Page 68 of Patio Lanterns

He pursed his lips. “Interesting.”

She laughed, feeling uncomfortable as his gaze focused on her. “Is it interesting?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Now I’m not sure,” he said, chuckling along with her.

This felt weird. Was Aidan coming on to her, or was he just making small talk to pass the time? She honestly couldn’t tell. It didn’t feel like flirting, although he was certainly tap dancing around it. It all just felt a little too awkward or staged for her to be flattered by his attention.

She wondered if Lark was the puppet master pulling the strings. She was trying to push them together. Did she convince him to actually go so far as to flirt too? Because there was no way that Aidan Hunter was actually into Robin Pelletier. Was there?

“Robin?”

“Hmm?” She snapped back to the conversation. “I’m sorry, you were saying?”

“I said, it must be hard to be in a relationship when you’re travelling with the band.”

“It sure doesn’t make things any easier.” It’s not even easy when you’re dating someone in the band. “Not sure if you’ve heard, but the Dawn Cherries recently hit the skids.” She quickly pulled up the video of Parker’s meltdown in Orillia and showed him the clip.

“Oh shit,” he said, handing her phone back. “I guess I missed that. So, what does this mean for the band?”

She shrugged. “Until they decide to talk to each other again, I’m kinda stuck in limbo.”

“At least it’s summer, and you’re at the lake. There are worse places to be stuck in limbo.”

“That’s for sure,” she said, taking a drink at the same time their server brought two cheeseburger platters to the table. “Sounds like your job is going much better than mine. Let’s talk about that instead, shall we?”

“Sure,” he said, starting on his fries first. “What about it?”

“Well, you said you’re building cottages for movie stars now. That’s cool. You were always really handy. I think I remember you working on our dock with my dad, and if memory serves, you MacGyvered our lawn mower a time or two.”

He laughed. “Oh yeah, that’s right. The Pelletiers were probably my first customers,” he said. “You should come down to my mom’s cottage sometime to see all the renos I did there. Well, actually, it’s my dad’s now. He made quite a few changes himself. Bet you wouldn’t even recognize the old place.”

Robin picked up her burger, preparing to stuff it in her mouth so she didn’t make any stupid slips. “So, why would you want to give up what you’re good at to get into real estate?”

“I see it as combining the best of both worlds, really. I’m interested in the holistic process—buying the land, financing the deals, building the projects, and bringing in crews for projects,” he said, his eyes lighting up. “I get to imagine and then orchestrate the entire development process from beginning to end.”

“So, you’re a total control freak,” she laughed, shaking her head. “Just like Lark.”

Aidan laughed too. “The guy I’m working with has reeled in some very impressive clients,” he said. “And to show him I’m partnership material, I’ve already got a nibble on someone who may be the biggest catch of them all. He’s a real A-lister.”

Since Kurt and Goldie first bought their place some twenty-odd years ago and their famous friends soon started flocking to Muskoka, longtime residents barely gave celebrities a second look. Running into someone who sort of looked like that guy who was in that movie pumping gas, buying ice cream, or playing a round of golf was old hat. It helped that there was an unspoken understanding that respecting privacy was a two-way street. Celebrities were welcome to vacation on the down low, as long as they kept the peace in and the paparazzi out.

Aidan leaned forward. “Can you keep a secret?”

Robin mirrored him, leaning forward as she grinned. “I don’t know, can I?”

His eyes darted from side to side to ensure no one was within earshot range. “The guy I’m talking about is megawatt huge. Guess who it is.”

“I don’t know, Aidan. I’m really not good at—”

“Go on. Take a guess,” he said eagerly. “Okay, I’ll give you a hint. He’s one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Does all his own stunts.”

She shrugged. “I dunno. Tom Cruise?”

“Okay, maybe not that huge, but still pretty up there. You’ve definitely heard of him, and for sure you’ve seen his movies.”

“I really don’t know, Aidan,” Robin said, rolling her eyes. “It could be anyone.”

“Okay, here’s another hint. Likes fast cars and faster women?”

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