Actions Speak Louder (6 page)

Ethan nodded, but then abruptly frowned.  “Did you just insult me?”

“Not you specifically,” she was quick to assure him. 

“Uh, over here!” Collette snapped. 

They turned toward her and she indicated Ethan with a nod.  “Anyway, he’s right,” she said, giving him a longer glance.  “There are exceptions to the rule, and the duration of the time spent together does happen to be one of them.  Anyway, so then Drew said, ‘You treated her wrong, bud.  And since the rules don’t apply, because four days doesn’t count, then I’m gonna…’”  She paused for emphasis. 

“What?  What happened next?” Marcia asked eagerly.

“Yes, do tell,” Ethan said without enthusiasm, prompting Collette to glare at him again.

“Come on, tell me,” Marcia urged, chuckling at Ethan’s dour expression.

“Okay, so then Drew asked me to the dance.  Right there, in front of Chad!”  She let out a shrill, delighted scream.

“Good for Drew,” Ethan said, admiration in his voice.

“And good for you,” Marcia said, reaching across the table to squeeze Collette’s hand.  “I’m so happy for you.”

“Me too,” she said giddily, but shook herself.  “And now,” she declared, taking her voice down a notch and pinning Marcia with a look, “what are we going to do about you?”

“What about me?” she asked, puzzled.

The teen sent Ethan a disgusted glance.  “You know what I’m talking about.  Like I asked before, where’s
his
sidekick?”

As Marcia tidied up the store at the end of the day, she couldn’t help grimacing every time she thought about Collette’s treatment of Ethan at the restaurant earlier.  The teenager had definitely misconstrued their relationship, assuming that she was involved with him.  In trying to dissuade her of her assumptions, Marcia feared she had embarrassed her new neighbor.

He had certainly been embarrassed when Collette had called him a pretty boy.  That much was clear by the stricken look on his handsome face.      

Of course, it wasn’t her fault that Collette had left her filter at door?  Regardless, she felt bad for Ethan.  He’d been an innocent bystander in the teenage drama that played out beside him, trapped in a booth and unable to escape.  A less polite man would have shouldered his way out of there. 

With a sign, Marcia noted it was quitting time.  She hurried to flip the sign in the door, and then dashed to the back room to grab her purse.  Angie and her other employees had already left for the day, so she closed up and headed to her car.

Suddenly, she remembered she hadn’t taken anything out of the freezer to thaw for dinner, and decided to pick up a pizza.  She could always bring the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. 

After stopping for the combination pizza, she drove home.  She could hear the dogs barking a greeting before she even entered the house.  She deposited the pizza box on the tabletop in the eat-in kitchen and hurriedly swung open the door to the sunroom to greet them.

They danced around, happy to see her.  She bent to pet them and croon a hello.  She really should get a dog, she mused, as she rose and then hustled them outside.         Soon, she was back at her table, with the two dogs at her feet, watching her as she lifted a slice of pizza to her mouth.  They watched her yearningly as she took a bite.  “I’d love to share, girls,” she said, wincing apologetically, “but unfortunately, your mom and dad wouldn’t appreciate me giving you table scraps.  Your dinner is right there,” she added, pointing at their nearby bowls.

Despite her refusal to feed them the pizza, they watched her through soulful, brown eyes.  “You’re both so pretty,” Marcia crooned.  “
Yes, you are
.”

She was just reaching for a second piece of pizza when her doorbell rang.  She sighed heavily.  Who could be stopping by this time of the early evening?  Her heart lurched.  Was it Jay?  She simply wasn’t in the mood to see him.

He had left a message for her over the weekend, informing her that he needed a trunk that he’d forgotten about—that he believed he had left in the attic.  She hadn’t brought it down yet, since if she remembered correctly, it was filled with papers and was quite heavy.

Shoving thoughts of Jay from her mind, she padded to the front door.  She opened it and found Ethan standing on her porch.  The dogs, who had followed her, began bouncing on their hind legs, delighted to see him.  Marcia gave them a quizzical glance and shook her head.  He noticed.

