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“Morning,” he drawled.
“Good morning,” she said, trying to sound as put off and angry as possible.
“I take it your night on the couch didn’t help you get over hurt feelings then?” Brooks asked.
“I don’t need to get over anything because I have no hurt feelings,” she insisted. He was right. The night she spent on the sofa only made her back hurt and that made her madder than she should be about this whole mess.
“I don’t believe you, but that really shouldn’t bother you. In fact, you seem like the kind of woman who doesn’t let anything bother her,” he teased. She could tell that he was making fun of her, but she wouldn’t dignify his response with her own. She was going to grab a cup of coffee and hit the road. She’d have to text Ginger and Norah that she headed to town to talk to the rental agent, and that she’d be back soon.
“Coffee?” Brooks asked as if reading her mind.
“Um, please,” she said.
“You seem to be in a hurry. Do you have big plans?” he asked.
“Actually, I do,” she admitted. “I’m heading to town to talk to the rental agent about this mix-up. I’m hoping that there will be no hard feelings later on today when you are asked to move out of our beach house,” she said.
“You’re so sure that the guys and I will be the ones leaving,” he said. “If the shoe is on the other foot, will you have hard feelings while you’re packing to head back home to—um, where is it that you’re from?” Brooks asked. “You never said.”
“That’s because it’s none of your business,” she insisted. He looked around her body, out to the driveway, and smiled back at her.
“Hey, we’re from DC too,” he said.
“What makes you think that we live in DC?” she asked.
“Your license plate gave you away,” he said. “Let me guess—you’re a lawyer, right?”
“Eww, no,” she spat. “I’m a journalist.”
“Yeah, that makes sense too. I think that you might actually need this vacation more than I do, but I can’t give up this house. You see, this summer is my only chance to convince Jude not to move to the West coast. He’s taken a job out there and I’m trying to get him to stick around DC.”
“Why would you hold your friend back? Isn’t it his choice where he lives and works?” Savannah asked. “And what exactly do you think is going to happen this summer to convince your friend not to leave? Does this house have magical powers?” Now it was her turn to make fun of him and poor Brooks didn’t seem to like it one bit.
“No, it does not have magical powers. I just thought that a summer with just the guys would show him what he’s going to miss out on once he moves. Jude doesn’t know anyone out there. He has family in DC—he has me and Colter.”
“I understand that. The girls are like my family since my mom died. I only have them and my dad left. If either of them said that they were moving to the West coast, I’d lose my mind. But I can’t let you just have this place. There has to be a compromise. Heck, I’m betting that if I show up at the rental office, they’ll magically find me another place to rent for the summer. We can be neighbors, but I can’t take another night on that couch.”
“It was that bad?” he asked.
“It was even worse, but I’m planning on solving this problem anyway that I can,” she admitted.
“Well, drink your coffee, and then, I’ll grab a shower and go into town with you. I’m sure that if we present a united front, they’ll find another house for you guys and our problems will be solved,” Brooks offered.
“Thanks for the assist,” she said. “I appreciate the help.” She’d take any help he wanted to give because she was serious about not sleeping on that God-awful sofa ever again.
Brooks
Brooks knew that they were playing a losing hand. The poor rental agent, Melody, looked about ready to cry after Savannah shouted at her for the last ten minutes. “Listen,” he breathed, “there has to be something that your agency can do to fix this issue. We didn’t double-book our beach house, you did. How are you going to make this right?”
“As I’ve already told you, I’ve fired my assistant who made the error of double booking a number of our properties for the summer. The only thing that I can offer you, besides my apologies, is your money back. Just let me know which party will be vacating the house and I’ll issue them a check.”
“So, one of us is going to have to give up our entire summer at the beach and all you can offer us is our money back?” Savannah asked.
“And my apologies on behalf of the company,” Melody said.
“That’s just not good enough,” Savannah said.
“It’s going to have to be since I’m not equipped to build you another rental home for the season. We’re dealing with limited stock and my former assistant made a mistake,” Melody said. He felt like he was in the middle of an MMA match, and he wasn’t sure which side he should be on. He understood the rental agent’s position, but the whole situation did suck. One of them was going to have to give up their summer at the beach and head home tonight.
