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Kelly smiled and said hi as Andrea looked back at her. There was no response from Andrea, except that she kept looking at her like she was mesmerized. Kelly wanted to look away, but she couldn’t stop looking into those eyes.

  If Elise noticed Andrea and Kelly still staring at each other, she didn’t acknowledge it. She kept talking, apparently oblivious to the looks they exchanged.

  “Andrea, I’m trying to talk Kelly into designing and building my new bookcases.” Elise turned to Kelly, “What do you think? Is this a job you have time for or want to take on?”

  “Nice to meet you, Andrea.” Kelly forced herself to look back at Elise. “Sure, I can do this. I’ll need to take some pictures and measurements and I can get back to you in a few days with a preliminary design. After we agree on a design, I can give you a price and I’ll make the working drawings. I assume you’ll want it to be the same general style as your desk so it looks like it all came together at the same time, right?”

  “That’s exactly what I want. Okay, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be in the kitchen. Back in the same direction as the lanai. Come on in there once you’re finished.”

  “I can do that. I need to run out to my truck and get a few things. Is it all right to let myself back in?”

  “Of course, help yourself. See you in a bit, then.”

  Elise left the room with her arm around Andrea, but Kelly noticed Andrea took one little look back over her shoulder toward her as they left.

  What happened there? She didn’t offer to shake hands when we met or even say hello but after all, I’m hired help. Maybe she doesn’t shake hands with the hired help. Who knows? Anyway, I’ve got measurements to take.

  Half an hour later, photos taken and measurements written into her notebook, Kelly made her way to the kitchen to find Elise and Andrea sitting in a small built-in dinette booth in an alcove. They appeared to be deep in conversation, but both looked up as she intentionally made some noise coming into the room.

  “I have a couple more questions for you,” Kelly said to Elise. “Do you want to be able to adjust the shelves or do you want them stationary?”

  “Hmm…I’d like them to be stationary.”

  “Okay, do you want them to go to the ceiling or do you want room to put things on top of them?”

  “I’d like them all the way to the ceiling. I’ll need the entire space for my things. I’ll get a library ladder later if it turns out I need one.”

  “All right, I’ll make them far enough apart for you to put some taller books and items in them. I’ll start working on a design and give you a call to set up a time to bring you what I come up with in the next few days, if that’s agreeable.” She tried not to look at Andrea.

  “Perfect. Thanks for agreeing to do this. Carrie told me you do amazing things with wood, so I look forward to seeing your design. Can you give me a ballpark figure for this project yet?”

  “I’d say it’s going to run approximately $4,000, but I can be more precise after we agree on a design. You’ll have 19 wall-feet of bookcases, plus they’re taller than usual and the bottom couple of shelves are enclosed. Is that in the range you’re happy with, price-wise?”

  “Since I’ve looked at some pre-made cabinets I didn’t like that cost at least that much, yes, I’m very happy with that price.” Elise reached out to shake hands.

  “Good. I’ll call you soon.” She reached to shake Elise’s hand and then looked at Andrea. “Nice to meet you, too.”

  Without waiting for a response, she turned and headed for the door. Once outside, she took a deep breath and shook her head. Andrea seemed to be a total ice queen, but a stunning one. Oh well, she wasn’t going to have to be friends with her, just work there. Her aunt made up for it with her warmth.

  Once out the front gate and past the security shack at Palm Harbour, she decided to drive over to Carrie’s office to tell her she was taking the job. A short while later, Kelly walked through the construction office’s front door.

  “Kelly!” Carrie jumped up and hurried around her desk to give her a hug. “It seems like ages since I’ve seen you.” Carrie stepped back from Kelly’s warm embrace.

  “I know. I’ve been busy with this renovation. I knew taking on a two-story house with bannisters and stairs would mean tons of woodworking. It’s taking more time than I first estimated, but I want them to be right. Anyway, I decided to come in person to tell you that I am taking on the Wainwright job.”

  “Oh, good. Thanks for letting me know. I’m glad you could do it for us and Rich will be glad to know she’s in good hands.”

