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Wayne rolled his eyes absently. “Obviously, you’re trying to shove off your own drama on other people.”
Michael shrugged. “That’s what you’re supposed to do, isn’t it? If you don’t want someone to focus on your flaws, then all you have to do is point to someone else’s flaws.”
“Sounds like a foolproof plan,” Wayne offered.
“Well, it’s what my mother has been doing to you, isn’t it?” Michael asked.
Wayne shrugged as Michael continued to create a perfect Ferris wheel of scones.
“Besides. I don’t care at all about Dean Swartz,” Michael said. “I think it’s hilarious that he might have had this other baby out of wedlock. It serves the whole Swartz clan right to know that they aren’t so clean and perfect, after all.”
Wayne jolted forward and grabbed one of the scones from mid-air. Michael lost track of the other two, and they clattered to the ground.
“Your grandfather, your aunt, and your mother are some of the best people on this island. You know that.”
“You seem to have left out a very important member of the family,” Michael said. “But Mom seems to brush all news of him to the side. He kind of lost his head after Grandma Mandy died, didn’t he?”
“He never had his head screwed on so tight,” Wayne affirmed.
Michael arched his brow. “I don’t know whether or not to like him more for that reason, or...”
“Why don’t you work for me?” Wayne said suddenly.
Michael’s mischievous smile faltered.
“I mean it. Why don’t you split time with me? God knows I need a break from all the hours I’ve put into this place. You could be part-time manager. Twenty-five to thirty hours a week. What do you think?”
Michael seemed speechless.
“You said you don’t know your purpose. You need to get out of the house every now and again. And me? I need to take a good, hard look at my life and figure out what the heck is next. Whatever it is I’ve been doing? Your mother’s right. I can’t go on like that.”
“Even if it doesn’t work out with the California girl?” Michael asked. His eyes glittered.
“I think I have to make myself good enough for her if we’re ever going to make this work,” Wayne said.
That moment, another five guests burst through the glass door, all muttering about how chilly the late September air was. As Michael and Wayne turned to greet them, Michael snapped his fist against Wayne’s bicep and said, “I can see it, you know.”
“What?”
“I can see how exhausted you are. You need a break, and if there’s anything I need in the world, it’s a job. I’ll do it. Thanks.”
