“I need to find a new place to live,” she said gloomily.
“Not what we wanted to talk about, but yeah, what’s up with that?” Thea asked.
“Inertia,” she said. “Crazy work schedule. A little bit of laziness. Generally distracted. The usual.”
“Oh!” Thea’s face lit up. “Babe!” she called, and almost instantly Aiden popped his head into the kitchen.
“I thought it was no boys allowed.” He hovered in the doorway like he might get zapped if he set foot on the ceramic tile.
“Boy? You’re all man, baby,” she purred before turning to business. “You’re almost done with that flip on Fort Road, right?”
“Yep.” He propped his shoulder against the doorframe, and Faith was reminded yet again that Thea had landed an incredibly attractive guy. “Should be ready to list in the next month or so.”
“Three bedrooms, two baths, nice backyard?” she asked.
At his nod, she turned toward Faith with an excited wriggle. “Well? You know Murdoch Construction does quality work.”
“And the seller might cut you a deal,” Aiden added with a wink that had Thea blushing.
“Agree to look at it,” Mabel whispered loudly. “They’re two seconds away from trying to sell you a timeshare.”
Faith stood to refill her coffee, nodding at Aiden as she passed by. “Fine. Let me know when it’s ready for a walkthrough.”
Thea nodded, apparently satisfied at her successful real estate bullying, and shooed Aiden back out of the kitchen. “Okay, no boys starts now.”
Before he disappeared again, he braved the kitchen to kiss his girlfriend, then ambled off to do whatever reformed playboys did on a Sunday morning.
Once he was gone, two pairs of eyes turned to Faith again.
“What?” she asked. “What can you possibly want to know so badly?”
“Um, everything about Leo,” Thea said.
“He told me I have to go to the Digham Foundation gala in November, so I guess I need to find a dress.” She grabbed a spoon and swirled it through the cream in her coffee until it was the color of a toasted marshmallow. “Other than that, there’s nothing to talk about.”
“Lies!” Mabel gasped. “You forget, I’ve been in the unique position to observe you not once but twice in the past month. First was at ye old gourd fest where I seem to recall some face touching and a few yearning looks. Maybe a little bit of leaning from both of you.”
“There was no leaning,” Faith insisted hotly.
Had there been leaning though?
“And let’s revisit the second time Mabel was in a position to observe you,” Thea said. “Which is two more times than I’ve been able to, by the way. Rude.”
Faith tossed her hands in the air. “Hello? Busy, lazy, inertia, remember? Of course I’ve been a bad friend! I can barely manage to dress myself these days.”
Faith gestured down her body, but the skepticism on the two faces looking back at her made her reconsider. “Okay, fine. I look adorable most days.” Like today. Why wear plain leggings when you could wear leggings with a sequined stripe down each leg? “But you’re right. Work’s cutting into friend time.”
“I forgive you,” Thea said graciously. “Anyway, back to that time Mabel interviewed you on her morning show and I heard a man basically announce that he wanted to build a lasting relationship with the hottie sitting next to him. Is that about right?”
Mabel primly patted her lips with a napkin. “That’s what I heard.”
“Come on.” Faith clunked her mug down on the table. “That’s not what it was. He practically bites my head off every time he comes around BUILD these days. And he clearly would rather saw off his own arm than have me go along on this overnight camping trip next weekend.”
Mabel’s eyes popped wide. “Camping?You?”
“Yes, me!” Then she caught sight of the sequins again. Okay, maybe Mabel had a point. “I’ll admit, I was opposed to the whole hiking situation when Leo first brought it up, but the idea’s grown on me.”
Actually,Leohad grown on her, as had his quiet enthusiasm for the general concept of being outside. When she’d heard the guys planning that practice trip, her yearning to be part of it had caught her off guard. So she’d acted on impulse, and now apparently she had to go buy a bunch of survival gear. But it would be worth it to see Leo doing something he loved that much.
