Because Of The Twins.... Carole Halston
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home it dawned on Holly that she’d forgotten all about telling Graham his raffle ticket had been drawn last night at the fund-raiser. There’d been so little opportunity for them to carry on adult conversation, and other topics had claimed priority.
He hadn’t jogged her memory by asking, “What did you want to tell me in person?” Was he just not curious? Had he not gotten around to asking? Or had he simply assumed she’d come up with some flimsy pretext for seeing him?
“Answer C,” Holly said, grimacing.
Braking for a red light, she dug into her handbag for her cell phone, then dropped it back in. If she phoned him now, she might wake the twins from their nap.
Do yourself a favor. Send him a fax at his office on Monday.
Holly knew she wouldn’t take that advice from herself. For one thing, she needed to find out whether or not he planned to make use of his prize and assign her a weeklong decorating project. If so, she would have to schedule the time.
The chances were practically nil that he would avail himself of her expertise. She expected a courteous brush-off from him. Still, she’d promised Ann to notify Graham, and notify him Holly would.
At home she played her phone messages and returned calls to clients and friends. Several people extended casual invitations. In truth, Holly wasn’t in much of a mood for socializing that evening, but she wasn’t about to sit around and mope, so she agreed to see a movie with a decorator friend, Patricia Connors, whose husband was out of town. They decided on the seven o’clock showing.
The movie, a romantic comedy, turned out to be as good as advertised. Afterward, her spirits much improved, Holly joined Patricia at a restaurant near the theater for a light supper. The two women relived particularly humorous parts of the movie as they ate. After splitting the bill, they said goodnight.
It was only ten o’clock, not too late to call Graham, Holly decided as she let herself into her house. He wasn’t likely to be entertaining female company tonight. And by now surely the twins would be asleep.
Holly used the phone in her office, emphasizing to herself that the call was strictly business.
Graham answered between the first and second ring. “Hello.”
He sounded bone weary and the timbre of his voice made her wonder if he was lying down.
“Hi, this is Holly. I hope I didn’t wake you up.” She stiffened her posture when he didn’t reply immediately, evidently needing a second to adjust to her identity.
“No, I hadn’t gone to sleep yet.”
“But you had gone to bed. I’m sorry. I’ll call at a more convenient time.”
“Right now I don’t have a bed of my own,” he said, ignoring her final remark. “I’m bunking on the sofa these days.” She could hear a muffled yawn.
“You gave the twins your bedroom?”
“It was either that or a pallet on the floor.”
“I thought those condos had two bedrooms.”
“They do. But I use the smaller one as a study. I have bookcases in there. A computer.”
“So you’ll sacrifice your study and turn that room over to the twins.” Common sense said he didn’t plan to sleep indefinitely on the sofa.
“Do you think that’s okay at their age for them to share a bedroom? God, I hate to think of moving somewhere else right now.”
“Sure, I think it’s okay as a temporary arrangement. You can do something really cute with creating two separate spaces, a girl space and a boy space.”
“It’s not a large room we’re talking about.”
“There’s a closet for clothes, right? All you’ll require in the way of furniture is a single bed and a chest of drawers for each twin. Preferably not matching. Two separate sections of wall shelves will do nicely for their toys. Maybe murals on opposite walls.” Holly’s enthusiasm warmed her voice.
“Murals?” he repeated doubtfully.
“Yes. A cowboy or sports motif on Justin’s side and something more feminine, say a ballerina or a scene out of Snow White on Jennifer’s side. Don’t you like the idea?”
“Of course. It’s a neat idea, but I’ll be doing good to get the room cleared out and furniture bought in the next couple of weeks, let alone hire an artist to paint murals.”
What better opening for Holly to tell him the purpose of her call? “You’re in luck,” she declared lightly. “Last night at our drawing you won the Decorating Consultant for a Week prize. I’m the decorator whose services you get free, and it so happens I minored in fine art in college.”
“You’re joking.”
She didn’t pretend to misunderstand his amazement. “No, I don’t joke about working free of charge.”
“This is all on the up-and-up? I mean, my raffle ticket was drawn…?”
He didn’t finish his sentence, perhaps reacting to Holly’s sharply drawn breath.
“Are you suggesting that I rigged our drawing?” she demanded, incredulous as well as insulted.
His silence was proof that he had indeed considered that possibility. “It just struck me as something of a coincidence,” he said lamely.
“Exactly the sort of trick Heather would pull, right?”
His sigh came over the line. “Holly, don’t take offense. Please.”
He hadn’t denied that he was judging her by Heather’s behavior.
“Ann Johnson asked me to contact you, and now I have,” she said crisply. “I’ll need to know whether you’ll want to take advantage of my services.”
“God knows I could use your help right now.”
“Yes, you need my help. And you’ll utilize my skills if you put the welfare of the twins first. They can have a special room of their own instead of just a makeshift bedroom. But you make up your own mind and let me know what you’ve decided.” Holly cut the connection.
The bullheaded so-and-so would probably communicate with her through his secretary to say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” Which was just fine with Holly.
Not true.
Holly wanted to create the delightful room she’d begun to envision for Justin and Jennifer. During those few hours today, she’d already grown fond of both children. It was impossible not to feel concerned about them and wish she could play some role in brightening their young lives.
Despite her irritation at Graham, it was impossible not to be concerned about him, too.
Graham listened to the buzz of the dead line a few seconds before he pressed the disconnect button on his portable phone.
Holly’s righteous indignation had rung true. The raffle drawing had undoubtedly been on the up and up. He felt foolish for having reacted suspiciously. It had just come as such a surprise to learn he’d won Holly’s services.
She hadn’t exactly chased him, but she’d made it plain she was interested in dating him. He’d learned his lesson with Heather and had shied away from women who came on to him. Hell, he’d shied away from women period the past four plus years since his affair with Heather had ended so abruptly with her dumping him. Of course, now he understood her underlying motives.
Comprehension didn’t make him any less confident of himself in sizing up the opposite sex. Quite the opposite. He’d learned he was even a bigger fool than he’d believed. Who was to say he’d be smarter in future relationships?
Graham was ready to admit he was probably being unfair to Holly, not giving her a chance to prove she wasn’t like Heather in personality and