Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Elliot had just finished up a meeting with Mary and Joseph, the owners of the inn, and yes, he had seen the irony the first time he met them.
When he told his mom he was working on an inn for Mary and Joseph, she’d thought he was joking.
Unfortunately, they weren’t joking at all when they added new specifications for the main house during their meeting, and now he needed to update the plans, again, but it would all be worth it when it was done.
Unfortunately, the whole property hadn’t been well maintained through the years, and the repairs hadn’t always made sense with the original style.
He’d like to have a serious discussion with whoever decided to carpet the lobby and cover over the brick fireplace with river stones more appropriate for a hunting lodge than an inn.
But those were easy fixes, more design than structural.
He loved it.
After spending years working on old houses with Caleb, alongside his architecture studies, he was thrilled to work on something like this, something that was all his.
He’d been working on his designs for months, and it was nearly time to break ground.
Or it would be, if Mary and Joseph stopped changing their minds and adding to the scope of the project.
Today, they were discussing the possibility of converting the sunroom at the back of the inn into a breakfast room.
Elliot assured them that adding breakfast to the inn’s offerings was a great idea.
Assuming that room was structurally sound.
Something he now had to get a structural engineer out here to assess. The room had essentially been used as a greenhouse for years. If it was going to accommodate humans, he had to make sure it was safe.
But that was a task for tomorrow.
On his way out, he stopped at the front desk nestled under the main staircase to chat with Jack.
Jack, who was always impeccably dressed without a hair out of place, was a fellow Dream Harbor transplant.
He’d moved to town a few years before Elliot, and he was one of the few people in Dream Harbor who knew Elliot existed.
Without Jack, Elliot was pretty sure the inn would have completely fallen apart by now.
Jack knew every guest that checked in, he made sure everyone was treated like a VIP, and he was the main reason Elliot got hired.
Apparently, he’d seen some of the houses Elliot had worked on nearby and was a fan of his work.
At this point, Elliot was here so much, he and Jack had struck up a friendship. Or at least, Elliot hoped he could consider Jack a friend.
That would be nice. He needed a friend that he wasn’t fake-dating.
‘Hey,’ he said, swiping a muffin from the basket Jack kept at the desk. Lemon poppyseed and clearly from The Gingerbread Bakery. Absolutely delicious.
‘Those are for guests,’ Jack said, half-heartedly swatting his hand away. ‘And for people that don’t keep secrets.’
‘What secrets?’
‘Oh, I don’t know. How about that you’ve been dating the cursed florist for a month now and haven’t mentioned a word about it, and I had to hear it from her ex of all people.’
Jack ran his palms down his floral-printed vest, smoothing out the already immaculate fabric, clearly insulted by this oversight.
Elliot sighed.
‘I thought we were friends,’ Jack said, accusingly and that was what did it.
If Elliot had actually managed to make a friend, he certainly wasn’t going to lie to him.
Making friends as an adult was nearly impossible.
He was pretty sure he’d only made this one by hanging around the inn so much, thinking and planning and sketching.
And Jack was here. And kind. And a little bit nosy, always asking Elliot about his plans, peering over his shoulder at his drawings. And he had a vest for every season, which Elliot found charming.
It was friendship by forced proximity, but Elliot would take it.
‘It’s not real.’
Jack rolled his eyes. ‘It hasn’t been that long. Of course it’s not really serious yet.’
‘No.’ Elliot shook his head and lowered his voice. ‘It’s not real at all. We’re just … pretending.’
Jack’s eyes went wide. ‘You’re pretending?’
‘Yes.’
‘To date.’
‘Correct.’
‘You and Daisy are fake-dating?!’
‘Shh!’ Elliot hissed. ‘No one else knows.’
Jack liked that. He smiled and leaned in toward Elliot conspiratorially. ‘So why are you fake-dating the cute florist?’
‘Well … it started when that ex of hers came into her shop and I just kinda happened to be there … and one thing led to another and now—’
‘And now you’re proclaiming your love for her at town meetings!’
Elliot flushed with embarrassment. ‘That’s not exactly what happened.’
‘It doesn’t matter what actually happened. It’s what everyone is saying happened and everyone is saying you were very gallant and you came to her rescue when the rest of the town was ready for a witch-hunt.’
‘That’s definitely not—’
‘Doesn’t matter.’ Jack waved away his protests. ‘The important question, dear Elliot, is why not date the lovely Daisy for real?’
Elliot opted to shove more muffin in his mouth and pretend he didn’t want to talk with his mouth full instead of answering the question that he’d been rolling over in his mind all weekend.
