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“It’s true.” He chuckled. “Now stop worrying, and tell me when you’d like to get started. It won’t take more than an evening or two to get it done. We work at night so there’s no interruption to you or your customers.”
“We?”
“I’ll be getting my brother, Cole, to help out,” he explained. “It will go much faster that way.”
“You have a brother? I don’t know why, but I assumed you were an only child.”
“Cole is my younger brother. It’s just the two of us. I think we exhausted our parents, so they quit while they were ahead,” he joked.
“My parents weren’t able to have more children, so I was it. Normally, I don’t miss having a sibling, but there are times when it would be nice to have more family—or at least a buffer every now and then.”
Ivan glanced over with a quizzical expression.
“They argued a lot toward the end. It was intense at times,” she explained.
That caused Ivan to frown. “I bet that was hard on you.”
She shrugged. “Kids are resilient. I learned to cope.” Tiffany played with her cup. “You know, I cried with relief when they told me they were getting divorced.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I wasn’t. Besides, I got another bedroom to call my own, so it all worked out. But enough about me. What about you?”
“My parents are still married and in love. Which only makes them more interested in what my brother and I are up to,” he said, trying to interject some levity.
“Sounds like they’d get along quite well with Ms. Jeannie,” Tiffany joked.
*
Ivan observed various emotions cross Tiffany’s face. She wasn’t as unaffected by her family’s problems as she tried to portray. There was real pain in her expression and body language. Before he knew it, he reached across the table and covered her hand with his. He squeezed it reassuringly, giving her some of his strength. A shocked expression crossed her face momentarily, but then she relaxed.
“I’ll bet your rooms were every teenage girl’s dream.” He watched a few tears glisten in her eyes before she blinked them away.
She laughed. “Maybe not, but I thought they were pretty cool.”
He released her hand. To give her a chance to compose herself, Ivan relayed some tales of his childhood. The sparkle in her eyes slowly returned, and she even chimed in with some funny stories of her own. Reluctantly, their discussion returned to work, and they were able to finalize the plans and payment arrangements. When they were done, Ivan escorted Tiffany back to her store. He held the door open for her, but stopped just inside.
“Thanks for this afternoon. And thank you for the wonderful security system, Ivan.”
He chuckled. “That’s the first time someone’s thanked me in advance.”
“That’s because I know I’ll love it.”
“Then you’re welcome…in advance.” He smiled broadly. “Cole and I will see you on Wednesday.”
“Great, and thanks again.”
Ivan took her hand in his again and squeezed. “Anytime.”
Moments later, Ivan was getting into his SUV. Their afternoon together had been illuminating. He learned that Tiffany held a lot inside, and that her emotions ran deep. He was surprised that sharing a few of her childhood memories had caused her composure to slip. Seeing her distressed like that had stirred something inside him. He barely knew her, and yet wanted nothing more than to protect her from the sadness lurking behind her eyes.
Then he recalled his vow on remaining strictly professional. Cole would have a field day when he found out Ivan’s latest predicament. With a wry smile, he started his truck and pulled off.
*
Inside the store, Tiffany’s sales associate, Celeste, came over to her. “Aside from having lunch with a bona fide hunk, what’s got you in such a good mood?”
“It wasn’t lunch,” Tiffany corrected. “It was a business meeting. I’m getting a new security system for the store. It’s long overdue.”
