Page 37 of Sweet Love at Bayside
“Violet!” Desiree felt her cheeks flame. She scooped Cosmos up, trying to settle him, and herself, down. She shot a look at Rick, who was stifling a grin and shaking his head.
Stepping away from Violet, Desiree turned her attention to the oldest of the three men, hoping they hadn’t heard her sister’s comment. “Hi. I’m Desiree Cleary, Violet’s sister, and this is my boyfriend, Rick Savage.” It felt good to call Rick her boyfriend.Really good.“You’re here to do the renovations?”
“That’s right. Rob Wicked and sons at your service.” He took off his baseball cap, revealing a shock of black hair, flecked with silver. A friendly smile stretched across his face. “These are my boys, Zeke and Zander.”
One of his sons flashed a cocky smile and thrust out his hand. “Zeke Wicked. Nice to meet you.”
He had the same thick black hair as his father and bright blue eyes like his brother, who was busy lusting over Violet in her bikini top and shorts. Maybe Desiree should take her clothes shopping.
“Hi. I’m Zander.” With a rake of his hand, he pushed his longish brown hair away from his face and winked at Violet.
Zeke elbowed him, and Zander grinned.
Violet narrowed her eyes as if she were putting him through some sort of mental test. His smile never faltered. He obviously wasn’t afraid of failing.
This should be fun.“I guess you guys have already started in the studio?”
“The studio?” Rob put his hat back on. “You mean the room with all the painting supplies? No, ma’am. We have strict orders not to step foot in that room until the two of you give us directions on what you’d like done.”
Desiree looked curiously at Violet.
“Don’t look at me,” Violet said. “I have no idea what she’s asked them to do.”
“I can give you the rundown. Starting on this floor, we’re taking down these walls.” Rob pointed to the walls that separated the hall from the bedrooms. “On the second floor, we’re combining the two front bedrooms into one, and on the first floor, we’re removing the wall between the dining room and the kitchen and—”
“What?” Desiree looked at Violet again. “No.”
“You can’t do that,” Violet said. “This house has been this way forever. It’s practically historic. You can’t change the structure.”
“Can we put this process on hold?” Desiree asked. “We thought you were here to fix drywall and, I don’t know. The kitchen and bathrooms, maybe? And I guess you already renovated the widow’s walk, which is gorgeous, by the way.”
“They did?” Violet asked.
“Yes, and it’s beautiful,” Desiree said as Violet plowed past her and headed upstairs to the widow’s walk.
“Zander and I finished that up last week,” Zeke said with a proud smile.
“Rob,” Rick intervened. “Desiree and Violet have just been thrown into managing this project, and the house has sentimental value to them. Would you mind if they take a look at the contract and design plans before you get started?”
Desiree was relieved that he’d stepped in. Her mind was running in too many directions to speak rationally.
Violet came down from the widow’s walk raving about how awesome it was, took one look at Desiree, and said, “Don’t worry. We’re not going to let anything else happen.”
Zeke and Zander left, and Rob stayed to review the plans. After going over the proposed renovations, it became clear that the house would no longer even feel like Summer House Inn. This was another piece of her family that her mother could take away. Maybe Lizza hadn’t finished the widow’s walk for Desiree after all. Maybe it was all just part of the general renovations, to bring Summer House Inn back to life so she could sell it.
“I don’t understand any of this,” Desiree finally said. “Rob, can we cancel the contract?”
Rob shook his head. “I’m sorry, Desiree, but we’ve already had the structural drawings done, and there’s a no-cancellation clause in the contract. The good news is that Ms. Vancroft did say that if you two wanted changes, we had her permission to work with you, within the confines of the monetary contract. But the bad news is that our architect is backed up for five weeks. So, I’m afraid if you decide to make changes to the plans, we may need to wait to get started closer to the end of the summer.”
Panic gripped her. “Vi, if they start when Lizza’s here, she’ll makeallof these changes.”
“I know you have to get back to teach,” Violet said. “But I’ll stay, and I won’t let her destroy the house.”
Rick took Desiree’s hand. “Sweetheart, I’m a licensed architect. I can do the drawings for you and Violet and have them done quickly.”
She wanted to leap into his arms, but she didn’t want to be an imposition. “You’re finishing your own renovations at the resort. Are you sure you have time? And what will it cost?”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure.”
