Finding Love in Ivy Falls

Chapter Ten

MANNY

Badass Businesswoman

When I returned from the truck, Tess was still working the negotiations. I’d never seen this side of her. She was so resolute. Hands firm at her sides. Jaw jutted out. She’d never looked so gorgeous, and I bit into my tongue to keep from actually cheering for her.

I set down the blankets on a nearby bale of hay as she continued to haggle with the antique dealer.

‘Let me go talk to the missus right quick. I’ll be back in a jiffy,’ the man said, scurrying to another side of the tent where a woman with gray hair threaded with white stood behind a table.

Tess stepped back toward me, hands twisting anxiously in front of her. Again, that instinct to reach out, do anything to calm her, raced through me, but I had to settle for distraction.

‘Looks like you’re working your charm on him,’ I teased.

‘We’ll see if it’s enough,’ she said looking around me. ‘Where are the girls?’

‘I sent them with Lou to the playground near the petting zoo.’

She toed at the ground nervously. ‘I think, well, I hope, we’re at the right number. He definitely doesn’t want to let go of the piece easily.’

‘You’ve got this, Tess,’ I said softly.

She locked eyes with me, and for a flash, I saw that same ache and need I’d been battling for nearly a year. I started to reach for her, needing to touch her if only for a minute, when the man reappeared.

Before he could say a word, Tess unleashed a sweet smile. No one could resist her when she looked at them like they made the moon rise and fall.

‘Mr… uh…’

‘Sturridge. But you can call me Edmund,’ he said.

‘Oh, I like your first name. It reminds me of one of the children in The Chronicles of Narnia .’

His face lit up. ‘That’s who I was named after! Although, I have to say when my mother read me The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , I wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t the most loyal fellow. Well, at least not until the end.’

‘You’re right, but he did get better in the later books.’

‘That story turned me into a reader. Didn’t much care for books when I was young, but then those kids walked through that wardrobe and I was hooked.’

‘This piece of your history will look lovely in my bookstore in Ivy Falls,’ Tess said like she was eager to turn the conversation back to her offer.

‘Ivy Falls? I know that place. The Pen and…’ He tapped at his lip, and then snapped quickly, ‘Prose. Pen and Prose. Haven’t been there in a while, but I do remember the lovely woman who owned it. Was that your mother?’ he asked sadly.

‘Yes.’ Tess took an uncomfortable gulp. ‘And she was lovely. Thank you.’

‘Your mother had the patience of a saint. She turned me on to that Brad Thor fella. Boy, can he write a good military thriller.’

‘She was pretty good about matching a reader with a book.’

He had a far-off look in his eye like he was remembering that time, and Tess’ mom, who was a hard lady to forget.

‘So, about the buffet?’ Tess urged.

He scribbled out a new number and handed it to Tess. I looked over her shoulder and tried to keep a poker face. She wrote down a different number. Edmund pulled the paper toward him. Tapped that finger back to his lip again.

In the distance, Rose and Iris’ laughter filled the air. It was the perfect sound for this negotiation. As soon as he heard their giggles, his shoulders gave a little, and he held out his hand. ‘I think my great-granny would be happy that her beloved buffet is going to a place full of books.’

‘Thank you, Mr Sturridge. I swear we’ll take good care of it.’

I couldn’t help but look at her with awe as she firmly shook the man’s hand. I loved this badass businesswoman side of her.

Once we had the buffet loaded, I called to the girls and hustled them all back to the truck. They asked a bunch of questions, whined about leaving, but I only gave them a smile and told them it was time to go.

Not more than twenty minutes on the road, all three girls were sound asleep.

‘Today was really special. Thanks for inviting us,’ Tess said.

There was so much I wanted to say. Tell her about my earlier thoughts as I had snapped that picture of her and the girls. Whisper that I’d almost come out of my skin with her single pinkie touch. With the girls still snoozing in the back, I held my tongue though. But one day soon, we’d have to talk about what was brewing between us.

We sped down the highway, nothing but the sound of the wind moving through the windows. She glanced over her shoulder to where we’d laid the buffet in the back of the truck.

‘I think I might be having buyer’s remorse.’

‘Why?’

‘It’s hitting me now that this is happening. That I’m going to take this leap.’

‘Do you trust me?’ I asked quietly.

‘Yes. Implicitly.’ There was such ferocity in her voice that I pushed on.

‘If I thought for one second that this was a risk, a bad choice, I’d have told you.’ I held her gaze before returning my attention to the road. ‘Reach behind you. My sketchpad is under Iris’ feet.’

She turned and grabbed the spiral-bound drawing book. Over the years, I’d filled it with design ideas for furniture and built-ins I wanted to install in future renovations.

When we were weeks into shooting the first season, Lauren had found it laid across a sawhorse in the kitchen. Mentioned how much she loved the farmhouse table I’d designed. That maybe it could be a side business Hearth and Home could promote. I laughed off the idea. I already had a full plate. Designing for the houses Tor and I worked on was more than enough.

I told Tess to flip to one of the last cream-colored pages, and she let out a gasp.

‘Oh, Manny, it’s exactly what I pictured.’ She ran her finger over the sketch I’d created for the coffee bar.

‘Now that we have the buffet, I’ll readjust the design for the counter. I can mimic the piece’s intricate scroll so they’ll look like a matching set.’

‘That’ll be beautiful!’ she gushed.

It was good to see her shake away her worry.

‘We could use some white remnant marble with gray veins so it will match the server. I also looked at the measurements for a top-quality espresso machine while you paid Mr Sturridge. There’s one from Italy that will fit perfectly on the marble server.’

‘I love it! What about the design above the upper shelf? It looks like it’s ridged.’

‘I’m planning to shape the bracketed pieces up to the top tier with a traditional C-scroll, making it have that classic feel.’

She blinked rapidly, like she was holding back tears.

‘I didn’t mean to make you weepy,’ I teased.

‘They’re happy tears. Seeing this on paper. It makes it all feel possible.’

‘It’s going to happen, Tess. I’ll make sure of it.’

She bit her lip and inched her fingers across the seat until they were entwined with mine. For a minute my mind went blank, my throat dry, as I sank into the feeling of her touch. I swallowed all the things I’d wanted to tell her, like ‘I want you’ and ‘Let’s not be afraid to try’, because even though she’d crossed that small line between us, I didn’t want her to overthink it, or push my luck, on such an incredible day.