Chapter Eight
Jax finished her drive through town. She’d stopped to make notes several times and while she knew that some of the guys on
the list weren’t going to work for Ryleigh, at least she was making a start. She’d barely put her bag into her desk drawer
when Cheryl walked in.
“I’m getting requests for after-hours engagement photos. I guess it’s the season or something. I wasn’t sure if it was okay
to book them, what with the construction and all.”
Jax thought about the work being done. “I have no idea if Marcus needs to take it down or not.” She pulled out her phone.
“Let me text him and ask.”
She shot off a quick text, asking about the book-created heart in the back of the store. Marcus replied with an equally quick,
I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ll be right there.
She smiled at Cheryl. “He’s coming right over.”
The other woman raised her eyebrows. “Is he? Interesting.”
“How is that interesting?”
“He has a thing for you.”
Jax rolled her eyes. “You can’t be serious. A thing for me? No way. He’s my contractor and concerned about doing the job right.”
“I don’t see him jumping quite so high for his other clients.”
Jax thought for a moment how much fun that would be if it were true. “You don’t see him doing anything with his other clients.
We don’t even know who they are, so this could just be normal Marcus company behavior. He’s not interested in me.”
“If you say so.”
“I do, but while we’re on the topic, I have a list. Tell me what you think?”
She got the paper out of her bag and showed it to Cheryl who scanned it.
“What is this?” the older woman asked.
“The names of single, age-appropriate men in town.”
“Because you’re ready to start dating? Good for you. You need to add Marcus to the list, by the way. Because he’s already
into you.”
“It’s not for me, it’s for Ryleigh.”
Cheryl stared at her blankly. “What are you talking about?”
“Ryleigh isn’t happy. Now that she’s not engaged to Dustin, she’s talking about moving to San Diego and I don’t want her to
go.”
“I thought you were going to leave her alone about that. You can’t make her stay if she doesn’t want to.”
“I’m not making her do anything. I’m simply pointing out there are opportunities right here at home.”
“This isn’t going to go well.” Cheryl read the list again. “I know a few of these men. Doesn’t Joe own a bar?”
Jax nodded. “He’s great. He and I dated back in . . .” She groaned. “But he can’t date Ryleigh.”
“Why not?”
“He and I went out in high school. We were, um, each other’s first time. It would be weird if they had sex now.”
“It’s been a lot of years. Maybe it would be fine.”
Jax shook her head. “I told Ryleigh all the details. Not right then but when she was older and getting ready to do that with
a guy. I’m not sure she could get past that.”
“I get your point. You’re going to have to take Ryan off the list as well.”
Jax winced. “You know?”
“That he smells? Everyone knows it.”
“Poor guy. I hope he’s seeing a doctor for his condition. There must be something that can be done to help him.” She crossed
out both names. “The pool is getting smaller. But I get to add Marcus. He’s single.” She hesitated slightly, thinking he really
wasn’t the answer for her sister. Although adding his name made sense.
“So that’s how it is,” Cheryl murmured. “Interesting.”
“What?”
“You don’t want to add his name to the list.”
“You’re wrong. I do.” She quickly wrote him in. “See. There he is. Added.”
She did her best to sound defiant and not, you know, miffed. “They’d be a cute couple.”
“He is attractive. There’s only one problem.”
Jax looked at her friend. “What? Have you heard something bad about him?”
Cheryl gave her a pitying look. “No. He seems very nice. It’s that he’s not interested in Ryleigh.”
“How do you know? They haven’t met.”
“Meeting isn’t going to change anything,” Cheryl said, her tone pointed. “Because he’s interested in you. I can’t figure out
why you don’t want to admit that.”
Jax brushed away the comment. “He’s not and even if he were, I’m not ready to start dating.”
“Why not? It’s been over a year since you split up. Don’t you want a relationship in your life?”
“I have Ramon.”
“Somehow that doesn’t seem the same.”
“I just . . .” Jax’s voice trailed off as she realized she had no idea why she wasn’t interested in having a relationship.
She certainly didn’t want to live her life alone. Harris had been dating from practically the moment he’d moved out. Shouldn’t
she want to start something herself?
“It’s too soon,” she said, falling back on what she’d been telling anyone who asked, although Cheryl’s point about it being
well over a year since the divorce made her think she was going to have to come up with some other way to explain her firmly
single status. More significant, figuring out why she was avoiding men might be a better use of her time.
“Anyway,” she continued, “I’m adding Marcus to the list. And I’ll talk to him about asking out Ryleigh.”
