Xander tensed. “Well, what’s the verdict?”
The old guy doffed his ball cap, raked grubby fingers through his gray hair, and shook his head. “I’ll put it all in my write-up, but between you and me and this sweet gal, if it were my place, I’d tear it down and start fresh.”
Hannah blanched and clutched Xander’s forearm, her fingernails digging into his flesh. “You can’t do that! Souvenir Planet is an icon. It’s a cornerstone of our town’s heritage. It’s—”
“Don’t worry,” Xander assured her before asking Frank, “Can you give me a prioritized list? You know, what I absolutely must do before re-opening, things I need to do eventually, like that?”
Frank shook his head. “Whatever you say, son. But fair warning—the first part of that list will be mighty long.” He retracted his ladder. “And you better call the exterminator right away. You got termites.”
Thanks a million, Gus.
As the inspector loaded his gear into his truck, Hannah planted herself in front of Xander and leveled him with a piercing gaze. “Xander Anagnos, I want your solemn promise.”
His stomach twisted. Under normal circumstances, he’d promise this beauty almost anything to win another of her sunshine smiles. But there was no talking sense to someone in love with a decrepit old building.
Upping the ante, she grasped his hand in both of hers—soft, warm, and surprisingly strong. “Promise me you won’t tear down Souvenir Planet.”
“Hannah, I can’t afford to demolish the building and build a new one. I’ll have to work with what I’ve got.” And he wasn’t just shining her on. After the failed wine bar and the ill-fated gourmet shop, he had no option but to make a go of Gus’s business—somehow or other.
“And the aliens stay,” she insisted with a stamp of her boot.
He gulped, his collar suddenly too tight. He hated misleading Hannah, but to turn Souvenir Planet into a business he could be proud of, he’d have to ditch the hokey green ETs.
“You heard the terms of Gus’s will. I’m stuck with the—” he hooked his fingers into snarky air quotes— “‘cosmic transmitter.’ Though you and I both know that UFO business is utter bullshit.”
She gave him a crooked grin. “For a guy with zero training in astrophysics, you seem awfully sure of yourself.”
He inched closer. “I’m a practical man, Hannah.”One who’d like to pull you into the nearest dark corner and kiss you until you see stars and forget all about those stupid UFOs.“Now, about that tour…?”
Her smile bloomed wide and dazzling. “Give me an hour.”
She pivoted and strode toward theBeacon’s building down the street, her curvy hips swaying. Before disappearing from sight, she threw him a flirtatious glance over her shoulder and waggled her fingers.
“Hoo boy.” Grinning like a fool, he sat on a weed-filled cement UFO planter. “That woman is dangerous.”
A seagull swooped overhead, its mocking laughter cutting through the misty air.
“Enough of your commentary, Gus.”
Chapter Nine
Alittleafterfouro’clock, Hannah’s phone pinged.
Ready when you are, pretty newsie.
Embarrassing how her pulse revved like a Formula One car at the starting line.
“It’s not a date,” she muttered, checking her appearance in the restroom mirror. After all, she’d fix her lipstick before leaving for any errand. And she’d offer the same help to any new business owner in Trappers Cove. A rising tide lifts all ships.
For a moment, common sense wrestled with vanity, and then she removed the elastic band and fluffed her mane, now tightened into curls by the lowering rain clouds that threatened to cut their not-date short. She undid another button on her blouse, spritzed cologne in her cleavage, and checked her teeth for lipstick. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Back in the newsroom, Mom whistled. “Look at you, pretty girl. Has my nose-to-the grindstone daughter finally found a fella worthy of her interest?”
Irritation tightened her gut. Even at forty, she still bristled at her mother’s playful button-pushing.
“I’m just helping Gus’s nephew gather ideas for the new and improved Souvenir Planet.”
“And using your charms to influence his choices?” Mom tapped her chin. “Let me guess—you want him to keep everything as it is, cobwebs and all.”
