“He was also my rock,” Tessa added, then smiled. “And now you are.” She made a face. “No pressure or anything.”
“I don’t feel any pressure,” Lacey assured her. “But…”
“No buts, Lace. I’ve made my decision, and I will live with it.”
“But…” she continued. “You cannot take that Ritz-Carlton job or…”
Tessa’s eyes widened. “Are you blackmailing me?”
“Never.” Lacey laughed. “But don’t do it, please. I can’t stand to lose you.”
Tessa smiled, deeply happy she had this young woman in her life and pretty sure she couldn’t stand to lose her, either.
Rogue.
Vivien had gone totally rogue with Sherwin-Williams Alabaster when her client had asked for Pure White. Well, she’d asked for “pure white” as a description—Fiona probably didn’t know there was also a paint colorcalledPure White. Not that anyone with eyes or a soul would call it acolor.
Standing in Fiona Buckman’s entryway, Vivien leaned back and looked up at the nearly twenty feet of freshly painted wall in the two-story center hall, thrilled with her decision to go a tiny bit rogue. Two shades of warmth, but it made all the difference in the world. The walls hugged a person now, whereas plain white was like a blinding light that screameddo not enter,do not relax, and, whatever you do,do not feel at home.
This was absolutely the opposite.
Since the interaction over the molding and samples well over a week ago, Vivien felt like she’d found a balance with her strong-willed client. She’d talked about it with Lacey, mulled it over with Tessa, and even shared her feelings with Peter—and they’d all encouraged her to speak her mind since she’d been hired for her expertise.
Vivien had made some compromises, and she’d talked Fiona into a few things, too.
Best of all, Hapless Handy seemed to have disappeared. Maybe they’d…broken up.
Right now, with Fiona gone and just workers here, Vivien could concentrate on the space around her, which was truly getting prettier with every visit.
It was still modern and clean, but not sterile. Fiona didn’t want sterile—she only thought she did. What she wanted was fresh and uncluttered, modern but still a bit organic.
Which was exactly what the Alabaster had accomplished.
She heard the hammers and electric saws from the kitchen, happy that the new counters were in—soft white quartz with delicate veining, timeless and elegant.
As she walked through the house, Vivien nodded to herself, checking out each room as she moved, peeking into Fiona’s office. That was the room they were scheduled to discuss today, when Fiona returned from a meeting at the beach.
Vivien couldn’t wait to rip out the carpet and tackle those hideous window treatments.
“Mrs. Buckman?” A man’s voice called from the front door. “I got a mirror delivery!”
Oh, the entryway mirror she’d chosen had arrived! Excited to see it, she rushed back to the front of the house, knowing this was another slightly rogue move.
“Mrs. Buckman’s not here, but I’m her designer,” she told the man as he handed her a clipboard to sign. “I can’t wait to see this.”
Fiona wanted something big, cold, and frameless. Vivien had found something big, warm, and trimmed with a beveled edge that had a vintage-meets-modern vibe she just loved. No wood, no brass, no antique anything, but plenty of impact.
She watched as the men carefully uncrated the very expensive seventy-inch-tall mirror she’d found at a sweet little design studio down on 30A. She watched and directed as they pulled the massive glass free of the packaging and leaned it against the painfully bare wall in the entryway.
“It’s perfect!” She pressed her hands together, delighted by how the curved corners fit the space and the angled edges caught the light. It was timeless, but slightly historic, simple but not at all artless.
“This is going to make such a statement,” she murmured, stepping closer as the men adjusted it.
“Want us to center it a little more?” one of them asked.
Vivien was about to respond when the front door opened behind her and Fiona came into view through the mirror.
“What onGod’s green earthis that?” Her voice was as sharp as the glass that reflected her.
