Page 37 of The Spotted Cottage By the Sea
Sheila turned to her with wide eyes. “When did you decide we were going to do all of that?”
She shrugged. “While I was walking around.”
“I’m happy to help,” Russell said.
Eliza beamed at Sheila expectantly, but all she could manage was a grunt.
“Thank you for that,” Eliza said. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take a look at the teacups.”
Eliza disappeared, and Sheila was left staring at Russell. The weight of his celebrity really hit her now.
He was at ease, though, looking around and surveying the room. “My kids would’ve loved this when they were little.”
Sheila cleared her throat. “Yeah, it was always a hit with my girls.”
He turned to face her. “I hope I’m not making myself too much of a nuisance.”
“Of course not,” Sheila heard herself say.
“It’s been slow going, making friends on the island. Actually,” he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, “ever since the divorce, really. Life hasn’t really been the same.”
She knew he was divorced, but she’d resisted looking up any details. It was easier to imagine other people’s divorces as they were described in polite company. “Things didn’t work out,” or “We wanted different things.” She didn’t want to imagine the open wounds beneath those statements.
“Divorce does that to a person,” she said.
“Yeah.” He laughed. “For so long, I wanted to be alone. That’s where the wolves came in.”
Sheila let out a little laugh. “Right. The wolves. How could I forget about the wolves?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I never forget about them. I’m kind of insulted you have already.”
“Wolf 12 is my guy,” Sheila said.
Russell stared at her, his mouth in a flat line. “I thought you loved Wolf 8.”
“Oh, right.” A laugh burst out of her. “Wolf 8, my hero.”
“Is this a joke to you?” he asked, crossing his arms. “I bet you can’t even tell Wolf 8 and Wolf 21 apart.”
“I betyoucan’t tell them apart,” Sheila said lamely, her laughter building even more.
“I have more pictures of Wolf 21 on my wall than I do my own children,” he said firmly. “Howdareyou.”
Now she was doubled over. She didn’t know why – maybe because he was a world-famous actor – but his delivery was hilarious.
When she finally ran out of steam, she put up a hand. “Okay, I’m sorry. You win. I don’t know about wolves. You caught me.”
“It’s okay.” He let out a heavy sigh. “I’ll be able to tell you all about them when we’re repainting the walls. I have a ladder, you know.”
“You really don’t have to help. Don’t listen to Eliza. She can get so bossy, but –”
“No. Please.” He smiled that dazzling movie-star smile. “It’s not even for Patty. It’s for you.”
Her heart leapt and her breath ran out. She managed to quickly recover. “For me?”
“Yes. Your wolf knowledge is abysmal. If you’re going to pull off that howling-at-the-moon wardrobe, you need some help.”
Ah, of course. She smiled. “I’ll make sure to wear that shirt on our first day working.”
