Jane and Mike laughed. When Andie straightened, she noticed they were still holding hands. They were still smiling, too, and they both seemed just as happy as Cooper to see her.
“Hey, Andie! How’s it going?” Mike’s green eyes were genuinely welcoming. She truly liked Mike. He was good for Jane, and Andie was glad her sister had found someone as nice as him.
“Great so far,” she answered. “How about you?”
“Pretty good.” He glanced at the clock then at Jane. “I better get going, I have to finish a website for a client this morning.”
Mike kissed Jane goodbye, albeit a little self-consciously. His cheekbones colored a bit, and Andie grinned, noting a similar rush of high color on her sister’s face as well. She thought it was cute that they both blushed.
“So what brings you here?” Jane asked once Mike was gone. She grabbed a coffee mug and held it up to ask if Andie wanted coffee. She nodded, and Jane filled two mugs then joined her at the long pine table.
Andie had already put the ad on the table. She slid it to her sister. “I was hoping you could take a look at the ad Emily wrote for the Thompson house vacation rentals.”
Jane took the paper and looked it over carefully, her forehead creasing into a little frown. “Hmm. It’s good, but… I think maybe it needs a little pizzazz. You know, play up the historical angle a bit?”
Jane got up to get her laptop from the sideboard. “When I was researching for Tides, I looked at all the boutique hotel ads I could find. What I noticed was that each one usually had something uniquely appealing.”
Andie sighed. “I thought the ad lacked something but couldn’t put my finger on what. I guessunique appealcould be it.”
Jane nodded as she typed. “Yes. See here?”
She turned the laptop so they could both see the screen. “Look at this ad. ‘Have wine on the widow’s walk where Henry Perkins’s widow stood every night as she watched for his ship to return from sea.’”
Tilting her head to the side in consideration of the words, she said, “Henry Perkins’s widow. The walk she, personally, stood on while waiting for him. It’s very specific.”
Reading through the ad along with Jane as she pointed out details, Andie said, “Yeah, I guess.”
Jane typed some more. “And this one. ‘Sleep in the room that was a favorite of President Theodore Roosevelt.’”
Andie caught the words “president” and “Theodore Roosevelt” and gnawed her bottom lip. Jane had a point. “Looks like they have a particular experience tied to each of their hotels. The guests can correlate their own stay to a specific, unique moment from history.”
Jane looked up at her. “Exactly! Something that is utterly unique to that particular hotel.That’swhat Emily needs. A unique hook. I think an unproven theory that the house was part of the Underground Railroad might not be specific enough.”
Andie agreed, but what in the world were they going to use for a hook?
Andie rushed over to Maxi’s cottage directly from Tides. She wanted to get the products for Emily ordered right away. Sally wouldn’t be happy if they didn’t come in when she wanted them, and she wanted Emily to be able to start renting as soon as possible.
She knocked on the door of the quaint little seaside cottage. When no one answered, Andie went around to the back and drew up just in time to see Maxi and James racing up from the edge of the water, laughing together.
A breeze blew in off the water, ruffling Andie’s hair until it almost blocked her view, but not enough to make her miss the spark of joy in Maxi’s eyes. Or how relaxed and content James looked at her side.
Andie felt the sharp stab of… something. Not quite jealousy and not quite regret. She was thrilled for her sister and Mike. She couldn’t be happier for Maxi and James. Just like Jane and Mike, Maxi and James were completely happy, and Andie wouldn’t want anything different for either of them. But she couldn’t help but feel a bit melancholy for herself.
“Andie!” Maxi rushed toward her, the brim of her floppy hat held tight with one hand while she waved with the other.
“Hi!” Andie called back. “Did you get my text?”
“Yeah, sorry, I wasn’t here. James decided a breath of fresh air and sunshine after breakfast would be nice. We just ran out for a quick walk before you came.”
James let go of Maxi’s hand and greeted Andie.
“Thanks so much for helping out with the loan for Emily Thompson,” Andie said. “You’ve given her a chance to keep her family home.”
“No problem. You know I love to see the older houses restored.” James glanced sideways at Maxi and then winked at Andie. “Besides, I’m eternally grateful for your part in bringing Maxi and me back together. I would help you anytime.”
“It was my pleasure.” Andie smiled at the happy couple for a few seconds then looked pointedly at Maxi. “Well, should we get started? I want to make sure we get everything ordered in time. You know how Sally can be if things don’t go to schedule.”
Maxi laughed. Looping her arm through Andie’s, she walked with her into the cottage, leaving James to trail in behind them. “Don’t I ever! She fixed the leak in the living room and nearly had a cow when I didn’t have matching paint right away.”
