Matt always looked gorgeous in photos and on television, but neither did him real justice, which was something she always forgot until she came face-to-face with him. The man was truly traffic-stopping. It was no wonder the Star Report had named him the sexiest man alive last year. The woman he’d been photographed with recently was one lucky girl, because not only was he worthy of god status, but judging by his actions today, he was also a super-sweet guy. Well, assuming she was his girlfriend. There hadn’t been any more photos of them together, and if she’d traveled with him to town, she hadn’t joined them tonight. There also hadn’t been any evidence that there was a baby in the house, at least not in the portion she’d seen. However, the house was enormous, and for all she knew, he had rooms filled with baby toys and furniture.
Although a complete waste of time, Liv replayed their time together tonight as she enjoyed her tea. While it could’ve been an act—after all, Matt had successfully branched into Hollywood—he’d listened to her tonight. The last few men she’d had dinner with had either nodded at whatever she said or not given her a chance to speak. And after their dinners, Liv hadn’t thought about any of them again. She didn’t need someone to hang on her every word, but she at least wanted the person across the table to engage in an actual conversation.
Tonight, not only had Matt listened, but he’d genuinely seemed interested. Why couldn’t she meet someone more like him? She’d tried Find The One, a popular dating app, for a few months last year. Phoebe met her boyfriend through it, and Liv suspected he would be her friend’s fiancé before the end of the summer. Unfortunately, while it had brought Phoebe’s perfect match into her life, it had only brought the opposite into hers. Following that failed experience, Emma had pestered Liv about meeting her cousin. Maybe pestered was putting it mildly. Whatever you wanted to call it, Liv had refused. Emma’s cousin might be the nicest person on Earth, but he also lived ten hours away. When she was in a relationship, she didn’t need to see the person every day, but being that far apart would make it difficult to see each other at all. Thankfully, Emma let the matter go when she found out Finn was in a relationship.
Liv sipped her tea and forced aside thoughts of her nonexistent love life as she picked up the remote control. Dwelling on her problems wouldn’t solve any of them tonight or ever, for that matter. So at least for the next few hours, she’d pretend she didn’t have a care in the world and lose herself in a few episodes of her favorite new television series. Then tomorrow, she’d make sure the food at Kay’s baby shower was so good that everyone there would want to know who’d prepared it.
Four
Wednesday afternoon, Matt reached for his iced coffee as he read the script he’d received last night from his agent. When Ryan pitched the project to him, it hadn’t sounded like one he’d be interested in doing. Still, he’d told Ryan to send him the script and he’d look it over. After all, the first role he’d played hadn’t sounded right for him either. However, his agent had assured Matt he’d be perfect for the part, and the man had been right. Not only had Matt loved every minute of filming, but the role had also burst open the door to his acting career. Ryan might be correct about this project as well. And with his music career on pause, he certainly had the time to start on something new.
Unfortunately, he was about halfway through the script, and if someone asked him what the movie was about, he wouldn’t have been able to tell them. No matter how hard he tried, his thoughts kept wandering. And for reasons he couldn’t explain, they kept wandering in the same direction.
Matt hadn’t seen Liv since Saturday. Around four o’clock, she’d shown up to return his SUV. She stepped inside long enough for him to put on his shoes so that he could give her a ride home. During the drive, they’d discussed some of the events the town had scheduled for the summer, including the big Fourth of July celebration. In all the years he’d been coming to Orchard Harbor, he’d somehow never been there on the Fourth. Not once did anything personal come up in their conversation. Once he’d pulled up to the curb at her building, she’d thanked him again for his help, hopped out, and disappeared through the door marked Ocean View Catering. Despite the unexpected urge to follow her, he pulled back into traffic. He’d returned home not long before Owen and his wife arrived.
Although it wasn’t his business, he’d brought up the news Liv had shared with him on Friday night. Owen had confirmed the details using his own choice words to describe Fredrick Waldman. And much like his sister, Owen didn’t have much hope that the family would be able to purchase the building.
When Matt reached the bottom of the page, he stopped. According to the sentence he’d just read, he was having a conversation with a character named Daisy. Unfortunately, he didn’t remember the character entering the scene. And hadn’t Daisy died during the opening scene?
Matt flipped back to the beginning and scanned the pages. According to page six, Remington died, not Daisy. He didn’t remember who the hell Remington was, and at the moment, he didn’t care.
Tossing the script aside, he grabbed his cell phone and searched his contact list for Austin Windsor, the local agent who’d helped him buy his Orchard Harbor home.
“Good afternoon, Windsor Realty,” a man’s voice said after several rings.
“Hi, Austin. It’s Matt Sherbrooke.”
“It’s nice to hear from you. What can I do for you?”
You’re only asking. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
“Can you find out if any offers have been made for the building on Main Street?”
“Are you referring to 5 Main Street or 26 Main Street?”
He hadn’t known there were multiple buildings for sale on the street. “I’m not sure of the street number.” He never paid attention to those when he drove through town. “But it’s where the Ocean View Grill is located.”
“That would be number 5. Yeah, I can call Dennis and find out. Are you interested in buying the property?”
The answer should be no. He was a musician with an emerging acting career. He knew nothing about being a landlord. Even if he did, he visited Orchard Harbor maybe once or twice a year and spent the rest of his time thousands of miles away. He had no business purchasing commercial property in town. But all that logic went out the window when he thought about what Liv had said and the look on her face Friday night.
He’d looked up Rick Desmond. According to his profile, Rick was a managing partner for Timberlane Development, a company founded by his father and responsible for acquisitions. And as Liv told him, Rick had helped the company acquire and develop multiple projects along the East Coast, with his most recent project being the one near Sandy Cove. Out of curiosity, he’d driven by the beach yesterday, and it looked nothing like the area he remembered. He didn’t want the same thing to happen here. That was the only reason he was remotely interested in the property.
“Maybe.” For now, he couldn’t commit to anything more.
“I’ll call Dennis as soon as I get a chance. I’m showing a couple some homes in the area this afternoon, and they should be here any minute. When I know something, I’ll let you know. If he asks, do you want me to tell him you might be interested?”
Matt saw no harm in doing that. “Sure.”
* * *
Two hours later, Matt turned onto Main Street and passed the small, stand-alone coffee shop, which had a For Sale sign out front. He remembered that there had been an antique store there last year, not a coffee shop. Either way, it must be the other property Austin referred to. Unlike where the restaurant was, though, he didn’t see Rick Desmond being interested in the property. It wasn’t large enough for the type of projects he was known for, not to mention it didn’t have a waterfront view.
A car pulled away from the curb, leaving an empty spot just in time, and Matt snagged it before anyone else could. More than one person glanced at his car as they walked down the sidewalk. He didn’t blame them. One of his newest toys, a Ferrari he’d purchased in December, it was a gorgeous vehicle and more fun than any car probably had a right to be, which was why he’d used it for the drive from Florida to Maine.
Matt checked his watch as he stepped onto the sidewalk. When he stopped by last week around this time, Liv had been at the restaurant. That didn’t mean she was there every afternoon, though. For all he knew, she might only fill in when someone called in sick.
He was about to head toward the restaurant when the very person who’d occupied his thoughts far too often lately came into view. She had her cell phone next to her ear as she approached the small conference table in the unit next door.
