Authors: Sherryl Woods
“You didn’t ask for advice,” Will said, “but you and Bree need to talk about this and carve out some time for yourselves. There are a lot of adjustments with a new baby, and the two of you don’t want your relationship to get lost in the commotion.”
“I suppose,” Jake said, sipping his beer. He slid off the bar stool. “I should get home.” He hesitated, looking at Will. “Mack and I came over here for you. Is everything okay? Should I stick around?”
“I’ve got it covered,” Mack said.
“Yes, go home to your family,” Will told him.
Once Jake had gone, Mack stared after him worriedly. “Do you think they’re going to be okay?”
“Of course,” Will said.
“I mean, if those two can’t make it, after all they went through to get back together, who can?” Mack said.
“They’re going to be fine,” Will said emphatically.
Mack looked relieved by Will’s certainty. “Okay, then, let’s focus on you. Want to talk about whatever has you in such a lousy mood?”
“No,” Will said, sipping his beer, then looking at Mack. “How about you? Anything you need to talk about?”
Mack shook his head.
They drank their beers in companionable silence, glancing up at the TV over the bar occasionally to watch the sports channel.
“Susie’s ticked at me,” Mack said eventually.
“I don’t think so.”
Mack studied him with surprise. “What do you know?”
“Nothing you wouldn’t know if the two of you would just sit down and have an honest conversation for once.” He sighed heavily. “I spend my entire professional life trying to help people learn to communicate effectively, and not one of the people around me has the first clue about how to do that.”
Mack looked justifiably confused. “Are we still talking about me and Susie?”
“Yes, and Jake and Bree, and me and Jess. We’re all pitiful.”
Mack seized on his words. “Is there a you and Jess?”
“No, of course not,” Will said.
“But you just said—”
“Oh, don’t listen to me. I’m just frustrated and annoyed and irritable.”
“Women will do that to you,” Mack said, nodding wisely.
“Amen, brother.”
Mick was walking around the attic at the inn making notes and mumbling under his breath. Jess had taken a seat on top of a trunk, out of the way, and was watching him with barely contained excitement.
“Well?” she prodded eventually. “What do you think, Dad? Can it be done?”
“Of course it can be done,” he said. “When it comes to construction, I can pretty much turn this room into anything you want.”
“At what cost?”
He grinned at her. “That’s the question, isn’t it? You have a budget in mind?”
Jess shook her head. “Abby said to bring her the estimate and she’d see if we could find the money to do it.”
“Tearing out that wall over there, putting in the kind of windows you’re talking about, it could be expensive,” he cautioned. “How badly do you want that?”
“Really badly,” she admitted.
“I can do the job for you at cost, do most of the work myself, in fact. That’ll save you some more, but it’ll take longer. You in a rush?”
She shook her head. “We’d have all winter,” she said. “It would be nice to have it ready when the season kicks back in next spring, though.”
Mick nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Can you open up a fireplace?”
“I can,” he said. “You sure you want to break this into two separate rooms, though? It might be nicer if it were one big open space with a cozy seating area in front of the fireplace and a king-size bed facing the windows and that view of the bay and the town. What do you think? Otherwise it could start feeling cramped. Here, I’ll show you.”
He sketched out what he had in mind as Jess looked over his shoulder. “Of course, if you want the bedroom to have privacy, we could put the wall in.”
“No, you’re right,” Jess said, studying his drawing. “I should have figured you’d know exactly what to do. Everyone knows these houses in town were designed by the best architect in the world.”
“Maybe not the best,” Mick said, winking at her. “But I do have a feel for what people want in a place at the beach.”
“What you did for Connor and Heather at Driftwood Cottage was amazing,” Jess told him. “I couldn’t believe it was the same house.”
“Give Heather some of the credit for that,” Mick said. “I worked with her ideas. Same thing here. You gave me your ideas. I’m just refining them a bit.”
“Some of the ideas were Will’s,” she conceded.
Mick’s eyes lit up. “Is that so? He was over here?”
Jess nodded, aware that she’d opened an unfortunate can of worms. “The other day. He helped me clear a lot of the junk out of here.” Determined to change the subject, she asked, “Now what about the bathroom? Can you fit in a truly decadent soaker tub and a shower, maybe a double vanity?”
Mick looked momentarily disappointed by her deliberate evasiveness, then shrugged. “Is this a honeymoon
suite? Or are you thinking of something more permanent, maybe a living space for you?”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure,” she admitted. “Initially I thought it ought to be a honeymoon suite, but Will mentioned it would be a great living space for me. I can’t help thinking about that. It would be wonderful to have a real space of my own and not just one of the rooms downstairs.”
Mick gave her a sly look. “You need that big tub and shower and two sinks just for you, or do you have someone in mind to share it with you?”
