He set down his fork. “I normally get to eat my meal in peace and quiet.”
“Ah, so that gives you the excuse to be so rude.”
“Look… lady?—”
“Tori.” She cocked an eyebrow as she countered him.
He eyed her, not saying a word.
Unwilling to be deterred, she continued. “I just wanted to ask you if you knew much about the theater here in town since I know you grew up here.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You know that how?”
“Darlene mentioned it.”
“Why were you two talking about me?”
She let out her breath in frustration. “We were talking about your bike shop, not you specifically.”
“Why do you want to know about the theater?” He eyed her suspiciously.
“Because I think it’s sad that it’s gotten so run down. It used to be so… so…” She searched for the right word. “Magnificent. So full of life.”
“You saw it when it was open?”
“I did. I came here often with my grandmother. We always went to opening night at the theater. I so looked forward to those nights. And now… it’s shuttered, and it seems like such a waste.”
“It is. But there’s not really anything you can do about it, now is there?”
“Maybe not. Maybe so.” She eyed him defiantly.
Gavin swiveled in his chair to face her, his interest piqued in spite of his desire to be left alone. His curiosity won out. “Like what, exactly?”
She shifted uneasily on her seat, biting her lip. Her eyes showed hesitation, yet behind the hesitation was a determination he found intriguing. Was she some kind of investor determined to reshape the town? Determined to tear things down and put up something new? There was enough of that going around with Cliff Griffin wanting to put up a monstrosity at the end of the boardwalk. Why wouldn’t people just leave the town alone? It was fine, just like it was.
“Like… buy it,” she finally said.
“And tear it down like Cliff wants to do?”
“No, that should never happen. The theater is a town landmark. Part of its history.” Her voice rose with a hint of passion.
Okay, they agreed on that. “But why would you buy it?”
“To restore it. Open it up again. Fill it with stage productions, movie nights, and any other events that could be held in it.”
He couldn’t miss how her eyes lit up when she talked about it. She seemed sincere, but her plan puzzled him. “But why would you want to do that? You don’t even live here.”
“I think the theater deserves that much, doesn’t it? And… I’m thinking of moving here. At least long enough to get the theater up and running.”
“You’re going to move here and renovate the theater?” He was still trying to wrap his head around her plan. And why she was doing it.
“If I can come to terms with the owner, yes. Darlene was making some calls to see if she could find out who owned it now. And I peeked in the windows, but I’d need to get inside to get a better idea of how much work needs to be done.”
“So you hatched this plan without even going inside and seeing the property?” He couldn’t hide his disbelief.
Her eyes flashed. “Yes, I did. I said it was a plan. And yes, I need more information. I’m just trying to… to help. Get it back up and running. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing’s wrong with it, lady—Tori—it just seems like it’s a half-baked plan, is all.”
