Redesigning Happiness Read online

  Nathan squeezed her hand again. “We’re pitching our show as one that promotes simple but stylish Southern living. Our values as a couple will also play into the show.”

  They hadn’t really discussed their values as a couple. This was more about Nathan’s values becoming hers. Which she respected, she just hadn’t expected it to become the focal point of their public relationship.

  Judy, ever perceptive, chimed in again. “If word gets out that you two are waiting until you’re married, it’ll generate interest in your relationship and create a buzz for the show. Couples who wait are an anomaly today. It’s no longer expected, but by doing it you both are showing a recommitment to your faith and dedication to each other.”

  Faith. Yeah, she’d lost a lot of her faith. Multiple disappointments early in life tended to do that to a person.

  Yvonne had tried not to let people see how cynical she was about life. She’d chosen to hide her limited faith in others just as she would an unattractive feature in one of the houses she decorated. A fresh coat of I’m-an-independent-single-mother, with a few accents of let-me-roll-with-the-punches, meant most people didn’t notice how bland she felt inside.

  Yvonne met Nathan’s gaze. Nathan had enough faith for them both. He was the one person who’d slowly made her feel it was okay to trust again. He believed good things happened to good people. He loved her and her son. He was the stable future and male role model her son needed in his life. He was the proof to never give up on finding love. But, was this a stunt just to help their show?

  “Do you feel that way, too?” she asked him.

  “Judy is thinking about the promotion. I’m thinking about us. I told you how I felt that first night we had dinner together.”

  “Which was reiterated on the episode of Celebrity Housewives that had a strong undertone of your developing relationship,” Judy chimed in.

  Yvonne cut her eyes at the publicist. Nathan held up a hand to stop Yvonne from telling Judy to stay out of things.

  “Judy, will you give us a second?” Nathan asked.

  Judy looked between the two of them. Yvonne’s growing frustration must have been obvious because Judy nodded and stood. After Judy walked out, Nathan reached for Yvonne. She avoided his touch and got up. She paced to the window overlooking downtown Atlanta.

  “What’s wrong?” Nathan asked.

  Yvonne crossed her arms. “You’re treating our engagement like a publicity stunt. First the big proposal on the jumbotron. Now the plan to tell the world we’re going to wait until we’re married just to sell the show.”

  This idea came a little too soon after Lashon’s insistence that her readers would prefer Nathan and Vonne’s advice instead of just Yvonne’s. One proposal, and her life was no longer hers. Was she about to lose herself, again, in a relationship when she’d promised herself to never again get swept away by a man?

  She heard the shuffle of his chair a few seconds before his hands engulfed her shoulders. He slowly turned her to face him. His features were stark as worry filled his eyes.

  “Yvonne, this is not about a publicity stunt. I love you and Jacob. I fell in love with you when you first came into the house and cursed me out for getting sawdust all over your fabric swatches.”

  “I didn’t curse you out.”

  He grinned the signature southern-boy grin that made her heart melt. “Okay, no curse words were spoken, but you burned the hell out of my ears just the same.”

  Yvonne laughed at the memory. The incident that got them the attention on the reality show. One of the truly unscripted moments. She’d laid out fabric swatches in the sunroom, which he’d chosen as the perfect spot to also use a circular saw. Dust was everywhere, and Yvonne hadn’t been happy.

  “Next time keep the sawing outside.”

  Nathan’s eyes crinkled as he grinned. He was so cute. Ruggedly sexy with a dash of sweet boy-next-door comfort. He was the opposite of any guy she’d dated before. She’d done that on purpose, and that decision led her to a happy ending she’d stopped wishing for long ago.

  “This is why I love you. You say what’s on your mind,” Nathan said. “You don’t hold back and are completely honest with me. I asked you to marry me because I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I did it at the Braves game because I wanted the world to know you are the woman I want to marry. I want to wait because in my heart it’s the right thing to do.”

  Yvonne slid her arm around his waist and pressed her body against his. “You really want to wait?” She didn’t feel like playing fair. Nine months was a long time to have a sexy boyfriend without any benefits.

