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He added a smile to that last statement, though he doubted she got his sarcasm. His pride would never let him admit to the woman seated in front of him just how little he earned in his position. He’d learned from being married to a much higher earner that money could create a power imbalance and lead to issues in a relationship, even when you swore it wouldn’t.
“I work pretty much everywhere,” Charity said, pausing as one of the servers appeared with a tray.
The server set a water and a shake in front of each of them, along with four straws. She smiled at Charity before walking away.
“I didn’t even ask for a water,” Charity said.
“I guess it’s a courtesy.”
Nic couldn’t help but remember Jackie’s comment about two straws in one milkshake. They’d never shared a shake when they were a couple. It seemed kind of cheesy, but he couldn’t help but see it as romantic now. This woman was getting inside his head, no matter how hard he fought to keep her out.
Desperate to get his mind off that track, he asked, “So what do you have planned for today?”
“I’m Christmas-ifying Misty Mountain, one building at a time. This afternoon, that means putting the tree up at the library.”
His eyebrows arched at that. “The library has the budget to hire an interior decorator?”
He shouldn’t be so surprised. Libraries had budgets, right? It was more than that, though. He was shocked the city of Misty Mountain would put money into making their library look good for only one season.
“Nope,” Charity said. “It’s volunteer work. I do it every year.”
Nic took a long sip from his milkshake and almost forgot what he was about to say as the flavors hit his tastebuds. He was getting a refresher on just how smooth and genuinely chocolate tasting the milkshakes at Jackie’s Diner were.
Once the swallow of shake was down, though, something else kept him from speaking. He laughed at the thought that flashed through his mind.
“Your name’s Charity.”
She was busy sipping from her shake, too, but she stopped to stare at him. For a second, she looked like she might choke.
“I was going to comment that you sure do a lot of volunteer work,” he explained. “And then I remembered your name is Charity.”
Looking up toward the ceiling, she seemed to think that through. “That probably should have occurred to me by now. Maybe that’s why I’m always donating my time.”
“Could be why people constantly request it from you. They assume you’re charitable.”
“Iamcharitable,” she said. “But I have to admit, it’s good for business. Anytime someone needs an interior decorator, who do you think they ask?”
“How often do people need interior decorators?” he asked.
“You’d be surprised.” Charity sat back and seemed to think through her next words, staring out the window for a long moment before speaking. “Most of my business comes from referrals. Lucky and Matt have been good to me. They both encounter a lot of people looking for help with their rental cabins. Plus, the resort has me come decorate for almost every event they do.”
The resort. He almost choked on another sip at those two words. The property they called the Misty Mountain Resort was a nice hotel with a restaurant on the main floor. The restaurant had actual deer heads hanging all around. He’d bet there were more hunting and fishing conventions there than anywhere in the country.
“So, you’re going to the library after this?” he asked.
“That’s my plan.” She punctuated that with a long sip of her milkshake.
“I’ll go with you.”
At those words, she stopped sipping. Her beautiful brown eyes widened as she stared at him.
“You’re volunteering, right?” He shrugged. “I volunteer to help you out—if you’ll have me.”
“I thought you were working.”
That was a good point, but he was just going to go home and work on some reports while he waited to see if anyone needed him. He could be on call at the library just as easily as he could at his parents’ house.
“Think about it,” he said. “With both of us working, you’ll get it done twice as fast.”
