Fixer-Upper (Spinning Hills Romance 3) (12 page)

“Come see.” He motioned with his head. She walked over and took a quick peek inside. Between the piled-up chairs, the desk, the paint supplies, and the freshly painted walls, there was barely room for one person, let alone two. No way was she going in.

“I love the color. It’s very serene.” She popped back into the hallway. He was standing close behind, so she slid along the wall, in the most subtle way possible, until she was a good eight or so feet away.

“Before you leave, I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something . . .”

“Mhm?” Her eyes quickly flitted between a paint splatter on his biceps and his face.

“Marissa?”

“Yes?”

“My eyes are up here.”

Marissa shot him a look before rolling her eyes. “
I know
—I was looking at an interesting paint splatter on your arm.”

“Hmm. This feels like a more interesting version of Rorschach’s inkblot test. What do you think you see? I’m trained to interpret it for you, you know.” He flexed his bicep and she gave him her stern teacher look.

She was about to call him out on his unprofessional behavior, when something in his expression caught her attention. He was being his usual merry and teasing self, but there was something behind his eyes. Was he nervous and uncomfortable, too? She remembered all the turmoil in his home growing up, how Marty used to say Johnny bent over backward to keep the peace.

Humor was Johnny’s shield and armor, and maybe it was better that way—for now. Johnny felt far more dangerous when he was being serious. She glanced at her watch. “I don’t have time for this, Brian is about to call.” And with that, she left. She power-walked down the hall, through the double doors, and down the steps toward the staff parking lot.

“Marissa, wait,” Johnny walked out of the building, too. “I’m sorry. I wanted to ask you about Melinda, but I got sidetracked. You do that to me, and I know I need to work on that.” He looked into her eyes before gazing out into the distance. He was being serious now, but it was all so uncomfortable. When would it get better?

She knew she should tell him not to say things like that to her, but at that moment she was having trouble separating the Johnny she’d known her whole life from the prince in the elevator and Mr. A. The same thing was probably happening to him. In time, she could learn to reconcile Johnny with Mr. A. But there was absolutely no room in her life for the prince in the elevator. They needed to sort that whole mix-up out now and put it behind them for good.

“Did you talk to her? Is she okay?” he asked.

She swallowed. “Yes. I talked to her last night.”

“Does she know it was you?”

“I—I think she suspects it, but I also think she’s already put the whole thing behind her.” She had a hard time talking to him about this, and her gaze kept flitting between him and the double doors.

“Do you know why she was so hurt in the first place? I hate to ask you, but there are some things I’ve been trying to understand so I can put this behind me too, and wait your mom, Rosa, and Marty out. I think they’ll come around eventually.”

It sounded as if they were on the same page. But it felt more as if they were both putting a dream to rest. “They’ll come around. Abuela already misses you, I can tell. And I’m trying to help. You just caught my family at a bad time. Melinda’s kind of”—she searched for words that wouldn’t betray her sister—“trying to find herself right now, and Mom is worried.”

Johnny nodded, as if he understood. “The other thing I’ve been wondering about is why Rosa didn’t mention you were at the masquerade party that night, too.” He gave her a comical, long-suffering look. “It would’ve saved me a world of trouble if I’d known you were there.”

“Because it was my first year teaching, and I was so busy I hadn’t come down to visit in a while, and they were on my back about it. You know how they can be. And then the masquerade party came up, and not only was it a chance to catch up with an old friend and relax, but Melinda was thinking about starting college, and I thought it would be a good chance for her to explore campus life. I got her an invitation and she agreed not to mention I’d be there. We knew they’d be upset if I told them I finally had some free time but that I’d be spending it at a party and not here.” She looked into his eyes for the first time since he’d followed her out.

He shifted his gaze to meet hers and the fiery golden specks in his eyes flashed so bright, they now drowned the green in his hazel eyes. “Well, thanks for trying to help, although I think we should keep you out of it. We wouldn’t want your errant knight knowing you kissed a real prince, now, would we?”

Heat and anger bubbled and sparked all over. “Stop saying things like that! You said you’d keep things professional!”

