Man of Her Dreams #sweetromance

Chapter Five

Lindsay glared at the phone, willing it to ring. Five whole days, and Jared still hadn't called. He wasn't at his house either. Not that she looked over there numerous occasions. Like every time she passed a window, or heard a truck. If he thought she'd be the first to call, he was sadly mistaken.

The phone remained silent. Stupid phone.

She forced herself to concentrate. As promised, Colton e-mailed the square footage of each proposed model home's kitchen, bathrooms, and also artist renditions of how the home would look once complete. Opportunities like this didn't come along very often, and she planned to knock his socks off with her designs.

Immersed in her work, a couple of hours passed. The sound of Jared's truck pulled her to the window. She strained to see him and was rewarded with a brief glimpse as he passed by the hedge leading to his front porch.

When the phone rang, her breath hitched. About to snatch it off the desk, she stopped. Answer too quick and he'd know she'd been waiting for his call. She allowed it to ring two more times before taking a deep breath, and...

"Hello?" She was pleased how calm her voice sounded, thankful the tone didn't match the rapid fluttering of her heart.

"Lindsay, this is Colton. Did I catch you at a bad time?" His deep, rough voice growled through the receiver.

After a quick flash of disappointment, her gaze flew to the e-mail print out on the desk, with his detailed instructions and requirements.

"No. I'm available now, Mr. DeVane."

"Good and I told you to call me Colton."

Her cheeks heated at the tone. A definite flirt, Mr. Colton DeVane. Half the women in town were in love with him already, if the town gossips are to be believed.

"You're right, I'll try. What can I do for you, Colton?"

"Much better." He turned all business, "I've been over at the site. We're ahead of schedule and I wanted to know if you've had a chance to look over those plans."

"Yes, I have." She sat down and her hand slid across the rough designs. "I've prepared some preliminary sketches and layouts I'd like to run by you."

"Let's see, I'm not free until Thursday. We can meet up at your studio or maybe a more informal setting. How about the little coffee shop just down from your office? The Hava Java."

She looked at her calendar. "Thursday's good. Nine o'clock?", and jotted down 'Hava Java ~ Colton' onto her desk calendar. There was a brief silence, and then Colton spoke up. "You're in my calendar, Lindsay. I look forward to seeing you again."

She hung up and, hugging herself, twirled around in her chair. Huge, huge, huge! About to call Tina and fill her in, she was startled when the phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Lindsay? It's Jared."

Blank. She'd gone blank. All the things she'd rehearsed to say flew out of her mind.

"Jared, how nice of you to call." She held the phone away from her ear and grimaced. Could she sound any more like a 1950's TV mom? Or worse, her own. "Are you in town?"

Much better. She didn't want him to think she'd been waiting by her window, or by the phone. Or watching the driveway... Not that she had.

"I arrived a few minutes ago, and thought I'd see if you have any dinner plans for tonight. My treat this time."

Time stood still as she waged a silent war within. She really wanted to go out with him, but had also promised Tina and Nick she wouldn't miss another practice.