  “You’re welcome. Oh, and you’re right, she’s a very pleasant woman. From what I’ve seen, she’ll be easy to work with.”

  “I assumed you’d hit it off. I’ve always liked her.” Carrie looked toward the hall next to her desk. “I was getting ready to take a little break. Come on back to the coffee room and tell me all about your meeting with her. How’s our little girl, by the way?”

  Kelly followed Carrie around the corner. “Piper’s doing fine, as usual. I’m sure she misses you, with all the spoiling you do. It’s hard for me to compete when you give her roast beef every time. What do you do, save it for her visits?”

  Carrie laughed. “Actually, I do. Whenever I have some left-over roast, I chop it up and put it and a little gravy in a baggie and freeze it for her. It’s easy to defrost and makes me very popular. I want to be the favorite aunt, of course.”

  “I’m pretty sure you already are. All I have to say is ‘Aunt Carrie’ to her and she starts spinning around like a crazy girl.”

  “Good. That means it’s working.” Carrie grinned. “So, give me the lowdown on your meeting with Elise.”

  “Well, she wants a whole wall of permanently bookcases attached to the wall—built-ins, if you will. She wants them to look like the rest of her office furniture. She’s leaving the design up to me, but I’ll give her a couple of options and let her decide what she wants. I won’t give her anything I don’t like, though.”

  Carrie grinned at her. “No, of course not.”

  “This should be a much more interesting project than I supposed it would be when I talked to you. By the way, have you met her niece, Andrea?”

  “Oh, no, I haven’t. I know Elise has a brother and that he and his wife have at least one child, but that’s all. Why?” Carrie poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Kelly as she pointed to the cream and sugar.

  “I met her today.” Kelly spooned sugar and creamer into her cup. “She’s staying with Elise for a few weeks. I have to say she seems…well…a little odd.”

  “What kind of odd?” Carrie took her mug to the small round table near the window and sat, motioning for Kelly to join her.

  Kelly sat in the other chair at the table and took a sip of her coffee. “She just stood there and stared at me when I first saw her. She talked to her aunt, but didn’t have anything to say to me as we were introduced…not even a ‘nice to meet you.’ Seriously, I thought at first maybe there was something wrong with her. Then again, maybe she’s shy. I guess we’ll see. One thing’s for sure, she’s nothing like her aunt.”

  “I’ve heard her talk about her niece. She’s very close to her, but she’s never brought her into the office. What does she look like?”

  “Pretty. Okay, very pretty. She might even be beautiful if she’d smile. But I didn’t see her do that, so I don’t know.” Kelly shrugged.

  “You must’ve noticed more than that.” Carrie held her mug in both hands and leaned forward, her elbows on the table. “Come on, give.”

  “All right. Let me think.” Kelly stared off into space. “Hair blonde, shoulder length. Eyes brown. About five-six. Nice legs. How’s that?” Kelly grinned and took another sip from her coffee.

  “Oh, come on. Well, it should be interesting working for Elise, anyway. I like her, plus she’s a bit of a character. She’s always entertaining.”

  “A bit of a character. That’s for sure.” Kelly laughed. “She was trimming
the palm trees in her front yard when I got there today. I mistook her for the gardener.”

  “That’s Elise, all right. I can tell you this, there’s one thing you won’t have to worry about, and that’s getting paid. She always pays on time. In fact, she’s been known to give our workers a little extra under the table for doing a great job. We’re not supposed to know, but we don’t mind.”

  “Hmm…well, it’s nice to know I won’t have to remind her to pay me, anyway.” Kelly took another sip of her coffee. “That goes a long way in my book.”

  Chapter Three

  KELLY PULLED INTO ELISE’S driveway and noticed a metallic blue Mercedes SLK350 sitting in the driveway over by the garage. A convertible, the hard top was up. She wondered if it was Elise’s or Andrea’s or if they had a visitor. Either way, she gave it a good looking over. She had no idea what they cost but she knew it was way more than her Dodge Durango.

