‘Felicity.’
‘I can manage… somewhere. The bedroom I’m using, for example.’
‘It doesn’t have the room for a desk.’
‘It could do. We could move the dressing table from there into this one and then put a desk in the same space.’ I tilted my chin triumphantly.
‘True. But then what happens when you want to close the door on work? Bedrooms are supposed to be room for rest and…’ He hesitated. ‘Not work.’
‘I’m more than happy to work all hours right now, bearing in mind I might never get a job in that field again.’
‘I’m sure you would have.’
‘You don’t know my old boss. He’s not exactly the forgiving type and he has alotof connections.’
‘Then it sounds like you’re best off out of it.’
‘Hard to think that when your savings are draining every day.’
‘Always hard to see the light when you’re in the darkness. Right, the desk is going in here. I’m not having you sit up late into the night when you should be getting rest. Now, what style do you think will fit best in here?’ He stood back, looking at the space he’d freed up.
I mirrored his stance. ‘Something period to go with the house but not dark.’
‘Exactly what I was thinking. The salvage yard down the road has some beautiful pieces.’ Jesse checked his watch. ‘Want to go and take a look now? We still have time but say no if you want. It’s been a busy day already. We can always go after we see Dermot tomorrow.’ He looked around. ‘How do you feel about giving the whole room a bit of a refresh as you’ll be spending time in here?’
Excitement bubbled within me and I knew Jesse saw it. The glint of humour in his eyes, the slow curve of his mouth. But I knew instinctively that he was laughing with me, not at me and never would.
‘Let’s go.’
* * *
A couple of hours later, an antique limed-oak roll-top desk sat neatly bathed in the final rays of evening light from the window. Added to that was a powder-blue dressing-table chair, which toned perfectly with the new toile de jouy curtains and throw cushions. We’d compromised on getting this one by literally pinkie-promising in the shop that if I got neck or back or anything else ache from sitting working on it, it would be changed for a more ergonomic one. A 1930s brass, shell-shaped lamp stood on top, adding a soft pool of light. It was perfect.
‘What do you think?’ I stuck my head out of the door and called to Jesse. I’d just finished styling a couple of other bits I’d picked up together with a bunch of fresh flowers I’d bought from a stall we’d passed on the road.
A couple of moments later, he was jogging up the stairs. I stood in front of the door, aware that I was really no obstacle, but it was the principle.
‘If you don’t like it, you have to tell me, OK?’
‘I will.’
‘It’s your house so you need to be 100 per cent, even though we can move it out again once I’m gone.’
‘I might keep it there for a while. It looked pretty good when we positioned it earlier.’
‘Hopefully, you’ll think it looks even better now.’
‘Can I come in yet?’ he asked, his expression a mixture of exasperation and amusement. I didn’t know him well enough yet to be able to tell which one was winning but if I’d had to put money on it, I’d have gone with exasperation.
I stepped back and opened the door. The bedside lights were lit, along with the one on the bureau, casting a soft, ambient light over the whole scene. It was the first time I’d styled anything other than my half-finished bedroom since I’d thrown in my job and I’d realised not only how much I loved it but also how much I wanted Jesse to love it too.
He didn’t say anything.
‘You hate it,’ I said as a balloon of disappointment deflated in my chest with full farting sound effects to complete the feeling of failure.
‘No!’ He turned, his hand going to my forearm. ‘No! I love it. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if the lamp was going to work with it but it’s brilliant. The whole thing ties in with the rest of the room perfectly too. This is definitely staying even if you don’t.’
The cool, calm, possibly resting-bitch face that I’d cultivated over the years went out of the window, as it seemed to be doing far more often since I’d moved here. I beamed up at Jesse.
