Page 20 of Loyally, Luke
Luke:I had high hopes that being thousands of miles away from you would make you less annoying.
Penelope:Oh gracious! I’m sure it only makes me worse. Since I can’t SEE how you’re doing, I have to use my imagination, which can sometimes be much worse than reality.
Luke:I can’t believe Matt betrayed me like this.
Penelope:Don’t blame Matt! He just thought he was being helpful by giving Izzy and me Pete’s information as an emergency contact. Then Matt and I had a video call with him while you were at the “secret” building preparing a “secret” proposal for a “secret” job.
Luke:The quotes and overuse of the word “secret” are pretty useless at this point.
Penelope:Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell anybody. I just wanted to show you how clever I am at finding out your secret. Made me feel like a spy.
Luke:Meddler. Nosy. Troublemaker.
Penelope:If you hadn’t challenged me, I wouldn’t have had to resort to my sneaky self. Also, I wasn’t going tomention Grace Kelly, but now that you’ve called me a troublemaker, I just wanted to add... I told you so! *chime*
Luke:I didn’t believe you had Josephine’s matchmaking mayhem until now. Izzy is my only hope.
Penelope:On the contrary, I don’t try to match anybody, I just make predictions. For example, Pete didn’t tell me the name of the lady or the place, so he kept the main secret, but he DID say coffee girl was the same as the lady supervising the project, so... my next prediction is you’ll get offered the job so then you two will have forced proximity. That’s usually what happens next in all the rom-coms.
Luke:This is NOT a rom-com. Gross. Now I’m turning off my phone and going to bed. Which means good night, Penelope.
Penelope:Sweet dreams, Romeo.
Luke:I hate you.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, Mr.Edgewood.” Ms.St.Clare gestured toward the chair across the desk in Mrs. Kershaw’s office. Mr.Holton sat as Luke did. “I’m certain you know why we asked to see you?”
Luke had been wrestling with the idea all the way over to the orphanage. On the one hand, he liked the opportunity of working this project for the experience and because of Mr.Gray’s recommendation. On the other, he wanted to prove Penelope wrong.
He wasnotin some rom-com.
Or worse, a Hallmark movie.
“You reviewed my estimate.”
“Your proposal was more in line with what we were hoping,” Ms. St. Clare continued. She’d worn her hair partially down today and pulled back on the sides, displaying its length. He inwardly winced and focused back on her face. “And we would like you to head up the project, if you are willing.”
“Timeline is mid-May or before?”
“That’s right,” Mr.Holton answered. “We would like everything completed so the donors can see how their generosity is being used.”
“Apart from taking good care of these children,” Ms.St.Clare added.
Luke hesitated, his pride at proving Penelope wrong fighting against doing the right thing. “What size team were you thinking?”
“We have three with experience whom you would oversee,” Mr. Holton said. “Gordon Frasier is a longtime builder from Crieff, but he has recently cut back on his projects. He’s agreed to join this renovation since it is so close to home and for a good cause. And, of course, you’ll have Mr.MacKerrow.”
“And me,” Ms.St.Clare added, raising her chin as if expecting Luke to challenge her.
But he was of no mind for a challenge. She may not seem the sort to work in construction, but he’d learned a long time ago not to judge a book by its cover. His cousin Charlie proved to be one of the best carpenters he knew.
But Mr.Holton didn’t seem so unmoved. Both his brows shot into orbit.
“I’m here to see the project through, John, and I mean to do so personally.” Her expression brightened into a too cheery smile. “Besides, I like the idea of making something new again.”
Mr.Holton paused, and some sort of awareness flashed across his features. Hmm... wonder what all that meant? Luke stopped his thoughts right there. Didn’t want to know. Didn’t need to know.
But the idea of some fancy woman slowing down the work, gettinginjured on the job, or distracting the whole team surely didn’t bode well for efficiency.
