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Rayelle disappeared into the kitchen, so Bryce continued his once-over. Dominic walked in as Bryce was finishing up his second pass. He hadn’t noticed, but guests had begun to arrive while he was busy looking over his work. Dominic walked right over to him as soon as he made eye contact.
“This place looks great. Your crew did a fantastic job.”
Bryce never would get used to accepting compliments, so he quickly changed the subject. “Thanks. I guess we should see how we can help, since people are starting to arrive. Rayelle was headed to help in the kitchen last I saw her.”
Bryce was happy to make himself useful and serve as an additional host, so he didn’t have to watch the clock while he waited for Samantha to arrive. The basement was open, but the party mostly kept to the main floor. Some people made their way to the basement to check out the remodel, and Bryce tried his best not to listen to the critiques.
The music was loud, and people were having a good time. Bryce walked out of the kitchen after returning an empty tray just in time to see Samantha walk through the door. She looked fantastic for getting there straight from rehearsal. Both her black leggings and the grey sweater hugged every one of her curves and the high-heeled boots served as the cherry on top. She did not look like someone who just threw on a change of clothes in a rush.
“Hey,” he greeted once he reached her. “You look amazing.”
The tension eased in her shoulders as she visibly relaxed. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
He watched quietly as she took in her surroundings. Her eyes traveled from one end of the building to the other. Occasionally she would stop for a moment and take a closer look at something that interested her. Her lips curved into a grin once she turned her attention back to him.
“You did this?”
“My guys did,” he answered. “But most of the work was done downstairs. I can show you if you want.”
Before he finished his offer, she had his hand in both of hers as they headed toward the stairs. The basement was surprisingly empty considering it was the main reason for the dance.
“It might not look like much, but it started as nothing,” Bryce explained. “We put down new floors, hung drywall, and built that wall separating the rooms.”
“Doesn’t look like much?” she challenged. “I think it looks really good.”
Bryce softened at the compliment. “Thank you. The room on the far side is a place for the younger kids to focus on homework. Tables are set up along the walls so the center of the room can have bean bag chairs and blankets for kids who do better without sitting at a desk. And this room is less structured because it’s for the older kids. They can sit on the couches, at the larger tables with their friends, or at an individual desk. We added plenty of outlets so they can charge their devices. We don’t usually get this involved in the design process, but this wasn’t the typical job.”
When he finished giving her the rundown, he turned to see her watching him carefully, instead of looking around the room. Eyes glistening, she appeared to hold back tears. “It really is amazing.”
“Are you okay?” he asked after a long silence. “It’s just a remodeled community center.”
Taking him by surprise, she took his hand and led him into the far room. “It’s more than that, and you know it. Look at this.” She held out her arms with her palms facing up and turned in a slow circle. “The thought you put into the design proves it. I can already see the kids sitting at the tables and sprawled out on the floor doing homework.”
He swallowed hard. “This place is important to me. I was able to come here and get what I was missing at home. I just want other kids to be able to do the same thing and have a nice space.”
“You like kids.” She said it more as a statement than a question.
“I do. I always assumed I’d have kids one day. And when I do, I want them to have the things Brandon and I didn’t have. I saw the opportunity to do what I could to try to make a difference, so I took it.”
She had closed the distance between them as he spoke. Holding onto him, she absently stroked his forearm with her fingers, causing his skin to tingle beneath her touch. “We have more in common than I realized.”
His mouth twitched up into a small smile. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Brandon demanded I take a part-time job so I could pull my weight. I chose the bookstore because I love books. While I was there, I convinced them to start a story hour for the kids. It was my favorite day of the week. The kids were always so excited to see what I would be reading next. They picked out a little blanket and got comfortable as I read. Since I don’t have kids, I wanted to find something that I could do to put a smile on even just one kid’s face.
“It probably sounds silly compared to everything you did here, but it was something. My mom and I never had the best relationship, even when I was a kid. I always loved books, so going somewhere for just one hour a week to escape into the world of a story would have been so amazing.”
Even though they were already touching, he needed to feel closer. Cupping her face with his free hand, he gently stroked her jaw. His chest tightened with emotion when she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch as if it was exactly what she needed.
“We should get back upstairs,” he suggested, even though it was the last thing he wanted to do.
Blinking away the flicker of emotion that crossed her gaze, she gave him a slow nod. There were questions he wanted to ask, but he wasn’t sure if he should. Before he changed his mind and pushed for her to tell him everything there was to know about her, he took her hand in his and led the way back to the stairs.
“Samantha! When did you get here?” Rayelle greeted them as soon as they stepped foot onto the main level.
“I’ve been here a little while,” Samantha answered. “Bryce was just showing me the work they did to the basement. It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
Rayelle’s grin came quickly when she looked down at their joined hands. “Yeah, it is amazing. But Bryce is pretty amazing, so I’d expect nothing less.”
