“It’s looking great in here,” she said as she stepped farther into the space. “I can’t believe you’ve accomplished so much already.”
Glancing over his shoulder, he smiled. “Well, there weren’t any structural issues for us to deal with, and the previous owners really prepped the space in terms of replacing the floors and waterproofing the concrete walls.”
“Is that normal? The concrete, I mean. Growing up, our house was elevated, so there wasn’t a ground floor.”
He nodded and reached out to run a hand along the wood he just put in place before placing a level on it. “Homes close to the water that aren’t elevated need the concrete to keep the water out. It prevents more damage than necessary in the event of a flood. I did use an extra coat of sealant to keep the moisture out, but…you know…nothing’s foolproof.”
Placing the bag of pillows down, she walked around the room. “I wish there were windows in this front part of the room. I don’t want it to feel like a dungeon down here.”
“You have the large sliding glass doors along the back wall in your office space and a few small windows. Those will provide some natural lighting. If we tried to put windows in the front here, it would be a lot of work, and we’d be dealing with the integrity of the foundation—particularly of the front porch.”
“Yeah, I know.” She paused. “I guess I keep thinking about if it were my house and what I would have looked for.”
Kyle placed the level on the floor and turned to face her. “Okay, don’t get mad at me, but…you know you can sell this place and get something that belongs to you and Haley, right? Like I get why you’re here and why you think it’s for the best, but...”
She sighed but didn’t comment.
“We stayed in our home after my mom died, but it was different. My dad was still with us, and…it was easier. I know Haley’s young, but she’s a lot more resilient than you’re giving her credit for. If you’re not happy here, she’s going to sense that.”
“I get what you’re saying, and…I know,” she said quietly, solemnly. “But I think I need the connection to Tracy right now too. She was so damn excited about this house—about living close to the water again and making this the home she wanted to raise Haley in. Is it my dream house? No. But I think once it’s done and by being able to give my opinion on what work is done and the finishes and all that, maybe I’ll feel better about it. Does that make sense?”
He nodded. “Tell me about your place in Boston. That’s where you were living, right?”
“Oh, I loved it. It was a small townhouse, but it was all mine.” Just thinking about it made her smile because she had a lot of good memories of her time up north. “I was only renting the place and I moved in with nothing except a bed.” Laughing, she shook her head. “For the first few weeks I was living there, I had the mattress on the floor in the living room and that was it. I was very picky about what kind of furniture I wanted and how I wanted to decorate.”
Grinning, he asked, “What did you buy first?”
“Promise not to laugh?”
That alone made him laugh. “I make no promises.”
She wasn’t offended by his honesty. “I bought a giant painting for the living room wall—a beach scene that reminded me of here.” Shaking her head again, she explained, “I spent so many years desperate to move away and start my own life, and the first thing I bought was something to remind me of what I left behind. Twisted, right?”
Sydney waited for him to mock her—or, at the very least, make a comment on how she got it to remind her of him—but surprisingly, he didn’t.
“Not at all. Sometimes I think I’d love to move away from here—like living in a big city would be so much better—but at the end of the day, I know how much I’d miss the sounds and smell of the ocean and the sense of community you only get from growing up in a small town. I like knowing I can drive up the road and see my grandfather and have a good meal and a beer at his pub.”
“Wait…your grandfather still owns a pub? Seriously?”
He chuckled. “Yup. The Mystic Magnolia is still around. Although, it did recently get a facelift thanks to my brother-in-law, Mason.”
Sydney tried to place the name. “Wait…are you talking about Mason Bishop? Scarlett married Mason Bishop?”
Another small laugh. “I know. Crazy, right?”
“Although I don’t know why I sound surprised. I’ve been out of the loop on what’s been going on here in Magnolia for a while, so…”
“Trust me, we were all surprised.”
“Sounds like there’s a story there.”
Now really wasn’t the time to get into it, so instead, he shrugged and said, “Yeah, it’s all good now. And like I was saying, there’s nothing wrong with loving where you came from, Syd. As far as hometowns go, Magnolia’s pretty damn great.”
All she did was nod.
“As for my grandfather’s place, he’s got great food in there now, and the place is all cleaned up and has a much brighter look to it—very nautical. You and Haley should check it out sometime. Tell Tommy I sent you.”
“I can’t believe your grandfather is still working there.”
“Yup. He’s a real trip, and he loves kids. I bet he and Haley would hit it off right away.” Then he leaned toward her ever so slightly. “And he’s a total flirt with a beautiful girl so watch out.”
Sydney felt herself blush from head to toe. “Oh, uh…yeah. I’ll be sure to be on the lookout for that.”
Clearly Kyle didn’t mean anything by what he said. It wasn’t possible that he was calling her—specifically—a beautiful girl. He was just talking about his grandfather as he would to anyone. And he was probably referring to Haley.
No big deal.
Guys like Kyle probably told all women they were pretty. It didn’t mean anything.
So why is my heart racing?
With a quick clearing of her throat, she continued to walk around. “I…I…um…I bought some of those oversized pillows to use in here too.” She pointed to the shopping bag. “Maybe we can use them over in the corner as a little reading space or something.”
“That would work,” he replied, oblivious to her inner turmoil. “I wanted to ask if you plan on putting a TV in here. We could mount it up on the wall and put up a few more shelves to house any cable boxes or other electronics.”
She knew Haley would appreciate a TV of her own, so she shrugged. “I guess so. Sure.”
“Okay. Cool. In that case, I’d say once we set that up, this room is basically done. Do you have a TV you want to use in here yet?”
She shook her head and then realized maybe she did. “The one in the guest room could probably come down here.” Even though it was the one she used to help her sleep at night, maybe it was a habit she needed to break. After all, the faster the space down here was set, the sooner she could start her work for Mia.
“Want to show me where it’s at?”
Sydney led him up the stairs and down the hall to the room she was staying in. Her bed was unmade, and she had boxes and suitcases all over the place, and suddenly wished she had come up first and cleaned up a bit.