Chapter 24
PENN
Maybe it was karma,or maybe it was a warning from God not to mess around with a person’s feelings for the benefit of yourself—I couldn’t be sure. All I knew is Tandy was a nice old man who had been working on cars his whole life, and he said he could get me fixed up...in no less than a week.
Ten days to be exact.
Any other person in their right mind would have gone home. They would have packed up, phoned a friend, and said good riddance to this small town with old-fashioned rules and spotty Wi-Fi, but for some reason, I didn’t want to.
I felt like it was the universe’s way of telling me to slow down, and for the first time in my life and my career, I craved that kind of slowness. I had spent all my time running, and right now, this seemed like as good of an excuse as any to just take a little bit of time to rest.
I called Max that evening from the room I had secured again at Green Gables. “Bad news, brother,” I said when he answered.
“What happened? You can’t be giving up on the girl yet.”
“Nah,” I replied, not wanting to get into the subject of Darcy with him. “My transmission went out in my car—”
“I told you not to buy from that dealer,” Max cut me off.
I groaned. “Yes, I remember. Either way, lesson learned. But I’m stuck here for the next week or so.”
I could hear Max gulp and the crinkle of a can. “Sounds like the perfect amount of time to get that woman to fall for you.”
I shook my head, thankful he couldn’t see the irritation on my face. “I was really hoping to nail down the pitch for the store owner. I need to find accessible Wi-Fi, though, because my service is spotty.”
I looked at the map of Aveline that Millie had given me when I first arrived. I was more interested in figuring out what to do for dinner than I was listening to Max talk. After realizing there were only a few choices, I thought to myself how a new restaurant really wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Max let out a laugh. “Mm-hmm. Maybe we should name this Project Love instead of Project Aveline.”
“No, Max, seriously—” I began, but he cut me off.
“You really are accepting the challenge, aren’t you?” Max let out a howl and barked a couple of times.
I ran my hands over my face. There was no reasoning with Max, especially when he started barking. “How many beers have you had?”
Max’s voice was so loud I had to move the receiver several inches from my ear. “Admit it, you can’t stand the idea that a woman out there might not find you the most desirable man in the world.”
I scoffed. “That is not true. I am here for work and only work.”
Max clicked his tongue. “Well, you let me know if you need any pointers on challenging women. I’ve had my fair share.”
Max had been divorced three times, and while he always blamed it on the women, I had every notion that he was not the most pleasant man to be in a relationship with. Let’s just say I was glad I never had to date him.
He continued. “And don’t forget, this hotel in this town is all that’s important to me right now. Do not screw this up. This is my Nantucket.”
How could I forget?