the bachelor party. You’re invited.”
“I’ll hold you to that. Once Sydney leaves, we’ll all go out and party hard. We could take the ferry to Atlantic City for the weekend.”
“Fun idea. But if we do this right—” Alex circled his hand widely to encompass the inn, its grounds, and the cottages “—Teague and I won’t have any weekends off for a good long time.”
“AC is open on Mondays, too. I get Columbus Day off.”
“Point taken.” Man, it’d be fun. Something to look forward to if they had decent bookings all summer. “It’s a good idea.”
“So you want to keep faking it with Sydney?”
Did he ever.
“We’re making a not-dying-anymore woman happy. So, yeah. I visited her yesterday during her chemo treatment. She looked so pale and sick, you know? Until we went in, talked to her. Daisy perked right up. Full of sass and spirit.”
James nodded slowly. “That’s our Miss Daisy.”
“I’m not saying we’re a magic pill. But as long as this engagement distracts her for even ten minutes a day from being scared and miserable? I’m all for keeping it up.”
“Just for Miss Daisy’s sake? No other reasons? That’s your story?”
“And I’m sticking to it.”
The trouble with James was that he’d finely honed his bullshit detector to see through whatever excuses and lies kids tossed at him.
Of course he could tell that Alex ‘liked’ Sydney. That he wanted more than a fake relationship.
That he wanted…her.
James leaned forward, draping his wrists over his knees. “Don’t worry. I want Miss Daisy to feel better, too. I’ll tell Matt to keep his lips zipped.”
“Thanks.” It was a relief. He’d still have to tell Sydney about their close call, though. Warn her that others might see through their secret, too.
“As long as I can hassle you and Sydney in private.”
“Seems fair.” Seeing Brody loping across the lawn clutching a big box, Alex added, “Don’t tell the kid.”
“No chance in hell. Give someone his age any scrap of leverage, and they’ll use it to bring you to your knees. I wouldn’t do that to another adult.”
“I found ’em!” Brody yelled.
“Great!” Alex stood to look into the box. They weren’t painted, but the balusters were a perfect match to the ones on the porch. “I like your initiative. We’ll see how the next few months go. But I want you to know that we’ll need some help once we open. And it’ll pay.” Not a lot. Probably enough to keep a teenager happy, though.
“Thanks, Mr. Alex. I’ll impress you. Just you wait and see.”
A confident, smart kid. A new friend who’d keep his secret. And a box that just shaved at least twenty hours of work off his list.
His butt was numb from the cold chair. His fingers were cold. But Alex mostly felt…hopeful.
It was exciting.
He wondered how long it’d last…
Chapter Thirteen
“Sanjay, I know you didn’t call me to gossip,” Sydney said. Yes, she was FaceTiming her former colleague. No, it didn’t stop her from walking away from the laptop to peruse her closet.
Well, her sister’s closet. Since she was staying in her sister’s house while Kim was doing her stint in the Peace Corps. And by ‘stint,’ Sydney meant elopement and extended honeymoon in a very desolate and underserved portion of Malawi.
She and her sister had very different takes on both romance and honeymoons.
Not that Sydney spent time thinking about a someday honeymoon. She wasn’t one of those people who fantasized about wedding dresses and bouquets. But she did want a basic romantic gesture or two from a guy and, oh, running water.
Luckily, the Peace Corps frowned on bringing an extensive wardrobe along. Sydney had a ton of choices for her second very public and official date with Alex. To someone who lived out of two suitcases? Kim’s walk-in closet might as well be Aladdin’s treasure cave.
“S, you know I’d walk over hot coals to gossip with you. Remember that time we walked on coals in Mexico? Then had to sit with our feet in that tide pool all night to cool off?”
That coal walk had been one of her worst ideas ever. Yes, it was possible to scurry across in seven seconds and not feel anything, just like the purported Aztec shaman had promised.
It was what happened after those adrenaline-filled seven seconds that he hadn’t bothered to fill them in on. The pulsing pain and blisters. Thank goodness her team had been there, suffering alongside and laughing with her through the tears.
“You’re right. Let me rephrase. I know you wouldn’t call me only to