Page 26 of This Could be Love

“Sander.” I took a deep lunge. “He’d only borrowed it and needed to give it back.”

She shot me a searching look. “Might your sudden understanding forVincehave anything to do with the fact that he’s attractive?”

“What? No!” I made a face. “He’s not…”

She raised her eyebrows doubtfully.

“Okay, he’s hot,” I said, and this time clearly went red in the face. “But that’s not the point.” I took a moment to collect mythoughts. “I simply think that your little feud is unhelpful to everyone involved.”

She raised her hands in an innocent gesture. “I didn’t start it.”

Before things could turn into a chicken-or-the-egg kind of debate, I said, “But you haven’t done anything to end it.”

“I’ll end it as soon as he gives up his whole hostel idea.”

I forced myself to stay calm. And changed my strategy. “How would you have acted if someone had gotten in the way of you opening your tennis school?”

“Oh, please, Lou! That is something else entirely.”

“Why?”

“My tennis school is neither in a residential area nor does it make any noise. I made a point of that while looking for the right place. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with expecting the same thing from others.”

Okay.Dead end.Or?

“You had a choice of where to go. Vince inherited the house.”

“And I have no problem with him living there,” she said, getting steadily angrier. “Or working there. He can do whatever he wants. Build surfboards, open a tattoo studio…”

“A tattoo studio?”

“Whatever. As long as he doesn’t open a hostel.”

“It was a hostel in the past already. Did you know that?”

“It was a little two-room B and B. That’s different.”

“Okay, I give up.” I sounded more frustrated than I was. Maybe that’s why something like remorse flashed in Kay’s eyes.

“Lou,” she said softly. “I really don’t want to argue with you. Especially not over something that doesn’t have anything to do with the two of us.”

“So, you’re admitting that the whole thing is absurd.”

She sighed, but there was a touch of amusement behind it. “You can be just as insistent as your mother. Anyone ever tell you that?”

“Yeah. My dad.” I grinned.

She lowered her eyes. When she looked back up, she was wearing a gentle expression. “I admit that the whole thing has gotten a little out of hand. It was the third night in a row, and I was simply done. And I had a headache.”

“I get that. It would have annoyed me too.” I let a few beats pass before taking a risk. “You could always withdraw your complaint.”

The fact that she didn’t reject the idea out of hand surprised me. Instead, she gazed off into the distance. Her fingers drummed the tabletop thoughtfully. “I’ll think about it.”

“Really?”

“Really,” she replied with a smirk.

“Thanks.” I bent forward and blew her a kiss.