He trotted behind her, impressed with her thoroughness so far. She slowly led him around the theater, pointing out what she’d found. Telling him the estimates to fix things. He followed her around, pleased by her attention to detail. Maybe working with her on the restoration wouldn’t be as impossible as it first seemed when Miss Eleanor asked him to help out. And it’s not like he’d say no to Miss Eleanor.
As she pored over her notebook, a thought popped into his head. “It sounds like it’s going to be pretty pricey to fix this up. You took that into consideration with your financing?”
Her expression was guarded when she turned to him. “Not that my finances are any of your concern, but I paid cash. The repairs are not a problem.”
He swallowed his surprise. Cash? Who had that kind of cash lying around? He hadn’t meant to pry into her financial matters. He just wanted to be sure she could actually swing paying for the repairs.
“Uh, sorry. I just don’t want Miss Eleanor to be disappointed.” In the restoration. In him. Because not many people had stood up for him the last time he’d helped the town with a restoration, but Miss Eleanor had. Probably the only reason anyone still spoke to him around town. They had a way of listening to Miss Eleanor.
Clearing his throat, he gestured for her to continue. “Okay, let’s keep going.”
Hours later, they had gone through all her notes. Tori sank onto one of the seats in the theater, exhaustion lining her face. He sat down beside her and stretched out his legs. “I think that was a productive afternoon.”
She raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
“You have a very thorough list,” he said, trying to bridge the gap between them.
She eyed him with a measured and determined look. “So, you’ll back off and let me do this on my own?”
He met her gaze, just as firm and unwavering. “Not a chance.”
Tori’s brisk walk back to the B&B did little to curb her irritation. This was getting to be her new routine. Get annoyed by Gavin and then walk back to Darlene’s with her emotions swirling. Today’s walkthrough had been a mix of helpful and exasperating. Each step she took was punctuated by annoyance at his unwelcome and yet annoyingly helpful advice. But now that he’d seen the plans, couldn’t he just step away?
Tori approached the B&B and saw Darlene sitting on a rocker on the porch. A tranquil scene compared to her raging thoughts.
“Care to join me? I have a pot of tea here and extra cups. Just needed a few minutes off my feet. Busy day.”
Tori sank into the chair next to Darlene and accepted the cup of tea, grateful for the chance to unwind. “I need to sit for a few minutes too. It was quite the day.”
“Did you get all the papers signed?”
“I did. The theater is officially mine.” The thrill of ownership seeped through her again. “Then I went over to it and…” She let out a long exhale. “Gavin showed up and wanted to see all my plans. He’s just so… annoying. I wish Miss Eleanor hadn’t insisted he help with the restoration. But I sure couldn’t talk her out of it. I tried.”
“Eleanor just wants to preserve the island’s charm. She’s very protective of keeping things the way they are.”
Tori frowned. “You know, you’re the first person I’ve ever heard call Miss Eleanor just Eleanor.”
Darlene laughed. “We were childhood friends. Grew up together on the island. I pre-date the whole Miss Eleanor name.”
“I just wish she’d let me do it alone. I promised her I wouldn’t change it. Just restore it. Hopefully, now that Gavin has seen my plans, he’ll stay out of my hair.”
Darlene looked doubtful. “Maybe. But if Eleanor asked him to keep an eye on the restoration, I’m sure he’ll keep his word.”
Tori leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of the tea. “Yeah, you’re probably right. He seems like a man of his word. She made some comment about him working on the restoration of the lighthouse?”
Darlene hesitated, a bit of a reserved look crossing her face. “Ah, yes. He was involved…”
“And the restorations turned out fine?”
“The lighthouse is working again now, yes,” Darlene said with a strange tone to her voice.
Enough talk about Gavin. She’d had enough of him for one day. She steered the conversation in a new direction. “You seem to be really full with guests at the B&B these days.”
“It has been busy.”
“I plan on finding my own place soon. I just haven’t had time to do much looking around.”
“I’ll miss having you here, but what kind of place are you looking for?”
