“Yep, married a lawyer and makes sure everyone knows it.”
“Sounds about right.”
Twenty minutes later, he parked in front of a nice-sized house in a Jamison Heights neighborhood. “Do you want to come inside? It could take a while.”
She looked reluctant, and he wasn’t sure she would. “Why not?”
He helped her into her chair, then pushed her up the drive, bypassing the meandering garden steps to the massive mahogany double doors, and rang the bell.
After a long moment, the door opened, and Mandy Parker stepped into the doorway. Her eyes widened, and her mouth formed a perfectOas she saw Gillian in the wheelchair.
“Gillian. Oh my goodness, what happened?” She took a quick step back and gestured for them to come inside.
“Car accident,” Gillian said with a smile. “Don’t worry, the chair is only temporary.”
“Thank goodness. I’m so glad to hear that. It is good to see you. Both of you,” she added as her gaze took in Nick. “The last I heard,” she said, looking back at Gillian, “you were living in Washington, D.C. What brings you back?”
Nick watched Gillian, curious about that answer himself.
“I’m visiting with my parents for a while. I love your house. It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Mandy said, beaming. “Now that you’re back, we’ll have to get lunch and catch up. I want to hear all about your life in D.C.”
Gillian smiled wide. “Absolutely. I’d love that.”
Nick was surprised and impressed. Gillian had learned how to turn on the charm; back in the day, she would have told Mandy to drop dead. “Why don’t you show us what you want to do in your kitchen,” he suggested.
“Yes, absolutely.” Mandy started walking across gleaming hardwood floors toward the back of the house. They passed an office with a burled walnut executive desk sitting front and center. “Oh, that’s Ron’s. He’s such a terrific lawyer. He likes to work from home on the weekends. Always doing his best.”
Mandy led them into the great room with floor-to-ceiling windows displaying an incredible view of the Blue Ridge Mountains at the back of the house. A two-story stone fireplace highlighted the great room, a fire crackling in the hearth. The kitchen wrapped around the wall to the right, with a large table between it and the soft leather sofas facing the fireplace.
“Your home is stunning,” Gillian said, gushing slightly, which pleased Mandy.
“Thank you. We love it. We bought it six months ago and have done so much work already. Now we would like to update the kitchen’s cherry cabinets with gray ones.”
“Gray would look beautiful with these floors,” Gillian said. “White quartz on the counters? Or marble? Carrera would be beautiful.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Mandy said. “Do you have any thoughts?”
“It’s perfect. Then you can add your personal flair to the backsplash and a beautiful piece on the island to draw all your colors together.”
“I love that idea.” Mandy perked up and walked toward the massive granite island speckled with browns and reds that looked fine to Nick. It seemed such a waste to tear it out, and he was about to say so when Gillian continued talking about design elements and the latest in appliances and lighting. How did she know so much about high-end kitchens?
“Are you an interior decorator?” Mandy asked.
“Oh, I’ve designed and remodeled a kitchen or two,” Gillian answered. “We moved a lot, and my husband always wanted the best and latest trends. I’ve spent more hours than I want to count pouring over paint swabs and tile samples. Do you want to see our latest kitchen?” She quickly pulled out her phone and started flipping through the pictures.
Mandy clapped her hands together. “Those are beautiful. With you two working on my kitchen, I know it will be perfect. Is your husband moving here too?”
Gillian flinched but recovered quickly. “No, he’s going to be out of the area for a while, so I thought I’d take advantage of this opportunity to spend some time back home.”
“Oh,” Mandy looked confused for a moment, then she shrugged.
“I just happen to have some lighting brochures with me.” Gillian pulled the ones Nick had given her out of her purse and they started going through the pages. As the two oohed and aahed over the latest styles, Nick pulled the contract out of his briefcase and set them on the table. He couldn’t believe how well this was going.
“This will outline the labor and time for the remodel. I don’t upcharge on the materials, so you will pay for those directly. You’ll save a lot of money that way.”
“That sure will make Ron happy,” Mandy said. Her phone started to ring. “Hold on a second, that could be him now. He said he would be here, but he was running a few minutes late.” She hurried to her cell sitting on the charger and picked it up. “Hello. Oh, hi, Belinda.”