The upstairs was what the realtor called cozy in order to avoid words like small or cramped. Since it was connected to another store, there were only windows on the front, back, and south facing wall, letting in minimal light. But there was a roof area he could see setting up with a barbeque and tiki bar. All in all, it was perfect.
“Can I come back? I’d like to show my brother.” Ryan’s opinion always helped when it came to big decisions.
“I’ll leave you the lockbox code, so you can take a second look. It’s been sitting a while, so you have time.”
“Oh, Patrick, I just don’t know.” His mother didn’t approve—and her disapproval could be brutal, because she was never the sort to sit silently by and watch her children make mistakes, even when they weren’t mistakes. “How will you get furniture up such a narrow staircase? The lack of light could cause seasonal depression. And the kitchen’s hardly a kitchen at all. How will you entertain?”
“Who am I entertaining, Mum? This is fine.”
“I like it,” Jo chimed in. “It’s actually pretty perfect.”
Something strange happened, something he never witnessed before. At Jo’s opposing opinion, his mother…bit her tongue. What was this witchcraft?
“Well,” his mother responded hesitantly. “Far be it for me to be one of those intrusive mothers-in-law. You’ll be the one having to make it a home.”
The thought of Jo being any sort of apron-wearing homemaker made him chuckle. And he knew such an idea would make her twitch, so he went with it.
Slinging his arm over her shoulder, he smiled. “Yeah, babe. Just think, you’ll be over there cooking me dinner and setting the table. We can get one of those electric fireplaces, and I could put my feet up over here by the window, in my favorite chair, while you fetch me a martini and the remote, maybe even treat me to a little foot rub. And we’ll live happily ever after.”
She smiled with gritted teeth. “Sounds lovely.”
His mother gave them a strange look. “I can teach you a few things wives should know.”
He swallowed a laugh. “Wow, Mum, that’s really generous of you. Jo was just saying she wished she could be more domestic. She really has an affinity for the way things used to be. You can help her find her inner Donna Reed.”
He ignored the way Jo’s nails dug into his arm. She could stop this at any time. But if she was sticking to the lie, he was going to make her work for it.
Jo’s phone pinged and she pulled it from her back pocket. “Julie’s here.”
“Julie?” All thoughts of house hunting derailed as his mind filled with images of the woman he loved. God, he had to stop torturing himself. “When did she get here?”
“Last night. She didn’t realize I was in town. She wants to see me.”
“Let’s go.” He sounded way too eager.
“What about the other listings?” his mother asked.
He checked his watch. It was only eleven. He told Ryan he’d be by around noon. If he wanted to see Julie, he needed to wrap this up. “I like this place.”
“Patrick, you need to see all your options.”
“Can we meet again later this week?” he asked the realtor.
“Sure, my schedule’s pretty open.” Of course, it was. Things were only ever urgent in his mother’s mind.
“Great. I’ll give you a call.” He was already walking toward the door, and Jo was rolling her eyes.
She kept her mouth shut, until they dropped off his mother. As soon as they were alone in the car, she let him have it.
“I swear you’d chew off your own arm to get to a girl who’s not at all available to you, Pat. Why do you do this to yourself?”
“I was doing it for you. You said she needed to see you.”
“Bullshit. You’re using me as an excuse.”
He didn’t deny it. “I haven’t seen her in over a year.”
She sighed. “She’s engaged.”
“Well, according to the rest of Jasper Falls so are we. She’s my friend.”
“Really? When was the last time you called her?”
“Why do you care?”
“Because I don’t want to see you get hurt. This is like self-masochism. Every time there’s a holiday or anything, you obsess over seeing her and then you mope around the rest of the time, because news flash, she’s still with Lance.”
He beeped at a car waiting at a green light. “Go!” The car moved, and he felt Jo’s stare burning into him. “Stop looking at me like that.”
He knew he was acting like an obsessed stalker. He didn’t want to hear her laundry list of reasons about how unhealthy his fixation with Julie was. He got it. He suffered it every day for the last twenty plus years. He’d eventually get over her, but right now, he needed to concentrate and prepare himself, because where Julie was, Lance was, and he hated seeing that arrogant douchebag.