Page 42 of Lovesick
Then JJ would eat the romantic leftovers for breakfast.
16
JJ
Lizbeth sat at the folding table near Mark’s desk, red hair spilling onto her shoulders. She was mapping out a scanning system and organizational structure for Mark’s paperwork now that it was all categorized and alphabetized.
I lounged on the couch and tried hard not to stare.
After separating Mark’s disaster of papers—and freeing up a ridiculous amount of space—Lizbeth had stacked them all in alternating directions in three separate piles. They towered in the corner, where she hovered protectively over them and glared at anyone who came too close.
I glanced at the timer on my watch. Fifteen fresh loaves of miniature ciabatta had only a few minutes left to rise before I had to trek back to the main lodge and bake them. Meanwhile, Mark was spouting like a volcano, muttering in that maniacal way that meant a breakthrough was on the horizon.
“No.” He shook his head back and forth. “That won’t work, either.”
With my hands threaded behind my head, I leaned back against the couch and waited. About seventeen seconds would produce the desired revelation, if his hair standing on end meant anything. His initial spa plan had been thwarted by a zoning issue on the land he wanted to use. Now he was pacing, determined to work through it.
Most humans drowned when overwhelmed with ideas, but Mark drew energy from the impossible. From the unlikely. Adversity fueled him.
In a poor attempt to escape Mark’s impending outburst, I thought of Lizbeth. Again. Nine seconds later, Mark slammed a hand against the wall. I jumped, startled out of my thoughts. Lizbeth glowered at him with a precious fury beneath those light eyebrows.
“I’ll buy the old pizza place!” he cried. “I thought of renting, but this is better.”
My brow quirked. “What?”
“That’ll get rid of my zoning issue while keeping the building tucked away from the main road. It has that fenced area, remember?”
“It’ll still be loud when cars drive by. No one wants noise while they’re getting a massage.”
“We can reinforce the walls. Or put up some trees.”
“That would take more capital up front, or years.”
“True,” he murmured.
“What about the lot?”
He shrugged. “I’ll sell it or find something else.”
“Buying the pizza place also means you’ll still have a build-out.” I yawned. “Maybe even worse because they have to tear down the existing interior. You know you’re not patient enough for a build-out. And you don’t have the cash flow.”
He waved that off. “Funding isn’t the problem.”
“You barely saved Adventura.”
He rolled his eyes. “Adventura is fine now. Meg is paying me back. It had the same rocky beginning as any venture.”
Sensing a chance, I casually said, “Why not repurpose Adventura to do something else and bring in more cash?”
“I will.” He stroked his cheeks. “Once I can go full mountain man.”
This was where I had to stop. Mark’s dependence on me to save him from himself had become a problem between us. I wasn’t his mother. Granted, I was the person closest to him on this planet, but that didn’t mean he was my responsibility.
“When are you going to start drawing up boards?” I asked, bending my knee.
He settled on the edge of the other couch, then sprang back up. “Tomorrow.”
A strangled noise came from my throat. The question had been a joke, but his response wasn’t. I sat up.
