Page 12 of Clean Sweep
“Please no.” I held up both hands. “Just tell me how you know so much about Tanner and Celeste.”
Dahlia put a hand on her chest. “I run this town, please. I know everything that happens here.”
Well, I couldn’t argue that.
“Tanner divorced years ago, when Celeste was young. At least, that’s what she told me,” Dahlia said in her usual hushed tone, like a librarian had just scolded her, but she still wanted to be heard. “He’s raised her, but she still sees her mother.”
“Huh.”
“No girlfriend for Tanner,” Dahlia said. She folded her hands in front of her and peered into my soul. “No. Girlfriend.”
“For cripes sake, Dahlia. I haven’t even met the man.”
“Maybe you should work on your priorities!”
I groaned. “My priorities are fine. They begin with this ridiculous fiancée dinner, involve something like Thanksgiving in between, and end with Maverick’s family reunion over the Christmas holiday. A man? It’ll just . . . that would mess up everything. Besides, I promised myself I wouldn’t date until Blake was out of the house.”
“You’re a crazypalangi,boss lady.” Dahlia sighed. “What if someone else snatches him up? He’s beautiful and funny and still looks like a gym teacher, or something.”
The idea of Mr. Beck spun through my head, but I forced it aside. No matter what he looked like, figuring him out would never be greater than my desire to see my ultra-clean house. If Tanner had just left, that meant he’d been there for the whole day. What would eight hours of cleaning look like on an invoice?
Didn’t matter.
Auntie had my back.
“Fine, I won’t go into any more than that.” Dahlia leaned back against the seat. “I can see you’re distracted. I’ll just say that I think you should go out with Tanner.”
“The last thing I need is another guy to take care of.” I closed my laptop and gathered a few scattered invoices. “I just got rid of the one that hung around my neck for two decades.”
“Tanner is not a guy,” Dahlia said with a perfectly straight face. “He’s a man.”
With that, she slipped out of the booth and sauntered away. Katelyn pointed to Dahlia and mouthed,what she said.
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t get the ring of her words out of my brain for the rest of the day.
Maverick:Hey Les, got a minute to chat about the Mercedy family reunion?
Leslie:Tomorrow morning?
Maverick:Talk then. The rest of my siblings confirmed the lodge you recommended. All of us will be there on December 24th, kids included.
Leslie:I’ll contact the lodge owner in the morning to finalize the reservation. He’ll want the deposit. Shall I put it on the credit card?
Maverick:Please do.
WITH THAT TAKEN CARE OF,I shoved my phone into my purse and slipped out of my car.
Thudding music upstairs meant that Blake was already home. A rush of anticipation met me at the door as I threw it open, then my jaw dropped.
“Ah!” I cried. “Whose house is this?”
A gleaming tile floor awaited me as I stepped into the laundry room through the back door connected to the garage.Gleamingtile floor. I’d totally forgotten that the tiles had a sheen.
Lovely.
“Oooooh.” I set my purse on a wiped-free-of-crumbs counter, next to a glimmering sink. Below, the no-grime floor continued to amaze me with yet more tiles. He’d even wiped down the front of the fridge and—gasp—did he organize mymagnets?
Nice touch.
