Page 69 of Patio Lanterns

That narrowed it down to no one in particular. She shrugged, not wanting to continue playing his silly game, yet not wanting to hurt his feelings. “I’m sorry, I give up.”

He shook his head. “Does the name Barrett Kemp ring a bell?”

Ding-dong, did it ever. “I don’t live under a rock, of course, I know Barrett Kemp. Question is, how do you know him?”

“I don’t really, at least not yet. His business manager knows people who know people, and those people know people who have seen my work. And somehow, Barrett got hold of some pictures and liked what he saw. At least, that’s what I heard.” He shrugged. “Who knows? He might be asking yours truly to build him a lakefront vacation home right here.”

“Might be?”

“I’ve been playing phone tag with his manager trying to score a meeting,” Aidan said. “That’s something at least. Working with someone this famous is a definitely not something I’m used to. You’ve got to play the game, only they’re the ones who make all the rules.”

“You know who might be able to help you out? Dove,” Robin suggested. “She works with all sorts of rich, high-end clients as a… a… well, I can’t really remember what her exact job is called, but she’s good at it. She knows this kind of stuff like the back of her hand.”

“Great idea,” he said.

“She could use a professional win, too. So if you could help her out and maybe throw some business her way, that would be great.”

“Of course,” Aidan said. “You know I’d do anything for you guys.”

Robin took another bite of her burger. “Speaking of my sisters, if you’re so busy building mega estates for mega stars with megabucks, why are you wasting your time installing kitchen cabinets for us in our tiny little fleabag shack?”

He smiled and ran his hand through his hair, probably a holdover habit from the days he had longer hair to brush aside. “Because Lark asked me to, and after all these years, I still can’t say no to her.”

Robin smiled. “She really means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”

“She’s one of my best and oldest friends,” he said. “I adore her.”

“Well, I’ve got to hand it to you for sticking it out this long. She’s my sister, and I can hardly stand being in the same room with her,” Robin admitted. “She’s been riding my ass since we got here.”

“I definitely picked up on the tension between you,” Aidan said. “I’m not excusing her moodiness, but maybe cut Lark a little slack. She’s going through some stuff right now.”

“She’s going through ‘stuff.’ What does that mean? We’re all going through stuff.”

“I know this has been a hard time for all of you,” he said. “And maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this, but on top of dealing with the loss of your mom, and being back at the cottage, she and Philip are…”

“What?”

“Please don’t tell her I told you,” he pleaded, “but they’ve separated. Lark found out that he’s been having an affair and left him.”

Whoa. The news blew Robin away, forcing her back in her seat. “Shit. Really?”

“Yeah. She flew out with Nova on an open ticket, and she’s taken a sabbatical from the hospital.”

Robin suddenly felt guilty for giving Lark a hard time. “Why didn’t she say anything to us?”

“You know Lark. She’s embarrassed, I guess.” Aidan took a drink and put his mug down again. “She never should’ve married that cheating piece of shit in the first place.”

“Finally!” Robin exhaled. “Finally, someone else who sees Phil the Pill for what he really is. I thought Dove and I were the only ones who couldn’t stand that chumplefuck for screwing around on Lark. But I thought he was a changed man after they got married.”

“I did too. So did she, apparently,” he said sadly. “You know, I told her the night before their wedding not to marry that guy. That she was making a huge mistake and that she deserved much better.”

Robin gasped. “Oh shit, Aidan. I can’t believe you did that.”

He nodded. “Looking back, it was probably a shitty thing to do, and my timing couldn’t have been worse. But I couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”

“What did she say?”

“She was furious, of course. Said it was too late for her to back out and be humiliated in front of all her friends and family. That she was going to marry Philip no matter what.”

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