The Fix (The Carolina Connections, #1)(20)
“Uh, not really at this point, Laney. I mean, certain types of businesses couldn’t be licensed on this particular property anyway. There are rules for required distances from churches, schools, and what-not, but I can’t really help you out too much with anything concrete.” I brought another forkful of the delicious pasta to my mouth.
“But you’ll own the property, right, so technically you can decide whether or not to rent it out to specific people, right?”
Oh no, we were not going there tonight. We were having a nice meal, her friend seemed to like me well enough, and her kid had even spoken to me. I was not messing this up.
I finished chewing and wiped my lips with a napkin. “There’s actually a lot more that goes into those kinds of decisions. Is there any more of that garlic bread, Fiona?”
“Sure thing, Nate.” Fiona handed me the bread basket. “I’m sure Nate’s company will do its best, Laney. They don’t want trouble any more than you do, isn’t that right, Nate?” Fiona smiled at me and then let her eyes shift to Laney.
“Right,” I responded and then shoved a whole piece of bread in my mouth so I wouldn’t have to say another word.
“But let’s just speak in hypotheticals,” Laney continued, undaunted. It was like she was trying to annoy me. What was I saying? Of course she was trying to annoy me. “You wouldn’t rent the space to, say, a medical practice, would you?”
Genuinely confused, I forced the bread down my throat in a painful lump and responded in a tight voice, “What’s wrong with a medical practice? You could walk Rocco to a doctor’s appointment.” I gestured to the kid.
“I don’t wanna go to the doctor!” Rocco objected vehemently.
“Nobody’s going to the doctor,” Fiona soothed him.
“Yeah, and some junkie would break in at night and raid the drug cabinet. That happens more than you realize,” Laney declared, hand waving in the air.
I turned my head to the left and then to the right, looking for what? I had no clue. “What are you, a true crime author?”
“What’s a junkie?” Rocco chimed in at the same time.
Sensing, as I was, that this was going nowhere good, Fiona interjected, “Time for dessert!”
Thankfully, the rest of the evening went smoothly. Fiona was very chatty, Laney tolerated my presence, and Rocco even spoke another handful of words to me. Laney and I exchanged a few more heated looks, hers possibly fueled more by annoyance than lust, but I’d take what I could get at this point. I had yet to get her alone again, though, so when it was time to leave I was thrilled that Fiona led Rocco down the back hall and Laney was left to walk me to the door.
“So, thanks for dinner,” I said.
“Thank Fiona. She invited you.” Laney tried to glare at me but instead I got a reluctant smile. Damn, she was pretty. Tonight she had her hair up in a messy ponytail and she was wearing a black t-shirt and cut-off jeans, neither of which could hide her curves. I was dying to kiss her, but I figured she’d probably slap me at this point.
As we approached the door I remembered the damn doorknob. “Laney, you can’t go to sleep with your door like this,” I told her.
She waved me off. “I know. It keeps falling off, but I can fix it. At least temporarily—until Gavin gets to it.” She opened the door and I had no choice but to step out onto the porch.
“No offense to your brother, Laney, but he doesn’t know shit about fixing things from what I’ve seen so far.”
That earned me a bigger smile. “We’ll figure it out.”
“You know, I did notice a couple things in your kitchen that could use some attention too, and I’ve been told I’m pretty handy …”
“Handy or handsy?”
“Funny.”
“I thought so.”
“I’ve got some free time this weekend. I’d be happy to come over tomorrow and fix a few things. Truthfully, I’ve been spending so much time on the phone and driving from place to place that I haven’t actually held a tool in weeks—it’s killing me.”
Oddly, she seemed to be holding back a laugh at first and ducked her chin to her chest. But then she raised her head back up, schooling her expression and starting to shake her head.
“That would be awesome!” Fiona’s head popped in from out of nowhere. “She’ll see you tomorrow morning.” The door closed in my face.
“I’ll be here at nine. I’ll bring coffee!” I yelled through the door before turning around and stepping off the porch.
“She doesn’t drink coffee!” came the voice through the door.
I smiled. I’d have to get creative then.
Chapter Eight
Boom!
LANEY
“Oh my God. When I turned around and saw that man I swear I ovulated on the spot. Boom! Instant fertility. They should give that guy out as a prescription—fertility clinics nationwide would fold overnight.” Fiona looked at me dreamily and then switched to her mad face (which was ineffective on its best day). “Lucy, you got some ‘splainin’ to do—you did not accurately describe just how edible that guy is!” Her expression changed again as the wheels turned. “And did you see the way he was eye-fucking you across the table?” She fanned herself.