Page 38 of Lucky in Love
“This is the perfect setting for a meet-cute,” one said.
“Yes,” another agreed. “And the trapped in a cabin trope is so hot right now.”
“And don’t you think that pretty little cabin manager makes the quintessential heroine?” The speaker switched to a dramatic TV announcer voice. “Beautiful and independent, but secretly and desperately searching for love.”
Alex covered a laugh.What?
“Well, you’ll never guess who’s in the cabin next to mine,” another woman said, pausing to create exaggerated suspense. “The hero! I only talked to him for a second, but he’s got it all. Looks, brawn, a brooding hint of desperation. He recently lost his jobandhis girlfriend. What baggage!”
“He’s aimless and starving for purpose.” Another faceless voice picked up the thread. “Just needs the love of a spunky woman to heal his broken heart and give his life meaning. I love it.”
Alex backed away slowly. This was all hypothetical, right? They were just excited about the prospect of a new story and brainstorming ideas while seeking some real-life inspiration. Surely, they weren’t implyingshewas the one who could fix Brody!
Not about to find out, she skirted past the rec cabin and down to the parking lot. As she popped out of the trees, she saw Brody carrying something big and bulky to the boathouse. Now what?
She limped down to the lakeshore. He was attempting to coax Daisy into a little house. At least that’s what she assumed the monstrosity of lumber was supposed to be.
“Where’d you get that?” Alex asked, causing him to jump. Again.
“What the…?” he said. “Do you wait till I’m down here and then purposely sneak up on me? One of these times you’re gonna give me a heart attack.”
“I think you need your hearing checked, old man. And be more aware of your surroundings. What is that?”
“I built it,” he said proudly, not really answering her question.
It resembled a mini doghouse, patched together from odd-sized boards. No two pieces were the same length, which caused the ends to stick out every which way.
“You built Daisy a house?” Her eyebrows jumped in surprise at the same moment her heart warmed and picked up pace. What a thoughtful thing for him to do.
“The construction guys hadn’t done it yet, so I figured, why not?”
“I totally forgot to ask Lyle about it,” she said. “It looks, um, amazing.”
“I didn’t have the right tools to do a proper job of it, but you gotta admit, it turned out pretty good for using only a hammer, nails, and some wood scraps.”
It looked like something a blindfolded kindergartner had glued together, but she couldn’t quash his sweet pride.
The duck waddled in, ate the bread crumb Brody had placed to lure her in, and quacked.
“Well, Daisy doesn’t seem to mind its architectural abnormalities.”
“Now she can stay dry in the rain.” Brody stood and brushed his hands on his pants.
“You really do have a lot of free time. Sure you’re not just avoiding something?”
“I have no job, no home, and no purpose in life.” He sighed. “I am absolutely avoiding something.”
“Hey,” she said. “Don’t pull an Ernest Hemingway on me.”
“I won’t. I promise.” He laughed, holding up a hand as if taking an oath. “I’m gonna head up to the rec cabin for a drink with the ladies. When I told my neighbor I was thinking about writing a book, she invited me to come pick the brains of all those authors. You coming?”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s such a great idea,” Alex hemmed.
“Why not?”
She didn’t want to or know how to explain that “those authors” were looking at Alex and Brody and trying to piece together a romance story using them as muses.
No way she was going to be analyzed for and then immortalized in someone’s novel. Although, it would be kind of funny to sendBrodyinto the middle of their nonsense.
