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Authors: Emily Walters
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not help him track down a wife. Other than one date with Dana Cartwright—which had been totally unbearable, even for the sake of $10 million—Calvin had barely seen anyone but Ellie. But still… She looked so sad, like a puppy or something, and he simply couldn’t tell her no.
“Okay,” he said, “what about this? Why don’t we go the day the movers come out with the new furniture? I just have to finish up a storage room and the master bedroom to get everything cleared out—though I might have gotten ahead of myself with that.” He crinkled his face up in worry.
A smile bloomed over Ellie’s pretty heart-shaped face, and Calvin felt his heart warm. “That sounds perfect,” she said. “Listen, do you need help? I could probably take a break to help you.” For a second, she felt guilty for even making the offer—Ellie had been closing up the shop far more often than she needed to, and helping with Calvin’s chores was definitely not her job. But she was enjoying herself here at the house with him.
“Really? That would be great!” He dragged his eyes off her and started walking up the stairs. She’s off limits , he reminded himself. You’re not going to marry her for the sake of money, and you sure aren’t going to date her and then suddenly marry another woman. Aloud, he said, “Why don’t we start here with this storage room? As far as I can tell it was just used as some kind of junk disposal—there are heaps of old boxes that don’t seem organized in any way.”
Ellie seemed frozen in some kind of stupefied horror at the heap of decaying boxes before them, but when she said, “Wow,” in a hushed tone, he realized her look was something more like excitement.
“I’ve already pulled a few things out, but as you can see, there’s a lot left to do. I’ve been sorting everything into new boxes since these old ones are literally falling apart. I’ll bring up some more collapsed boxes.”
When he returned with the boxes, Ellie was into the pile up to her elbows and clutching a handful of dusty jewelry, a music box, and some sort of ornate wall ornament. “Some of this stuff is beautiful ,” she said, turning to him with shining eyes. He hid a smile when he saw a big smudge of dust across her nose.
“Well, if you want, you could keep it. Anything, really.”
She blushed. “Oh no, I couldn’t.” But he saw the longing look she gave one particular opal ring as she tucked the armload into a fresh box.When she handed him the filled box and he carried it downstairs, Calvin reached in and fished around for that ring. He hardly knew what he was doing, but he pulled it out—and he had to admit, shining in the light from the window, it was pretty—and tucked it away in his pocket.
For a few long hours, they worked diligently from different edges of the room. Ellie was quiet the whole time, but he could see her messy ponytail bobbing as she looked through things, and once in a while she made a happy little humming noise. Calvin was glad to have her company. He hoped he wasn’t taking her away from anything too important—but since he was her main client and he didn’t care, he doubted there would be customer complaints.
Finally, he stood and stepped cautiously between boxes to get to Ellie. She was sitting cross-legged, sorting out two different piles of clothing, and instead of standing to talk to him she just craned her neck upward and smiled. She was staggeringly beautiful, even with dust smudged on her face.
“Lunch time?” he asked.
“Oh, yes please,” said Ellie with a laugh. She tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear before continuing, “I’m dying. I didn’t want to wimp out if you weren’t though.”
Calvin chuckled. “Same here. Come on, let’s go grab something.” He took a step back. The petite woman before him pushed herself up to do the same, but her foot caught on something with a loud thump and she
“Okay,” he said, “what about this? Why don’t we go the day the movers come out with the new furniture? I just have to finish up a storage room and the master bedroom to get everything cleared out—though I might have gotten ahead of myself with that.” He crinkled his face up in worry.
A smile bloomed over Ellie’s pretty heart-shaped face, and Calvin felt his heart warm. “That sounds perfect,” she said. “Listen, do you need help? I could probably take a break to help you.” For a second, she felt guilty for even making the offer—Ellie had been closing up the shop far more often than she needed to, and helping with Calvin’s chores was definitely not her job. But she was enjoying herself here at the house with him.
“Really? That would be great!” He dragged his eyes off her and started walking up the stairs. She’s off limits , he reminded himself. You’re not going to marry her for the sake of money, and you sure aren’t going to date her and then suddenly marry another woman. Aloud, he said, “Why don’t we start here with this storage room? As far as I can tell it was just used as some kind of junk disposal—there are heaps of old boxes that don’t seem organized in any way.”
Ellie seemed frozen in some kind of stupefied horror at the heap of decaying boxes before them, but when she said, “Wow,” in a hushed tone, he realized her look was something more like excitement.
“I’ve already pulled a few things out, but as you can see, there’s a lot left to do. I’ve been sorting everything into new boxes since these old ones are literally falling apart. I’ll bring up some more collapsed boxes.”
When he returned with the boxes, Ellie was into the pile up to her elbows and clutching a handful of dusty jewelry, a music box, and some sort of ornate wall ornament. “Some of this stuff is beautiful ,” she said, turning to him with shining eyes. He hid a smile when he saw a big smudge of dust across her nose.
“Well, if you want, you could keep it. Anything, really.”
She blushed. “Oh no, I couldn’t.” But he saw the longing look she gave one particular opal ring as she tucked the armload into a fresh box.When she handed him the filled box and he carried it downstairs, Calvin reached in and fished around for that ring. He hardly knew what he was doing, but he pulled it out—and he had to admit, shining in the light from the window, it was pretty—and tucked it away in his pocket.
For a few long hours, they worked diligently from different edges of the room. Ellie was quiet the whole time, but he could see her messy ponytail bobbing as she looked through things, and once in a while she made a happy little humming noise. Calvin was glad to have her company. He hoped he wasn’t taking her away from anything too important—but since he was her main client and he didn’t care, he doubted there would be customer complaints.
Finally, he stood and stepped cautiously between boxes to get to Ellie. She was sitting cross-legged, sorting out two different piles of clothing, and instead of standing to talk to him she just craned her neck upward and smiled. She was staggeringly beautiful, even with dust smudged on her face.
“Lunch time?” he asked.
“Oh, yes please,” said Ellie with a laugh. She tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear before continuing, “I’m dying. I didn’t want to wimp out if you weren’t though.”
Calvin chuckled. “Same here. Come on, let’s go grab something.” He took a step back. The petite woman before him pushed herself up to do the same, but her foot caught on something with a loud thump and she
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