  His lids lowered. Temptation flashed in his eyes. He took a deep breath, then met her gaze again. “I’ve rushed into things in my past. Things that I shouldn’t have done and regret doing.”

  “Things like what?” He’d never talked to her about having past regrets.

  “I’ve chosen women because I let lust guide me, and I got nothing from that but shame and heartbreak. Yvonne, I’m serious about this because I want both of us to know we’re in this because we love and respect each other. Not just because we want each other.”

  “Are you sure that’s all. Nothing to do with the publicity this will bring?”

  “The publicity is a bonus Judy pointed out. This is between me and you. Do you not want to do this?”

  No. She didn’t want to do this. She was engaged. She wanted to finally have sex with the man she was marrying. The shrewd, roll-with-the-punches, do-what’s-best-to-get-to-the-next-level part of her couldn’t deny the appeal of making their decision public.

  They were pitching their home renovation show with a heavy undertone of good old family values. She, the hardworking single mom and interior decorator to Atlanta’s rich and famous. Nathan, the down-to-Earth, family-oriented, builder-slash-woodworker. People loved Nathan’s Southern boy charm and sympathized with her for being strong and independent. It was a perfect combination for the home and garden networks out there.

  No one asked about her son’s father, which was fine with her. He was dead to her if not dead in real life. Paying her to disappear was reason enough to consider him dead.

  And why was she thinking about Jacob’s father to begin with? Six years had passed. She’d taken the money and moved on. Look where she was now. About to marry the perfect guy. About to sell their traditional family values with a side of Southern city chic home renovation show to a major network. About to finally put the past behind her and celebrate the future. About to finally get over the foolish mistakes of the old Yvonne.

  “Yvonne?” Nathan asked, his brows drawn together.

  She lifted her chin, pushed the past out of her mind, and smiled into the eyes of her future. “We’ll wait.”

  * * *

  Yvonne’s mother, Rochelle, dumped a stack of bridal magazines on the kitchen table in front of her. “I was watching one of those wedding shows,” Rochelle said. “And apparently merlot, peach, and sage are perfect colors for a wedding.”

  Yvonne gaped at the mountain of magazines, then at her sister Valerie sitting across from her. Valerie’s shoulders raised slightly in an I-have-no-idea type of shrug before her light brown eyes filled with laughter. Nathan had proposed a few days ago, and her mom was already picking out colors?

  Honestly, she wasn’t surprised. Her mom would be sewing the wedding dress herself if she knew where to start. Yvonne was pretty sure Rochelle never believed her youngest daughter, the mistake who’d ruined her first marriage and the one who’d returned from design school alone and pregnant, would ever get married and not to a catch like Nathan Lange. As Rochelle had told Yvonne plenty of times since she was old enough to understand: “You’re here because I fell for temptation and sinned. Which means you’re susceptible to the same mistakes.”

  Yvonne hadn’t believed her mother’s mistakes would also haunt her. Then she’d met Jacob’s dad. Fallen in love. Realized too late she’d been the secret side chick. Guess that saying about the app
le not falling far from the tree had to be true in some situations.

  Yvonne picked up one of the magazines. “Mom, what are you talking about?”

  “Merlot, peach, and sage . . . really?” Valerie said, spreading the magazines across the oak table top. “What the hell is that, anyway. A fruit salad?”

  Her sister’s reddish-brown hair formed the perfect halo of coils around her golden-brown face. She swore her sister was queen of the perfect wash-and-go. Yvonne, on the other hand, had a standing appointment to get her natural curls blown out into a sleek curtain to her shoulders.

  Yvonne covered her mouth, but the effort didn’t stifle her laugher. Their mom glared at Yvonne. She pointed to her sister. “I didn’t say it.”

  “As I was saying,” Rochelle’s straight back and raised chin matched her voice. “These colors are considered rustic, but tasteful.”

  Few lines creased Rochelle’s pecan-brown skin. She wore a dark blue polo with Word of God, the name of her church, stitched onto the right side and tan slacks. It was what she wore daily as part of her job as secretary for the same church.

  Yvonne flipped the pages of a magazine. “So now I have to be rustic and tasteful.”