  Elise met her at the door and after a short trip to the kitchen for some sweet tea, they settled in the office to talk. Elise spread Kelly’s drawings on her desk. “It’s much easier to visualize your design in here.” She looked down at the design, then at the wall. She held the drawing up at arm’s length. She nodded. “This will definitely do. I love it.”

  “If you’re happy, I’m happy. The middle section does stick out from the wall farther than the others, but it gives it some depth. That’s a lot of bookcase to be a flat design.”

  “I agree. It adds a whole new dimension to the room. Let’s pull the chairs out to where they’ll be when the bookcases are finished and make sure the room doesn’t look crowded, though.”

  “Sure, we can do that.” Kelly moved the chairs away from the wall, took out her measuring tape, and moved the chairs to where they would sit after the bookcases were installed. For reference, she put the open measuring tape on the floor to show where the front of the bookcase would be. “How’s that?”

  Before Elise could answer, Andrea showed up at the door. Kelly found herself trying not to stare at Andrea. Is this the same woman? She seems almost childlike dressed in that T-shirt and shorts. The ponytail and no makeup add to that impression, but she’s definitely no child.

  This time Andrea only glanced at her aunt, then looked right at Kelly when she came in. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but could I borrow my aunt for a minute?” Andrea’s voice was soft and nearly musical.

  “Uh, sure.” Kelly wasn’t ready for the immediate reaction she felt to hearing Andrea speak to her. The tingle spread from her brain to several other parts of her right away. She mentally slapped herself. She wasn’t going to be smitten with Andrea. Not a good idea.

  Elise followed Andrea from the room, leaving Kelly to get her breathing back to normal. This can’t be happening. I am not going to fall for some beautiful rich girl. No. No. No. Just because she isn’t the snob she seemed to be last time doesn’t mean I should let myself drown in those big brown eyes. Oh no. She sat down in one of the chairs she had moved. She willed herself to take a deep breath and think about bookcases.

  A couple of minutes later, Elise slid into the chair across from Kelly. “I apologize for that interruption.”

  “No problem, now, where were we? Oh yes, the chairs. How does this feel, space-wise?”

  Elise looked around from her seat. “It looks perfect from here. Plenty of room.”

  “All right, then, how about the doors on the cabinets? Would you like the doors to be solid wood or would you prefer wood with glass panes or plain glass?”

  “You know, the wood doors with glass inserts sound good to me. Plain glass doors would look a little too stark. Solid wood doors seem a bit too heavy. I’d like to keep the look in here light, even with all those books that will be in here.”

  “To tell you the truth, I like that design the best, too, but I would’ve given you what you wanted if you liked one of the other designs better. They’re your cabinets, after all.”

  Elise smiled. “I can see that you have a great design sense. Carrie told me about the rocking chair you made her from the wood from her grandfather’s tree and showed me a picture of it. That says you not only have a good eye, but also a good heart. A feel for what’s good and what will mean something to someone.”

  Kelly smiled and looked down at the designs, and back at Elise. “That was something special I made Carrie. She’s a good friend

  Elise reached over and patted Kelly’s arm. “You know, I like you, Kelly. I know good people when I see them and you’re good people.”

  “Thank you. Now please don’t take this the wrong way, but you seem a lot more Floridian than New Yorker to me. Have you spent a lot of time here?”

  “It shows, doesn’t it? My grandparents and parents wintered here and I spent every bit of time with them I could. I’ve had a second home here for a long time now because I love being here in Fort Myers.”

  “It shows that you care about this place very much. It’s gorgeous. I’m glad you enjoy it here.”

  “And I’m going to like working with you. How soon can we get started on my new bookcases?”

  “I should be able to start on it next week. I can build part of it elsewhere and install it in sections, all at the same time, if that’s satisfactory. Do you want the back of the bookcases open to the wall and installed permanently or do you want them as stand-alone units that could be moved?”

  “I want them to be a permanent part of the house. Also, I’d like the color of the wall behind to show through the open shelves. So, let’s attach them to the wall.”

