Page 6 of The Focal Point

“So do you like Tom’s house?” he asked.

It was an odd question, but I nodded anyway. “Yeah, it’s great.”

“He bought it a few years ago. Hasn’t done a ton with it.”

The guy, Liam, stood as I did, looking around the room.

“But this looks nice. Really nice.”

“I’m glad you like it.” I smiled, unsure what else to do. I didn’t know who he was, why he was here, or why he was sticking around. And I had work to do—I’d seen the email from Kristen pop up on my smartwatch.

“How did you two meet?”

“How did we meet?” I reached for my tablet to call up the email, but my hand faltered, and I looked back over my shoulder. “I guess the normal way? We met, and he liked what he saw, so he invited me back.”

Did I see a slight flush on the guy’s cheeks? He rolled his lips and nodded. “How long have you guys been together? I would have thought Tom would have told me something about you.”

I blinked, confused by the question. Then my thoughts clicked together, and I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. Liam chuckled, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“Did I say something funny?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s just a misunderstanding. I’m not Thomas’s girlfriend—I’m his interior designer.”

The dark eyes went wide for a moment, then creased with amusement.

“Yeah, that makes more sense. I really should have asked first.” Now I definitely saw a slight flush, and I had to bite my lip to keep another laugh from escaping.

We were both quiet for a moment, Scout looking between us, his tongue still hanging out the side of his mouth. Then Liam’s expression creased as something flashed across his mind—some thought, though I couldn’t tell what—and he reached his hand out again.

“Interior designer, huh? Can I have your card? I might be in the market for one sometime soon. My place needs some updating.”

“Oh, sure.” I reached behind my tablet’s cover and pulled out my business card, handing it to him with a warm smile. “I offer a free consultation, so you decide whether what I can do for you is something you would like.”

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll like it.” The comment was off-handed, distracted, as he scrutinized my card. Then he moved over to the desk, swiping the laptop off the top before heading toward the door. A bright, sunny smile had replaced the abstracted expression, and he raised the computer. “I just came in here for this. I’ll give you a call, and we’ll set up a time to talk.”

“Sounds like a plan.” I returned the smile. It was difficult not to, with it turned on me like a ray of sunshine.

“Come on, Scout.” Liam patted his leg, and the puppy jumped up and bounded after the man. Just before he cleared the door, though, the guy turned and looked over his shoulder, meeting my gaze and smiling softly in a way that made my heart flutter again. “It was nice to meet you, Bailey.”

“Same here,” I replied to the sound of his feet moving away from the room. It took me another moment and a deep breath to calm the butterflies enough to return to work.

But I still had to read the email from Kristen twice before I saw words and not Liam’s soft smile.

Chapter 3

Bailey

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“YOU HAVE A MEETING with Don from Winterhaus about his new design line, and then Christoff for the house over on Clifton Road—”

“—How far are they?” I interrupted.

“I believe they have the drywall and plaster up, ready for painting.” Kristen scrolled through her tablet, looking for the information, but I waved her to continue.

“We can review the client's swatches and see if they still resonate. They’re close to painting, so they’ll need the information soon. I can schedule an appointment to go over fabric swatches and the final design then.”

Kristen entered the notes about the menu, nodded like she was satisfied, and returned to the calendar app.