She hit her limit when Louie started going on about damp rot. “Is there anything that doesn’t need fixing?” she asked.
Louie paused, thinking hard for a moment. “The view can’t be beat.”
Evie had to laugh. He was right about that. But the stunning views alone wouldn’t be enough to attract guests to the inn. They would be needing running water and a dry bed for the night, too.
But before she could plunge any further into despair, someone cleared their throat: It was Noah, loitering in the doorway. “A word?” he asked.
Evie tensed. “I thought you guys left already.”
“It won’t take a minute.” He didn’t move, just leaned there, watching her, and Evie couldn’t focus on anything Louie was saying, not with her skin prickling hot under Noah’s gaze.
“Excuse me,” she told the contractor. “I’ll be right back.”
“Sure thing,” he said, nodding. “I’ll check the support beams—I didn’t like the look of them. One big gust, the whole place could come down.”
“Oh. Great!”
Evie followed Noah a short distance away and then whirled around, hands on her hips. “What is it?”
“Someone’s testy,” he said, still smiling. “Having second thoughts about this place already?”
She took a deep breath. She wasn’t going to let him get under her skin. “Everything’s fine,” she insisted, plastering on a smile. “What do you need?”
“I just thought I’d offer some friendly advice,” Noah replied. “You might want to take what Louie says with a grain of salt.”
“What do you mean?” Evie asked.
Noah gave her a confidential smile. “He has a habit of exaggerating his quotes. Somehow, a simple drywall fix turns into a full restoration of the Sistine Chapel—with the bills to match. Especially where the ladies are concerned,” he added.
Evie’s jaw dropped. “He’s playing me?”
“Don’t take it personally,” Noah said, still looking amused. “He tries it on every out-of-towner, the rest of us know to steer well clear.”
Evie groaned. She’d barely been in Sweetbriar Cove a day, and already she’d almost signed over her life savings to a huckster! “Thank you,” she told Noah reluctantly. “I can’t believe I bought his story.”
“You couldn’t have known,” he replied.
“Still, I appreciate it,” Evie said. Especially since she’d been so prickly towards him. “When this place is up and running, you can stay for free, anytime,” she offered. “Tea and scones on the house.”
Noah smiled. “I might just take you up on that. I always did like it here,” he said, looking around. “I’m glad Debra sold it to someone who cares enough to fix it up, not some developer who’ll raze it to the ground.”
“That depends,” Evie answered wryly. “Razing might be cheaper.”
She turned back to Louie, narrowing her eyes. She’d dealt with her share of shifty tradesmen and car mechanics over the years, but all she’d had to do was drag Glen along, and magically, the salesmen stopped sweet-talking her and started talking straight with him. Never mind that Glen was more at home in a biology lab than a garage. Just having him around made life easier.
He’d made everything easy.
But Glen was gone, which meant she would just have to deal with the hucksters of the world herself. Evie swallowed back the familiar pang of grief and strolled over to Louie.
“How’s it looking?” she asked brightly.
She was met with another stern, worried frown. “I don’t like the look of these walls,” he said, giving one of them a knock. “Hear that?”
Evie leaned closer. “Sounds fine to me.”
“Dry rot,” he proclaimed. “Termites. You’ll need to tent the place. Don’t worry, I know a guy.”
“I’m sure you do,” Evie said, amused. “But you know what, I think I’ll wait until my husband gets here before I sign off on anything.”
“Your husband?” Louie echoed, looking startled. “I thought you were here alone.”
“Oh no, I just came along ahead to get things started,” Evie lied. “He’s finishing up some meetings in the city,” she added, smiling. “He’s a lawyer.”
Louie gulped. “Uh huh?”
Evie nodded. “Yes, he’s suing one of those construction companies right now, a big class-action lawsuit. Terrible business. Fraud, overbilling—he had all their permits revoked, and now it looks like they’ll have to pay millions!”
The color drained from Louie’s face, and Evie tried not to laugh. “Is that so?” he said, backing away. “Well, see, I’ve got a lot of work on right now, so I’m not sure when I’d be able to do the job.”
“Really?” Evie cooed. “What a shame.”
“In fact, that’s my phone now.” Louie waved his silent cellphone at her. “Important call. Gotta run!” He turned and practically bolted from the inn, so fast he nearly put his ankle through a hole in the porch.
“Watch out!” Evie called after him. “Great to meet you!”
“Don’t come again,” she added, watching him climb into his van and race away, tires skidding on the gravel, leaving her all alone …
… with a run-down wreck of an inn. And definitely no husband in sight.
Evie’s sense of victory faded fast. She sank down on the porch steps and looked around in despair at the rotting posts and broken windows.
What was she going to do now?
She was married.
Noah turned it over in his mind for the rest of the day, annoyed that he even cared. It was none of his business what—or who—Evie was wrapped up in, but still, he couldn’t help feeling strangely off-balance, and even his usual five-mile after-work run couldn’t set things to rights.
Of course she was married. He should have known a woman like Evie would have men lined up around the block to sweep her off her feet. He wondered briefly who the lucky guy was; at first he’d thought she was putting it on for Louie with that story about the lawyer in the city, but then he’d caught a glimpse of the necklace she wore dangling around her neck. A gold wedding band on a delicate chain, nestled close to her heart.
Yup, she was married, all right. At least he knew now, she couldn’t have been more off-limits. Whatever chemistry he’d thought was sizzling between them was all in his mind.
Noah vowed to keep his distance from the Beachcomber Inn—emergency 911 calls or otherwise—but as he drove through town on his way to dinner, he noticed a familiar truck parked outside the pub. Before he knew what he was doing, he was pulling over and heading inside.
He found the truck’s owner shooting the breeze with Riley at the bar. Cooper Nicholson was an old buddy—and the most reputable contractor on the Cape. Since clearly Evie didn’t know her drywall from her plaster, she needed someone who wouldn’t take her for a ride.
Cooper greeted him with a smile. “How are you finding life back in town?”
“It’s like I never left,” Noah said wryly. “This place doesn’t change.”