  “Of course,” Rochelle exclaimed, like Yvonne was a game show contestant who’d given the right answer. “You’re marrying Nathan Lange. If your show sells, you two will be the biggest hit in home renovation. You’re the new charming couple that embodies contemporary southern elegance.”

  Yvonne barely kept herself from rolling her eyes. “Mom, you took that from the article about us in the Journal and Constitution.” The Atlanta newspaper had done a piece on them in the style section. Further proof that Nathan and Vonne were a bigger hit than Just Yvonne. Since meeting on the reality show she and Nathan tag teamed on a few of the custom homes his contracting company built in southeastern Atlanta. He built the structure, she designed the inside.

  Valerie cocked her head to the side. “Contemporary southern elegance?”

  Yvonne waved a hand. “So long as it helps us sell this show, I’m okay with it.”

  She would be okay with anything that took Yvonne Cable Designs to the next level. She’d never considered pitching a television show until Nathan mentioned it after the producers of Celebrity Housewives were so interested in them. Honestly, she hadn’t thought the idea would fly, but after the Journal and Constitution article and her conversation with Lashon, Yvonne was beginning to see she was better with Nathan, businesswise at least. Now they were about to take their talents to the national stage. She’d be able to give her son the life he deserved.

  Rochelle pointed at Yvonne. “Which means you need to have a tasteful and sophisticated wedding. Merlot, peach, and sage are tasteful.”

  Why didn’t her mom just come out and say what she really meant? Don’t do anything to mess this up like your last relationship. Oh, she knew why. Because Rochelle could teach a course in being passive-aggressive.

  Valerie’s head fell back, and she groaned. “You are killing me with this sophisticated mess. Yvonne used to be so much fun.” She sat up straight. “You were the queen of late nights dancing, long weekends, and pop-up parties. Can we at least get some of that fun person back for your wedding?”

  Yvonne didn’t care if her wedding was the most boring in history, she just wanted to get to the day already. To become the wife of a man she could trust. To be valued for being herself, or as much of herself as she let Nathan see.

  “That was the old me.”

  Her mom smiled with unmasked approval. Valerie’s face screwed up like she smelled something old and rotten. “Old you?” Valerie asked. “There was nothing wrong with that you.”

  “I’m not saying anything was wrong with me,” Yvonne said. Rochelle snorted. Yvonne barely stopped the flinch. Ignoring her mom, she continued talking to her sister. “But I wasn’t focused.”

  “I miss unfocused you,” Valerie grumbled, flipping through pages of a magazine.

  Warmth spread in Yvonne’s chest. Her sister had always been on her side. Not easy when their mom often put them against each other. Not outright, the queen of passive-aggressive wouldn’t do that, but in subtle ways, like dropping reminders that Yvonne was the reason Valerie’s father left. Yeah, their mom sleeping with the church deacon, getting pregnant, and having Yvonne had nothing to do with it. Sure.

  “Everyone has to grow up some time,” Yvonne said. “I grew up after I had Jacob. A kid ends late nights dancing, long weekends, and pop-up parties. Unless you want to hear about the two hours I spent singing and dancing with Jacob to Team Umi Zoomi the other night.”

  Valerie shook her head vigorously. “Please, spare me. The show is cute, but it took two hours to get one of those songs out of my head after watching with him the other week.”

  Jacob loved that show. Yvonne had caught herself humming the many catchy tunes even when the show wasn’t on. So much so that her assistant, Bree, had told her on many occasions to stop.

  Smiling, Yvonne stood and went to the kitchen window. Jacob was in her mother’s backyard playing with the boy who lived next door. They tossed a foam football back and forth. Laughing and giggling, without a care in the world. Happy and safe the way all young kids should be.

  “Is Jacob happy about the engagement?” Rochelle asked.

  Turning away from the window, Yvonne faced her mom. She leaned her hands on the counter behind her. “He’s ecstatic. In fact, he knew about it. Nathan asked Jacob if it would be okay for him to be his daddy.”

  Rochelle nodded approvingly. “He’s such a sweet guy.”

