Better Than Home: Better Than Good Novella

I chuckled when he tap-danced in front of the brick fireplace, then gave a cursory glance at the bare space as I loosened my tie.

“It’s looking better. But let’s talk about important things. When do I get to move the sofa in here…and the flat-screen?”

“After we paint. The colors have been chosen…with your mother’s assistance. She’ll be excited to see the house now that she can brag that she was partially responsible. Am I a genius or what?” he bragged, snaking his arms around my waist.

“Smartest guy I know.” I kissed his nose and squeezed him close, resting my chin on the top of his head. “Who’s on our paint crew?”

“Me and you. It’s the only way to stay in budget so we can still afford patio furniture before our housewarming party, and you were rather adamant about that budget,” he reminded me.

“Right. So…housewarming party? Do we really need one?”

Aaron gasped as he stepped out of my arms. “Of course we do! This is a huge achievement.”

“It’s a mortgage, babe.”

“That’s a terribly cynical attitude, Matty. And zero fun. We’re going to show off all this hard work, damn it. Your mom will want to see her paint choices, and I’d personally rather do that in a crowd, where she’s less likely to find flaws.”

“Maybe, but I’m not sure why my parents are flying out for it in the first place. This is a small party, right? I mean…I thought it was just a casual gathering with a few friends.”

“And family. There’s no way we can live ten minutes from my family and not invite them. And there’s no way in hell we can invite my parents and not yours.”

“Who else?”

“A few work associates. I thought it might be good form to invite my new assistant since she just helped tweak my website. Omg, it’s so pretty! I swear it lured over Janie Light…my biggest client to date. I may be closing another big fish next week.” He spun in a circle and did a little victory dance.

I grinned. “Congratulations in advance.”

Aaron’s style-blog-slash-consultant-business had taken off over the summer. He’d used a portion of his severance to set up his venture, giving new designers a platform to showcase their work. He’d hired professional photographers and had done a few photo shoots. He’d even modeled some of the menswear and used our yard as a setting.

He ran his new enterprise from our temporary table in the dining room in between managing our remodel. I was amazed at how much energy he had sometimes. He woke up when I did, sat down at his makeshift desk with a cup of coffee, and got straight to work. It was becoming the norm for him to be on a call with a client in Milan, Paris, or London as I headed to the city. He seemed to really enjoy it and best of all…he was making serious money at it. Enough that he considered not taking Marsha’s offer.

“Thank you. And get this.…Marsha called.”

Oh.

“Don’t tell me you invited her too?”

Aaron grimaced. “No, no. She called to tell me she’ll have a contract to me by the middle of next week. I’ll have you look it over.”

“Of course.” I kissed his nose on my way to the kitchen, then pulled open the refrigerator, sending a quick prayer for beer.

“Bottom shelf.”

I grabbed a beer from our fully-stocked fridge. Sweet. I uncapped the bottle and raised it in a toast. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He tugged at my elbow and led me back to the living area. “Any-who…let’s chat about paint.”

I was tempted to change the subject and steer away from work conversations ’cause it was so nice to see him back on track, confident, and happy professionally. But I was curious.

“Hang on. Do you want to work for Marsha? I mean, she was kind of a tyrant and you’re doing well on your own. Why take on a lot of unnecessary stress?”

Aaron spun to face me, sending his fringe of dark hair over his eyes.

“I was thinking the same thing, but I was too nervous to say anything,” he admitted, biting his bottom lip.

I furrowed my brow. “Why?”

“Because this is brand-new, Matty. There’s no guarantee I won’t fizzle out. Fashion is notoriously fickle. You’ve heard Heidi Klum. What’s in today is out tomorrow, and that goes for fashion consultants too. I could be a has-been, never-was by Christmas—and worse…I wouldn’t have a job to fall back on.”

“We’re fine, Aar. Follow your gut on this one. If you’re happier working from home and doing your own thing, do it.”

His lips curled at the corners of his mouth and morphed into an ear-to-ear grin that lit the room like a ray of sunshine on a rainy day. I loved that smile. I could bask in it all day. Nothing bad could touch me when he looked at me like I’d personally hung stars from the sky for him.