“You wired and plumbed it yourself?” he asked with alarm.
She gave a reassuring smile. “No. I called in the experts for that. I do know my limitations. Well, sometimes,” she added drolly, but perked up. “I did frame in the rooms, did the drywall, and finish work.”
“You did?” he said, stunned.
“Yeah, I mean, it was a sort of learn-as-you-go thing, and I spent a lot of time running to my computer to check out home improvement sites for help with specific questions, but I got it done.”
“Wow,” he said, admiration in his voice.
“Yeah,” she declared smiling. “I installed all my floors and reconfigured the kitchen. Of course, I needed help hanging the upper cabinets, but the rest I managed to do on my own.”
“Wow,” he echoed. “Uh, did your other half help? I mean, I’m assuming you’re the ‘better half’ in Better Half Hardware.”
The instant he asked the question, he saw the flash of pain in her eyes. He regretted asking it and wished he could simply take it back. Marcia rallied, however, and answered him in a too cheerful voice.
“Uh, well, the truth is, my now ex-husband wasn’t too handy.” She gave a dismissive wave. “And that’s okay,” she said in a soothing tone, reaching across the table to pat his arm. “We all have talents in different areas. We all can’t be good with tools.”
He realized immediately that she’d pegged him as helpless when it came to home repair. Now was probably the time to straighten some things out. Now was probably the time to tell her he had started his own construction company at the age of twenty and had grown it into the largest and most successful in town, with commercial ventures taking up most of his time now.
His current project was a high-rise in the heart of downtown, however, his brother-in-law was currently the go-to guy on the project. And interestingly, he was fine with that. That was an epiphany.
Marcia watched his face again, intrigued by the conflicting emotions there. Finally, his expression relaxed. “That’s true,” he said neutrally, “for some of us, tools are simply foreign objects.”
For some people anyway, but not him. He gulped and then picked up his sandwich and took a bite. He glanced behind Marcia, at some distant point on the wall.
“Is everything all right?” she asked him with concern. He really seemed torn up about something.
He attempted a smile. “Well, there’s something I should probably tell you.”
She perked her brows. “Oh? Okay.”
He opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly, the girl who had been at the hardware store earlier, talking to Marcia, burst into the restaurant.
“Marcia, I thought you might be here. I need to talk to you!” Collette cried eagerly. She dropped into the seat beside Ethan, barely giving him a glance as she bumped hard against his shoulder. She practically bounced with excitement.
“Collette,” Marcia said, smiling. “You seem in good spirits.”
“I am!” she declared.
“Tell me all about it,” she urged, but suddenly remembered Ethan, who had slid to the edge of his seat and was currently pressed against the wall beside him. “Oh, Ethan, this is Collette, Collette, Ethan.”
The girl turned to him briefly, but did a double take. She narrowed her eyes, giving him an obvious, assessing glance. She turned to Marcia and glared at her. “Hey, aren’t you the one who just gave me advice about passing on the pretty boys?” She glanced around. “Where’s his friend? Where’s his sidekick?”
Marcia burst out with a horrified gasp, and Ethan’s jaw dropped.
Pretty boy? he thought. Had the teenager really just called him a pretty boy? Heck, his hair was weeks past a cut, he had stubble on his jaw, and he was wearing a flannel shirt and Carhartt pants. Pretty boy? Hardly.
Marcia gave him an alarmed glance, a look of abject embarrassment on her face, as she directed her words to the teenager. “Collette, Ethan is my neighbor. We’ve really only just met. And he’s not a…” Her words trailed off.
Good grief. Had she nearly told the teen that Ethan wasn’t a pretty boy? Heck, how would she know? Arguably, he looked more rough and rugged than pretty boy, but who knew? She refused to stereotype him. It simply wouldn’t be fair to him. An inability to operate a tool or a power tool did not necessarily a pretty boy make, nor did dusty workwear make a tough guy.
Jay had certainly looked like an authentic outdoorsman in his outdoor workwear, which he’d donned every time he pulled the lawn mower from the shed—so she could mow the lawn. She hated to admit it, but … Jay was a pretty boy.