  “All right. I’ll get started on it right away. I’ll call you once I have the design ready for you to approve. Does that work for you?”

  “Works for me. Now, how about you stay for lunch with us? Andrea’s putting together something tasty in there and I’m sure there’s plenty. Besides, it’d be good for her to see the face of someone her own age for a change, not just mine.”

  “I don’t want to intrude.”

  Elise gave a reassuring touch to Kelly’s arm. “Not at all. So how about it? Oh, I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you whether you need to be somewhere else.”

  “Actually, I don’t. I’d love to, thank you.”

  Elise and Kelly strolled out to the lanai. Andrea beckoned them to sit at the small glass-topped white wicker table.

  “How long do you think it will take you to build and install the bookcases?” Andrea asked.

  “A few weeks. I’ll have them finished before Elise needs to go back to New York for Thanksgiving and Christmas.” Kelly took a sip of her tea. “So, do you live in New York, too?”

  “I used to. Not now.” Andrea abruptly stood and strode toward the kitchen door. “Lunch is almost ready. Be right back.” She disappeared into the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”

  Elise reached over and patted Kelly’s hand. “No, sweetie, you didn’t. She’s sensitive right now. Look, she just went through a nasty breakup and being here with me is therapeutic for her. I think she simply needs to feel her feet under her again.”

  “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t stay…” Kelly started to get up, but Elise stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

  “No. Stay. Don’t worry, she’ll be all right and you didn’t say or do anything wrong. She might sound a little gruff, but she’s such a softie inside. She’s still hurting. That she said anything at all to you is something good. She didn’t come out of her room much for several days after she got here. At least now she’s gotten herself a rental car and run to the grocery a couple of times. I’m pretty sure she’s even driven out to Sanibel or Fort Myers Beach once or twice. So, she’s getting better.”

  “Well, that’s good. I know how it feels to go through a breakup and it’s not fun. Sometimes what you need most is someone to talk to, to let it all out. You must be that person for Andrea.”

  Elise nodded as she smiled. “She’s always come to me, even when she was little. Her mother died when she was very young, after giving birth
prematurely to her little brother. Shortly after that, her brother died, poor little guy. Her father, my brother, was never the same after that. Andrea got the short stick.”

  “Wow, that’s awful,” Kelly said, her eyes wandering toward the door to the kitchen. “She’s been through a lot, hasn’t she?”

  “She has, but she’s a strong one, that girl. She just needs some time. I’m starting to wonder if she actually wants to go back to New York, since she seems much more relaxed here. Well, time will tell, that’s for sure.”

  Just then, the kitchen door swung open and Andrea emerged, bearing a tray with ham sandwiches. Kelly jumped up to help, taking the tray to place it on the table.

  “Thanks, Kelly. That was nice of you. I’ll be right back with the iced tea pitcher and the rest.”

  “Please, let me help. I do know my way around a kitchen.” Kelly smiled.

  “Okay, you can carry the tea pitcher out for me.” Andrea turned without smiling back. Once they were in the kitchen alone, Andrea made a sudden turn to face Kelly. “Look, I hope my aunt isn’t trying to set us up or something. I’m definitely not looking for a date or anything, but my aunt sometimes…”

  “Excuse me? I don’t think that’s what I’m here for. I’m here to build her some bookcases and cabinets.”

  “Right. Like she needs them.” Andrea leaned back against the kitchen counter, crossed her arms, and stared at Kelly.

  “Actually, she told me she’s planning to make this her year-round home soon and wants to move her books here. Do you think she’s thinking something else? I mean, the construction company referred me. There was no way she could’ve known…”

  “That’s true. All right, it’s possible I overreacted.” Andrea unfolded her arms. “She does like to play matchmaker, though. She also believes she knows best. And…she’s probably wondering what’s keeping us in here.” She picked up the napkins, forks, and plates, and headed for the door to the lanai.

  “If she’s trying to matchmake us, it’s not going to work. You don’t even live here. We should get back out there before she starts to wonder what’s taking so long.” Kelly picked up the tea pitcher and followed.