“Dom, when you saw each other, the entire room stood still,” Caterina noted with a chuckle. “It was almost like a movie, where everything goes into slow motion, and music starts to play when two people make eye contact.”
Joe snickered as he followed his wife to the side entrance.
“The both of you have a lot of jokes for this early in the morning.”
“Look,” Joe started with a heavy sigh. “If this is your way back to Thea, that’s great. But it may not be. You’re going to have to figure out how to handle that. If you say you’re okay with it, either way, Caterina and I will drop it.”
“I’m fine, Joe. It’s business.” I shrugged, a dumb attempt to cover up the hope I had no business entertaining after all I’d put Thea through.
“Ah, right on time.” Violet greeted us the second we stepped inside. “Let’s get this tour going.”
“Good morning.” Thea came up behind her, greeting us with a huge smile that stole my damn breath. Somehow, she’d become even more gorgeous during the past four years. With the green dress hugging her perfect body, I couldn’t look away. She mouthed a hi to me with a tiny wave, causing my chest to swell a bit.
Maybe we made some progress at lunch? She still didn’t really look at me, but she was, at least, acknowledging my presence.
I didn’t deserve her forgiveness, but I wanted it. Fuck, I still wantedher. But Joe was right. This lease was a big deal for us, and I couldn’t give up my focus over what was probably a lost cause.
“What a cutie,” Thea crooned as she peeked over Caterina’s shoulder at Ava.
“I told you she’d be up. Too nosy.” Caterina chuckled and tickled her daughter behind her knee. “This is Ava.”
“Hi Ava,” Violet crouched over Ava and shook her chunky hand before motioning behind her. “Not much to see yet, so we’ll be fast, I promise.”
We followed Violet and Thea around the space. It seemed clean from what I could tell, the walls bare, with the lingering smell of fresh paint. The interior was much bigger than I’d expected it to be. When they led us to an outside courtyard that overlooked the beach, I threw a glance at Joe. He nodded slowly when he met my gaze. I was sure he was thinking of the live bands we had from time to time or parties on the beach in the back of the restaurant. I’d need to measure the area inside and outside to be sure, but it seemed almost as big as the pub.
Getting the place ready in eight weeks would be tough, but we could do it. In fact, it would be the perfect transition after the summer was over. When the tourist crowd waned, we could focus on this area and push promotion hard. Caterina stood next to Joe, her eyes wide as I guessed her mind was overrun with possibilities.
“And, per your request, here’s the inspection report.” Violet handed a file to Joe. “If you’re good with the terms and the offer, we can talk about signing later this week, if you’re interested, that is.”
“Oh, I’d say we’re very interested.” Joe flipped through the papers in his hand. “Let me give this a read and let you know if I have any questions. I’ll be in touch tomorrow, if that’s okay.”
“Totally fine.” Thea said. “I already have some estimates from contractors. When you sign, we’ll go over what you’d want or need.”
“I could come back and discuss that,” I blurted out. “Once, I mean, if we sign.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets and shrugged, as if somehow that would make me appear aloof and not an overeager moron. “Like I told you, Thea. I’m happy to help.”
“Thea mentioned you may be interested in coming on site to help oversee the construction.” Violet nodded as she looked between us.
“Wasn’t that nice of you.” Joe turned his head toward me with a raised brow.
“Having one of you here on a regular basis would definitely keep things moving. I’d say being open for the summer isn’t possible but we’d love to be fully operational by October. You’re free to wander around a bit if you’d like. I have some calls to return, but the door is unlocked when you’re ready to go.” Her mouth stretched into a wide, sincere smile. “I think this could be a great partnership. Hopefully, we can start things off soon.”
Violet shook all of our hands and made her way back into the main hotel area.
“Looks bigger from the inside, doesn’t it?” Thea said, as she came closer to us. “I’m sure you guys have a ton of ideas.”
“We sure do!” Caterina said, as she scanned the space. Joe laughed and looped his arm around her shoulders.
“I guess we’ll be in touch. Nice to meet you, Ava.” Thea smiled down at the carriage, Ava gave her a gurgle and leg kick in return. A wistful smile ghosted her lips for a moment. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting in a few minutes. Feel free to keep looking around as much as you like.” A wry smile pulled at her lips when her eyes met mine. “I guess I’ll see you soon.”
“Yes, looks like it. Sorry about that.” I pretended to wince and drew a chuckle out of her.
We had a couple of moments like that during lunch. The familiarity and ease of how we used to be peeking out, but then we were right back to being strangers.
I didn’t want to be strangers anymore. Even if I couldn’t get her back, I wanted us to be at least more than that.
“You know,” Joe said, breaking me out of my trance. I was still fixed on the path Thea had taken before she left. “Before I knew Thea was involved, I was going to recommend that you oversee this place.” He ambled closer. “We have an assistant manager at the pub now, so we wouldn’t need to depend on each other so much, and you deserve something of your own. There’s no one I trust more than you.”
“And now youdon’ttrust me.” I took a step closer, linking my arms over my chest.