“Don’t go there,” she ordered. “If I’m doing it, it doesn’t hurt to think ahead. Who knows what will happen in the future? Hopefully, I won’t be alone for the rest of my life.”
“Of course you won’t,” her father said immediately. “This place won’t be big enough for a family, though.”
“Will suggested…”
“For a man who doesn’t mean anything to you, you sure do seem to be taking his ideas to heart,” Mick said.
“It was a good idea,” Jess said defensively. “It hardly matters whose it was. He thought I could build another house on the property sometime in the future. I’m thinking maybe in that grove of trees at the top of the hill out back.”
“Definitely something to think about,” Mick agreed. “Did Will have any other ideas I should know about?”
“None,” she said flatly. “When can you get that estimate for me so Abby and I can discuss it?”
“I’ll pull something together by this weekend. The three of us can talk about it after dinner on Sunday. How’s that?”
Jess threw her arms around him. “Thanks, Dad.”
He held her tight and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I think maybe I’ll doodle around a little and see what I can come up with for that separate house, while I’m at it.”
Jess gave him a dismayed look. “You don’t need to do that. It’ll be years before I’ll get around to needing that.”
“You never know,” he insisted. “It never hurts to think ahead.”
“Not that far ahead,” she told him.
“Sometimes the future’s closer than you think, if you keep an open mind. Won’t hurt to see what Will thinks of my sketches, either. He seems to have some excellent ideas. I’ll make sure he’s invited to dinner, too.”
Jess stood perfectly still as Mick walked off. Heaven help her, but she’d obviously just kicked her father’s matchmaking tendencies into high gear. Just as clearly, Sunday dinner was going to be a tense few hours.
J
ess opened her email on Thursday morning and found a contact from a Lunch by the Bay client, who was interested in asking her out for Friday night. Rather than stirring even mild curiosity or anticipation, the invitation sent a chill down her spine. She stared at the words on the screen and saw them for what they were, proof positive that Will was moving on. Why else would he suddenly set her up on a date with someone else? Apparently he’d lost patience with her hesitancy and her refusal to acknowledge even an impromptu picnic as a date.
She was so annoyed by that, she barely noticed a single thing about her prospective date. Instead, she wrote a reply indicating that she was very sorry, but a date was out of the question. Nothing personal, of course.
She winced as she imagined being on the receiving end of such an email. She modified her words to express more sincere regret, though she didn’t so much as hint that he should try again.
Of course, as soon as she hit the button to send the
email, she was swamped by misgivings. She should have accepted, if only to prove to Will that he meant nothing to her, that she was still open to dating other men. Which she was, she told herself adamantly. Just not one who’d been handpicked by Will and his stupid computer game.
She sighed at her logic. Even she recognized she wasn’t making a lot of sense. If Laila or even Connie, who understood having conflicted feelings for someone, knew about this, they’d be all over her for rejecting someone without a single meeting.
“Oh, well, it’s done now,” she said, shutting down the computer and heading to the kitchen to discuss menus with Gail.
To her surprise, she found flaky Ronnie in there wearing an apron and following Gail’s directions for making a mango-papaya chutney to be served with tonight’s grilled fish. He looked up guiltily when Jess walked in.
“I had the front desk calls forwarded in here,” he told her hurriedly. “And I’ve taken three reservations. I swear I’m not blowing off my job.”
“He’s not,” Gail confirmed. “And he’s been a huge help to me in here.” She gave Jess a look that pleaded with her to give Ronnie a chance. “Actually,” she added, “I’ve been trying to convince him he ought to take a few courses at one of the culinary schools in the area.”
Jess regarded Ronnie with surprise. “Seriously? Are you interested?”
He nodded, his expression sheepish. “I’ve always liked to cook, but my dad had a cow every time I mentioned it. I think I’d like to give it a try, if we can work
out my hours here. What can he say if I pay for it myself, right?”
Jess was so impressed by his enthusiasm, she said, “You should definitely look into it, Ronnie.” She, of all people, knew how important it was to discover a passion for something. Maybe this would be the same kind of turning point for him that the inn had been for her. How could she not encourage that?
Impulsively, she added, “Find out what the classes cost. I’m not making any promises, but if you’re as good as Gail thinks you are, maybe I can find some way for the inn to help foot the bill for at least some of the tuition.”
Gail looked as startled as Ronnie by the offer. “Abby?” Gail protested quietly.
“Abby will understand,” Jess insisted, but added a clarification to be sure Ronnie understood the limitations. “We may not be able to cover all of the expenses, okay?”
“Anything would be a help,” Ronnie replied eagerly.
