Page 28 of Miss Humbug
His cheeks went ruddy. It was freaking adorable. Ethan had always been shy with compliments. I’d tried to lob them his way delicately, even with trickery, so he couldn’t deflect. He was a hard one to thank.
We stood there, close and breathing each other’s air. Again. I felt those dish towel romantic vibes pulsing beneath my skin. Ethanmade me a custom stamp.
My heart raced. “Thank you.”
“Seriously, it’s not a big deal. I got the idea from a lady who buys wood odds and ends from us. She makes stamps and sells them at craft shows. Anyway, how’s the operation going? Are we ready to package?”
Awe still struck me over the small stamp with my very own logo. It was exactly what I wanted. To be distinguished apart from my family in my own unique way. Honestly, it was what I’d always been trying to do in every part of my life. Somehow a simple stamp conveyed the entirety of my life’s goals.
Maybe I needed bigger goals.
“Marlowe?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Just thinking. That’s been happening a lot lately.”
A beat passed before he spoke again. “It’s just, the oven timer went off. Whatever’s in there, you don’t want it to burn.”
Chapter 9
Marlowe
Friday evening at the house, guests arrived for the report-out dinner.
“This is absurd,” Cara was saying to Ashe in the library. The room had warped French doors which never closed the right way, so everyone left them open. “You’re not a child.”
“Do you want the house or not?” Ashe asked, exasperated.
“Not! How many times have I told you, we don’t need this house or this contest. Play along if you feel the need, but I’m not role playing in your presentation.”
Cara walked out, and I slipped in. “Trouble inHollywood?” I snickered at my own joke.
Ashe stared out the window, blocking a good chunk of the waning daylight with his large, checked-print frame. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Oh, here we go. The baby of the family never understandsanything.” I wandered farther into the room. Closer in, to antagonize him. “Why are you still in the game? Cara’s not even on board.”
“This isn’t only Cara’s decision,” he snapped.
“I heard that!” Cara called from another room.
Ashe growled. A literal growl. “So, you’re dating Sawyer, huh? Getting ready to play house with the family fortune?”
I ignored his barb. And now I knew for sure one of the kids had spilled about the dating news. Just like we expected. “Would it be so bad if I came back?”
His shoulders softened as he stepped from the window. “Of course not. The kids would love to have their cool aunt around. They ask about you.”
“They do?” I sort of assumed they only cared when I sent them stuff.
“And, well, you’re always welcome to visit. I hope I’ve made that clear.”
I shrugged in response. My emotions stirred with deeper thoughts I didn’t have the bandwidth to think through. I’d come in here to poke at him when he was vulnerable and now he’d turned the tables on me. What was with this freakish soft side? He must have recently become infected. Stupid holidays.
I trailed my finger against the frame of a family photo from a long-past Christmas, when Gramps had still been around. “I love this house too. I like the idea of kids being here and filling up the rooms. I wouldn’t close you guys off or anything.”
He raised a questioning brow. “You and the Sawyer brother thinking of tying the knot? Raising some kids?”
That escalated quickly. “We’redating. I’ve been home a week.”
“But you’ve known him your whole life. Should’ve figured he’d be the one to bring you back. He’s been at the house every day this week.”
