"Too late for that," Steve said.
"What do you mean?"
"He already paid us." Steve frowned. "And there's no way we're giving the money back."
I looked to Anthony, who gave a solemn nod. "We've got a strict no-refund policy."
I asked, "Not even for family?"
Steve gave me a perplexed look. "You mean you? We're not related."
"I wasn't talking aboutme," I said. "I was talking about Jake."
Steve shrugged. "Sorry. Not related to him either."
I made a sound of frustration. "But you're related to Luna."
"Trust me," Steve said. "She was allforthis."
Next to him, Anthony added, "Especially after the phone thing."
Listening to this, I had to wonder if Jake's real motivation for paying them was to get them out of his hair – and his penthouse. But that still didn't mean I could take his money. Plus, what kind of contractors were these guys, anyway?
Going for a change in tactics, I said, "Well, I hate to tell you something, but the plumber told me the job would need a backhoe."
Both guys burst out laughing.
I asked, "What's so funny?"
"You," Steve said. "What? You think we're gonna dig by hand?"
"So youdohave a backhoe?" I glanced in the general direction of the driveway. By now, I was dying to see one. "Is it here now?"
"Hell no," Anthony said. "We don't bring it 'til we need it."
"Yeah," Steve added. "That thing's a bitch to haul."
Anthony nodded in agreement. "Right now, we're in the assessment stage."
Inside my pocket, my cell phone rang. I pulled it out and looked at the display. My breath caught.
It was Joel.
Indecision made me pause. On one hand, I was desperate to talk to him. On the other hand, hadn't I just vowed not to jump every time he called?
My fingers itched to answer. My heart begged to know what he wanted. My head reminded me that it was exactly this sort of eagerness that had caused me so much heartbreak in the first place.
I was still waffling when the call went to voicemail.
Probably, this was a good thing. Aside from any issues of self-respect, I couldn’t exactly talk to him in front of two strangers.
Still, I was dying of curiosity. When the beep announced a new message, it took all my willpower to not bolt upstairs to listen in private.
In front of me, Anthony said, "Man, that's cold."
I gave a distracted shake of my head. "What?"
"Just ignoring the call like that. What if he's worried about you?"