And why was it that she had always mowed the lawn? she wondered, in a sudden burst of awareness. Was the man helpless? And why hadn’t she asked that very question when she was still married to the … pretty boy!
Wow, she was certainly having a lot of epiphanies lately, she acknowledged. She guessed it was like that—that after time and space away from a former love interest, one had a better ability to see him more clearly. And she was suddenly seeing her ex through sparklingly clearer eyes.
“Marcia!” Collette cried. “I’m talking! Are you listening to me?”
She shook her head, ejecting memories of Jay from her brain.
Ethan watched her briefly with concern, and then turned to Collette. “I’m not a pretty boy,” he said in a monotone voice.
“Whatever.” She promptly dismissed him, turning back to Marcia. “First, you really need to practice what you preach, but I’ll forgive you for now, since I want to tell you something.” She clapped her hands excitedly, reminding Marcia of a much younger child.
“Okaaay, fill me in,” she prompted, shooting Ethan an apologetic glance. He simply picked up his water glass and took a long pull, in what she surmised was an attempt to look manly.
“Okay, anyway,” Collette said. “I went back to school today. You know, after talking to you. I ran right into Chad, and Drew was beside him. Chad was just standing there, you know, looking all smug and arrogant, and watching me like he wanted to see me break down crying or something…”
“Oh, no!” Marcia cried, her heart going out to the girl. “I’m sorry…”
“No, it’s okay,” she said with a dismissive wave. “Anyway, I completely ignored him and turned to Drew. I said, ‘Hey, Drew.’” She grinned gleefully.
“Go on,” Marcia urged.
“Okay, so yeah, I said, ‘Hey, Drew,’ and he kind of looked around surprised.” She giggled again. “Chad really looked surprised.”
“I’ll bet he did,” Marcia said, glancing at Ethan. He attempted a smile, but it came off more as a smirk. She gave him a questioning glance.
Oh, was that his cue to say something? “Yep, I’m sure he was surprised,” he said without enthusiasm.
Collette nodded. “Anyway, so then I noticed a poster on the wall about a dance this coming weekend. And then, Drew saw me reading the poster and turned to Chad.”
“Go on,” Marcia urged.
“Yes. Go on,” Ethan said, stifling a yawn.
“Okay, so then, Drew turns to Chad and said something like, ‘I know it’s not cool to date your buddy’s ex, but you guys were together for what? Four days?’”
Marcia’s eyebrows shot up, as did Ethan’s. “Four days?” he gasped. “You got that worked up over a guy you dated for only four days?” He shook his head and reached for his water glass again.
“Hey, I loved him!” Collette declared, glaring at him. “And you don’t quantify love by the days you spend with someone—or the hours, or even the minutes. It’s about the authenticity of that love, about the…” The girl stifled a cry, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears.
Even Ethan looked concerned now. “Drew’s the better man,” he assured her, and even turned to give her a quick pat on the arm. He snared Marcia’s gaze and shrugged, and then turned back to Collette. “Don’t waste your tears on that Chad guy.”
“But I really loved him,” she insisted.
Marcia patted her hand. “I
know you did. But go on…”
She took a shoring breath. “Okay, so, Chad says, ‘yeah, we hung out for something like four days.’ And then he laughed and said, ‘four days too many.’”
“He didn’t!” Marcia cried.
Collette nodded and hissed, “Oh, yes he did. The jerk! I should have hit him, but anyway, so Drew said, ‘Under a week doesn’t qualify, dude.’ And Chad said, ‘What the heck are you talking about?’”
Marcia shook her head, her eyes conveying her confusion. “I don’t understand…”
Ethan cleared his throat, getting Marcia’s attention. “He was talking about the unspoken, or sometimes spoken, agreement between buddies where they can’t date a girl the other dated. It’s all about brotherhood, you know. That sort of thing.”
“Is there a time constraint on that kind of agreement?” Marcia asked curiously. “Is the girl off-limits if the guy only dated her for four days? Are there exceptions to the rule?”
