Page 37 of Not Exactly Mr. Darcy
She spun to face him, hand on her heart. “You startled me!”
“What are you doing sneaking up on us like that?” George scolded. “You could’ve given poor Veronica here a heart attack.”
Except Veronica wasn’t the one still clutching her chest. “Sorry.”
“And nothing is wrong,” Marge said. “Well, it’s obvious from our little tour today that there’s plenty to be made right, but it seems we’ve got someone with the vision and energy to make it right.” She patted Liv on the shoulder.
“She is definitely the right woman for the job,” George agreed.
He raised his eyebrows. Liv blushed. Interesting.
“We’ve been talking about ice cream carts and postcards and all sorts of things,” George continued. “Oh, that reminds me. Do you have a key to the gift shop?”
“Not on me.”
“It’s okay,” Liv said. “I got enough of an idea from looking through the windows.” She winced. “And I think you might need pest control. I’m pretty sure I saw a rat.”
“Not a fan of rodents?”
“Is anyone? Besides, I’d rather see anything else that you feel is important.”
“I’m going to have to get back to the pub for the lunch shift,” Marge said apologetically.
“Thank you so much for taking the time to show me the café,” Liv said. “And you will let me know when you’re going to start cleaning? I’ll be happy to help.”
She would? He hadn’t expected that.
He waited as the women swapped phone numbers and did his best to ignore his sister, who’d crossed her arms and was smirking at him. So what if the petite Aussie kept surprising him? He was grateful. Really.
Marge departed, and Veronica asked George if she had any of the Hall’s tourist brochures handy. George scampered off to find them, which left the three of them. Plus CeeCee, who seemed to be behaving for once.
“So, what else do you want to see?” he asked Liv.
“What else is there to see?” She glanced between him and her grandmother. “What are those rooms used for now?” She pointed across the courtyard.
“It’s storage for the family.”
She nodded. “Okay, just so I have this straight in my head, this side of the courtyard is for the Hall’s business side of things, and that side is the family’s private area.”
“More or less.” There was definitely less to the family’s side of things these days. That’s what happened when the family only consisted of two people.
She nodded and then pointed to the rooms adjacent to the gift shop. “And these rooms?”
“An office and more storage.”
“People seem to like their storage around here.” Her lips lifted.
“One can never have too many cupboards, or so I’ve been told.”
“Can I see inside?”
“I don’t think it’s locked.” He tried to open the door, but it was stuck, so he had to use his shoulder to barge it open.
Just as he’d suspected: a motley collection of broken things. He watched as she surveyed the scene, nodding to herself.
George returned and handed over a brochure, which drew a wince from Liv.
“What’s wrong?”