  “He is,” Yvonne agreed. “So, Mom, you’re right about one thing. I do want this to be a classy and tasteful wedding. But before you get excited about these colors, I know that merlot will not fly.”

  Her mom’s excitement at possibly getting her way deflated. “Why not?”

  “Because Cassidy doesn’t like burgundy or any color that remotely resembles it. She already told me that right after Nathan proposed.”

  Valerie rolled her eyes. “Who cares what Cassidy thinks?”

  “I care. She’s Nathan’s sister and he loves her.”

  “Stepsister,” her mom said. “Not the same.”

  Yvonne and Valerie exchanged a look. A wordless battle for who would take up this argument? Yvonne lost to Valerie’s raised brow and eye roll.

  “Stepsister is the same,” Yvonne said, conceding her loss. “Blended families are normal, Mom. Nathan has known Cassidy since he was twelve years old. She’s not only his sister, she’s his best friend. Which means keeping her happy keeps Nathan happy.”

  Luckily, she and Cassidy got along well. From the start, Cassidy had supported Yvonne and Nathan’s relationship. She’d folded Yvonne up in her welcoming arms and begun treating her like a sister from the jump. After Nathan proposed, she’d said it was because Nathan told her he’d believe Yvonne was the one.

  Valerie crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “I still can’t believe you’re marrying him.”

  “Stranger things have happened,” Rochelle said flipping through a magazine.

  Yvonne bit her lip to stop an angry retort. She wasn’t doomed to make her mom’s mistakes anymore. Instead she’d focus on the good in her life.

  “Why can’t you believe we’re getting married?” Yvonne tried to hide her discomfort behind a confident tone.

  Valerie studied Yvonne. “I didn’t think you liked him. Not seriously.”

  She hadn’t thought they’d get to a long-term relationship, much less marriage. Yes, a part of her was marrying Nathan for stability. He was the perfect guy. Charming and sweet but also sexy and strong. A quiet leader who’d eventually won her heart.

  “I love him. I never would have thought I’d be lucky enough to meet a guy like him. Much less marry him.”

  “Why?” Valerie asked. “You have your own gravitational pull when it comes to men.”

  Rochelle grunted. Valerie glared. “Mom, stop.”

&n
bsp; Yvonne shook her head. “She’s not that far off. I was overly romantic and too quick to believe in happily ever after. That caused me to make mistakes.”

  “Mistakes like coming home early from school pregnant and alone?” her mom chimed in.

  “No,” Yvonne said. “I don’t regret having Jacob. If anything, he’s the best thing that came out of my time in Washington.”

  But she’d learned a lesson after that. Don’t fall hard and fast. Don’t believe everything a man tells you. Don’t fall apart when you’re tossed aside.

  “Jacob taught me how strong I could be because I needed to be,” she said. “I worked my interior design business until it got me here. I’m hopefully about to have one of the most anticipated shows out there. Nathan knows me and loves me, warts and all. On top of that, he’s great with Jacob. He loves Jacob.”

  Which is more than Jacob’s own father had ever given him. She pushed the thought aside. She’d been letting thoughts of Jacob’s dad infiltrate her brain a lot more since the engagement.

  Jacob came running into the house. “Mommy! Jamie fell and scratched his knee. Can we have a Band-Aid?”

  Before Yvonne could answer, Rochelle was already jumping from her chair. She swooped over to Jacob and took his hand. “Of course, you can have a Band-Aid, baby. Gigi will get one for you.”

  No matter how much shade her mother threw her way, Yvonne knew Rochelle would never do the same with Jacob. She doted on her only grandchild. Regardless of Yvonne’s sometimes tense relationship with her mom, she couldn’t say a single bad thing about how her mom had stepped in and helped her every step of the way with Jacob. That was another reason why she chose to bite her lip and ignore the jabs at her moral character.

  “Jacob, are you okay?” Yvonne asked. She did a quick visual inspection but found no outward injuries.

  “I’m good.”

  “Of course, you are, baby,” Rochelle said. “You’re the toughest boy in the neighborhood. You can handle a little fall playing football.” Rochelle got the bandages from the first aid kit she kept under the sink and then went outside to tend to Jamie.