“No, definitely not. She loves James.” Jane’s phone pinged, and she pulled it out of her pocket, her face lighting up. “It’s Mike. He wants me to go look at condos with him. Says he needs a second opinion.”
“Sounds serious.” Andie wiggled her brows.
Jane blushed. “I’m not moving in with him, if that’s what you mean.”
“Why not? You guys make a great couple.”
Jane’s smile faded, and she gazed out at the ocean. “Well, you never know. I guess for now it doesn’t hurt to approve of his condo. Besides, it’s fun to look at places. Can we get together when I get back to go over more plans for the wedding?”
“Of course. I’ll be here.” Andie watched her sister walk away. Things were getting a bit complicated in Lobster Bay. Maxi and James’s relationship could have a wrinkle if Chandler was in the mix, and why did Jane suddenly seem concerned about her relationship with Mike? Andie shook her head and went back to her work. Hopefully everything would work out fine for everyone.
Chapter Seventeen
Mike liked the condo at Boulder Hills. It was an end unit with two bedrooms and a large deck in the back. The yard was private, too, fenced off from the abutting unit with a tall fence. It didn’t have a water view, but those condos were out of his price range.
“I thought you might like the kitchen island and the window over the sink looking out at the woods.” Mike pointed the features out to Jane. Sure, he liked them, too, but he really wanted to be sure it was a place where she could see herself spending a lot of time.
“Those are good features. But doyoulike them?”
“Yep. Very nice.” Mike also liked the simple clean lines of the place. They sort of reminded him of Jane. The condo suited her personality—not pretentious or frilly.
“Are you going to take up cooking?” Jane teased. It was well-known that Mike could barely pour cereal. That was why he’d bartered with Jane for breakfast at Tides every morning in return for creating the website for the inn. Well,oneof the reasons. The other was to see Jane, of course.
“I was thinking maybe you’d come over and cook.”
Jane frowned. “Maybe you should see if the kitchen suits Brenda. She’s better at it than I am.”
“Well, I hope she likes it, because I think I like this one the best,” Mike said. They’d looked at three condos already, and he did like this one but wanted to pick the one Jane liked.
Jane turned to the realtor. “Do they allow dogs?”
“Yes, one dog per unit. I saw the golden in your car. Is it yours?” she asked Mike.
“No, he’s Jane’s, but he will be visiting a lot.” Mike glanced at Jane. “Hopefully.”
Mike didn’t regret his decision to let Jane adopt Cooper. Cooper and Jane had bonded, and she brought Cooper to see Gramps often. Plus, if things worked out the way Mike wanted, he’d be seeing Cooper almost as much as if he did live here. And maybe eventually...
His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out of his pocket and turned it off without looking. Truth be told, he was afraid to look. Tiffany had texted him a few times about meeting up, since she was in town for the art gallery opening. Hopefully she would get the message that he didn’t want to get together at all.
Jane glanced at his phone, a frown creasing her brow. “We’re still going to the gallery opening tomorrow night, right?”
How odd she would mention that when it was the very thing Mike was worrying about. How would Tiffany react when she saw Mike with Jane? Would she cause a scene? Maybe Mike was making too much of this. Tiffany was probably over him and just wanted to say hi.
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Good. I invited Andie to go with us. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Not at all. Whatever you want is good for me.”
“Great.” Jane took another turn around the condo. “You know, I think this one is my favorite too.”
Maxi cradled Rembrandt in her arms and stood back to admire her painting. It was the last one for the art gallery opening, and it was almost finished.
Stepping away, she glanced toward the ocean and took a deep breath of sea air to quell her nerves. Even though she had done her best work, she was still nervous about the gallery opening. Would people like her work? How would it stack up against the other artists on display?
“What do you think, Rembrandt?” She put the cat down and watched as he walked the perimeter of the patio. He was crouched low, moving slowly. She didn’t let him outside very much and only under strict supervision, so his little kitten eyes were wide with delight. Maybe if she and James got their own place, she would make some kind of fence or enclosure so Rembrandt could go outside and still be safe.
She and James? What would their life be like going forward? Did they even have a future, or had Maxi ruined it?
