She nodded.“She left it to me in her will.”
“Yeah, sorry for your loss.She was a nice lady.”
“She was.I love the house, and that I get Mae as a neighbor.”
Rafe grinned.“That’ll be entertaining.Still, huge change from life in the Big Apple.”
“Oh yeah.But I needed it.Craved the peace and quiet, the slower pace of life.New York wasn’t for me.”Something about her tone told Tripp there was a lot more to the story behind her decision to move here than that.And he was dying to know if she was single or not.
Rafe snorted.“Won’t be much of that living next door to Mae.”
“True,” she said with a grin.“But that’s what I love the most about her.How she accepts everyone and always gets up to stuff.”
The server came back and took Willow’s order.After that, Rafe continued most of the talking.Tripp stayed quiet, taking the opportunity to watch Willow.Her mannerisms were exactly as he remembered.The way she absently tucked her hair behind her right ear.The way the left side of her mouth tugged upward first when she smiled.
“What were you doing all that time in New York, by the way?”Rafe asked.
“I worked as an archivist for a special collection in a museum.”
“Wow.”He frowned.“Do we even have anything like that here?”
She laughed.“No.I’m taking a break from that world and decided to try a career change after the move here.”
“To what?”
“Painting.”Tripp saw the subtle change in her expression when she said it.A quiet conviction radiating from her that told him she was finally doing what she’d always wanted.
He remembered seeing her sitting with a sketchpad at the beach years ago, or on a bench by the whalebone arch overlooking the harbor.She’d been shy about it back then, would never show them what she was working on.But the sketches he’d glimpsed before she closed the book self-consciously had shown genuine talent.
“Really?”Rafe asked in surprise.“I didn’t know you could paint.What kind of painting?”
“Acrylics, mostly.But I’m starting a bit of watercolor too.”
“You any good?”
Her eyes danced with laughter.Tripp had never fully understood that description until he’d met her, but the warm glow coming from the wall sconce on the wall beside her made the light dance in her eyes.“Depends on who you ask.”
“I’m asking you.”
She shrugged.“I’m all right, I guess.But I want to get better.Hopefully sell some pieces through the gallery, maybe teach some classes.We’ll see what happens and how long my nest egg lasts.”
“What do you paint?”Tripp asked, finally drawing her attention to him.Having that warm brown gaze leveled on him this close up made his heart kick hard against his ribs.
“Seaside scenes, mostly.My style tends to be whimsical and sort of folk art-ish, not realistic.But I’m working on improving that too.”
He nodded, easily able to envision her making a living as an artist.“I’m sure you will.”She’d always looked at the world differently than most people he knew.Bit of a dreamer who saw beauty in everyday things, even if she would never admit it.
He envied her a little for that.He’d lost the ability a long time ago.
“Mae told me you’re doing carpentry?”she said to him.
“Finish carpentry.Set up my own business.Mostly custom work.”
“Are you doing any carving?”
He couldn’t help but smile a little.She’d seen his early attempts in his father’s workshop the summer before he graduated and been enthusiastic and supportive even back then.“Yeah, quite a bit lately.”
“That’s great.I know how much you used to love it.How’s your dad, by the way?”
