Just then, as if her brief reflection had summoned him, he appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, a wide grin on his face and a folder tucked under one arm. ‘Who’s not afraid to say how she really feels?’
‘Beth.’ Ellie picked up the glass of wine she’d just poured and took a sip.
‘Oh. Yeah, already knew that.’ He winked at Beth.
She poked her tongue out at him but couldn’t help blushing, and when she caught Ellie grinning slyly at her from over the rim of her wine glass, the heat in her cheeks increased tenfold.
Noah whacked the folder he’d brought with him on the bench and slapped a hand on top of it. ‘Brought some preliminary sketches of the changes we discussed.’
She sucked in a breath, her embarrassment vanishing. ‘Of the house? Can I look?’ Then, remembering that she was helping with dinner, she threw a cursory glance at Ellie.
‘Oh, don’t let me stop you. Go!’ Ellie shooed them out of the kitchen.
‘Smells great, Elle,’ Noah called over his shoulder. ‘Is there enough for me?’
‘You know there is.’
Noah plonked himself down at the end of the dining table and pushed out the chair on the adjacent corner with his foot. Grinning, he tipped it onto its back legs, indicating that she should sit. ‘Let’s do this, huh?’
‘Yep, let’s do it.’ She sat in the chair, scooting closer as she vibrated with excited energy. After spending the last few weeks daydreaming about the changes he’d suggested, she was finally about to see what they looked like on paper.
He placed a hand on top of the folder. ‘Keep in mind, these are just preliminary drawings to give you a rough idea of what’s possible. We’ll need an architect to draw them up properly, so this is your chance to say what you like, what you don’t like, what you want to change.’
‘Okay, I think I can manage that.’
‘Because of your whip-smart tongue?’ he said and winked.
She grinned. ‘You know it.’
He laughed, then cleared his throat. ‘Right, here we go.’ Flipping the folder open, he removed the drawings and laid them out on the table in front of them.
Beth glanced sideways at him. Was it just her imagination or did he seem nervous all of a sudden?
She looked down at the plans and frowned. ‘I thought you said you sketched these?’
‘I did.’
‘But …’ Every line was so straight, every angle perfect. ‘Noah, sketches are rough, hand-drawn diagrams, not …this! They look like they were drawn by a professional.’
‘Nope, just me.’ He watched her closely and she realised hewasnervous—nervous about how she’d react to his ideas.
She looked down at the plans again and took in the details. Alongside the kitchen was a dining nook complete with bench seating on two sides and the main bedroom’s ensuite had an enormous walk-in shower. Her mouth dropped open when she saw he’d labelled the front room as the ‘library’ and had added built-in bookshelves spanning the length of the far wall, either side of the fireplace.
She stared at him, gobsmacked. How had he known she’d kill to have a home library?
‘This is …’ She shook her head and examined the plans again. ‘Noah, this is perfect.’
He sat on the edge of his seat. Literally. ‘You think so?’
It was strange to see him so uncertain. From the moment they’d met, he’d oozed confidence, yet here he was, doubting his ability to impress her.
‘Yes,’ she assured him.
Her tone was convincing enough to light a pleased spark in his eyes and, eagerly, he moved the floorplan aside and showed her another sheet, this one with various 3D perspectives. One caught her eye. It was an impression of the deck from the point of view of someone standing inside the house, but he’d added non-architectural details using coloured pencils. The gabled roof over the deck revealed the blue sky above, the grass in the field below appeared to sway, and between the trees in the distance, she glimpsed the river. It was just as he’d described it to her that day; his vision come to life.
She shook her head, in complete awe. If Noah could execute this renovation just as he’d laid out here, then he’d have built her dream home. She definitely wasn’t paying him enough. Despite his initial toe-curling insistence that he wouldn’t be compensated for his services, they’d eventually reached a compromise. Noah had agreed to accept payment but at a ridiculously low rate. They would absolutely have to review that agreement at some point.
It dawned on her, too, that this would ease some of her guilt. She’d felt unworthy since receiving news of her inheritance, as if she had no right to claim anything her aunt had left behind. But by investing some of Prudence’s money back into the house she’d lived in, Beth would, in a way, be honouring her. Showing gratitude for the gifts she’d been given.