“Don’t take it too hard,” he commented with a chuckle.  “As I said, dogs tend to … like me.”

She sighed with resigned acceptance.  It had taken her so long to win their affection.  Oh, well, maybe they had mellowed.  Yes, that had to be it.  “What can I do for you?” she asked.  “Did you have another question for me?”

He paused briefly, frowning.  “A question?  Oh, no, it’s not that.”

“Okay, what can I do for you?” she prompted with forced cheer, doing her best to ignore the fact that wow, she was still hungry, and wow, she really wasn’t feeling like having a visitor, and wow, he was
really
good looking. 

Standing on her porch, broad shouldered and filling the doorway, with the evening sun behind him, he could have easily graced the cover of a men’s clothing catalogue. 

When he didn’t answer her question, she realized he was glancing past her and into the house.  She felt relief, since distracted as he was, he hadn’t noticed her staring at him.  She followed his gaze, and he noticed.

“Oh, sorry,” he said quickly.  “I was just noticing the work you’ve done inside.  I’m really impressed.”

She smiled, despite the fact that she wished he’d head on home.  Her pizza was waiting, and she suddenly remembered Collette’s words. 
Where was his sidekick
?  But, the fact was, she wasn’t looking for romance, from him or his sidekick, so it was a moot point.  And really, how did one follow one’s own sidekick advice when the guy at the door showed up alone?  Maybe he
was
the sidekick and his even hotter friend was off somewhere, minus his sidekick.  But again, it was a moot point. 

Besides, she couldn’t imagine meeting a man hotter than him.  The very thought caused her cheeks to flame red.

She smoothed a hand through her hair.  Why had she ever given that sidekick advice in the first place?              

“Did you really lay this floor yourself?” he asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

She was grateful to see his eyes fixed on the floor, rather than on her.  “Yes.  It’s hardwood and I just love it.”

“Did you carry it on into the kitchen?”

“No, I actually laid tile in the kitchen.  I find it’s easier to clean, and if it gets damaged, it’s so much easier to replace.”

He nodded, still glancing around the room.  She surprised herself when she stepped aside and gestured him in.  “Would you like a closer look?”

“I would,” he said eagerly, stepping past her and into the foyer.

Why had she asked him in? she wondered, forcing back a groan.  Hadn’t she decided she didn’t need another handsome, but helpless man, in her life? 

She had to admit, it was an ego thing allowing him inside.  She was eager to show off her handiwork, proud that she had essentially rebuilt this home with her own two hands. 

Of course, Jay had been there too, during the construction process.  But his role had largely been to kick back in a recliner and call out to her for the occasional beverage.    

She shook her head again, vigorously, to eject Jay’s smirking face from her field of vision.  It seemed that lately, she saw him all the time in her mind’s eye, and she was definitely seeing him far more clearly than she had before.  But, she conceded, that was a good thing, since maybe she would eventually come to accept that some marriages just aren’t made to last—or aren’t meant to be in the first place.  Maybe she’d manage to stop being so hard on herself.

“Marcia…?”  Ethan’s penetrating voice was rife with concern.  “Are you … all right?”  

She shook her head to clear it.  “Oh, sure,” she said with a dismissive wave.  “I’m great.  Feel free to look around.”

He hesitated, but finally nodded, leaving the foyer and entering her living room.  He did a slow circle within the cozy space.  “This is really nice.  I really like the crown molding.  Did you install it yourself?”

She nodded.  “I got mighty familiar with a miter saw,” she told him, smiling, and remembering her multiple failed attempts at fitting the corners of molding together before she’d finally gotten it right.

“You did a great job,” he said, stepping closer for a better look.

“Don’t look too close,” she said.  “I’m afraid you’ll see my mistakes.”

He laughed.  “It looks perfect to me.”  It did look perfect.  Heck, after he came clean about his occupation, he ought to offer her a job as a finish carpenter, he mused.

