Sweet Talk Boxed Set (Ten NEW Contemporary Romances by Bestselling Authors to Benefit Diabetes Research plus BONUS Novel) (135 page)

“I’m sure it will all work out as it should. By the way, someone called and told me they saw you out and about with Holden Moore. Is there a reunion romance brewing?”

“Not at all. Holden is up to the same old games he’s always been. He hasn’t changed. He has a lot to do with the decision to close the pier. Why can’t people just be what they seem? Is that too much to ask?”

“You’ll meet someone nice. I’m sure you will, you just have to slow down long enough for someone to catch you. Elli, you have to settle down and just enjoy life at some point. Maybe it will be here. I’d love that. My first great-grandbabies. That would be something pretty special.”

“I think I’m going to need a man first. But don’t give up hope.”

“Oh, you can believe I won’t.”

Elli had no doubt that was true. “Did you want to take any pictures or measurements before we leave?”

“No. Let’s make that offer. There’ll be plenty of time for that if it goes through.”

“Great.” She and Nana piled back into her car.

Bah-duup.
Elli picked her phone up from the console and glanced at the message. “Good news. Ed is very interested in Sol~Mate. He just sent a message. He wants to meet me to talk about the house tomorrow. I guess everything really is coming together.”

Elli and Nana drove back home, and Elli was just getting ready to head out to Carolina By The Sea, where she could get a decent Internet connection when Brody came up the stairs. “Hey, Brody? Would you mind if I piggyback off of your Internet?”

“Not at all.”

“That would be great. I’ve got to do a couple things and that’ll save me a trip down to Pam’s.”

“Sure. I leave it on. The network is called waves.”

“Waves? As in surfing the waves or the Internet, I guess.”

“Yeah. Sort of.”

“Great. Let me grab my laptop from my car.” She ran down the stairs and got her laptop bag out of the car and then came up and turned it on. Brody joined her out on the deck. “You ready?”

“Yep. Got it.”

He wrote the password on a piece of paper and handed it to her. Elli glanced at it, and then her fingernails clicked against the keys. “I’m in. Thanks so much.”

An hour later she’d made a lowball offer on the Lazy Daisy and they’d already accepted it pending the inspection. No negotiating. It was almost too easy. She pulled together some preliminary paperwork, trying to stay positive about Ed’s interest in Nana’s house so she’d be ready, and she was already daydreaming about the potential of a new life breathed back into the plaza.

She and Nana ate dinner, and then Nana got to work on her projects while Elli went into the living room to work on a few more things using Brody’s Internet access.

“Hey, you,” Brody said as he walked into the room.

“Hey.”

“You busy?”

“No. Not really. Just catching up on some e-mails. Thanks for letting me hitch a ride on your Wi-Fi. Sure beats trying to do my business from my phone or to keep driving down to the spa.”

“No problem. I have something to show you.” He waved his tablet in the air.

“Really? Already?”

“May I?” he asked, nodding to the spot next to her on the loveseat.

“Sure.” She scooted over, and he slid in and tapped the screen on his tablet, bringing up some drawings. Not just a line sketch either, but like a blueprint with walls and outlets and glass fronts and everything. He even had a 3-D rendering of what the outside would look like with signs hanging in front of each unit.

“Brody. I can’t believe this.”

He swept his finger and another view displayed. “This would be the side with the smaller shops. Like you said, the Popsicle stand would be great there.”

Elli ran her hands across the plans. “Maybe we could do a rotation lease on the other two kiosks, letting local clubs do fundraising in.”

“For sure. Or you could do float or bicycle rentals. Something like that where the items could be stored outside.”

“That’s a great idea!”

“You like it?”

“No. I absolutely love it. The only problem is —”

Brody’s brows drew together. “What?”

“I love it so much that I’m going to be really disappointed if the town won’t approve this.”

He laughed. “Well, I’ve been doing a little talking to some people I know. You don’t know me so you don’t have to trust me or take me up on this offer, but I think I can help you. Would you mind kind of letting me take the lead on this part of the project for you?”