Cheryl chuckled. “I would pay money to listen in on that conversation.”
“Maybe he’ll want to date her.” She kept her tone cheerful even as she felt a whisper of unease at the thought of her contractor
going out with her sister.
“Unlikely but keep telling yourself that if it makes you happy,” Cheryl said.
Ramon flew over and stared at her.
“Is he all right?” Cheryl asked.
“He’s not happy about the cat.”
“Can you blame him? It’s going to attack him or at least try to.”
“None of the others ever did and Lucy’s very sweet.” At least Jax assumed so. The cat wasn’t really warming up to her, although
she was a complete purr monster around Ryleigh. Not that it mattered—Lucy wasn’t going to be her pet, but instead would be
Ramon’s. Hopefully.
She held out her arm. “Hi, sweetie bird.”
Ramon hesitated before flying over and landing on her fingers. “No cat.”
“I want to try.”
Ramon blew a raspberry.
“That’s certainly clear,” Cheryl said. “Ramon, you’re an amazing bird and we’re all lucky to have you in our lives.”
“Thank you,” he answered, then squawked, “Marcus!” And flew away.
“That was quick,” Cheryl pointed out. “I’ll leave you to your young man.”
“He’s not my . . . Never mind.” Jax followed Ramon and found her parrot pressing his beak against Marcus’s cheek. She ignored
the sense that he was trying to upset her—um, the bird, not the man.
“Thanks for stopping by,” she said, noting that Ramon kept his back to her.
“He’s friendly this morning,” Marcus said.
“He likes you and he’s mad at me.”
“Because of the cat thing? It’s kind of a crazy idea.”
“He had a cat before. I want him to be happy.”
“He’s got a great life here. Plenty of mental stimulation with all the people around. A big area to fly in. He’s living his
best parrot life.”
Interesting points, she thought, surprised he’d figured all that out. Unless he’d been doing some research.
“You’ve looked up parrots on the internet,” she said.
“A little. I wanted to make sure my guys weren’t going to bother him or do something that might make him sick. Birds are more
sensitive to chemicals than the rest of us.”
“That’s so nice. Thank you.”
“Yes, thank you,” Ramon added. “May the Force be with you.”
Marcus grinned. “I thought it was just book references.”
“He has a few favorite movies. All right, the book heart is this way.”
They walked to the back of the store where she showed him how they’d built a half wall of books that created an opening in the shape of a heart.
“We created this during the pandemic,” she explained. “We had to spend as much time in the store as we could to keep Ramon
company. I saw a video online and we re-created it here.”
She had him stand on the front side of the heart, then walked around to stand in back.
“See how it creates a pretty frame for a picture? It’s very visual and romantic. It became a thing on social media. We get
a lot of couples asking to come in and take pictures. A few of them want to do it with a professional photographer as either
an engagement picture or for their save-the-date card. So the question is, will you need to take this down or can it stay
in place?”
He walked around the half wall, then looked toward the brick wall with the diaries.
“We shouldn’t have to touch this at all,” he told her. “We’re far enough into the project that I’m clear on the scope of what
we’ll be doing. Barring any unforeseen surprises.”
“Let’s not have those. Okay, great. I’ll tell Cheryl that we can schedule the photo shoots.”
“How does that work? They come in after hours?”
“Usually. Or close to closing. Unless it’s the weekends, we get quiet later in the evenings.”
Ramon flew away. Marcus watched him go.
“He’s a cool bird.”
“He is.”
“They live a long time. Does that worry you?”
“Chances are I’ll outlive him, so no, but he’s an ongoing responsibility. I can’t leave him for weeks at a time. He would
be taken care of but he wouldn’t thrive.” She smiled. “Of course I own a bookstore, so sticking close to home is necessary
for that as well.”
She looked at him, thinking he really was very nice looking. He was also hardworking and from what she could tell, he treated his crew well. Being around him made her feel sort of . . . well, not tingly exactly, but something.
“You’re divorced, right?” she asked.
He nodded.
“But no kids.”
“We never got that far in our marriage.”
“Did you want kids?”
His expression turned quizzical. “I did. I like kids.”
Check and check, she thought happily. “Are you currently seeing someone? You know, like, seriously?”
“Why all the questions?”
Because you could ask me to dinner and we could get to know each other better.
Jax mentally stumbled over that. What? No. Marcus wasn’t for her. Yes, she found him attractive and interesting, but there
were bigger concerns here than her lack of a dating life.
“Jax? You okay?”
“Fine. Great. So, you know my sister, Ryleigh, don’t you?”
“We’ve met.”