“Glad you’re secure about something,” she muttered.
“What?”
“I said, you should be. Secure in your manhood, I mean. And in your decency, and in your talent.”
He ignored the direction she was trying to steer the conversation and changed the subject. “Besides, after the opening, I won’t be here much anyhow. This is really your space. But like I said, I like it, too.” He pointed to a right angle he’d drawn on the floor, like he hadn’t just twisted the knife in her heart a little bit. “That’s the bathroom. There’s already plumbing run to the spot, as if that was the plan to begin with, so that’ll save some money.”
“Very cool.” She turned again toward the window, gazing down at the shed. “Have you seen any movement out there?”
“Not a bit,” he said.
“I wonder if you should move your truck around back.”
He shrugged. “He’s been sleeping out there with us in and out every day. I don’t think my truck’s fixin’ to deter him.”
She shrugged and turned away from the window to face him. “I brought a bedroll and an inflatable mattress. You?”
“I brought paint, rollers, and brushes,” he said. “And an extra pair of overalls. In case you came lookin’ pretty. You do look pretty, by the way.” He tossed her a pair of lightweight overalls, like a mechanic would pull on over his clothes.
“Thanks. Just make sure one of us is always watching the shed.” She unfolded the overalls, unzipped them, and stepped into them, sighing because her jeans and top were particularly cute and had been painstakingly chosen.
According to some article Maria had read and then conveyed at some laughing-til-their-bellies-hurt part of last night, she was supposed to douse something in her signature scent and then leave it somewhere to waft, so he’d be thinking about her even when she wasn’t there. Since she didn’t have a signature scent, but always used the same shampoo and conditioner, she’d dabbed a little bit of them on a piece of gauze. It was in a plastic bag in her tool apron where they’d stashed it last night, so she wouldn’t forget, and it would probably stay there, because it was a dumb idea.
It only took a couple of hours to get a coat of primer on the entire room, since Ethan had already done most of the prep. It was gray and dull, but also fresh and new. She stood in the center, turning in a circle, imagining furniture placement. “One desk near each of the east-facing windows, you think?” As she spoke, she pointed, and then somehow lost her balance.
Ethan grabbed her quick. “Paint fumes,” he said. “You good?”
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m good.”
He took his arms away and she immediately wished she’d said no. Then he went to open the windows. She went over to the one just to the right of the top of the stairs, braced her hands on the sill and leaned her face into the warm night air.
“The addition might block the view, if you go two stories with it.”
“I only want to go one-story, but with a tall ceiling,” he said. “We’ll keep the view in mind, though. Be a shame to ruin it.” He was at the other window, a few feet to her left, leaning on the sill just as she was. Every time she glanced his way, she found him looking at her, not the view.
“Could go two stories, though,” she said. “What couldn’t you do with all that extra space?”
He nodded slow. “Could put a handful of rooms in there.”
“Your theme is honky-tonk, not hotel. Your business model is a country bar and dance club, not an inn. Let’s not lose focus.”
He smiled at her. “You sound like my manager.”
“I am your manager.”
“I meant the music one. Angelo Barrone. Why are you so good at this?”
She shrugged. “I took a few electives in college, but I don’t think it’s that. It’s almost intuitive.”
“Your brother told me you were brilliant running that place where your dad cooked.”
She shrugged, turning back toward the view just as a shadow moved past the small paned window in the shed.
“Did you see that?” she whisper-barked.
“See what?” Ethan looked outside again, too.
“Someone’s in the shed. Come on.” She pivoted from the window, peeled off the overalls and paper shoe covers, and dropped them onto the floor of the freshly primed room. Then she ran down the stairs with Ethan right behind her, around behind the bar and through the kitchen to the back door.
