“I just need a break,” she continued. “You know? I mean, I’ve been in college for seven years now. I’m exhausted. He insists I should finish my degree this year though.”
I stopped drying. “You’ve been in college for seven years and still don’t have a degree?”
She seemed embarrassed. “I know it sounds bad, but I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. But now I finally do!”
“So, he wants you to quit the play?”
She nodded. “Quit the play and go back to school. What’s even more ridiculous is he never finished college himself. He dropped out during his second year, so where does he get off acting like a dictator?”
I listened, taking in this new information about Philip.
“Talk about a hypocrite,” she grumbled, still drying. “He needs to get a life.”
“Why did he drop out?” I was a college dropout too. Right after I got married, I quit and took a job to help support us. Ethan, of course, did get his degree. My dad tried to talk me out of it at the time, and I sure wish I’d listened to him.
Eliza stepped away from the cage and used the back of her hand to brush hair off her face. “Apparently he was running a couple businesses while he was in school, and it all got to be too much, so he quit.”
“Maybe he regrets it,” I offered. “Maybe that’s why he’s pushing so hard for you to finish.”
“Regrets it? Are you kidding?” She rolled her eyes. “You don’t know my brother. Trust me, he never regrets anything.”
“I don’t mean to interfere, but he is only your brother,” I pointed out. “You’re an adult. You can do whatever you want.”
“That’s what I said! He may be eleven years older than me, but so what.”
“What does your mom think of all this?”
“She’s worried I’ll quit school too. But at least she’s agreed to support me. She says as long as I promise it’s only for one semester.”
“Well, that’s sounds reasonable.”
“It is, if only I can get Philip to stop complaining.” She bit her bottom lip. “Don’t get me wrong. He’s helped me a lot, and I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. He’s normally pretty cool.”
I nodded. I got the impression Philip would do anything for his mom and sister.
“But I really want to do this play. They’re paying me too. It might not be that much, but it’s something, you know? It’s very satisfying to get paid.”
“I understand.” In fact, I understood completely.
We finished drying the cage, and Eliza helped me move it back into the house. My birds were inside their small travel cage, waiting to be let out. I could hear them chirping with impatience.
“Oh my gosh, your house is adorable on the inside too.” She spun around with delight. “I love it!”
“Thank you. I’ll love it a lot more when my spare room is finished and I can finally move all these supplies out of here.” I motioned toward the large stack of boxes piled opposite my bed.
“It’s like you’re living in a little jewelry box.”
I laughed. “I guess that’s one way of describing it.”
I set up the cage for my birds again, replacing their ladders and toys, along with fresh pellets and water. When I let them out of the travel cage, they both flew over and hopped inside the larger one, inspecting it to make sure everything was as it should be.
“They’re amazing,” Eliza said, coming closer. “I’ve never known anyone who had birds before.” She was still watching them when she turned toward me. “So I just have to ask—what happened between you and my brother last night?”
“What do you mean?”
“He came home late, and this morning when I asked him how things went, he wouldn’t tell me.”
I shook my head. “It was a crazy night.” For some reason, I decided to share the whole story about finding Ethan here. I wasn’t sure why, but I had a good sense about Eliza, like I could trust her.
She listened but didn’t say much until I was done, and then she nodded. “I’m glad Philip stayed to help you. He’s good in a crisis.” I felt her eyes lingering on me. “Did anything else happen between you two?”
“Not really.” I smiled a little, remembering the way I felt standing outside with him. That tingle of excitement. “Why? Did he say something?”
“No, but he was acting funny this morning.” She watched my birds again and appeared to be ruminating. Finally she turned toward me. “You know what? I think you should come over for dinner tomorrow night.”
“That’s a nice offer, but I have to work.” I had my monthly staff meeting with Laurie and Kyle.
“Tuesday, then. Please say yes.” Her topknot wobbled.
“I guess I could do that.”
“Really? That’s wonderful!” She swooped in and gave me a big hug. “I can’t wait to tell my mom. She’ll be excited to have someone local over as a guest.”
“Thanks for the invitation,” I said, still wrapped in the hug.
She pulled back. There was a grin on her face, and just under her breath, I heard her mutter what sounded like “And I can’t wait to tell my brother too.”
Chapter Twelve
~ Philip ~
“Look, I’ve already explained it to you three times,” I said in frustration to Doug over the phone. “Claire and I went to the movies, walked along the waterfront, and then I brought her home.” I didn’t explain what happened with her boneheaded ex-husband, since I figured that was nobody’s business but Claire’s.
“Did you talk about me? Do you think she could fall in love with me?”
“She barely even knows you.”
“But you told her about me, right? That I’m a great guy?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I said nice things about you.”
“Did anything else happen?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. I tried calling you at midnight on Saturday, but you didn’t pick up.” Doug sounded worried and, to be honest, he had good reason to be for once.
“Nothing else happened,” I assured him.
Except I nearly kissed Claire.
I felt guilty as hell for my attraction to her. And after giving it some thought, I’d decided the best thing was to stay away from her. Far away. There were a lot of women in the world, and I didn’t need to go after the one my cousin happened to be in love with. Luckily I’d timed things the last two days so she’d already left for work when I arrived at her house.