“I am. Have I done anything unprofessional at all during work hours? No,” he answered his own question. “We’re old friends, you and me, and I’m only teasing, same as I’ve always done. But I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you all hot and bothered over it.”

“You’re an overgrown, cocky child who never even noticed me until I sprouted boobs! You do not possess the ability to heat or bother me
in any way
.”

“I noticed you all right. I’ve never forgotten your happy smile or the way your eyes lit up every time you’d run to the corner to meet me. There’s a reason I held on to that memory—I just didn’t understand it until recently.”

Marissa marched off. Why did he keep saying things like that? Brian was his friend. Didn’t that mean anything to him? Johnny had never been a cruel or insensitive person, yet he kept crossing this particular line.
Why?

It wasn’t like she was Helen of Troy. She was not the type to inspire fights. Something must’ve happened the night of the masquerade party to addle his brain. Maybe it had been Snow White’s slap. Or maybe someone had spiked his drink with some serious love potion.

The first thing she did when she got to her car was to leave Brian a message, begging him to come down that Friday. Somehow she had to get Johnny to stop his stupid innuendos. They inspired a fight-or-flight response that was undesirable, uncomfortable, and unwanted.

 

When Johnny got home that evening, his mom was waiting for him. “Have you been avoiding me?” were the first words out of her mouth. Marianne Amador had been a good enough mom, a terrible stepmom, and a devoted but misguided wife. Somehow, everything always seemed to revolve around her. But she was his mom and he loved her, so he tried his best to navigate peace, while never negotiating his own sense of loyalty to what was right. That usually meant taking Dan’s side against his mom’s and doing his best to rein in the storm that followed.

“No. I’m sorry I’ve missed you. I’ve been crazy busy, that’s all,” he said, and kissed her cheek.

“So I’ve heard.” She frowned.

“Well, you heard it from me, first. I always told you what I wanted to do with my life.” He smiled and shrugged as if he didn’t know how deeply disappointed she was that he wasn’t going to open a prominent private practice with a big ol’ sign that said D
R
. J
ONATHON
A
MADOR
.

Marianne stiffened. “Why can’t you be more of a mercenary, like Dan?”

Johnny stifled a sigh.
And why can’t you learn this line of reasoning never ends well?
he wanted to shout. But he kept his tone light and even. “Mercenaries only care about making money, Ma, and Dan didn’t let Sam pay him for months, so I think you mean you wish I was more merciful, like Dan. And I will be. I promise.”

Marianne got up. “You
always
choose to misunderstand me, and then you make a big joke about it, as if you didn’t just insult me. You know what I mean. He didn’t throw his law degree away, and he does well. I want you to do well. I want all of you to do well. I meant it as a compliment.”

“I will do well. I’ll be fine.”

“And what about all this garbage I’m hearing about you making a cake of yourself on Saturday night at the Medinas? And this crazy rumor about buying the Cursed Lover? What’s been going on with you, Jonathon?”

Johnny sat down and put his head in his hands a moment to regroup. He didn’t have time for this. He needed to go check on his house and pick up the puppies from Cassie’s office. She and Holly were tag-team babysitting them during the day.

But his mom truly was worried about him. It looked like it was going to be a long evening.

 

Melinda opted not to go to Huffy’s with the rest of the Medina clan that night. Her excuse was that Marty didn’t have anything healthy on the menu. Marissa wondered if it was because she’d skipped the appointment with the guidance counselor at Wright Sate and didn’t want to be asked about it.

But as she laughed and talked with her family over wings, fries, and pizza, Marissa had to admit Melinda was right. The food was delicious, but she could practically feel her veins clogging up with fat. No wonder her mom and grandmother still packed lunch and dinner for Marty, even though his friends and employees teased him mercilessly about it.

Marty sat with them awhile and told them about his plans for buying another family-friendly tavern in a town farther north. Michelle Medina reached over to grab her husband’s arm. “Do you hear that? Our son is on his way to becoming a mogul!”

Marty laughed. “Hardly a mogul, but I’m definitely planning on building a mini-empire of neighborhood hangouts. Come Monday, I’ll own two and be on my way.”

