“Jasper, this is my husband, Sammy. And, Sammy, I take full credit for their relationship,” she added with a wicked grin.
“Jasper, nice to meet you.” Sammy’s hand was more paw than palm, his grip strong enough to hurt. I shook anyway. “Why am I not surprised?” he said with a glance at Selena. He sounded ferocious…until I caught the glint of adoration in his eyes.Oh. He was teasing. He was a big ol’ softy.
“It’s very nice to meet you. Thank you for letting me come tonight.”
“She’s a one-woman wrecking crew,” Sammy said with a belly laugh. “But don’t let her bulldoze you into anything. It’s how we ended up married.” He paused to dodge her fake swats. Daddy snorted at his description of Selena, but I noticed he didn’t disagree.
That seemed to break the ice. The rest of the group edged closer, peppering me with questions about when I’d be opening, who I expected to host, and what services I’d be offering. It was…nice. Welcoming, even. Nobody seemed to question my competence. Maybe that was only because they didn’t know about my many, many failed jobs and careers, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to bring that up. No one needed to hear about the balloon dog saga.
“Jasper, do you think you’ll be ready for guests in a couple of months?” a tall woman with a slight German accent asked. I thought her name was Claudia.
“The goal is to advertise as open within six weeks if I don’t burn the place down,” I said. “Fewer than six if I can finish the bedroom modifications. I’ll be taking guests earlier than that, but more as a soft launch—assuming anyone’s willing to stay.” I gave myself a mental shake and a reminder not to talk her out of my place before she’d even booked the damn thing.Jasper, be quiet.
“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.” Claudia’s eyes lit up. “My daughter is coming home for her baby shower, and we’ve been looking for a place.”
Oh. My. Gosh.
I barely resisted the urge to squeak. Was I seriously about to land my first pitch? I unobtrusively—here’s hoping anyway—wiped my sweaty palms on my shorts.
“Sissy’s house was gorgeous,” Claudia continued. “I’d love to swing by next week and see if it might work. We’ve got family and friends coming in, some of them older, so you being on-site would be wonderful.” Her words tumbled over me, and I couldn’t decide if I was about to hyperventilate or ask if she wanted to book.
“I’d absolutely love to show you around,” I said. “The main floor’s becoming the public space with a small meeting room, but I have a bedroom downstairs for anyone who can’t do stairs. I probably need to have some labels so no one tries to have meetings in the bed.” At her raised eyebrow, I hastily added, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”Fantastic. Already pitching a swingers package. Shut up, Jasper.
Claudia nodded like I was a real businessperson who knew what he was talking about. I glanced over at Daddy. He dropped a reassuring hand to the small of my back. He looked so proud of me and had made no effort to interject. It gave the best kind of chills.
Please, please, please, don’t let them figure out I’m a fraud. Claudia and Daddy had way more confidence in me than I had in myself. I resisted the usual urge to list all the ways they were wrong for potentially thinking I had my crap together.
“Will you be offering catering?”
“Maybe a light lunch? My cake-decorating skills aren’t the kind of thing you’d want at a party.”Dude! Don’t talk her out of it before she sees it.
“No worries,” Claudia said with a smile. “We’ve already got the cake sorted out.” Before she could ask another question, a sharp gasp punctuated the air. Given the smothered laughs, it felt more dramatic than tragic.
“You can’t keep him all to yourself, Hank. We want in,” an older man said as he and the man holding his hand stepped away from the crowd. One looked like a stereotypical cowboy—worn boots, jeans, and a pearl-snap shirt that screamed Texas. The other, whom I recognized, wore khaki pants and a neat black T-shirt. Their wide smiles were…a little intimidating. They reminded me of sharks right before they bit into their prey.
Next to me, Daddy groaned, but he moved us in their direction anyway.
“Bert, Faust, this is Jasper.”
“Oh my goodness, Jasper, we’ve heard almost nothing about you, and I don’t appreciate that at all.” The one I hadn’t recognized—Faust, apparently—stepped forward with enthusiasm. The look he gave Hank would have had me begging his forgiveness, but Hank rolled his eyes. But that wasn’t the important thing right now.
“It’s nice to see you again, Bert.”
Daddy’s eyes widened when I spoke.
“You know each other?” Faust’s suspicion bounced between the three of us.
“Not well,” I admitted. “Bert was the lawyer who Zoomed with me about my inheritance from Sissy.”
“You naughty man.” Faust poked Bert in the shoulder with a grin. “You told me you were meeting with Sissy to talk about decorating.”
“We absolutely did discuss decorating,” Bert said smoothly. “But we also had a little business with the will. She asked me not to say anything until she was gone.”
“Thank you so much for making things easy for me,” I said, meaning every word. “When it came to handling her estate, you really made a difference.”
“I practiced criminal law,” Bert said, “but I was happy to make an exception for Sissy. She was a good friend of ours for years, and she was so excited about the idea of you coming down here and making her place your own.”
“She said that?” My voice wobbled. I’d only ever seen her through a computer screen, but she’d felt like a best friend. She could take one look at me and know instantly what was going on in my head. She never judged my foolish thoughts, and she was always ready to rain down terror on the head of my ex. I only wished I’d gotten to meet her in person.
