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She could only blink.
A tiny part of her appreciated him for calling the locksmith because, let’s face it, she’d forgotten to do so for the past month. She’d planned to call today, but the task had slipped her mind when she’d run over to see Doc on her break so he could remove the two stitches from her lip.Shit.
However, another small part of her bristled. This washerproblem, dammit. It took a lot of freaking balls to step in and make calls for someone else’s business.Shit. Shit.
The biggest part of her, though? It screamed that something wasn’t right about this situation. She was now ridiculously uncomfortable and more than a little bit creeped out.Shit. Shit. Shit.
Quinn’s warning about Eli kept replaying in her mind.
Were the man’s actions and attention more than him simply being friendly? She couldn’t be sure. But she didn’t want to find out.
Skin crawling, Roxie shifted in her seat and cleared her throat. “You didn’t have to do that, Eli.”
He smiled, and her stomach turned. Until tonight, his smile had always seemed kind. Neighborly. Now it looked downright sleazy. Had she been blind? Or had something in him changed?
“It wasn’t a problem at all, Roxie. I worry about you, ya know?”
Well, don’t.
The passive-aggressive in her pasted on a bright, shiny smile. “How are Poppy and the boys? You know, the twins came in over the holidays and mentioned they were invited to join a study abroad program over the summer. Have they decided where they want to go?”
If she hadn’t been watching for it, she would have missed how his smile dimmed. It was just by the tiniest little bit. But it was there.Damn. Quinn was probably right.
“Not yet,” he said, the warmth gone from his tone.
“Well, I’m sure wherever they pick will be great.” She rose from her chair. Time to move the show along. “That was kind of you to call the locksmith about my door. Thanks for stopping by.”You could have just called, though.
“Hold on a second, I’ve got one more thing.” He shook his head and laughed, like he thought she was being coy. “I’m planning a surprise party for Poppy next month. Her birthday is on Valentine’s Day, so sometime around then. I was hoping to talk to you about catering it.”
Of course. She wanted to roll her eyes, but she kept her expression neutral. “What did you have in mind?”
He flashed another off-putting smile. “Why don’t we chat over dinner tonight?”
Holy. Crap.Did she have a sign on her forehead that said,If you’re married, I’m available?
“Sorry, Eli, I’m busy tonight. This week is a bit crazy.” You’rea bit crazy.“Why don’t you look at your calendar and pick the day you’d like to have Poppy’s party? We’ll go from there. You said it’s a month out, so we should be fine.”
His smile vanished, and he pressed his lips into a tight line. “Okay. Good. That sounds like a plan.”
“Oh hey, Eli! How’s it going?” Sheila came to a stop in the doorway, her gaze darting between the two of them. After a moment, confusion entered her blue eyes. “Wait. How did you get back here? I’ve been in the front this entire time.”
Eli’s face flushed. “I, um, used the back door,” he mumbled. “I was just talking to Roxie about some business stuff.”
Roxie’s brow furrowed. Really? Now he was going to act all awkward and embarrassed? And guilty? She wanted to reach across her desk and strangle him.
Instead, she said, “Eli is planning a surprise party for Poppy’s birthday.”
Eli studied his shoes, and Sheila glared at him with what looked like suspicion.
It took everything in Roxie to not groan. The very last thing she needed in her life was additional drama. Mind racing, she latched onto the first idea that came to her.
“Oh! Sheila, why don’t you work with Eli on some menu concepts? You know your cousin better than I do, so you’ll have a better feel for what kind of theme she’d like for the party. That work for you, Eli?”
“Yeah, sure. That would be fine.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you both later.” Moving faster than she’d ever seen, he disappeared outside.
“Huh,” Sheila said as they watched the back door close. “That was strange, don’t you think?”
“You have no idea.” Rubbing her temples, Roxie dropped back down on her chair. “How are things going out there?”
