Fixer-Upper (Spinning Hills Romance 3) by Inés Saint Page B

soda-shop pink and green café suddenly felt more like a mob’s den. Now that she thought about it, the gilded mirrors and huge wedding cake chandelier looked like they belonged in a gangster’s jazz club, not in a café.
    “How is Brian going to feel when he finds out you’re working with Johnny? Do you think he’ll feel threatened?” Ruby asked with a too-innocent look in her eye. “Men can be completely irrational when they’re jealous, you know.”
    “Why would Brian be jealous of Johnny?” Marissa asked, focusing her attention on the dessert display, to remind herself these women were the warm, elderly owners of a charming, small-town café, and not seasoned interrogators.
    Sherry reached over to squeeze Marissa’s hand. “Oh honey, forgive us. We’re in our seventies and our minds just aren’t what they used to be. Sometimes the years get all jumbled up on us and we get stuck in the past. I think the three of us are just remembering how everyone used to think you had a crush on Johnny. We’re worried Brian will remember, too.” Sherry’s posture and sad eyes suddenly made her look so sweet and old and Marissa felt bad for thinking they were like the mob.
    Abuela Rosa and Ruby, too, were now looking vulnerable. Why hadn’t she noticed before that their backs were becoming slightly humped and their shoulders were sagging? It was almost like they were aging before her eyes.
    She loved these women so much, it was easy to believe they’d be around forever. Marissa’s throat clogged. If caring about the people around them made these women happy, Marissa wouldn’t deny them. “Johnny was the only one of Marty’s friends who went out of his way to be nice to me and we became good friends, too. For a time. But I developed a crush on Brian soon after,” she explained. “I’d forgotten all about it until we ran into each other last year.”
    Abuela Rosa smoothed Marissa’s hair behind her ear, the way she used to when she was little, and sighed a sad, tired sigh. “Yes, Sherry’s right. Our memory is not what it used to be. Why is it that you and Johnny were only good friends for a time? I forget.”
    Suspicion prickled up Marissa’s spine. “I never told you.”
    “No?” Her grandmother’s eyes now looked too confused. Maybe the prince in the elevator—Johnny—was right. Maybe she was too naïve.
    “Yes. My memory fails, too. Remind me again where you were the night of the masquerade party?” Ruby asked with a croaking voice.
    A thump came from underneath the table and Marissa quickly ducked to see Sherry kicking both Ruby and her grandmother.
    Marissa got up and glared at them. The little old ladies instantly disappeared, replaced by the bright-eyed, sprightly, meddlesome, and unapologetic women she knew. “You should be ashamed of yourselves, preying on my feelings like that.”
    Laughter followed her out the door. Boy, was she gullible. That was something she needed to work on if she was going to be an effective teacher. She pulled out of the parking lot and drove north through the sloping, softly winding roads and rolling hills, and gave herself a pep talk. She had to face Melinda next.

Chapter 7
    J ohnny rolled into the parking lot beside Amador Construction and Preservation, grateful it was empty. His first day had gone great, but not at all like he’d expected, and he didn’t feel like getting into it. He and the puppies stopped by to visit a veterinarian he used to date, and he was now ready to be a daddy to the pups, but not ready to explain his plans to anybody else.
    He went up to the second-floor apartment he’d been sharing with Sam the past two months.
    “Surprise!” a chorus of voices shouted the moment he walked in.
    Dan, Holly, Sam, Cassie, and their kids were standing around a cake, smiling and clapping. Johnny dropped his keys. He quickly picked them up and set the box down near the entrance. “Happy first day of work!” Cassie yelled, and she and Holly kissed his