Redesigning Happiness

by Nita Brooks

Genres: Christian Romance

Synopsis

Witty, sharply-observed, and warmly wise, Nita Brooks' debut novel tells the heartfelt story of a suddenly successful single mother who finds her perfectly-designed, fame-bound life upended by a surprise from the past....

It wasn't easy for Yvonne Cable to get over a heartbreaking relationship and revamp her life. But now the once-broke single mom is Atlanta's most sought-after interior designer — and one-half of the media's hottest power couple. She and her celebrity fiance, Nathan, are a perfect, practical match, on — and off-camera. And with their new home improvement reality show the object of a fierce network bidding war, there's no limit to how far they can go....

Release date: July 30, 2019

Publisher: Dafina

Print pages: 263

Sample

The Power of Perfection.

Yvonne Cable stared at the headline and grinned. The glowing feature on her latest design made her want to do cartwheels down the hall in her office. If only she’d mastered the art of a cartwheel.

The picture below the headline was of the completed home office for her latest client. Muted blue-grey colors created a cozy and restful feel. The natural light from the picture window overlooking the home’s intricate landscape brightened the room. A mixture of textures—cotton, leather, and wood—added depth and visual interest.

After clawing her way through Atlanta’s cutthroat interior design community, the article in Atlanta Life Magazine was the coveted crown after a hard-fought battle. She created perfection for her clients. Gave them the spaces they needed to be comfortable and content, a haven in their hectic lives. Money, family, status . . . she didn’t care. Whatever her clients needed, she was going to give them.

She put the magazine on her desk and walked over to the perfectly organized whiteboard in her downtown Atlanta office. Nine sections partitioned off. The title of her projects in blue at the top of each section. Tasks associated with each project in green. Due dates written in purple. Red checkmarks for completed tasks. The board served as a quick reference guide to where she was and what she needed to do next.

Her grin widened as she a grabbed the green dry erase marker to add the title for a new project to the ninth box. Sandra Covington Project. Or, as her assistant Bree liked to call it, the super enviable commission of every designer in Atlanta. The people who’d vied for Sandra’s new home project were many, but Yvonne was the one to land it.

Sandra Covington, self-help author turned radio personality, had just announced that her radio program was going into nationwide syndication. Yvonne was familiar with Sandra’s radio show. The woman’s advice was quoted everywhere. Known for going deep into her readers’ and clients’ pasts to help them unlock the “key to their potential,” her famously quoted words, Sandra kept her own personal life out of the spotlight. Yvonne didn’t care about Sandra’s past, all she cared about was that she’d gotten the project. Designing Sandra’s house, and possibly getting a shout-out on her show, combined with the notoriety she’d gotten from her appearance on Celebrity Housewives, would go a long way toward increasing the demand for an original Yvonne Cable Design when someone needed decorating for their home or business.

She’d arrived. Shed the mistakes of the past and become a household name. Her mom still couldn’t believe it. On most days, Yvonne couldn’t believe it either.

“Yvonne, I got the fabric swatches you needed for the Tyson project, and don’t forget that you’ve got a call with the editor of Lady Entrepreneur magazine in fifteen minutes.”

Bree Foster, Yvonne’s administrative assistant, swept into Yvonne’s office with an arm full of fabric. She laid the material on the drafting table in the creative corner of Yvonne’s office. Vision boards for projects adorned the walls in that corner. Sketch pads, colored pencils, and drawing notebooks littered the drafting table where Yvonne created her designs. Bree continually purchased organizers to keep Yvonne’s samples in order, but when Yvonne was in the middle of the creative process, materials scattered the desk. As usual, Bree picked up the strewn color charts, pencils, post-its, and papers and put them back into their correct spots.

“Crap, I completely forgot about that call.” Yvonne hurried over to her desk, in the working corner of her office. Lady Entrepreneur magazine wanted to start a lifestyle section which would include design tips. Yvonne wanted to be the person who supplied the articles.

Lady Entrepreneur had a wide circulation. Women all over the country subscribed to the magazine, which provided everything from tips for running a business to interviews with successful women on its pages. Of course, she wanted those same women to think of her when they thought of interior design.

“That’s why I’m here,” Bree said. A recent graduate of design school, they’d met when Yvonne hired Bree as an intern the summer before. After graduation, Yvonne had snatched up the brilliant designer immediately. “Besides, you’ve got a good excuse. I can imagine your head is elsewhere.” Bree grinned and squeezed her hands together in front of her chest. Bree’s curly hair was worn in a cute pixie cut and her brown eyes sparkled with excitement behind a pair of black framed glasses.

