Heartbeats in Moonlight

Chapter 18

On Monday, Amelia phoned Ella to let her know that at Sunday lunch, David had mentioned that he was about ready to start decorating his newly built place. And Amelia had volunteered Ella. Amelia figured she ought to let Ella know that David may well get in touch when he wanted an interior decorator.  She didn't tell Ella that David seemed far from pleased, and appeared to have treated the suggestion with a pinch of salt. 

Ella worked through the situation, just in case he contacted her. How she would feel if he did? What would happen if she agreed? Would he forget their history? Would he forget their kiss in the carpark? Could he engage her to decorate his home, with that baggage? So she worked through the pro and cons when or if he, miracle of miracles, gets in touch. She had answers ready. The only problem is that he left her a voice message on her office's answering machine: He asked her to produce a quote to decorate his home. She left him a message on his answering machine and gave him a date and time to assess his house. She hoped he would have a reason not to accept that date and time. Unfortunately, he left her a message on her answering machine to say that was fine! She was not happy. She had hoped that he would refuse. He could tell Amelia that he and Ella could not match their diaries.

Ella knew when she rang the doorbell that this was going to be a challenge. But here she was. Mask in place, she waited for the door to open. She'd taken a great deal of time with her appearance. Wanting to appear the complete professional, she ensured that she kept her suit functional rather than attractive.

When the door opened she had to work hard to keep her nerve and face him. Reviewing that kiss on his doorstep was a bad decision, but, her head had problems in shelving unnecessary details. "I'm sorry I'm late." She told him using her professional voice, "I underestimated the traffic."

Why he'd decided to ask her to work on his house was beyond her, given their history, but her business couldn't afford to turn away customers. In any case, she had tried to avoid this meeting by only giving him one day and one time. But her plan failed! Stuck with that prospective meeting, her brain reviewed the possible reasons for his plan to employ her to decorate his house.

Secretly she wondered whether this was his attempt to build on what had happened between them in the car park. That kiss had been anything but ordinary. Perhaps their relationship was about to take another turn. For the better? The mere thought had made her singularly happy while still being worried about this unexpected connection. Strange, how just contemplating the possibility that things between them may be about to change, had kept her smiling ever since he phoned, left a message and arranged this appointment. He wanted to see her, that's what she had come up with. This appointment was an excuse to see her. On his home turf.

David flicked at his rugby shirt cuff, glanced at his watch and said with an appreciative smile, "You're on time." He held the door open, "Come in." Said the spider to the fly. She stepped past him and waited trying not to show her nervousness. The first con of this job, pretending to be confident, she reminded herself.  Her nervousness, given the situation, was to be expected.

Ella heard a female voice call. "Darling, is that her?" 

Ella's heart literally sank. She was sure she heard it hit the ground. But at the same time, her uneasiness and nerviness vanish. There was another woman at David's place. Obviously, this appointment was not an excuse to see her! Let alone, attempt to build on that kiss in the car park.

"Yes. I won't be long. Just keep stirring!" David called back with a smile in his voice, "Shall we?" He gestured toward a corridor and waited for Ella to step into his home. "My office is this way."

Now that she was here, it was a lot harder than he'd expected. Cool. Boxy suit. Professional. He thought she would be nervous after their kiss in the school's  car park.

In her review of the pro-cons of this situation, she had not anticipated this milieu. Him with his girlfriend. Ella wasn't sure if the woman was his girlfriend.  It never occurred to her that she had kissed a guy who was in a relationship with someone else. She was pretty certain that he didn't have a girlfriend at that recent social event.

In her pro-con review she thought his request for a quote for decorating his home, was just to give them both an opportunity to building on their kiss. Typical. She thought she should write a book on how to misread people's aims. Now here, hearing that woman, seeing him, her pro-con review was a shambles. Logic kicked in. Why would he want to build on that kiss if he has a girlfriend?  He had avoided her for two years, he was hardly going to move from avoidance to continuance with one kiss.

Ella walked slightly ahead of him until they reached the end of the corridor, a couple of steps lead down to an open plan office that looked out onto the gorge. Ella headed for the floor to ceiling windows. The panoramic view was breathtaking. But that wasn't the reason she was standing there.

When she'd agreed to take on the job she thought they would talk about that kiss. And about their reaction. They would decide what to do about it. Adults reviewing their options.  

But a few minutes ago she found out how wrong she was.

So the kiss had rocked her and it had shattered her  equilibrium, completely. But, obviously for him, it had been nothing more than a moonlit kiss. Moonlight had an effect on her heartbeat. But moonlight had no effect on his heartbeat.

She'd spent days revisiting that kiss, trying to fathom out why she had reacted with so little restraint. She knew her reaction wasn't what he'd expected or what she expected, but she could no more stop the sun from setting then stop from kissing him with honesty. Through her rose-tinted glasses she'd thought that the way he had reacted was because he felt the same way about her. Now that the rose-tinted glasses have been discarded, clearly he didn't. Not when he had another woman in the house when he'd arranged for Ella to come around.

This was just an appointment for a decorator job. Nothing more. He just wanted an interior designer. Not her. Nothing to do with that kiss. 

She tried to forget how stupid she felt, reading so much more into the kiss than he had. She needed a few minutes to get the shield back up. For several seconds she stood and looked out. The view really was spectacular.

David followed her into the room and couldn't help the grin, she looked repressed, in that buttoned up boxy navy suit, her hair in a tight plait coiled at the nape of her neck, her shoes with short heels. To think he'd fancied her ten years ago. But ten years ago she'd been wearing  tshirts and tight jeans. She had an open smile, laughing eyes and a sweet temperament. Or so he'd thought.

Then he remembered the kiss from the evening of the dinner dance. That had thrown him. Really thrown him. One bloody kiss had rattled his brain. He couldn't fancy her now. It was just a shock. Unexpectedly, because there was no chance of him kissing her, ever!

When he mentioned to Jack and Amelia that he was going to decorate his home and was looking for an interior designer, he initially vetoed Amelia's idea when she suggested Ella. But after thinking about it, he thought, given they would have to find way to deal with each other, would show Ella that he was willing to make a sacrifice to ensure that Amelia and Jack's relationship was not blighted by Ella and his relationship. But as the date of the meeting got closer, he wanted back-up. He did not want to find himself in a position where his heart could take over his head, like that car park situation. And he certainly did not want to review that kiss as it took him days to forget it. His heart told him he was lying to himself.