On that highly polished cherry table in the dining room.
As he placed dishes in the sink, he wondered if Toni would remember. If she’d be able to sit there and nibble on finger food at the table where he’d nibbled on her. The thought brought a smile to his face.
“You’re grinning,” his mother said as she entered the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and took out a can of whipped cream.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, other fond memories surfacing before he told himself to behave. “I’m just looking forward to your party.”
“Your party,” his mother corrected.
“One can only hope,” he replied, eyeing the whipped cream and thinking of Thursday night.
Chapter Three
On Wednesday Toni began demolition on the old hotel. She met her crew, her brother and a glowing Christie Crawford at eight o’clock in the morning. Christie brought French vanilla coffee for everyone; Toni brought safety goggles and sledgehammers.
“Always wear your goggles, and if you’re tearing out Sheetrock, ceiling tiles or anything with insulation, you need a mask,” she told her two partners.
“Is there asbestos?” Leo asked.
“Thankfully, no. I got the environmental results back Monday.” Right before Wyatt McCall had breezed back into town. “We’re free to begin.”
She wouldn’t have scheduled everyone to be here if it wasn’t safe, but Leo was new to the remodeling side of the business and he didn’t know that. After he bought the hardware store, he’d become more familiar with fixtures, nuts and bolts, nails, screws and nice, clean tools.
“We’re saving these front doors. I’ve marked everything else that is to be saved with orange tape. Don’t damage anything that’s marked. Other than that, you’re free to tear out the cabinets and fixtures in the kitchen, the half wall, the 1970s paneling and those incredibly ugly aluminum wall sconces.”
“Sounds great!” Christie said, hefting her sledgehammer. The polished, pregnant, blond former socialite marched with determination toward a half-wall addition covered in faux walnut. “May I take out the whole thing?”
“You’re welcome to try,” Toni said.
Leo laughed and headed for the kitchen.
Toni smiled at their enthusiasm and motioned for her professional crew to come in and begin the real work. Outside, a thirty-cubic-yard roll-off container waited for all the material that couldn’t be reused or recycled. Her crew would sort wood, metal and drywall later, after the amateurs got tired of demo. Toni predicted it wouldn’t take long.
Sure enough, ten minutes later Christie called it quits. A few minutes after she left, Leo said he really needed to get to the hardware store. He was perspiring and breathing hard. Toni wasn’t sure what type of damage he’d done in the kitchen, but hopefully nothing too costly. She’d heard a lot of swings of his hammer, a little bit of swearing and repeated crashes.
As Leo removed his safety goggles and used a towel to clean off the dust, a person Toni had never expected here walked through the door. She moved behind the scaffolding her crew had just assembled and watched Wyatt look around, then step carefully through the dusty debris. He looked too good in his faded jeans, work boots, waffle-knit Henley and blue, plaid flannel shirt. No one would guess he was a billionaire high-tech entrepreneur. Correction—a retired billionaire. As if one could retire from being too rich.
“Hey, Leo,” Wyatt said as he folded his sunglasses and placed them in the placket of his partially unbuttoned Henley. Toni had always found those shirts sexy, especially on a man with a nice chest and flat abs. Unfortunately, that included Wyatt, now more than ever since he’d grown up. “What’s up?”
“First day of demo. Toni let us—Christie and me, that is—start the tear-out.”
“Free labor, hmm?”
Toni felt a rush of heat. So now he was calling her cheap? “Expensive labor, if they mess up,” she said, stepping out from behind the scaffolding.
“Oh, look who’s here,” Wyatt said with a devious smile.
Toni glared at him. He’d known she was there all the time. He’d made that comment to bait her. And, yes, she’d taken the hook like a hungry trout. She wanted to kick herself, but she’d rather kick her former boyfriend for showing up on her job site and aggravating her on what was otherwise a very happy day.
She’d looked forward to getting the old eyesore of a hotel renovated for years, and now she was the person making the changes. She’d pulled together the team and shown Christie the possibilities that could happen with a little money and a lot of work. Leo had leaped at the opportunity to get into the renovation side of the business.
And then Wild Wyatt McCall had to show up.
“So, you’re remodeling the old hotel. That’s good.”
“I’m glad you approve. Now, we should get back to work.”
“Don’t pay any attention to me. I’m just curious about what you’re doing.”
“We’re doing our job, which is more than I can say for you at the moment.” Toni stalked closer to where Wyatt stood by Leo and glared at her former boyfriend. “Why aren’t you at the community center?”
“Well,” he said, leaning his butt against the heavy old check-in desk that Toni was salvaging, “I was on my way over there, but it was kind of cold so I went to the café instead. While I was having my coffee and a cinnamon roll, I saw James Brody. He told me about the big news. A lot of people are looking forward to the old hotel getting remodeled.”
“Most people don’t like to see empty buildings around town, and especially something with this much potential,” Leo said. “I’m glad we could buy it and make something useful.”
“I was going to ask about that,” Wyatt said. He turned to Toni. “What are you doing with the old place?”
“Condos, retail and restaurant space,” Leo answered.
Toni glared at her little brother for answering for her. “And we really need to get to work,” she said. Again, in case Leo or her crew had forgotten why they were here.
“Don’t mind me. I’d just like to look around. I’ve never seen the inside of the old hotel. The passenger railroad stopped running before I can remember.”
“You’re not looking around without proper safety equipment. If you want a tour, we have to fit you with a safety helmet and goggles. I might even make you wear a mask. Who knows what you’ll find in the dust and debris? There might even be the hantavirus from years of mice infestation.”
Wyatt shuddered. “That’s just cruel.”
Toni smiled, which she suspected looked a bit evil at this point. Wyatt hated mice. He’d play with snakes and let tarantulas crawl up his arm, but show him a little mouse and he’d freak like a baby.
“Okay, I can take a hint. I’ll leave. I don’t want to keep you from your work.”
“I’m glad you stopped by,” Leo said with his friendly grin.
“I’m sure your sister is glad I’m leaving,” Wyatt said.
“Hello? I’m right here.”
“So you are. And I’m outta here.” Wyatt saluted them with his thermal coffee cup and turned on his heel.
“Come back when my sister isn’t here and I’ll give you a tour,” Leo offered.
Wyatt paused at the tall double doors. “Now, that wouldn’t be as much fun, would it?” he asked with a smile.
Toni punched her brother in the arm as