Andie looked up at the ceiling. There had been a leak in the corner, but there was no sign of it now. “You paid her to do that? But you don’t even own the place!”
Maxi shrugged. “I know, I know. But Hailey’s grandfather doesn’t have a lot of money, and it seriously needed fixing. No big deal.”
“You, on the other hand…” Maxi glanced at Andie out of the corner of her eye. “When Sally was here, she mentioned something about you and Shane going to the beach together.”
Andie blushed, then shrugged off Maxi’s insinuation that something was happening between her and Shane. “We did go for a walk, but it was nothing, really. We had hot dogs.”
“Uh-huh,” Maxi said, but she sounded doubtful.
“Seriously,” Andie insisted then sighed. “Okay, maybe there was a little spark, but that might just have been on my end.”
And that was exactly what Andie was afraid of... being so interested in spending time with Shane again herself that she was reading more into things when they were together than he actually meant. She shrugged. “I don’t know if he really wants to get involved.”
“You can’t always tell though.” Maxi glanced outside to make sure James, who had gone right back out after following the two of them inside, wasn’t listening. Nodding in his direction, she told Andie, “Guys get scared, too, and you shouldn’t let a misunderstanding stop you from getting what you want.”
James looked toward the bungalow and waved. Maxi waved back at him and smiled. “I didn’t, and now look how happy I am.”
Andie had to agree that Maxi had a point, but… “I’m not sure it’s just a misunderstanding, Maxi. I think maybe Shane is just not that interested.”
Not anymore, Andie thought, swallowing back yet another wistful sigh.
“Really?” Maxi asked, doubt clear in her eyes. Andie thought she saw something else, too, but she would never accuse Maxi of feeling pity for her.
“Well, that’s not what it looks like to me,” Maxi insisted. “Have you ever considered that he might be wary because of how you broke things off before?”
As if she could feel just how uncertain and confused Andie was suddenly feeling, Maxi reached over and patted her consolingly on the arm. “Maybe you’ve just been thinking too much about how you feel and not enough about how Shane feels.”
Without giving Andie a chance to get lost in theare you sures and thewhys, Maxi grabbed her big striped tote bag from the chair. “Now let’s get going. I’ve already done some research, and I want to show you all the options I think will look best in those units.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The next day Andie was happy to tell Emily she and Maxi had managed to find cabinets that were in stock and got a great deal on some granite for the countertops. Fixtures were on back order but should only take a few days.
“It’s really coming together,” Emily said.
Andie couldn’t tell if she was excited or terrified. Maybe a little of both, she decided.
“What about the ad? Did you get advice from your sister?”
“She liked it… but there was something she pointed out. Let me show you.”
They went into the kitchen, where Emily’s laptop was open on the burnished antique pine table. She had the window open, and the lacy curtain she’d hung over the sink fluttered in the warm ocean breeze.
With a few quick keystrokes, Andie navigated to the online boutique hotel magazine site and brought up the page with the ads. She turned the screen to Emily and pointed to several different ones. “Each of these have a unique selling point that helps bring guests into their hotel. We don’t really have that.”
As Emily studied the ads, Andie glanced down the hallway. Shane was working on the doorway that led into the space where the rental units were.
He was standing on a stepladder, plastering. Trowel in one hand, hopper in the other, he spread and scraped, and Andie couldn’t help but notice how each movement showed off the taut muscles in his broad shoulders.
He still looked as good today as he had thirty years ago. Well, he’d matured, obviously, but he’d done it very well.
“So, you mean like this bit about the widow’s walk?” Emily asked.
“Uh-huh.” Andie answered her without really knowing what she’d answered to. She was completely distracted now by Shane’s movements.
“I don’t think we had anyone famous,” Emily continued. “My relatives never said…”
Emily went on about her relatives and the mostly colorless history of the house, her voice a mere murmur Andie barely took note of. Emily was repeating what she’d already heard a few times from family and friends, and none of it was interesting enough to distract Andie from the view she was currently enjoying.