Jess tried to think of what might convince Abby to find some money in the budget. Only one thought came to mind. She held Ronnie’s gaze. “If I can pull this off, you’ll have to guarantee us that you’ll work here for a year or so as Gail’s sous-chef or whatever she needs once you’ve graduated.”
For the first time since he’d come to work at the inn, Ronnie demonstrated genuine enthusiasm. “Awesome! I know I haven’t been the best employee up until now, but I promise that’s changed. Whatever you need me to do around here, I’m on it.”
Jess smiled at his unexpected display of eagerness.
“I’ll have to see how it fits into the budget,” she cautioned again. “Bring me some information when you have it.”
“Will do,” he promised. “Thanks, Jess. I mean Ms. O’Brien. You’re amazing. I’d better go out there and put these reservations I wrote down into the system before I get food all over the paper.”
He practically bounced out of the kitchen. Jess stared after him, then shook her head.
“Who knew?” she murmured. “I didn’t think he was ever going to find his niche in the world. You’re a miracle worker.”
Gail grinned. “Not really. He just needed someone to pay attention to what he wants to do with his life. I started seeing it the first time he helped me out in here,” Gail said. “He’s good, Jess. With a little training, I think he’ll be special. And thanks to the deal you mentioned to him, he’ll belong to us, at least for a little while.”
“It must feel good knowing that you discovered someone’s hidden talent,” Jess said, wishing she’d been the one to see beyond Ronnie’s screwups.
“You can’t discover what someone won’t let you see,” Gail said. “Ronnie was too afraid of losing this job, which seemed like his last chance, to tell you what he really wanted to try. If you hadn’t insisted he help me that day, he might still be out there making a mess of the reservations. Or worse, you might have fired him.”
Gail looked up from the bread dough she was kneading and studied Jess more intently. “What’s going on with you? You look depressed.”
“I’m not depressed. I’m annoyed,” Jess replied.
“At Will, I assume. What’s he done now?”
“He found me a date, or rather Lunch by the Bay found me one. It’s pretty much the same thing.”
Gail looked justifiably puzzled. “Weren’t you complaining before because he
hadn’t
found you any dates?”
Jess nodded. “I am nothing if not inconsistent, at least where Will’s concerned. No wonder he’s had enough of me.”
“What makes you think he’s had enough of you?” Gail asked, then immediately said, “Oh, of course, the date.”
Jess nodded. “Let’s not waste time on this,” she said. “Are you ready to go over the menus for the week?”
Gail looked as if she might argue, but then she pulled a set of laminated pages from a drawer in her desk. Somewhere along the way, she’d developed the kind of organizational skills that Jess envied. All of her most prized recipes had been printed out and laminated, so she could shuffle them around for a variety of menu combinations. She occasionally shook things up with new experiments. The ones that proved popular with their guests were printed, laminated and added to the rotations.
“Here you go,” she said, handing them to Jess. “See what you think. I’ve been working on some ideas for the Parker wedding at the end of the month, too. We’re supposed to be pitching that tomorrow.”
Jess spent the next hour going over Gail’s menus and the accompanying cost projections, then sat back with a sigh. “I don’t know why I don’t just give you free rein with this,” she said. “You haven’t blown the budget to smithereens yet. You have a far better grasp of the costs than I do.”
Gail grinned. “I know you hate dealing with numbers. I even know that Abby trusts me. I still feel a lot more comfortable when you’ve signed off on everything.” She poured them each a glass of tea, then sat back and studied Jess.
“Okay, let’s get back to Will.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Just tell me why you’ve been so determined not to admit you’re interested in him.”
“It’s possible that I’ve overreacted to some stuff in the past,” Jess told her. “It’s kind of creeped me out to think he’s sitting there analyzing every word I say, but people keep telling me that having a man actually understand where you’re coming from is a good thing.”
Gail smiled. “I’d say so. With my husband and me, the fact that we’re both chefs is fantastic. Whenever one of us has a bad day, the other one really gets it. And we can bounce a lot of ideas off each other. Plus, on Sundays, when we’re both off, we love to spend the day in the kitchen experimenting with recipes. It’s fun having that love of food in common. All those fabulous aromas…” Her voice trailed off as she sighed. “It’s an amazing aphrodisiac.”
Despite Gail’s sigh of rapture, Jess had to ask, “How’s it a day off if you’re in the kitchen cooking?”
“Because it’s something we both enjoy and we don’t get to do it together that often.” Gail grinned. “Of course, when something turns out really well, then we fight over which one of us gets to use it. Those discussions used to get pretty heated, till we decided we’d just alternate. And, of course, some things work better in a big fancy restaurant like the one where he works than they would here.”
“So we get his castoffs?” Jess said with feigned indignation.
Gail laughed. “Hardly. When I think something is perfect for us, I have my ways of winning first dibs on it.”