“I know. I’ve been busy thinking about what I need for my first meeting with Sandra Covington.”

“I’m not talking about that. I mean your proposal over the weekend. The way Nathan surprised you! That was so romantic!”

Yes. The proposal. You’d think saying yes to the man she loved after he proposed via the jumbotron at the Atlanta Braves game wouldn’t slip her mind. Honestly, she was still getting used to the idea of being engaged. For the past six years, she’d been a single mom and business owner. Now she was part of a team. Of course, she would have a hard time believing it.

Nathan Lange, home improvement television star, boy-next-door sex symbol, and all-around good guy, was her fiancé. She couldn’t be happier. And if she happened to notice that saying yes to Nathan had gotten her more congratulations and well wishes than starting her own business, being named business woman of the year twice, or working for a star on Celebrity Housewives, she didn’t let it bother her. Not too much.

Marriage was a big deal. Her son, Jacob, would have a father. She would have a man who loved and supported her. That was worth congratulating.

She glanced at the three-carat diamond on her left hand. “I can’t wait to marry Nathan, but no, that’s not what distracted me. Now that I’ve got Sandra’s account, I want to make sure I don’t let any other projects slip through the crack.”

“That’s what you have me for,” Bree said. “As your administrative assistant, I’m determined to keep you on track. But once you and Nathan get the television show, I may need an assistant for all of the work that’s going to come your way.”

Yvonne knocked three times on the oak surface of her desk, then crossed her fingers. “I hope so. The television show is still up in the air.”

She’d met Nathan on the set of Celebrity Housewives, where he’d worked as the contractor. The disagreements and attraction between them had sparked almost instantly. So much so, they’d stolen every scene they were in. Their chemistry had given Nathan’s publicist the idea they could be the new helm of a home improvement show. While Yvonne had never thought about television, she wasn’t one to turn down the opportunity to grow her business even further. She’d once been forced to accept whatever scraps she could get from the person who claimed to love her. Not anymore. Neither she, nor her son, would ever be in that position again.

“You guys will get it.”

“Maybe, but until then I can’t forget what got me here in the first place. No matter what happens with me and Nathan, Yvonne Cable Designs is and always will be my priority. I fought too hard to build my brand to this point to let it go just because I’m getting married.”

“But you will be making time to plan your wedding.”

“You know it!”

“I’d expect nothing less.” Bree looked at her cell phone. “Five minutes until the call. I’ll leave you alone so you can get ready.”

Yvonne went through the notes she’d jotted down for why she should be their go-to person for the lifestyle section. When she’d spoken with Lashon, the editor of the magazine, she’d still been considering a few other designers. This call would, hopefully, convince Lashon to go with her.

Lashon called right on time. They went through the normal pleasantries: quick stories about their kids, Lashon had two girls, and the latest good news from the magazine staffers. Then Lashon got to business.

“Look, Yvonne, I know you’ve gotten really busy lately.”

“Not too busy to supply design tips for the readers of your magazine. I was thinking of a focus on commercial spaces. Restaurants, offices, things like that.”

“Actually, I was thinking we could go in a different direction,” Lashon said before Yvonne could go into the reasons why she was the right choice.

“You’re no longer looking to include interior design tips?”

“No, silly. I’m surprised you haven’t already figured that out,” Lashon said laughing. “I want the feature to be with you and Nathan.”

“Really?” That idea had not crossed her mind.

“It’s genius, right?”

“I’m not sure I’m following along.”

“Lady Entrepreneur is still going to focus on women business owners, but I’m thinking of expanding the lifestyle section to also tackle relationships. Doesn’t that make sense?”

Not entirely, considering the magazine was supposed to be a business resource, but Yvonne never claimed to be an expert in magazine editing. “I’m intrigued by this new direction. Tell me more.”

“We did a survey of our subscribers. Many of them are single women who are also struggling to find a balance between work and family. You, my friend, are now the epitome of what so many single women want. You made a successful career despite having a child.”

“Despite?” A child wasn’t an automatic liability.

“And even though you are a single mother, you still happened to land a great guy like Nathan Lange. We think a quarterly feature on how you balance being a wife, mother, and business owner would go a long way to giving our readers hope.”

