When Sydney moved back to Magnolia Sound to take care of her niece, Mia realized it was the first time in almost ten years that they weren’t living only minutes away. So when Sydney suggested coming here to write, it was a no-brainer. And hopefully today, her friend would help her come to grips with how to work with so many disruptions. Sydney was the levelheaded and organized one, so if anyone was going to help her figure it all out, it was Sydney.
Once she was done, she cleaned the bathroom and made the bed before walking out to the kitchen. Her foot was still a little tender, but overall, it felt okay. The limp was barely noticeable, she thought.
Even though Sydney was bringing lunch, Mia felt the need to contribute a few things—some drinks, some fresh veggies and dip, and brownies.
Because lunch with your BFF always called for brownies.
When the doorbell rang at exactly noon, Mia almost skipped to the door—sore foot and all. And after some very girly squeals of joy and lots of hugs, she ushered her friend into the house.
“Oh, my goodness,” Sydney said as she walked into the living room. “That view leaves me breathless every time. I would never get anything done because I’d be staring at it every day!”
The sliding doors were open slightly, but considering Austin was working, it would be pointless to open them all the way.
“It really is a great view,” Mia agreed, pushing her neighbor from her mind. “But I have a feeling it’s not so great when the beach is filled with people or there’s a hurricane hitting the coast.”
“I don’t think the beaches here get as crowded as you think, but the hurricane thing is a definite deterrent. They are extremely scary and intense, and I’m not looking forward to experiencing them again.”
“Ever think of moving?”
Sydney grinned. “Kyle is a Magnolia Sound man through and through. He’d never leave here.”
“And you’d never leave him,” Mia said with a wink.
“Never again. Did that once…okay, twice…and it won’t happen again.” She rubbed a hand over her pregnant belly and smiled. “So how are you doing?”
As if on cue—again—some other power tool whirred to life and Mia simply motioned to the door. “Am I wrong about the noise? Am I overreacting?”
“Well…to me it’s not terrible, but I lived through Kyle renovating the house while I was living in it and it’s a small house. Noise-canceling headphones work wonders, trust me.”
“I know. You’ve mentioned them before, but…if I have to do that here then I might as well go home and deal with the noise there. At least back in Boston I’d be in my own house and sleeping in my own bed.”
“Oh, please. This house is magnificent and you cannot tell me it’s a hardship sleeping in that massive bed or hanging out on all this fantastic furniture and having this view. Seriously, whoever decorated this house is very talented.”
All Mia could do was shrug.
“We’ll talk about this more over lunch,” Sydney said as she walked into the kitchen and put the massive cooler bag down on the counter. “I got us some fantastic seafood salad, fresh rolls, your favorite potato chips, and a couple of different pasta salads.” Glancing around, she laughed softly. “I already knew you’d put out some stuff too so I think between the two of us we have enough food for about a dozen people.”
“As it should be,” Mia teased.
Together they worked to set the table and once they were seated, she caught Sydney studying her. “What did you do to your foot?”
Damn. She knew Sydney would notice.
“It’s not a big deal,” she began before telling her the story of Austin, the flying sink, and cutting her foot.
“Oh, my goodness! Did you go to the ER? Do you need stitches?”
Mia waved her off and began putting food on her plate. “It’s fine, just a little sore. Austin checked it out with a magnifying glass and there’s nothing else in there. It stung, but in a few days it will be fine.”
“So then you’ve finally met your nemesis,” Sydney said, grinning. “Did you tell him off?”
Groaning, she shrugged.
“Mia…”
“Fine. I did tell him off after he carried me home.”
“He carried you home?!”
“Yeah, I couldn’t walk and he carried me through his house because of all the construction debris and then he insisted on carrying me here. And then I just sort of…verbally exploded all over him.” She shook her head. “Not one of my finer moments.”
“I’m not going to lie to you; I am really sorry I missed that,” Sydney said as she finished putting food on her plate. “I have been waiting more than ten years to see you tell someone off and I can’t believe I missed it!” She shook her head. “Obviously I can hear the tools, but are you two good?”
“I wouldn’t say good, but…he’s trying to be more considerate. Today’s only the first day, so…”
“So what’s he like? Young? Old? Was he a total jerk?”
There was really only one person in the entire world Mia confided in, and it was Sydney so…
“He was sexy as hell with these crazy big hands and he’s strong and muscular and even though he was filthy and sweaty, he smelled really good! I mean…how could he smell so good when he was so…dirty?” She groaned at the word. “And he carried me into his house and then over here and no one’s ever handled me like that and I hate how much I liked it! It was like that scene from An Officer and a Gentleman!” she blurted out and then hung her head, waiting for Sydney to mock her.
Instead, her friend reached over and took one of Mia’s hands in hers. “Wow. That was a…lot of information. You okay?”
“No.”
They sat like that for several minutes before Mia felt like she could at least try to look her friend in the face.
“That’s better,” Sydney said, smiling. “Honestly, there is something about a guy who works with his hands that is just incredibly sexy. When I first saw Kyle again, I swear it was the toolbelt that sealed the deal.”
“God, it’s so clichéd, Syd,” she groaned. “I’ve never been attracted to that kind of man. But this guy was just so…ugh…everything.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“Oh, and get this, he’s a Coleman! Like related to the Colemans of Coleman Construction! What are the odds?”
“Wait…really? How is that possible?”
“He said Mallory is his cousin.”
“And what’s his name?”
“Austin. Austin Coleman.”
Sydney pulled out her phone and began tapping something out and Mia was afraid to ask what she was doing. After a minute, she hummed quietly. “Um…is this him?” And when she turned her phone toward Mia, she was staring at a picture of a slightly younger and cleaner Austin.
Was it wrong that she liked him better dirty?
“Yup. That’s him.”
“Wow. Talk about a small world, huh? That’s crazy!”
“You grew up here. Do you know him?”
“No. He’s a little younger than me—like you—and I don’t really remember ever hearing much about him.”