Page 21 of An Ex Affair

“No Crazy Beans coffee and muffin?” I asked, breezing by Mom at the dining table and heading for the kitchen to snag some fruit for breakfast.

“Not today. Colson must still be at work.”

I buried my head in the refrigerator and rolled my eyes. It still chafed me that my mother and my ex-husband were on friendly terms. I mean, I was grateful Colson had been looking after her all these years, but I was also…jealous of their closeness? Feeling guilty that I wasn’t the one to take better care of my own mother? And maybe even feeling a little warm and fuzzy around the edges that Colson still loved my mother and what that said about him as a man. I grabbed an apple and bit into it, turning for the coffee pot and blessing Mom in my head for always having a pot ready.

“I’m headed out to meet up with Emmerleigh Slaywright at a jobsite.”

Mom pushed back her chair and came into the kitchen, bringing her empty bowl to the ancient farmhouse sink. She hadn’t let me remodel the kitchen over the years, saying everything would be vintage and in style again if she just waited long enough. “Oh, that’s lovely, honey. Em is such a sweet woman. And strong.” Mom clucked her tongue. “Maybe you two can work together.”

I swallowed my bite of apple, considering it. “I haven’t really made plans for the rest of my life.”

Mom studied me. “Is Hollywood what you still want? Or are you just running after old goals and dreams?”

I leaned in to kiss Mom on the cheek and headed for the door leading to the garage. “That’s an excellent question,” I said over my shoulder. “I’ll let you know when I know.”

Despite Mom’s huff of frustration with me, I did think it over on the drive to Em’s jobsite. I pulled up to the structure of a house built into the cliffside that was already magnificenteven though it was obviously still under construction. I climbed out of my car and ducked between the construction fencing to get a closer look. With turrets, gables, and dark rock accents extending two stories into the tangy coastal air, the whole thing had a goth Victorian vibe I was loving.

A woman with long auburn hair pulled into a ponytail came bounding down the front steps and immediately offered me a smile. “Hey! You must be Tully. I’m Savannah. I work with Em.”

We shook hands. I instantly liked Savannah when she gripped the hell out of my hand and I felt calluses lining her palm. No twatapotomus here. “Nice to meet you. This place is gorgeous!”

Savannah lit up. “It really is. We’re pretty proud of it. Em mentioned she wanted your input on the inside. Want to follow me?” She went back up the steps and I followed, head on a swivel as I took in all the details. I was impressed with Em’s work. She wasn’t a builder who took shortcuts.

“Em! Tully’s here!” Savannah called into what would soon be the kitchen. A large island was centered in the room, plumbing and electrical already installed into the wood framing.

Em and a rather tall broad woman were standing by the expansive window that looked north, showing off the cliffside. Em came over and gave me a hug, surprising me.

“I’m so glad you made it.” She pulled back and then made a face, her head dropping to her torso. A dark stain spread out from her left breast.

The other woman guffawed, her thick German accent delighting me. “Verdammt!Next thing you know, that husband of yours will be here, insisting you’re working too hard.” She waggled thick eyebrows at me. “Although I wouldn’t mind a bit of a beer break, you know?”

Savannah shushed the woman. “It’s not even noon, Pip.”

Em waved them both away, her cheeks tinged with pink. “Ignore them. They bicker all day long.” She gestured to her chest. “And ignore the milk too. Just another reason why my company is named Matriarchy Builds. We’re an all-woman company and sometimes milk happens.”

Savannah interrupted, reading off her phone. “Warrick said he’s on the way with Vivi so you can feed her.”

My brain froze at the mention of Warrick. “Wait. You’re married to Warrick?”

Em smiled so brilliantly I envied her. Clearly she was madly in love with her husband. Who just so happened to be Colson’s older brother.

“I am. We got married six months ago, and we had Vivienne two months ago. I’m sorry you missed the wedding reception.”

My head was bobbing in a nod, feeling all kinds of awkward. “I’m not sure I’d have been invited to that.”

Em put her hand on my arm and steered me out of the kitchen. Pip and Savannah were, indeed, still bickering. “Oh, please. Gigi would have invited you in a heartbeat. She thinks you and Colson still have some things to work out.” When I opened my mouth, she put up her hand, stopping me. “I’m not getting mixed up in any of that. That’s your business with Colson. I just want your brilliant mind to look at this space and brainstorm with me.”

I kept nodding and it was starting to give me a headache. “That I can do.”

I got ahold of my head and forced myself to study the interior around me. We were in a living room. A large fireplace would clearly take up most of the far wall and the expansive glass sliders would open up to the view of the ocean. It would be a spectacular room, the focal point of the whole house if we did it right. My heart rate kicked up like it always did when I started envisioning spaces and let my mind wander into the impossible.It was my goal to make the impossible remodel possible. And fucking spectacular. I began to rattle off ideas, my hands painting the picture right along with my words. Em followed me, the two of us traversing the house and tossing ideas back and forth until both of us were starry-eyed and buzzing with excitement.

When we made it back to the kitchen, Em grabbed me by both arms. “Tully. Hear me out. I’m sure you can go anywhere you want, but if you want to stay in Blueball, come work with me.” I jolted at the offer, but she gripped me tighter and rushed on. “Join my company or work with me as an independent contractor. Doesn’t matter to me. I just want your creativity on these home builds I keep getting. It’s not a flashy job like your show, I know. But it’s an honest living with a decent paycheck.”

Savannah and Pip passed us, two interior doors carried between them. “If you went with me to karaoke, you could find a man. Guaranteed,” Pip was saying to the redhead. “And not thoseförstersyou always date.”

Savannah rolled her eyes and adjusted her grip on the doors with a grunt. “They’re not idiots. Okay, fine. Some are, but karaoke is not the key to true love.”

“It’s the key to good German beer. What more do you need?” Pip’s voice trailed off as they moved down the hallway to some of the ground-floor bedrooms.

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