She didn’t really know what to say. “You know, I can’t pay you. I’m just not in a position to …”

“No. I’m not looking for a job or for you to pay me for this. I told you this will be like a good old-fashioned barn-raising. We’re talking a community coming together to make something happen.”

“And you really think we can do it?”

“Of course.” He sat back and leaned in next to her. He popped open another screen. “See this?”

“That’s one elaborate spreadsheet.” There was a whole lot more to this guy than Boogie boarding!

“This column is the material you already have. Then, over here in this column is the material we’ll need. Worst-case scenario, if we can’t get some of the things donated, this will be the investment.”

“Are you sure? Can I look at that closer?”

“Sure.” He handed her the tablet and watched as she studied the numbers and flipped from the spreadsheet to the plans. “This is totally doable.”

“I know.”

“You have my permission to forge ahead. If we can pull this off, it will be amazing.”

He raised his hand and she slapped it in the air. A high-five. She wasn’t sure she’d ever really high-fived anyone before. A first for everything.

Elli jumped to her feet, the adrenaline pushing her into a little jig. “I’m so excited.”

“I am too. This ought to be a cool project. I’m really glad I ended up here when I did.”

“Me too.” Emotions tugged at her. Excitement. Gratitude. Attraction.
Keep your mind on the goal, Elli.
“So what do I need to do?”

Brody clicked around on the tablet. “I just sent a project plan to your e-mail address. It’s a pretty detailed list, and I’ve nested the dependent tasks so we can be sure we get things done in the right order. Look it over and tweak as you see fit. Meanwhile, I need you to contact every able body you know who might be willing to hammer, sweep, or even make lemonade. We’ll set up a first meeting in front of the plaza as soon as possible.”

“I can do that.”

Brody stood up. “Well, then I think we just started.”

She could barely contain her excitement. “Yes!” A little squeal escaped, and she knew she had to look like a silly schoolgirl, which should be no surprise because she suddenly felt like one. “I’m sorry. This is just better than I’d ever imagined.” She reached up and hugged him. “Thank you so much. You’re the best thing that could have happened to me right now.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Elli worked into the wee hours of the morning putting together a flyer and a list of e-mail addresses for everyone she knew who might be able to come and help them rebuild the plaza. Even her friends from Virginia. Then she drafted the blast e-mail. If Brody could make this happen, she was going to be ready to roll.

Exhausted, she slid between the sheets, but she could hardly sleep with all the possibilities racing through her mind. After two hours of tossing and turning and looking at the clock she gave in, got up and headed downstairs to make some coffee.

Brody must not have been able to sleep either because when she got downstairs, he’d already made a pot and was sitting at the kitchen table with his tablet working on something.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he said.

“You made coffee. Thanks.” She poured a mug and joined him at the table.

“Did you by chance pull the plat on the property to see how things are zoned?”

She nodded. “Sure did. The plaza is still zoned business. It’s all tied into the same deed, but it’s two lots.”

“Perfect. I was e-mailing with my guy last night. That’s exactly what we needed to hear.”

“How soon can we get all hands on deck?”

“I drafted my e-mail and made flyers last night. I’m ready to give it a try whenever you are,” Elli said.

“We’ll need some time to get the permits. I’ll handle that,” Brody said. “Let’s shoot for April 1
st
.”

“Let’s make it the second. We don’t need any April Fool’s surprises.”

“Superstitious?” Brody seemed amused.

“Cautious.”

Nana walked in and pulled her hands up on her hips. “What are you two up to before the crack of dawn? Or have you even been to bed yet?”

“I just got up.” Elli and Brody exchanged a smile. “But we are working on something very exciting.”

Brody got up. “I’ll let you fill her in. I’m going to jump in the shower and go down to the plaza and go through the list of materials.”

“The plaza?” Nana raised a brow. “Now what exactly are you two up to?”

Elli got up and poured Nana a cup of coffee. “Sit down. You’re going to love this.”

***

On April 2nd cars filled the old plaza parking lot and lined up down the road that led to Sol~Mate. Brody had spearheaded all the permit stuff. People had come out in full force to help with the project to renovate the plaza.