Why not date Daisy for real? He’d had such a nice time with her after the town meeting, and he hadn’t stopped thinking about her since.
But it was very clear that Daisy wasn’t interested in him as anything other than a convenient shield from the town’s judgment. Which was fine. He was using her, too, to keep his mom from staging some kind of dating intervention.
Any time his thoughts had wandered into why-not-date-Daisy-for-real territory, Elliot reminded himself that this whole thing had started because Daisy wasn’t over her ex.
She’d been so horrified to see him, in fact, she’d roped Elliot into being her fake boyfriend.
And then he’d done the same thing back to her.
Their relationship, real or fake, was based on desperation.
Not a great start.
No, dating Daisy for real was not an option.
‘She’s pretty,’ Jack went on when Elliot was still silent.
‘She’s more than pretty,’ he blurted out and Jack’s smile grew.
‘I agree. She’s also funny and smart and doesn’t let anyone give her any crap at those meetings.’
‘I know,’ Elliot sighed.
‘So why not go for it?’
‘I just got out of a marriage…’
‘Two years ago.’
Crap. Apparently, he’d already filled Jack in on the timeline of his heartbreak.
‘I’m not ready…’
‘To be happy?’
‘I just…’ Elliot trailed off because Jack was clearly not listening anymore.
Gabe, the gardener/handyman/Jack’s crush, had just walked in the door covered in grass stains with a low-slung tool belt around his hips.
Elliot was pretty damn straight, but he could see the appeal.
Gabe looked … confident. Competent. Elliot would love to feel the way Gabe looked striding into the inn with a screwdriver in one hand and a stepladder in the other.
And now he had an answer for Jack.
‘Why not ask Gabe out?’ he said, and Jack nearly choked. He smacked Elliot on the arm.
‘Shh! He will hear you!’
Elliot laughed. ‘Okay, so, you’ve been drooling over him for months. Ask him out.’
Jack glared at him. ‘No way.’
‘Why not?’
‘He’s clearly out of my league…’
‘That’s bullshit.’
‘I just…’ Jack sighed. ‘Look at him, he has heartbreak written all over him.’
‘Exactly,’ Elliot said, leaning his elbows on the front desk, mimicking Jack’s pose as they both watched Gabe climb the ladder to change out a bulb in the chandelier hanging in the middle of the sitting room off the lobby.
‘You’re afraid. Which is the same reason I will continue to fake-date Daisy. We are cowards.’
That was the truth of it. Elliot was not ready to try again, with anyone and certainly not with a woman who had no interest in him.
‘Am not,’ Jack muttered even as he frantically started stacking business cards on the desk as soon as Gabe glanced in their direction.
Elliot waved hello and Gabe smiled back.
‘Well, all I know is I cannot survive another failed relationship, so I will stick with my fake one, thank you very much. Oh, and he’s coming over here.’
‘Shit,’ Jack hissed as he fumbled the business cards, and they scattered all over the desk and floor.
‘Hey, Jack,’ Gabe said with a bemused smile as Jack shoved the cards aside with one clean sweep of his hand. Half went fluttering over the keyboard, a few landed in the muffin basket.
‘Oh, hello, Gabe. I didn’t see you come in.’
Elliot stifled a laugh, and Jack jabbed him hard in the ribs.
Gabe’s smile grew as he ran a hand through his hair. It looked effortlessly messy but somehow fell right back into place. Perfectly mussed. How did he do that? Elliot wondered while Gabe talked to Jack.
‘So do you want me to change the lights out back today as well?’
Jack blinked. Apparently, he had also been hypnotized by the hair.
‘Uh … right … yes. That would be great.’
‘Will do. Anything else?’
The question hung in the air between them and Elliot suddenly felt like he should leave but before he could slink away Jack said, ‘Muffin?’ And shoved the basket toward a surprised Gabe.
‘Um … thank you.’
‘You’re very welcome. Gotta keep your strength up!’
‘Right.’ Gabe flashed them one more slightly confused smile before taking his muffin and leaving.
‘What was that?’ Jack blew out a long breath. ‘I’m an idiot. “Gotta keep your strength up”? With muffins? What the hell is wrong with me?’
Elliot offered a few firm pats on the back in comfort.
‘I don’t know, man. That was pretty rough.’
‘Thank you so much for your support during my time of need.’
‘I’m sure it’s fine. He seemed pleased about the muffin.’
Jack groaned. ‘This is not how any of this is supposed to go! Doesn’t this guy watch romcoms? I move to a small town and now I’m supposed to get the rugged, flannel-wearing guy!’