“Okay.” He sighed with relief. “I’m glad. Real glad! And believe me, I appreciate what you’re doing for me.”
“So when do you think you’ll be coming back?” I took a sip from the lemonade my mom made earlier. She’d also made a devil’s food cake—my favorite, so I’d helped myself to a large slice. “I may have more work lined up for you.”
“You do? Well, gee, that’s great… only there’s a problem.” He sighed, and I could already predict what he was going to say. “I haven’t found anyone else to fill in for me yet, and my mom still needs my help.”
I swallowed a bite of cake. Fortunately, I was two steps ahead of him. “That’s okay. I’ve decided to stay longer.”
“You have?” I could hear the surprise in his voice.
“Yes.” I’d decided recently that I wanted to stay and make sure Claire’s room got finished properly. Not to mention there was a lot more I could do to help Doug whip things into shape. I had his business voice mail forwarded to my phone, and it turned out he had a few calls waiting from people trying to hire him. I checked out two of them yesterday and had another one lined up for later in the week. Not to mention the one that came from Claire’s sister. I took photos of each site and sent them to Martin, Gavin’s dad. I knew he could tell me what kind of bid we should offer in case Doug didn’t get back to me soon enough.
“Gosh, are you sure? What about your work? I can’t believe you’d have time to run more than one business.”
I smirked, using
my fork to cut off another large piece of cake. “Trust me, I’ve done it before. Besides, I don’t need to be in the office for most of what I do.” I contacted my assistant, Sam, yesterday with a list of things I needed, and he was flying out with them this afternoon. I’d also texted Gavin and told him I’d be videoconferencing for the meeting with the real estate group tomorrow.
“Well, if you’re… if you’re really sure,” Doug stammered.
“No problem.” I reached over for his iPad on the counter. “So, let me tell you about these jobs.” I brought the info up on screen and briefly described each one to him. “I also sent you an email with photos. When you have a chance, take a look and give me your opinion on cost.”
“Sure, sure….” Doug sounded distracted. “Say, listen.” He breathed into the phone. “You staying out there longer has got me thinking.”
I picked up my lemonade—another favorite. My mom had been spoiling me lately.
“Maybe this is a perfect opportunity for you to really help me get things settled, if that’s okay?”
I nodded. “No problem. That’s exactly what I was thinking.” It was a relief to discover we were finally on the same page about something. “I don’t think it’ll even take me that long.”
“You don’t?”
“No. A couple of weeks should do it.” Hell, by then I’d probably have enough work lined up to last him the rest of the year. He’d be too busy to complain about anything.
“Wow.” Doug sounded in awe. “I can’t thank you enough. I’m really impressed!”
I shrugged. “Don’t sweat it. It’s what I do.” I took another bite of cake.
“But next time I think you should take her out for dinner and not a movie.”
I stopped chewing and swallowed. “What?”
“If you take her out for dinner, it’ll give you more of a chance to talk about me.”
“Do you mean Claire?” I put my fork down. “I’m not taking her out again.”
“Just make sure you tell her about all my redeeming qualities,” he continued. “Don’t forget to mention how much I like baking those health muffins. That will for sure impress her—if it hasn’t already.”
Suddenly there was a loud noise in the background. It sounded like the dragon lady bellowing at Doug.
“I’ve got to go,” he said quickly. “My mom needs me to take her to the groomer’s—I mean the salon.” He lowered his voice so it was almost a whisper. “And I appreciate everything you’re doing to help me win Claire. Hey, maybe you can be the best man at our wedding!”
And with that, he hung up.
I stared at the phone.
What the fuck?
Did he really just tell me to take Claire out for dinner?
My first thought was I’d love to take her out for dinner. Someplace with great ambience and great food. Someplace romantic but still relaxed and comfortable. Someplace where we could get to know each other a little better.
I shook my head. This was crazy. I couldn’t take her anywhere. I was way too attracted to her.
What the hell was Doug thinking pushing us together?
Of course, he didn’t know any better. He didn’t know he wasn’t the only one having thoughts about Claire—and I was sure mine were a lot dirtier than his. Although I had to admit I liked her.
I liked her a lot.
Well, I wouldn’t do it. It was as simple as that. It should be enough that I’m straightening out his business problems for him. If he wants Claire, he needs to man up and go after her himself.
I checked the time on my phone and realized I should get to the airfield soon to meet Sam. I also noticed a missed call from the CEO of a tech start-up in Vancouver that Gavin and I had been in talks with. He was looking for capital to expand into the States.
Just as I was putting my plate in the sink, there were voices at the front door. I thought it was my mom coming back from town—which was just as well, since I’d rather take the car than Doug’s truck—but to my amazement it was my sister followed by the other half of NorthStone, my best friend Gavin.
They were both laughing at something as they came into the main living area, and when Gavin saw me, I could have sworn he flashed a guilty look at Eliza.
“Surprise,” he said, grinning at me.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
“I figured I’d come and check out the summer beach house you guys are all holed up in.” He glanced around, nodding with approval. “Very nice.”
