Page 14 of The Guest Cottage
They all ignored her hand, so Marlow withdrew it. She didn’t feel slighted but rather as if she’d been dropped into a heated debate. “What are we deciding?”
Bobbi said, “The add-on to our house. Of course, it should be a great room for entertaining, but Wade thinks he needs a workshop.” She snorted.
“I do need a workshop!”
“Then we wouldn’t need to hire Cort, would we?” Gloria asked.
That quieted them all, which gave Marlow the chance to say, “I hope you’re able to work it out. I’ll leave you to your discussion so you can get to it.” Not that they had let her interrupt anyway. She turned to go, but Cort was there, blocking her.
“Sometimes,” he said loudly enough for his friends to hear, “they forget their manners.”
“Wade always forgets,” Gloria said. “But what can you expect of a man?”
Patiently, Cort pointed out, “I’m a man.”
“Oh, don’t we know it.” Bobbi elbowed her sister and got Gloria’s complete agreement.
Marlow turned back to them. “It must be wonderful to have siblings. I was an only child, and I never had anyone to argue with.”
They all looked at each other, then cracked up.
Wade reached out, offering his hand. “You can have my sisters. You’ll be singing a different tune in no time.”
No sooner did she finish that handshake than Gloria was there, snatching Marlow’s hand into both of hers. “Bobbi has her moments, but now Wade? Be thankful you didn’t have a bossy brother.”
“Or an older sister,” Bobbi added, drawing Marlow into a hug.
“Better,” Cort said, making them all smile.
Overwhelmed and equally entertained, Marlow smiled, too. “I think I’ll check on my food now and then head home. Truly, it was wonderful to meet you.”
With a touch to her arm, Cort kept her there while he spoke to the siblings. “I think I have a solution for your space. It would be a way to please all three of you. Tonight, I’ll get my notes organized to make sure my idea works. Tomorrow, if possible, I’ll get back to you with rough plans and a broad estimate, at least until we’re able to finalize some things. Does that work?”
They all nodded.
On the way back to the bar, he glanced at Marlow. “For the record, that was far more than one word.”
“Oh my, it was!”
When he gave her a big grin, she not only laughed, she also noticed that he had a dimple. Until that moment, she hadn’t seen it, and now that she did, she also noticed how incredibly handsome he was in a quiet but very rugged way.
Not that any of it mattered to her.
Herman was back at the bar, so to distract herself from her gorgeous landlord, she asked about the job.
Both Herman and Cort stared at her.
“What?” They truly appeared bemused. “Is it for originals only?”
“Not exactly.” Herman rubbed the back of his neck. “The thing is, you seem like a classy lady and your kind never work here.”
Instead of taking insult, she said, “Thank you, Herman. I assure you, though, my kind also work.”
“At a bar?” Cort asked.
She waved his question off. “This is more like a diner.”
“Not on weekends.”
