The Ivy House - By Drea Stein Page 0,81
in working with her.” Phoebe felt her blood began to heat. CallieSue had probably gotten “intrigued” with her as soon as all the press hit. She wasn’t some no-name designer now. She was a bit of a celebrity herself.
“Just a moment.” Dean held up a calming hand.
“I don’t think CallieSue has developed a better sense of style in the last couple of weeks.” The waiter arrived with their first course: a salad for her and soup for Dean.
He took a look at the bowl, sniffed and shrugged, as if resigned to indifferent food since he was outside of a city.
“Not bad,” he proclaimed, and she had to wait as he had added a pinch of pepper and had another spoonful. In the meantime, she pushed the leaves of lettuce around her plate as she waited for Dean to get to the point.
“Be that as it may, I think she’s more inclined to listen to your ideas now.” Dean stopped and put his hand out and covered hers. She was surprised by his gesture.
“Phoebe, I care about you. You know that I have only ever had your best interests at heart.”
“What are you talking about?” Phoebe felt her heart race a bit in her chest.
“Well, it’s not just CallieSue who is interested.”
Something in Phoebe stirred. She knew that this was why Dean was here. He had something bigger to tell her.
Dean smiled, as if reading her mind. “Listen, I know you must miss your life in Los Angeles and here’s the perfect chance. You won’t have to ride the Savannah coattails—you’ll be your own woman. I know how important that is to you; I realize that now.”
Phoebe was flabbergasted. “Dean, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Really, it’s just the truth,” Dean said with a smile, his spoon hovering over his soup.
“So who is it?” Phoebe said, even more overwhelmed. It was more than she could have hoped for, more than she should have expected.
Dean leaned in and whispered the name. Phoebe looked at him, aware that her mouth had dropped.
“But that’s huge…she’s already…she goes by one name.”
Dean smiled, enjoying her reaction.
“Why me?” Phoebe managed to whisper.
“Why?” Dean threw back his head and laughed. “Because you’re talented.” His hand reached across the table and touched hers. She fought the urge to pull it back from him, and his smile was more than just a smile, seductive almost. “How many times have I told you that?”
“All the time.” Phoebe managed to remove her hand and dropped it into her lap. Her heart was beating fast. “So, back to Los Angeles?” It was a tremendous opportunity, one she would have killed for even just a few weeks ago.
“Yes. She’s based there, so she would definitely expect you to be there, plus she’s going on tour in a month, and I think you can expect a fair amount of traveling as well, so you two can continue to work together.” Dean scraped up the last bit of soup and looked at her.
“Oh, you’re worried about, what, the house here. I am sure you could get a good price for it. It’s a waterfront property, right? Or I suppose you could keep it as a vacation retreat, fly back a couple of times a year.”
Phoebe thought longingly of her dark-stained floors, newly finished and gleaming, a rug thrown casually over them, just begging to welcome some furniture, and Ivy House, begging to welcome happiness and life back into it.
“Only a couple of times a year?” Phoebe asked.
“Well, of course. Look, it’s a big job, and I need to know that you’re all in with me on this before I go back to her. It would mean a lot of money, prestige. You could do anything you want. Maybe a TV show and certainly a full line of housewares sold at a major store. The sky’s the limit. Already, the press is buzzing about the possibility.”
“Dean, that’s so generous of you.” Phoebe was at a loss for words, for not only had she thought of Ivy House but also had a fleeting thought of Chase. If she went back to Los Angeles, would she see him again? Would he miss her as much as she would miss him?
Savannah’s words came ringing back to her: Never rearrange your life for a man…
Smiling, Phoebe reached out and took Dean’s hand. “You’ll let me think on it for a few days?”
Dean smiled and brought her hand to his mouth for a quick friendly kiss. “I knew you’d