up the highway and the dirt road. It struck her that she had stopped thinking of the house as Miss Meyer’s place, and started thinking of it as Calvin’s, which drew an unbidden smile from her lips. However, that still didn’t answer the question of lunch. They had hit up all the good restaurants in town already—Carterville was small, after all. But for some reason Ellie couldn’t bring herself to say Calvin had seen everything. She had to admit that she didn’t want to stop having lunch with him. In fact, she was coming out to his house far more often than she needed to just so she could have more of his company.
As she stared at the passing trees, inspiration struck. Of course! One of the best things in Carterville wasn’t a store or anything manmade, but the natural surroundings themselves.
When she pulled up alongside Calvin’s rental car and parked, Ellie swung open the door and then hesitated. Without stopping to question her behavior, she opened her glove box and rummaged around for a minute before emerging with an old tube of soft pink lipstick. She swiped a light coat of it on, using her rearview mirror to check the application, and then grinned at herself before getting out of the car and grabbing her equipment. She had to admit she could have done a lot of the sketches and product selection in her office, but for some reason she preferred to be near Calvin.
Ellie tapped on the thick wooden door of the purple house, but when there was no answer she went ahead and swung it open.
“Helloooo?” she called cheerfully. “I brought the upholstery samples like we talked about!”
“Hi!” called Calvin’s familiar deep voice. He wasn’t visible, but she could hear that he was just in the next room to the left, the living room.
“Hi!” said Ellie, smiling a little. “So, I had an idea for lunch! What do
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