After sending out e-mails to everyone she knew, near or far, Elli had spent the better part of the day yesterday stopping in at every local business to hand out flyers and ask for help. At Brody’s suggestion she cruised to where the new houses were being built in the neighboring town and told the guys on those construction sites about it too.

There were twice as many people here than she’d touched base with. Everyone seemed to have brought their handiest or willing friends along to help. And unlike the crowd at the town hall, everyone here was smiling and jovial. Elli wondered how often this type of gathering occurred anymore.

Even if they failed, she felt like a part of something overwhelmingly special just to have even gotten this far.

Nana passed around her famous cookies and thanked everyone personally for coming out.

At six o’clock on the dot, Brody stood up on a chair and whistled to get everyone’s attention. “Listen up. Thanks for coming out today. You’ve all heard that we want to revitalize this old plaza to house the old shops on the pier along with a couple new businesses. I think we have a viable solution to the pier closing that will satisfy the locals and help your community continue to attract new tourists too.”

Someone in the crowd gave a whoop!

“Funding is tight, and so is our timeline, so we want to make this happen as quickly and seamlessly as possible. Elli, you want to fill them in?”

“Sure. First of all, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Those of you who know the Eversol family and me know that Sand Dollar Cove is really special to us. My grandmother and grandfather met and fell in love on that pier, and they’ve run those shops for over forty years. It’s common knowledge now that the pier is not going to reopen.”

A few people starting chatting amongst themselves. She didn’t want to lose their attention so she forged ahead.

“It’s okay. As time moves on, sometimes things have to change too. We can make this change for the better. I’m so thankful you’re willing to donate your time to help make this a reality.”

One glance at Nana’s beaming face and Elli felt tears of appreciation tickle her nose. She swept them away. “We’re going to revitalize this old plaza. It’s been over forty years since it operated down here on the cove. My granddaddy used it as a workshop, and for the past five years it’s pretty much just collected dust…but we can do this. We want to do this like a barn-raising. All hands on deck. And quickly. We can keep the costs down that way and ensure we can open with the beginning of the season. Who’s in?”

Everyone cheered.

“We can do it,” said a guy in a blue ball cap and khakis.

“I was on a Habitat for Humanity team once. In one weekend we built a whole house from nothing to done, and that included finishing work and stuff. All we need is the shells of the storefronts to get you past the inspection. Totally doable.”

One man raised a hand in the air and said, “I can do the electrical. I’m certified to do that work in this town.”

Brody stepped forward. “Excellent. That’s an important point to make. We do want to make fast progress, but we want to do it right the first time. I need everyone to let me know your area of expertise and availability. We’ll align you to the tasks so we don’t waste anyone’s time or talent. Don’t worry if you don’t have any skills…we need people cleaning up, fetching, and just keeping everyone fed and hydrated too. There’s something for everyone to do.”

“This is going to be fun.”

“It’s great.”

Elli beamed. Brody pointed to a guy in a black polo shirt standing in front of a card table. “Anyone willing to commit to a time slot and tasks please talk to my buddy, Kenny, over there. He’s the man with the plan.”

Almost the entire crowd moved at one time.

Elli turned to Brody with so much joy in her heart she felt a bottomless satisfaction. “We’re going to really do this!”

He took her two hands into his. “Yes ma’am. We sure are.”

“How do you know all of this stuff?”

Brody smiled, but this time there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. “My dad was a contractor. He could build anything. I had the coolest tree fort in the state of California. I worked by his side for years.”

“Why don’t y’all work together anymore?”

“I haven’t worked with him for a while. I found my own niche and moved on. Dad died unexpectedly last year. It’s been kind of a hard year.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you. Not sorrier than me. I’d been so busy I’d barely seen him that last year. I never thought in a million years he’d die so young. I wasted valuable time.”

“Hindsight is always so clear. I’m sorry for your loss, and the timing of it, but I thank you so much for being here for my family.”

“This is as much for my dad as it is for your Nana.”

“Best motivation ever,” Elli said. Being back in Sand Dollar Cove felt so right. “Oh, and I’m meeting Ed tomorrow to discuss the house. Keep your fingers crossed.”