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He still felt beholden to Wiladean for taking such good care of his grandmother and brother, letting them stay at the inn after the house had burned down. Others in town weren’t so nice about it. While the years had taught him to let go of anger and not hold grudges, he’d never forgotten those who were kind to him and his family when they were in need.
Now he was in a position to repay their kindness. Ironically, the very fire that had driven him out of town, causing him to leave school abruptly and forcing him to get his GED rather than graduating from high school, had been the very thing that had built his business. While he was away, he had worked construction and perfected his trade. When he came back, he’d rebuilt his grandmother’s house and made damn sure not only to leave the nineteenth century Victorian in better condition than it had been before the fire, but to restore it to its glorious historical splendor. He’d researched the hell out of houses of that period and painstakingly tracked down original doors and windows, trim and moldings, among other fixtures that were true to that era.
The result had not only made his grandma proud, it had made her a minor celebrity in a town where old looking new and true again was held in the highest regard. Wiladean had been his first client, when she’d hired him to do some minor repairs. That job had snowballed into the business he’d built with his architect brother, Aidan.
Tablet in hand, he entered through the inn’s front doors. Reflexively, his gaze went to the front desk, hoping to find Elle exactly where he’d left her yesterday. A man and woman, who he assumed were guests, were perusing the pamphlets, but Elle wasn’t there. His hopes did an odd nosedive. As he was trying to reconcile the peculiar feeling, Wiladean stepped out of the office.
“Right on time,” she said, glancing at her watch. “I do appreciate a man who is punctual.”
He smiled at her. “Good morning, Wiladean.”
“Come on into the office.” She motioned for him to follow her. “We don’t want to keep you very long since you were so kind to meet with us this morning on such short notice. I hope you don’t mind, but Elle is going to sit in on the meeting. We have her to thank for Zelda and me coming to a meeting of the minds.”
He wasn’t surprised about that, but what did surprise him was the level of anticipation he felt as he walked toward the office door. He tried to tell himself that it was just relief that Wiladean and Zelda had finally come to an agreement. But the visceral reaction he experienced as he walked in and saw Elle sitting there looking fresh-faced and gorgeous made him realize he was in trouble. It was one thing to appreciate her from afar but another to...anticipate. He didn’t do anticipation. Or at least he should know better than getting too attached to the idea of seeing her, because he couldn’t have her, and he needed to get that through his head right now.
She’d piled her long, blond hair into a bun on top of her head. She wore a simple blue T-shirt and faded jeans. She looked even prettier than she had yesterday in that sweater with her hair and makeup done. He liked this more natural look. Not that it mattered, because he shouldn’t be thinking about her appearance. This was business.
“Morning,” he said.
The corners of Elle’s lips tipped up into a half smile. “Good morning.”
He started to sit in the chair closest to the door, but Wiladean said, “Move down, Daniel. Take the seat next to Elle.”
“Let Daniel sit wherever he wants, Gigi,” Elle quipped. Her tone was light, but Daniel sensed something else. “Do you remember what we talked about yesterday? Daniel, yesterday I asked Gigi to stop trying to push us together. It’s fine if we want to work together, but I told her we have boundaries. Right, Gigi?”
“Don’t you start with me, missy,” Wiladean said. “Your mother is getting some coffee and muffins ready for us. Quarters are tight because this office wasn’t really meant for four people. We don’t need her maneuvering around us with hot coffee. By the way, Daniel, did Elle tell you she’s decided to spend the holidays in Savannah to help us with a project she and Zelda came up with?”