Giving the readers hope? Landing a great guy like Nathan hadn’t been part of her life goals. If anything, after the disaster that was her relationship with Jacob’s father, she’d never believed she would trust a man again. But she had, and yes, Nathan was great, and she was happy things worked out, but she wouldn’t say her life was now defined by her engagement. Was it?

“So, what do you say?”

“Can I think about it? I really wanted to focus on Yvonne Cable Designs.”

“Yes, of course, you can still mention that, but just include more information about your happy ending. You two are perfect together. Don’t underestimate how much more your brand is worth now that you have him tied to it.”

How much more her brand is worth? She’d thought her brand was fine as it was. Sure, people called more after she and Nathan’s relationship developed on Celebrity Housewives. They’d done a few interviews promoting the idea of doing a show that focused on blending their styles to achieve southern sophistication, but she was more than the Vonne in their tentatively titled show, Nate and Vonne.

Or was she? She wasn’t a stranger to being in this situation. Not being enough. She glanced at the Power of Perfection article that had given her such joy just a few minutes ago. Even that interview request had come after she and Nathan appeared on the show.

“I’ll let you know about the feature with Nathan. I need to talk it over with him first.”

“Great! Just think about it some more. We love what you’ve done and would like to work with you. Let’s find a way to make that happen.”

Yvonne turned over the magazine and drummed her fingers on the desk. “Sure. I’ll talk to you later.”

Yvonne got off the phone and leaned back in her chair. She looked around her office. The awards on the wall. The layouts for projects. Everything she’d built. Maybe Lashon had a point. Maybe people would be more drawn to her business now that she was getting married. Ignoring an angle that allowed her to expand would be ludicrous. Power couples were a big deal. Maybe that was her brand now. One half of a whole.

She took a deep breath and sat up straight. She’d come too far to backtrack. No matter what happened, she wouldn’t lose the Yvonne Cable who had overcome adversity and built a small empire. She wasn’t just a master at creating fabulous interior designs. She’d spent the past six years carefully crafting her own image. Maybe it was time for another personal redesign.

“You want to wait?”

Yvonne stared into Nathan’s excited hazel eyes. Her fiancé. She really had to get used to calling him that. The engagement was still so new.

Nathan gripped her hand and smiled, first at their publicist, Judy Turner, sitting across from them in the conference room in her office, then back at Yvonne. “Let’s set the example,” he said in that sure and steady way he had. “Our relationship has always been about building a foundation of friendship first. We did that. Waiting will allow us to continue to build that foundation of love, trust, and respect.”

Nathan’s thumb caressed her wrist. The sensation traveled up her arm, through her nerve endings, and lit a fire low in her belly. Nine months of abstaining. Now he wanted to wait until they got married!

At first glance Nathan didn’t seem like the wholesome, family values kind of guy. Long lean muscles, skin tanned from working outside, sandy brown hair just long enough to be considered unruly, and a perpetual five o’clock shadow. Nathan had first struck her as handsome, sexy, and most likely to make her life difficult as they worked on the home renovation during the season of Celebrity Housewives. Contractors rarely got along with the interior designers.

He had made her job difficult, but he’d also lured her in with his calm and focused demeanor. When he’d asked her out, she hadn’t thought to say no. That’s when the traditional side of Nathan had come through. He was the first guy she’d dated who wanted to wait until after they got to know each other before having sex. The reality show producers caught wind of her and Nathan’s budding romance and Nathan’s sex after marriage ideas, and pretty soon their background role in the reality show garnered as much attention as the housewife herself.

She hadn’t expected things to get this far with Nathan. Love had snuck up on her the same way her six-year-old son liked to sneak up on her in the kitchen. She was just minding her own business, then surprise! It scared her, but in a way that made her smile instead of getting startled.

“Nathan, don’t you think we should talk about this some more . . .” She darted a glance at Judy. “Later?”

Like when they weren’t in the middle of their publicist’s office. Judy had been Nathan’s publicist first and Yvonne had become her client by default now that Nate and Vonne was about to be a thing. Waiting longer was a big decision. Something she would have expected them to talk about more.

“Actually, I think it’s a great idea,” Judy said. Her blue-grey eyes sparkled with excitement.

“You do?” There was no situation in which Judy’s input on Yvonne’s sex life should come into play.

“You two are the latest it couple in the home and garden world,” Judy continued, ignoring Yvonne’s who-cares-what-you-think tone. “The appeal of your unconventional love means people want to know more about you.”

“What does that have to do with us waiting?” Yvonne asked.

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 apple 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 o. . .