Page 96 of New Day at the Beach House

He nodded. “You have a good day now.”

“You, too.” She made a note in her binder and stuck his card into one of the pockets. She needed one of those inserts that was made to hold business cards. Probably from Amazon.

She watched Tim measuring the front window where the shop name and new logo would go.

“Almost done,” Ethan called out. “I’ll have the lights back on shortly.”

“No worries.” The sun had gone behind some clouds, making the interior a bit darker, but Trina wasn’t bothered. She pulled out her phone to look for the business card thing, then more knocking on the door interrupted her.

She turned to see a familiar-looking young woman peeking in through the door. Trina couldn’t believe her eyes. “Liz?”

The door opened the rest of the way. Miles’s ex-girlfriend came in, pushed her sunglasses off her face, and blinked in the dim interior. Suddenly, the lights came back on.

She screwed up her face. “Tina?”

“Trina,” Trina corrected. “What are you doing here?”

Liz stepped further inside, lifting her chin. She was in white pants and a cute little blouse, a small Louis Vuitton handbag on her arm. “Probably for the same reason you are, I imagine. To interview for the receptionist position.”

So this was who had texted about the job? “No, I’m not here for that—”

“Don’t tell me you’re a stylist?” Liz laughed like that was hard to believe.

Trina wasn’t amused by Liz’s attitude, but she understood she was the one in power here. Not Liz. She held the young woman’s gaze. “I am a stylist, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here because—”

“Pretty nice, huh?” Ethan walked up, gesturing to the new light fixture he’d just installed. “But what really matters is what you think, boss. You like it?”

Trina smiled and glanced at the chandelier, but not before she caught sight of some of the color draining out of Liz’s face.

Trina focused on the new fixture. Sparkling with light, the chandelier was gorgeous and classy and already setting the tone for the kind of chic vibe she hoped to accomplish. “I love it. It looks beautiful, Ethan. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiled as he glanced at Liz. “I’ll go work on that shelving unit, then. Let me know when you’re ready for me to put the rest of the lights up.”

“I will.” Trina turned back to Liz. “As I was about to say, I’m not here for a job. I’m here because I own this salon. I’m the one doing the interviewing. Are you still interested in applying for that job?”

Liz swallowed, then nodded. “I am. If you’re still interested in talking to me.”

“Can I assume that your patronizing attitude is a thing of the past and that it won’t extend to anyone else if you become an employee?”

Liz nodded. “Yeah. I mean, yes. Sorry about that.”

Trina smiled and gestured toward the folding chairs. She wasn’t sure hiring Miles’s ex-girlfriend was such a great idea, but she wasn’t going to let Liz know that. “Then have a seat and let’s talk.”

Kat followed her mom’s directions as she pointed them out, but Kat had set her GPS, too. Not that she didn’t trust her mom, but Claire had only been to the thrift shop once and Roxie had driven. Kat decided to err on the side of caution.

She saw the shopping center up ahead, so she got into the right lane. “I think we should go in the health-care place first and get your shoes taken care of. Then we can wander without pressure in the thrift shop.”

From the backseat, Jules replied, “I like that idea. Get the boring stuff out of the way before the fun.”

“Buying shoes isn’t boring,” Claire said. “It might not be the most exciting thing, but they’re still shoes. Maybe they’ll be cute.”

“They’re nurse shoes,” Jules shot back. “I’m not sure cute is really going to be a factor. But it doesn’t matter. Just so long as they’ll give you good support. No one’s going to see your feet behind the bakery counter anyway.”

Claire made a face. “Danny will. I don’t want him to think I’m wearing orthopedic clodhoppers.”

Kat laughed. “What now?”

“You know,” her mom said. “Old lady shoes.”

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