“Oh, there are always exceptions,” Ethan admitted.
Marcia considered his words. “Well, yeah, we’re talking about men here,” she conceded with a sad smile.
Ethan nodded, but then abruptly frowned. “Did you just insult me?”
“Not you specifically,” she was quick to assure him.
“Uh, over here!” Collette snapped.
They turned toward her and she indicated Ethan with a nod. “Anyway, he’s right,” she said, giving him a longer glance. “There are exceptions to the rule, and the duration of the time spent together does happen to be one of them. Anyway, so then Drew said, ‘You treated her wrong, bud. And since the rules don’t apply, because four days doesn’t count, then I’m gonna…’” She paused for emphasis.
“What? What happened next?” Marcia asked eagerly.
“Yes, do tell,” Ethan said without enthusiasm, prompting Collette to glare at him again.
“Come on, tell me,” Marcia urged, chuckling at Ethan’s dour expression.
“Okay, so then Drew asked me to the dance. Right there, in front of Chad!” She let out a shrill, delighted scream.
“Good for Drew,” Ethan said, admiration in his voice.
“And good for you,” Marcia said, reaching across the table to squeeze Collette’s hand. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Me too,” she said giddily, but shook herself. “And now,” she declared, taking her voice down a notch and pinning Marcia with a look, “what are we going to do about you?”
“What about me?” she asked, puzzled.
The teen sent Ethan a disgusted glance. “You know what I’m talking about. Like I asked before, where’s his sidekick?”
Chapter Five
As Marcia tidied up the store at the end of the day, she couldn’t help grimacing every time she thought about Collette’s treatment of Ethan at the restaurant earlier. The teenager had definitely misconstrued their relationship, assuming that she was involved with him. In trying to dissuade her of her assumptions, Marcia feared she had embarrassed her new neighbor.
He had certainly been embarrassed when Collette had called him a pretty boy. That much was clear by the stricken look on his handsome face.
Of course, it wasn’t her fault that Collette had left her filter at door? Regardless, she felt bad for Ethan. He’d been an innocent bystander in the teenage drama that played out beside him, trapped in a booth and unable to escape. A less polite man would have shouldered his way out of there.
With a sign, Marcia noted it was quitting time. She hurried to flip the sign in the door, and then dashed to the back room to grab her purse. Angie and her other employees had already left for the day, so she closed up and headed to her car.
Suddenly, she remembered she hadn’t taken anything out of the freezer to thaw for dinner, and decided to pick up a pizza. She could always bring the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
After stopping for the combination pizza, she drove home. She could hear the dogs barking a greeting before she even entered the house. She deposited the pizza box on the tabletop in the eat-in kitchen and hurriedly swung open the door to the sunroom to greet them.
They danced around, happy to see her. She bent to pet them and croon a hello. She really should get a dog, she mused, as she rose and then hustled them outside. Soon, she was back at her table, with the two dogs at her feet, watching her as she lifted a slice of pizza to her mouth. They watched her yearningly as she took a bite. “I’d love to share, girls,” she said, wincing apologetically, “but unfortunately, your mom and dad wouldn’t appreciate me giving you table scraps. Your dinner is right there,” she added, pointing at their nearby bowls.
Despite her refusal to feed them the pizza, they watched her through soulful, brown eyes. “You’re both so pretty,” Marcia crooned. “Yes, you are.”
She was just reaching for a second piece of pizza when her doorbell rang. She sighed heavily. Who could be stopping by this time of the early evening? Her heart lurched. Was it Jay? She simply wasn’t in the mood to see him.
He had left a message for her over the weekend, informing her that he needed a trunk that he’d forgotten about—that he believed he had left in the attic. She hadn’t brought it down yet, since if she remembered correctly, it was filled with papers and was quite heavy.
Shoving thoughts of Jay from her mind, she padded to the front door. She opened it and found Ethan standing on her porch. The dogs, who had followed her, began bouncing on their hind legs, delighted to see him. Marcia gave them a quizzical glance and shook her head. He noticed.