She laughed, glancing up at the molding.  “Turns out diamonds aren’t a girl’s best friend,” she quipped.

He raised a questioning brow and she enlightened him as to her meaning.  “If you ask me, it’s caulk.  Caulk is definitely a girl’s best friend.”

He chuckled.  “Well, we guys are awfully fond of our duct tape,” he said.

“Oh, I like that too,” she agreed eagerly. 

He pointed to the floor.  “You really did an amazing job on the floor.  It’s spot on perfect as far as the seams.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” she said, failing to mask her pleasure at the recognition of a job well done.  “Would you like to see the kitchen?”

He nodded and followed her into the space, which was bigger than he expected.  The kitchen boasted stainless steel appliances and cherry wood cabinets.  An island spanned the center, with a stove top set within it. 

He admired the configuration of the kitchen, which allowed for plenty of cabinet space, while providing ample room for her large, family-sized, picnic-style table.  “Nice,” he mused, stepping forward and testing the weight of one of the cabinet doors.  He noted she had selected a quality product that would hold up for a lifetime.

He glanced down at the floor, impressed by the neutral-toned travertine tiles.  “You installed these?”

She nodded.  “It took me awhile to figure it out, but I finally got it right.”  She winced.  “Well, that little rug over there covers up a mistake.  I’ll get around to fixing it someday.”

He smiled.  “I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Would you like to see the sunroom?”

“Absolutely.”

She led him to the expansive room.  The dogs were delighted to have him in their personal space and danced around.  Allie dashed to her bed and picked up her ball.  She hurried to him and dropped it at his feet.

“She never gets tired of playing fetch,” Marcia told him.

“Do you mind?” he asked, as he opened the door that led to the back yard.

She bent to pick up Tootsie and followed him.  She stood back, watching him throw the ball across the lawn.  The eager Allie ran as fast as her tiny legs would carry her across the too-tall grass.  She practically disappeared in the lush green lawn.

“I think it’s time to mow,” Marcia murmured aloud.

Ethan turned to her.  “I bet it’s hard to find the time.  You’re so busy with the store.”

She shrugged.  “Ah, I do take off the occasional weekend, so there’s really no excuse for letting my lawn turn into a jungle.”

He smiled and resumed his game of fetch with Allie.  Marcia grabbed a lawn chair that was propped against the back of the house.  She sat down to watch the game.  Suddenly, she remembered the pizza.

“Oh, darn it,” she muttered.  Ethan turned toward her.  “I just remembered I left dinner on the table,” she told him and gave him a questioning glance.  “Would you like to join me?”

“Are you sure you have enough?”

“Absolutely.” 

He gave Allie a final toss of the ball.  She charged after it, and then ran full tilt back to him.  She danced around him, as if realizing the game was over, and conveying that she wasn’t too happy about it.  He bent to scoop her up and carried her with him into the house. 

Inside, Marcia retrieved a second plate, put a couple large slices on it, and popped it into the microwave.  She followed by heating up her remaining slice, and then putting the leftovers into the fridge.

“Thanks,” he said when she passed him the pizza.  He still held Allie in his arms, but very nearly learned the hard way that it wasn’t a good idea to hold her while he was eating.  She made a quick lunge for a slice and he pulled it away in the nick of time.  “That was close,” he said with a laugh, putting her down on the floor.

The dog gave him a baleful glance and trotted out of the room.  Tootsie, however, remained at Marcia’s feet, hoping her human friend might inadvertently drop a tasty morsel.

“How long will you be babysitting the dogs?” he asked.

“Until Friday.  I’ll hate to see them go.”  She smiled.  “Sometimes, Allie in particular, seems so human.”  She laughed.  “It sounds strange, but she seems to really pick up on my moods.  When I’m sad, she tries to cheer me up.  When I’m happy, she’s happy.  If I need some quiet time, she’ll join me and just sit beside me.”  She smiled again.  “Wow, if I don’t watch myself, I’ll probably end up an old woman with a house full of dogs.”