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I finally made my way home and all I could think about was him. How his eyes seemed to sparkle and a smile so sweet that could make you faint. But my thoughts were cut short as Tessa stormed through the front door and jumped on me, squeaking in a high pitched voice.
"V, I'm so happy you are home. I missed you so much." She said while crushing me to death with her hug.
"I missed you too Tessa, but I can't breathe." I squeaked as my voice was muffled by her shirt.
She quickly let go and did a once over on me before hugging me again. Tessa was the complete
opposite of me. She had short chestnut wavy hair, chocolate brown eyes, and the most contagious smile that could light up a room.
I missed my baby sister. I didn't get to see her while I was in Arizona because she refused to get on a plane and fly to visit me. She had aerophobia, and swore to never step foot on one for as long as she lived.
"You look amazing," She grinned while holding my hands out in a sisterly gesture. I just smiled as I looked down at my black yoga pants and pink tank top. I did feel amazing, more confident even. That was the effect Tessa had on me
"Thanks, Tess. You look incredible as always.” I said while pretending to primp my hair.
"So show me around this mansion of yours," She said, giggling while grabbing for my hand.
Leading her from the foyer to the living room, I gestured my hand in an outward showcasing motion mockingly before starting my speech.
"This is the living room which is simply stunning. Look at the beautiful black molding and white walls!" I dramatically rubbed the walls with excitement to humor her more.
Tessa cracked up laughing and pulled me into the kitchen. “What’s next?” She grinned.
"Here we have an astounding view. Stainless steel appliances, an island and bay window seat for your reading enjoyment." I smirked, posing by the fridge and other appliances. This cracked her up even more.
After 20 minutes of pretending to be a realtor, we finally sat down on the floor, our cheeks sore from all the laughing. Tessa just stared at me for a few minutes like she was trying to figure out what to say. I knew exactly where this was going to lead: “Arizona. Why I left.” Things I didn't want to discuss at the moment, so I quickly cut her off before she could even start the interrogation process.
"So I was thinking that the salon can be in the back room on the right. I think it's big enough, but I'll have to bring in a Plumber to put a sink in there. What do you think?" I looked at her with a smile, watching her every move as she processed the information.
"Yeah, I mean you can do that or put it downstairs. That area is definitely big enough and we already have plumbing there. We can sit down and design it however you want it when we have time."
The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Tessa was a professional in her field and I would always side with her ideas.
We each had similar professions; Tessa was an interior decorator that could make the oldest, run down houses look incredible inside; Mitchell was an architect and very well known for his work; I was a beautician, make up artist and business owner. My profession wasn’t as fancy as Tessa's and Mitchell's, but the importance was that I was passionate about my job.
"When do you want to start planning for everything?" Tessa asked interrupting my train of thought.
"Probably in two weeks. I would like to get everything settled before I start with other stuff."
Tessa shook her head in agreement as the sound of crunching gravel filled our ears. Giving each other an odd look, Tessa got up to investigate. Moving the curtains to the side, she placed her first finger between the blinds, and pulled them down carefully to take a peek outside.
"V, your furniture is here!" She yelled as she ran out the front door. This was great timing on the company's part. I was getting ready to call and complain again for getting the runaround on when they would be here. I didn't know it was this difficult to get furniture delivered.
"Finally!" I huffed as I followed her out to the truck.
A tall gruffy man got out of the driver's seat while the other two men slipped out of the passenger side and walked to the back of the truck.
"Veronica West?" He asked, his voice deep with a slight rasp.
"That would be me," I smiled, walking up a little closer to shake his hand.
"Hi Miss West, we are here with your furniture."
I must have given him the stupidest look because he quickly corrected himself.
"Obviously you know we are here with your furniture."
He looked down at his shoes in embarrassment. I turned to Tessa who was quick to make him feel confident again.
"So Shane, how was the drive here?" She questioned as her easy going smile seemed to comfort him.
He seemed to loosen up a bit and smiled at her question before replying.
"It was not bad ma'am, we hit some stand still traffic a day ago, but that was really it. I've never been to this neck of the woods so I was pretty happy to be doing this delivery." He smiled at her. It was quite apparent that Tessa's friendly nature calmed him. Not wanting to delay our furniture any longer, he waved at us to follow him to the back of the truck.
"This is Alex and Ray. They will help to move the furniture into the allocated rooms and also help build whatever needs to be put together."
I must have had the look of "Thank god" on my face, because Shane smiled widely and placed his hand on my shoulder as an act of reassurance.
"Leave all the stress and heavy lifting to us.”
“Thanks.” I said sincerely, while giving him a warm smile.
"Let's get this party rolling boys!" He yelled to the other two as Tessa and I made our way back to the house.
"He was cute," Tessa whispered.
I smirked. "Which one?"
She slapped my arm like it was a no brainer statement as my mouth formed an 'O' when I realized she was talking about Shane.
She always liked the rough looking men while I preferred more of the preppy boys, like the guy at Murphy's. For a split second, I thought about telling Tessa, but decided against it. She would definitely go on a wild goose chase trying to find him.
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