She stared at it, drumming her fingers on the table. “Okay. You can pay for it. But that’s all. You’ve already done so much for me.”
“Hey, what are big brothers for?” He laughed. “And one more thought. How about renaming the place? Give it your own spin.”
She chewed her bottom lip, and her face crinkled as she gave it some thought. “That’s not a bad idea. It’s actually a great idea. I’m surprised I didn’t think of it myself.” She sent him a wide grin. “I’m usually the one with the great ideas.”
“Right.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, you think of a name, and we’ll see if Austin can get us a domain for it.”
“You know, for an author, you know a lot about business.”
“Hey, I still have to market my books. Run my author business. I don’t just sit and pound out words all day.”
“Speaking of which, I haven’t seen you write since you got here.”
“I’m… taking a little break.”
“You’re stuck again, aren’t you?” She sent him a knowing glance.
He let out a long sigh. His sister knew him so well. Probably too well. “I am. Have been for months. It’s like no idea seems big enough, or good enough for my next book.”
“You’ll figure it out. You always do.”
He hoped his sister was right. “Hey, since you insist you’re the one that always has the great ideas, maybe you can come up with an idea for my next book.”
“Maybe I will.” She got up from the table, slid the laptop towards him, and sent him a smart-alecky grin. As she headed outside, she paused in the doorway. “And I also think I had a great idea when I told you to ask Evelyn out.”
She disappeared, and he sat at the table, staring at the empty doorway. Maybe his sister was right. Maybe that was a great idea.
Evelyn had gotten used to Rob coming in for ice cream most afternoons and looked forward to chatting with him while he enjoyed his treat. Today was no exception, and she waved to him as he entered the cafe.
He settled onto a stool across from her. “Vanilla malt today. No… do you have any peach pie?”
“I do. Coming right up.” She grabbed the pie she’d saved for him—not that he would ever know that—and placed a large scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. She slid it across the counter and smiled when he dug into it. The man did love his peach pie and ice cream.
This almost daily ritual was beginning to feel… comfortable.
He continued with his pie, taking his time eating it. “So today Violet agreed to me hiring Austin to update her website and put in a reservation system.”
“That’s great.”
“I’m a bit surprised she agreed to it. She wants to do it all on her own. But I don’t mind investing a bit in it. I want her to be a success with this.”
“I’m sure she will be. I drove by the other day. It’s really starting to look great. I see you got the drive all filled in with crushed shells.”
“That drive was terrible. It about shook you crazy to drive over it. It’s much better now. Anyway, we’re getting closer. I think Violet said she wants to have the grand opening in about six weeks, so I really want to jump on this website redo. She’s also going to rename the resort.”
“What a good idea. A fresh start. Then people won’t tie it in with Murphy’s rather… um…lackadaisicalapproach to keeping up the resort.”
“You mean his total disregard to repairs and updates?”
She laughed. “That too.”
He finished the pie and pushed the dish away from him. “That was great, as usual.”
“Glad you enjoyed it.” She set the dish in a tub under the counter and reached for a cloth to clean the counter. She thought he was getting ready to leave, but he still just sat there on the stool.
“So…I was wondering something.” He paused and studied her face.
“Yes?”
