Page 99 of New Day at the Beach House

Aunt Jules hooked her thumbs into the belt loops. “I’ll take that bet, partner.” She laughed. “Although I already have a feeling you’re going to win.”

Margo and Conrad had not only finished the chapter they’d been working on, but started the next. Apparently, deadlines, no matter how small, did help their motivation. Margo had certainly felt the pressure to perform, but that hadn’t been entirely bad.

Now, as she stood in the midst of one of the tile shop’s many display rooms, she was surprised to learn that looking at tile made her remarkably happy. It was just so interesting and each new color or pattern or texture sent her mind off thinking about the possibilities.

Didn’t even matter that none of this was for her soon-to-be house, although she had an eye out for that, too. Just in case something spectacular appeared.

Which it might. This shop had so much more to choose from than the Home Depot. Nothing against the big-box store, but they couldn’t possibly be expected to offer the kind of variety that a place specializing in tile did.

“This place is marvelous,” Margo whispered to Conrad.

He nodded. “And they give a discount to military. Veterans included.”

“Do they? Isn’t that nice.” That would help with the prices, which were also a bit more than Home Depot, but then again, you got what you paid for. Margo knew that very well. “See anything you like?”

“I see too much that I like.”

She laughed. “I agree. Each one is nicer than the last. There are some amazing tiles here.”

He glanced behind them to the showroom they’d just come through. “Those ones from Italy were something.”

She nodded. “Couldn’t you just feel the Tuscan sun looking at those? Glorious.”

“I’ve never been to Tuscany.” He gave her a coy smile as he slipped his arm around her waist. “Maybe we should go. Once you’re settled in your new place and my bathroom remodel is finished.”

She hesitated, giving in to that idea for a moment. “Maybe we should. But not until the book is done, too.”

He nodded. “Good point. Then we could work on our next one while we’re in Tuscany. Murder in the Tuscan Hills. Or something like that. What do you say?”

“I say we have a lot on our plates already.” She smiled. “But it is a lovely idea. I’d love to see Italy again.”

“Does that mean you’ll consider it?”

She nodded. “I will.” She knew for her, it would mean getting to know him better first. Taking a trip with someone was a big commitment. But getting to know him better was already part of her future plans. That would be even easier to do when she only lived a few minutes away.

“Maybe we’ll make a mint off the first book and be able to afford a whole month in Tuscany. Wouldn’t that be something?”

She chuckled. “It would be, although I don’t know how realistic it is. Even so, I like the way you think. Come on, let’s see about picking out some tile for you. Then maybe we could get some lunch. That little Greek place we passed looked nice.”

“Olive Grill?” He nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that. I haven’t been there in a while, but they have great food.”

“First, your tile.”

“Right.” He rubbed his hands together. “Let’s get serious. I want a nice white and gray mix.”

“Small tiles?”

“For the shower walls, that seems the way to go. With bigger tiles on the floor. Although I’m going to have them price out the Carrera marble, too. Just for comparison’s sake.”

“Smart.” She looked around “You’ll need two selections of tile then.” She pointed to a slate-colored tile on the other side of the room. “What about that? It’s very masculine. Is it too dark?”

“Not for the floor, no.”

She nodded. “Good. I know you said you want to use blue as an accent color. That gray definitely has blue undertones.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Gray has a blue undertone?”

“Well, that one does. Some of them skew greener.”

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