“Don’t take it too hard,” he commented with a chuckle. “As I said, dogs tend to … like me.”
She sighed with resigned acceptance. It had taken her so long to win their affection. Oh, well, maybe they had mellowed. Yes, that had to be it. “What can I do for you?” she asked. “Did you have another question for me?”
He paused briefly, frowning. “A question? Oh, no, it’s not that.”
“Okay, what can I do for you?” she prompted with forced cheer, doing her best to ignore the fact that wow, she was still hungry, and wow, she really wasn’t feeling like having a visitor, and wow, he was really good looking.
Standing on her porch, broad shouldered and filling the doorway, with the evening sun behind him, he could have easily graced the cover of a men’s clothing catalogue.
When he didn’t answer her question, she realized he was glancing past her and into the house. She felt relief, since distracted as he was, he hadn’t noticed her staring at him. She followed his gaze, and he noticed.
“Oh, sorry,” he said quickly. “I was just noticing the work you’ve done inside. I’m really impressed.”
She smiled, despite the fact that she wished he’d head on home. Her pizza was waiting, and she suddenly remembered Collette’s words. Where was his sidekick? But, the fact was, she wasn’t looking for romance, from him or his sidekick, so it was a moot point. And really, how did one follow one’s own sidekick advice when the guy at the door showed up alone? Maybe he was the sidekick and his even hotter friend was off somewhere, minus his sidekick. But again, it was a moot point.
Besides, she couldn’t imagine meeting a man hotter than him. The very thought caused her cheeks to flame red.
She smoothed a hand through her hair. Why had she ever given that sidekick advice in the first place?
“Did you really lay this floor yourself?” he asked, pulling her from her thoughts.
She was grateful to see his eyes fixed on the floor, rather than on her. “Yes. It’s hardwood and I just love it.”
“Did you carry it on into the kitchen?”
“No, I actually laid tile in the kitchen. I find it’s easier to clean, and if it gets damaged, it’s so much easier to replace.”
He nodded, still glancing around the room. She surprised herself when she stepped aside and gestured him in. “Would you like a closer look?”
“I would,” he said eagerly, stepping past her and into the foyer.
Why had
she asked him in? she wondered, forcing back a groan. Hadn’t she decided she didn’t need another handsome, but helpless man, in her life?
She had to admit, it was an ego thing allowing him inside. She was eager to show off her handiwork, proud that she had essentially rebuilt this home with her own two hands.
Of course, Jay had been there too, during the construction process. But his role had largely been to kick back in a recliner and call out to her for the occasional beverage.
She shook her head again, vigorously, to eject Jay’s smirking face from her field of vision. It seemed that lately, she saw him all the time in her mind’s eye, and she was definitely seeing him far more clearly than she had before. But, she conceded, that was a good thing, since maybe she would eventually come to accept that some marriages just aren’t made to last—or aren’t meant to be in the first place. Maybe she’d manage to stop being so hard on herself.
“Marcia…?” Ethan’s penetrating voice was rife with concern. “Are you … all right?”
She shook her head to clear it. “Oh, sure,” she said with a dismissive wave. “I’m great. Feel free to look around.”
He hesitated, but finally nodded, leaving the foyer and entering her living room. He did a slow circle within the cozy space. “This is really nice. I really like the crown molding. Did you install it yourself?”
She nodded. “I got mighty familiar with a miter saw,” she told him, smiling, and remembering her multiple failed attempts at fitting the corners of molding together before she’d finally gotten it right.
“You did a great job,” he said, stepping closer for a better look.
“Don’t look too close,” she said. “I’m afraid you’ll see my mistakes.”
He laughed. “It looks perfect to me.” It did look perfect. Heck, after he came clean about his occupation, he ought to offer her a job as a finish carpenter, he mused.
She laughed, glancing up at the molding. “Turns out diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friend,” she quipped.
He raised a questioning brow and she enlightened him as to her meaning. “If you ask me, it’s caulk. Caulk is definitely a girl’s best friend.”
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