In a way, he felt he knew Gemma. He believed that beneath her rough and tough “I’ll never fall in love” exterior was the heart of a woman who not only loved children but loved life in general. He also believed that she was a passionate woman. And that she was unknowingly reserving that passion for the one man capable of tapping into it. The same man destined to spend the rest of his life with her. Him.
The waitress delivered their food, and they engaged in chitchat while they ate their meal.
After they had finished eating and the waitress removed their plates, Gemma leaned back in her chair and smiled at Callum. “Lunch was wonderful. Now, about that business proposition?”
He chuckled, reached over and picked up the folder he had placed on an empty chair. He handed it to her. “This is information on the home I purchased last year. I would love you to decorate it for me.”
Callum saw how her eyes lit up. She loved her work and it showed in her face. She opened the folder and carefully studied every feature, every detail of the house. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was giving her 9,200 feet of house to do with as she pleased. It was an interior designer’s dream.
She lifted her gaze with a look of awe on her face. “This place is beautiful. And it’s huge. I didn’t know you had purchased a house.”
“Yes, but it’s still empty and I want to turn it into a home. I like what you did with Ramsey’s place and thought you would be the ideal person for the job. I’m aware that because of the size of the house it will take up a lot of your time. I’m willing to pay you well. As you can see I haven’t picked out any furniture or anything. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
Now that much was true, Callum thought. What he didn’t tell her was that other designers had volunteered to decorate his new house, but he had bought it with her in mind.
She glanced back down at the papers in front of her. “Umm, eight bedrooms, six bathrooms, a huge kitchen, living room, dining room, family room, theater, recreation room and sauna. That’s quite a lot of space for a single man.”
He laughed. “Yeah, but I don’t plan on staying single forever.”
Gemma nodded, thinking that evidently Callum had decided to settle down and send for that girl back home. She glanced down at the papers again. She would love taking on this project, and he was right in thinking it would take up a lot of her time. But then she definitely needed the money.
“So, what do you think, Gemma?”
She glanced back up at him and smiled. “I think you just hired yourself an interior designer.”
The smile that touched his face sent a tingling sensation flowing through her stomach. “I can’t wait to see it.”
“No problem. When can you get away?”
She pulled out her cell phone to check her calendar and her schedule for this week. Once she saw the place and gave him an official estimate, she could ask for a deposit, which would make up some of what Niecee had taken from her. “What about tomorrow around one?”
“That might be a bit of a problem.”
“Oh.” She figured he would probably be tied up at Ram’s ranch doing something at that time, so without looking up she advanced her calendar another day. “What about Wednesday around noon.”
He chuckled. “Twelve noon on Monday would be the earliest availability for me.”
She nodded when she saw that time was free for her, although she wished she could see it sooner. “Monday at noon will be fine.”
“Great, I’ll make the necessary flight arrangements.”
She put her phone back into her purse and glanced over at him. “Excuse me?”
“I said that I will make the necessary flight arrangements if we want to see the house Monday at noon. That means we’ll need to fly out no later than Thursday morning.”
Gemma frowned. “Thursday morning? What are you talking about? Just where is this house located?”
Callum leaned back in his chair and gave her one kilowatt smile. “Sydney, Australia.”
Two
Gemma didn’t have to look in the mirror to know there was a shocked look on her face. And her throat felt tight, as if sound would barely pass through it if she tried to speak. To prove the point, she tried to utter a word and couldn’t. So she just sat there and stared across the table at Callum like he had lost his ever-loving mind.