Jess loved the picture Gail was painting of the give and take between her and her husband. In a way, that’s what she’d experienced all too briefly that day in the attic with Will. It had been a revelation to see how well their ideas for the renovations had meshed.
In fact, though she refused to admit it to a living, breathing soul, she could hardly wait till Sunday when they’d both see how her father had translated them into concrete designs. Seeing Will on a non-date, much as he would hate the designation, seemed like the smartest way to test whether her feelings for him had really changed.
Will was finishing up his lunch with Mack and Jake when Mick O’Brien walked in and joined them.
“How’s Bree?” Mick asked his son-in-law.
“She’s great,” Jake said, then beamed with the proud papa look unique to a new parent. “And the baby’s amazing. I have pictures on my cell phone. Want to see them?”
Mick’s eyes brightened. “Of course.”
As Jake pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, Will started to stand. Moments like this reminded him of just how far he was away from marriage and a family. “I should be getting back to work.”
“Hold on a minute,” Mick commanded, then took the cell phone from Jake and studied his granddaughter’s latest pictures. “I’m not saying my girls weren’t the most
beautiful babies on earth back in the day, but this little one is something special.”
“Don’t say that in front of Abby,” Will cautioned. “I’m sure she thinks Caitlyn and Carrie were pretty special as babies, too.”
“Well, of course they were,” Mick said. “And when Abby gets around to having another baby, I’m sure he or she will be the cutest baby on earth, as well. Right now, this is the baby I get to dote on.”
Will chuckled at his logic.
Mick returned the cell phone, then turned to Will. “I just wanted to be sure you’ll be at Sunday dinner this week.”
There was something in Mick’s expression that made Will very nervous. He knew that look. It was born in meddling. “I hadn’t planned on it,” he said candidly. And if he hadn’t already decided against it, Mick’s pointed invitation would have convinced him to stay far away from the O’Briens’ house. Things between him and Jess were tense enough with Mick getting in the middle of whatever was going on—or, more precisely,
not
going on—between them.
“Then you need to change your mind,” Mick said flatly. “I have some sketches ready for Jess. I know she’d like it if you’d take a look, too.”
“What sketches?” Will asked suspiciously.
“The redesigned attic for the inn and a house for the property,” Mick said. “She told me you’d had some thoughts about both. We’d appreciate your input.”
Jake and Mack were listening, their expressions amused. Clearly they both knew precisely what Mick was up to, and architectural sketches had nothing to do with it. These were just a convenient excuse.
“The inn is Jess’s baby,” Will said. “It has nothing to do with me.”
Mick’s gaze narrowed. “Is there some reason you don’t want to come by?”
“I have other plans this week,” Will told him.
“What plans?” Jake inquired innocently.
“A date,” Will said, giving his friend a sour look. He might not have one right this second, but he would the minute he got back to his office and called one of the matches on his Lunch by the Bay list.
Mick didn’t look as if he believed him. Either that, or he was just unhappy to hear that Will was seeing someone other than his daughter. Giving him a disgruntled look, Mick stood up.
“I’ll tell Jess you couldn’t make it,” he said. “I imagine she’ll be disappointed.”
“Another time,” Will said, relieved to watch Mick walk away.
“Oh, boy,” Jake murmured.
Will scowled at him. “What?”
“You lied to Mick,” Mack said, his expression as dire as Jake’s.
“I did not lie,” Will said.
“You really do have a date?” Jake asked skeptically.
“I will within the hour,” Will said.
“Doesn’t matter,” Mack said. “The point is you blew off a chance to spend time with Jess. Mick won’t forget that. It’ll be a black mark against you from now till eternity.”
“What’s he going to do?” Will asked. “Forbid me to ever see Jess again? I’m not seeing her now. That’s Jess’s choice, not mine, by the way.”
“Do you suppose Mick understands that she’s the problem?” Mack wondered thoughtfully.
“Of course he does,” Jake said. “That’s why he was here issuing the invitation, instead of leaving it to Jess.”
“How twisted is that?” Mack muttered. “I’m so glad that Susie… Well, that Mick isn’t her father.”
Jake chuckled. “Yeah, Mick would have insisted the two of you get off the dime a long time ago.”
Will listened and shook his head. It wasn’t that they were saying anything he didn’t already know, but it was a reminder that it might be wise to continue steering clear of Jess. He gave Jake a sympathetic look. “I feel for you, my friend. Hard to believe you willingly married into this family.”
Jake laughed. “After jumping over about a million hurdles, yes, I did. Bree’s worth it. And don’t try to kid us, my friend. You’d do it too, in a heartbeat, in fact, if you could get Jess to come around.”
Will sighed. “You’re probably right.” It wasn’t something he especially liked about himself.