“What was so funny?” My eyes went from Gavin to my sister again. “You guys were laughing when you came in the door.”
“It was nothing. Eliza was telling me about some people she worked with on that commercial.” He came closer and set a travel bag on one of the kitchen chairs next to the center island. “And by the way, here’s all your shit.”
My eyes went to the bag.
“Sam packed it for you. When I heard he was flying out here to bring it, I told him not to bother, that I’d do it instead.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it—though I’m surprised to see you here at all.”
Eliza walked to the fridge and opened the door. “Do you want anything to drink?” she asked Gavin over her shoulder.
“Sure.” He placed another bag on the ground and took the nearest kitchen stool. “What are you offering?”
“Well, there are these gross wine coolers.”
“The healthy ones?” He chuckled. “Pass.”
I picked up my glass of lemonade, which was mostly ice now. “The polling numbers on those are excellent though. Have you seen them? Also, have you spoken to them about changing the taste yet?”
“Yeah, those numbers are great. And I talked to them yesterday. They said they’re working on some new flavors and will get back to us in a few weeks.”
I crunched on an ice cube. “That name has to go too.”
He nodded in agreement. “Totally. That name is a joke.”
“How about some lemonade?” Eliza asked him. “My mom made a pitcher for everyone tonight.”
“Sounds good.”
“Everyone tonight?” I looked at Gavin. “You told my mom you were flying up here?”
He shook his head. “Nah. It was sort of a last-minute thing. I figured I’d surprise all of you.”
“‘Everyone’ means Claire,” the pest announced casually as she poured him a glass.
I was crunching on another ice cube and almost bit my tongue. “Claire?”
“I invited her for dinner tonight. Didn’t I mention that?” She turned to me, and there was a tone in her voice I couldn’t quite place.
“No, you didn’t.”
“I guess it must have slipped my mind.” She smiled sweetly at me.
“Who’s Claire?” Gavin asked.
“She’s one of our neighbors here.” She handed him his lemonade and explained how I was filling in for Doug.
“Ah.” Gavin grinned at me. “Now it all makes sense. So that’s why you stayed longer. I couldn’t figure it out. I should have guessed there was a woman involved.”
“My staying here has nothing to do with Claire.” I put my glass down. That wasn’t entirely true, since I wanted to make sure her room got finished, but I already knew that would be misinterpreted. “The only reason I’m staying here is to help my cousin,” I said, feeling inexplicably grouchy.
“Really? So what does Claire look like?” Gavin rested his arms on the island’s counter. “If you’re not interested in her, maybe I am.” He winked at the pest, who laughed.
“She’s very pretty,” my sister said, coming over to the opposite side of the island. “She’s also super nice and fun to talk to. I went over there on Sunday to meet her birds.” Eliza told him about Claire’s pirate parakeets and how one of them was named after our ancestor.
Gavin listened with interest, and even though I knew he was only joking about going after her, I didn’t like it. Not at all.
“Doug’s in love with Claire,” I told him.
“She’s off-limits.”
“Is that right?” He made a show of looking around the room. “Well, unless I’m mistaken, I don’t see Doug here anywhere.”
Exactly, I thought. Where the fuck is Doug? If he wants Claire, he should be here making the effort and not having me do it for him. The whole situation was ridiculous. I didn’t want to spend another evening singing the praises of my cousin to a woman I was interested in myself.
“That’s true,” Eliza said. “Doug’s in love with Claire. Philip’s been trying to help him win her over.”
“Really?” Gavin’s eyes widened. “And how has he been doing that?”
Eliza explained how I took Claire to the movies on Saturday and that I’d been talking up Doug every chance I got, telling her how great he was.
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Gavin laughed and turned to me. “Is that true?”
“I was trying to help him out,” I said, feeling even grouchier.
He laughed some more. “Whatever you say.”
I went over to grab my bag off the kitchen chair. “I should probably get some work done. I assume my laptop is in here?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Why don’t you put yourself to good use and explain some of those figures from the Atlas portfolio to me.”
“What? Right now?” He glanced toward the large living room window. “I was thinking I’d go for a walk on the beach. Unlike you, I haven’t had a vacation all year.”
I scowled. “This is not a vacation.”
“Damn. What bug crawled up your ass?”
“Nothing. We’re talking to them tomorrow, and I want to make sure everything is clear.” I was good with numbers, but commercial real estate was not my area of expertise. I dealt primarily with technology companies, though I was also familiar with food and beverage industries.
“Fine.” He rolled his eyes. “Let’s go over it. But I’m definitely walking on the beach while I’m here.”
“We should rent bikes!” The pest bounced up and down. “I’ve been wanting to do that since we arrived.”
“Sounds awesome,” Gavin agreed.
We spent the rest of the afternoon going over the real estate group’s holdings and plans. To my surprise, it turned out a chunk of Truth Harbor’s downtown and waterfront was part of the large land package they were trying to acquire. Gavin explained how several entities were bidding against Atlas. It was one of the reasons they wanted NorthStone involved—our investors had deep pockets. I listened but didn’t comment much, mostly thinking things over.
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