“You’re that far ahead in your plans! Why didn’t you tell us before?” Her mom looked hurt.

“Uh, Dad knew I was thinking about it, but I didn’t make the final decision till today.”

Michelle turned to glare at her husband. “You knew but you didn’t tell me?”

“You’ve been distracted and I didn’t want to add anything else to your plate when Marty wasn’t even sure himself. He only wanted my opinion,” Roberto said, looking suitably chagrined. It was a practiced look.

“Exactly. And I’m telling you both about my final decision now,” Marty was quick to point out. Though he sounded relaxed, his eyes kept flitting over to a table full of regulars.

Roberto sent his son a knowing look. “You keep looking over at your usual table and we can all see someone’s missing tonight. Does your best friend know your news?”

Both Marty and Michelle rolled their eyes and Marissa put down her half-eaten wing. Why couldn’t she go one hour without having
him
somehow invade her peace? He was like a tick, latching on and making her itch.

“Are you trying to get on my bad side tonight? Because you’re doing a great job of it.” Her mother folded her arms across her chest.

Marissa took a quick breath and let it out. Tick or not, she’d promised herself she’d try to help Johnny with her family. Her mother was notoriously unreasonable when it came to her children, so that would take a while. But she couldn’t understand the stubborn look in Marty’s eyes. “I’m with Dad. I don’t understand why Marty is still mad. Your
bromance
is the stuff of legends. It sounds like Johnny made a mistake, but we all know he didn’t mean any harm.”

Marty smirked at her. “Exactly. He never does. And right now, I’m sick of it. I asked him if he was sure, Marissa, and he said he was, and then he goes and hurts my little sister when she’s at her lowest point. I just don’t get him sometimes, and right now, I’m tired of trying.”

Michelle wagged a fry at Marissa. “I’ve had enough, too. I’ve treated him like another son, even though he’s been getting your brother in trouble for years, ever since they were in kindergarten.”

“Kindergarten?” Marty drew his eyebrows together.

“Yes. Don’t you remember he convinced you to help him use spray paint to paint the teacher’s car pink? She’d said it was her favorite color, and she wished cars came in pink, and you and Johnny managed to ruin two doors before they found you two. We had to split the cost of a new paint job with the Amadors, and Marianne Amador blamed you!”

“Hey, at least she didn’t blame Dan that time.” Marty said, and Marissa saw the hint of a smile. Marianne was Dan’s stepmom and the way she treated Dan was often a topic of conversation at their house. Her parents knew it was why the Amador boys ran wild over town, because none of them wanted to be home. The Medina home had always welcomed all three of them, and despite their reputation, they were always helpful and polite. In many ways, they’d felt like her older brothers, too. Sam had helped her build a birdhouse once, and Dan had helped her with homework more than a few times.

“Then there was the sound system prank in grade school, the toilet paper thing in middle school, the goat incident in high school . . .” her mother mused.

“Toilet paper thing?” Marissa asked. She didn’t remember that one.

Roberto chuckled. “Well, one of the new teachers insulted a kid by using him as an example for a vocabulary word—
gauche
, I think it was. The principal wouldn’t listen to the kid’s complaint, and none of the kids liked the teacher, so they decided to get revenge by TP-ing the teacher’s house.”

“But how was that Johnny’s fault?”

“Johnny was supposed to bring the toilet paper, but he wanted to support a local business to impress his dad, so he bought thirty individual rolls at Mr. Moody’s old general store, as if that wouldn’t look suspicious.” Marty shook his head as if he still couldn’t believe it. “Of course when Mr. Moody found out about the teepeeing, he told on Johnny.”

“But Johnny wouldn’t give any of you up,” Roberto reminded his son.

“No, but I wasn’t going to let him clean the mess up on his own. It rained that night and the toilet paper tore and got stuck to the tree branches in little bitty pieces. It took us days to get it all out.”

Marissa giggled, imagining it, and Marty smiled despite himself. “I remember the goat incident,” she said, “but I don’t think I ever heard the details. All I remember is you guys getting kicked out of school for a week and Mom and Dad being furious,” she said.