"Isn't it a little early?"
"I bought the alcoholic beverages package," the old woman said.
"There wasn't really one…"
"Yeah, but that was the extra I paid," Ida said, showing me the email receipt.
I inspected it. Apparently she had paid extra.
"Besides," Ida continued, "I told everyone there would be booze. That and the nude painting is why all the girls signed up."
I felt a little faint. "I don't have a nude model."
"Yet," Ida said. "What about your boyfriend?"
"I don't have a boyfriend."
"Archer Svensson. Josie is dating his twin, you know."
"I didn't know Mace Svensson was a twin. He and Archer seem like complete opposites. Mace is an upstanding citizen, and Archer is a jerk. Jemma told you about the mean trick he played on me, right?"
"It's because he likes you," Ida insisted. "Men are basically twelve-year-old boys inside. But not on the outside. If you know what I mean."
I did know.
"I'm going to go make some drinks," I chirped, hoping to cut off the conversation before it could wander into the dangerous territory of how much of a man Archer was on the outside.
I went downstairs to make pitchers of vodka lavender thyme lemonade. More of Ida's elderly friends arrived. They all were very excited about drinking. Painting, too, but mostly drinking.
I placed the drinks in the dumbwaiter to move upstairs. The dumbwaiter was another of my favorite elements in my building. Did McKenna have a dumbwaiter in her building? I thought not. But she did have Archer. Screw him. They could have each other and make perfect artistic babies.
The door opened. A breeze cooled the back of my neck.
"Go on upstairs. Drinks are coming, but there's no nude model today," I called out as I fiddled with the dumbwaiter.
"I can volunteer my services," said a familiar male voice. "I've been told I look pretty good without any clothes on."
6
Archer
When I still resided in Manhattan, I spent a large amount of my free time at the Grey Dove Bistro, sampling Chloe's cooking. Duck-fat roasted potatoes, cheesy pasta, all-you-can-eat desserts—she was cooking my kind of food. The portions were huge, which I also appreciated.
Svensson PharmaTech did not serve anything remotely close to the Grey Dove Bistro fare.
I had headed over there after the art committee meeting. Seeing McKenna had rattled me. I browsed one of the breakrooms. Mace provided snacks for his employees, but instead of donuts, he had fruit, fishy-smelling seaweed crackers, and yogurt. I took a VitaMeal smoothie from the fridge and pretended it was that popcorn Hazel had made.
Hazel. Now there was something to distract me from McKenna. She was feisty and clearly could give as good as she got. She was one of the first single women I'd met who didn't immediately seem to want me for my money or status. Hell, it seemed like Hazel actually wanted me to go away. It was too bad I screwed up with the prank. Hazel might have actually been kind of fun. And I did want to see what she looked like under the overalls, with her hair down.
After finishing my health drink, I went on to my other favorite distraction—messing with Mace. We all had our scars from our terrible childhood. Mace was a control freak and a classic middle child. I enjoyed nudging him out of his comfort zone; I felt like it was my duty. I wished Josie, who was an admitted candy addict, would have broken his desire for healthy food, but baby steps.
I had commandeered Josie's old office ever since her replacement was arrested and put into prison. Long story. Because her office was originally meant for the CEO's assistant, I had to walk through Mace's office to reach it.
My identical twin gave a long sigh when I walked in. "You own two hotels in this town," Mace said, looking up from his computer screen. "Why don't you go use the offices there?"
"Because my employees are using them," I said as I started to rearrange the contents on his desk. "The Harrogate hotels are on the smaller side, and the offices don't have any windows. Also you're not there." I hugged my twin and ruffled his hair, messing up the carefully arranged style. "Someone has to make sure you don't spiral into a pit of obsessive-compulsive behaviors and scare Josie away."
"You're one to talk. I'm the one who has a girlfriend," Mace said smugly. "Or as you referred to her, the future Mrs. Svensson. She'll be the first. Maybe you can find a girlfriend. You could be a kept man."
