"Yes, you do."
He was right.I knew Brody.And for all of hismanyother flaws, he was no coward.
"Alright, fine," I said. "I take it back. But I still don't get it. Why not do whatever you want and tell Waverly to shove it if she gets mad?"
He gave me a look. "You mean on camera?"
"No. Like in private."
"Where? In the house we're fixing up?" His gaze dipped briefly to my lips, and his eyes softened. In a low voice, he said, "Thereisno private, as you damn well know."
Something in his look made my knees go embarrassingly wobbly. Or maybe I was just mortified at the memory of Roy and his camera catching us in the attic.
Either way, I felt distinctly unsettled, even as I said, "Yeah, well, maybe you and Waverly could've discussed it across the street, away from the cameras."
"Or maybe," he said, "I could just do what needed doing and skip all the bullshit."
I started to argue, but then thought better of it. After all, the same sort of logic had driven me to mow the lawn – except unlike Brody,I'dgotten caught.
As usual.
I studied his face. "So what are you saying? You didn't want to waste the energy arguing about it?"
"The energyorthe time," he said. "I've got four months to finish the house. And yeah, the show's important. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna stand by and watch the property rack up more damage – not if I can help it."
On this, we were in total agreement, and I might've told him so, except Brody wasn't done talking.
"And," he continued, giving me a hard look, "I'm sure as hell not gonna waste my time arguing with someone who doesn't know what the hell she's doing."
"Hey!" I bristled. "I know more about the house than you think."
At this, he looked almost ready to smile. "I wasn't talking aboutyou."
"Oh." I cleared my throat. "So, I'm guessing you mean Waverly?"
Brody nodded. "She's no construction expert."
No kidding."So why is she the producer?" I asked. "I mean, it seems an odd choice, doesn't it?"
"Not if you know who she is."
I wasn't following. "Sooooo…Who is she?"
"Landon's Tarrington's niece."
My jaw practically hit the sand. "Really?"
"Really."
"But the other day, they didn'tactlike they were related."
"Right. Because in Waverly's mind, she got the gig on her own."
"But she didn't?"
Brody's eyebrows lifted. "What doyouthink?"
The answer to this was so obvious, it didn't require an answer. "But if she's his niece, why did he hireme? I mean, even then, it was pretty obvious that Waverly didn't want me around."
