Rachel picked up a color chart and showed him. “A big difference. If it were my kitchen, I’d want the counter to look fresh and sparkly. If the cabinets are too yellow, they might make the stone counter look yellow, too.”
John pointed to the living rooms. “What about these rooms.”
Rachel looked at the colors John had short-listed. “What furniture are you putting in the rooms?”
John leaned against the table. “That’s the other problem I’ve got. When we rented this house, it was fully furnished. Apart from the beds and a few photos, the rest of the furniture will stay here when we move out.”
Bella was practically bouncing on the seat beside Rachel. “Do you want to come shopping with us?”
“For furniture?”
John sighed. “I know it’s asking a lot. You’ve probably got things you need to do. But I really need to get this sorted. We don’t need to buy anything, but if we take photos of what we’d like, the interior designer will handle the rest.”
“Why don’t you ask the interior designer to help you? They’ll know more about what looks good and what doesn’t.”
Bella looked up from the table. “Because we want you to help us. It’ll be fun. Please.”
Rachel looked between John and Bella. It was hard to say no when two pairs of eyes were pleading with her. “Okay, I’ll do it. I just hope you can live with what we choose. What’s your budget?”
John raised his eyebrows.
“No budget? Not even a little idea of how much money you want to spend?”
“Nope.”
Rachel looked at the house plans in front of her. Walking into a store and choosing whatever you wanted, regardless of the price, would have been most people’s idea of heaven. But all it did for Rachel was stress her out. “I have one condition.”
John smiled. “Only one?”
She narrowed her gaze and his smile grew wider. “We have to visit at least two second-hand stores. You can find some lovely pieces of furniture that you wouldn’t see anywhere else.”
“Poppy’s mom bought a chair from an estate sale,” Bella said in her sing-song voice. “She put some different fabric on the outside and gave it to Poppy for her room. It’s really pretty.”
John started stacking the papers in front of them. “It sounds like we’ve got a deal. We have to be at the airport in an hour. Does anyone want a drink?”
Rachel put her hand on his arm. “Wait. What do you mean? I thought we were shopping in Bozeman?”
“Not enough choice. We’re flying to Denver.”
“Denver?” Rachel felt a little woozy. No one she knew flew hundreds of miles to go furniture shopping.
Bella patted her hand. “It’s okay. We’re going on a plane, not in a helicopter. You can’t see the ground so much in a plane.”
Rachel looked at John. “You’d already decided to go to Denver before you asked me?”
John cleared his throat. “We needed to register our flight plan. I booked the plane yesterday.”
“What if I didn’t want to go?”
“Bella and I would have gone on our own, but it wouldn’t have been the same without you.”
Bella leaned toward Rachel and whispered, “We’ve got tickets for The Wizard of Oz, too.”
“The movie?” Rachel said weakly.
John shuffled some papers. “At the Buell Theatre,” he mumbled.
“You bought theater tickets as well? Are we staying overnight?”
Bella opened her mouth to say something, but John jumped in ahead of her. “Why don’t you ask Mrs. Daniels for a suitcase and choose a dress to wear tonight?”
Bella slid off her chair. “Okay. Will you and Rachel come and help me?”
John nodded. “As soon as we’re finished in here.”
Bella grinned at Rachel and left the room.
John’s gaze followed his daughter. “I’m sorry about that. It was supposed to be a surprise.”
“I just…I guess I’m a bit…overwhelmed. I was happy to help choose paint colors, even furniture from stores in Bozeman. But Denver? Today?” Rachel tried to explain how she was feeling. “Most people don’t fly to another city to buy furniture. Except if they get cheap seats on an airline. But we aren’t flying economy, are we?”
John shook his head.
If she hadn’t known him as well as she did, his expression would have passed for neutral indifference. But she recognized it for what it was. He was trying not to push her, trying hard to let everything about his billionaire lifestyle soak into her budget sized brain.
She took a deep breath and looked around the table. “I guess we’d better hurry. We don’t want to miss our flight.”
John’s face relaxed. “Thank you.”
“Remember that when I walk you off your feet. Shopping for furniture is a painful process.”
“Only if you don’t know where to look,” John said carefully. He pulled a piece of paper out of a folder. “Courtesy of the interior designer. We’ll be met at the airport by a chauffeur-driven Hummer and taken to some of the best stores in Denver.”
“You forgot my special condition.”
“Only temporarily. I’ll have a list of second-hand stores emailed to me before we land. Would auction houses count?”
“Okay. But we’re not paying collector’s prices for furniture we can buy cheaper somewhere else.”
“The price doesn’t matter. I could buy every auction house in Denver if I wanted to.”
“Don’t remind me.” Rachel slid the last few color charts into a folder and handed them to John. “I bet Bella’s already packed Miss. Snuggles.”
“And one of her Anne of Green Gables books,” John added. “If we’re lucky she’s remembered a dress for tonight.”
Rachel sighed. “She’s almost nine-years-old. I can guarantee that she won’t have forgotten.”
John held her hand as they walked up the stairs. “It’s just as well it’s not my money that you’re attracted to.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I’ll have a little less after our new house is built.”
Rachel frowned. “I don’t think it will make much difference.”
John kissed the side of her face. “Neither do I.”
***
Rachel smiled as she walked out of the Buell Theatre. John had his arm around her waist and Bella was holding her hand. Tank was following a few steps behind them.
After she’d seen Tank at the airport, John admitted that he still had a small team of bodyguards looking after them. Rachel was more relieved than annoyed. All week she’d felt as though someone was watching her. But each time she turned around, she couldn’t see anyone. At least she knew she wasn’t going crazy and imagining things that weren’t there.
Bella swung Rachel’s hand high in the air. She hadn’t stopped talking about The Wizard of Oz since the musical had ended. “I loved Dorothy’s shoes,” Bella said. “They were so pretty. What did you like the best, Rachel?”
“I liked the songs. The actors were so good that I kept looking around the theater, wondering who was really singing.”
“What about you, dad?”
“I liked the Tin Man,” he said quietly.
“If only he had a heart,” Rachel said as she gazed at John. He smiled, and she felt a warmth seep through her body and settle in her own heart.
Bella hopped over a crack in the sidewalk. “But it was there all along. Do you think the Tin Man knew?”
John looked into the distance. “Sometimes you need someone to show you.”
“The Wizard of Oz was scary before he showed Dorothy and her friends who he really was.” Bella gazed up at Rachel. “He looked like Tank,” she whispered.
“I heard that.” Tank’s gruff voice made Bella giggle.
Bella looked over her shoulder at her favorite bodyguard. “But you’re more handsome.”
Tank nodded. “Good save.”
They continued walking along the sidewalk. The huge glass windows of the theater were lit from inside the building, making everything look bright and festive. They stopped every now and then to look in the windows and take photos of their night out together.
When they got to the parking space where their chauffeur was waiting for them, Tank nodded at John. “Is plan A still in place, boss?”
John nodded and a look of understanding passed between the two men.
Tank opened the door of the Hummer for Bella. “Your chariot awaits, Dorothy.”
She clicked her heels together three times and grinned at Tank. “There’s no place like home.”
He closed Bella’s door and turned to John. “Good luck. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Rachel looked between the two men. “We’re not going back to the hotel together?”
Tank smiled and opened his door. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Rachel turned to John after Tank and Bella had left. “Why haven’t we gone with them?”
“It’s a surprise.” John put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a set of car keys. “Are you ready to see more of Denver?”
Rachel looked at the car that had been parked behind the Hummer. “That doesn’t look like a standard family sedan.”