Page 26 of The Man in the Cottage

"What? I'm making conversation."

"You're interrogating him."

"Same thing."

I take a sip of my beer, buying time. "I'm between things right now. Figuring out my next move."

"Between things," Nicole repeats. "That's vague."

"It's accurate."

"Let me guess." She taps her finger against her wine glass. "Creative type? Writer, like Kelly? Or maybe something more physical. Construction. Personal training."

"Something like that."

Kelly catches my eye from across the kitchen, and I can see her trying to decide whether to rescue me or let this play out. I give her a small shake of my head. It's fine. I can handle a few questions.

"He's being modest," Kelly says anyway. "He's really good with his hands."

Nicole raises an eyebrow. "Is he now."

"Not like—I meant the fixing things." Kelly's cheeks darken slightly. "He built that coat rack by the door this morning. From a box. With instructions I couldn't even understand."

"IKEA instructions are designed by sadists," Mona says from the table, still half-focused on her phone. "That's not a low bar."

"It wasn't IKEA. It was some other brand. The point is, he did it in like twenty minutes."

"Thirty," I correct.

"See? Modest."

Brit is still watching me, that furrow between her eyebrows deepening. I can practically see her brain working, flipping through mental files, trying to place my face. She's got her phone in her hand now, thumb moving absently across the screen like she's not even aware she's doing it.

"You're sure we haven't met before?" she asks. "I really feel like I know you from somewhere."

"I don't think so."

"Do you have Instagram? Maybe I've seen you on there."

"I'm not on social media."

"At all?"

"At all."

"Huh." She looks down at her phone, then back at me. "What about TV? Do you do anything that would put you on TV?"

The question hits too close. I keep my face neutral, but my grip tightens on the beer bottle.

"Not really."

"Brit," Kelly says. "Leave him alone. He came in for one drink, not a background check."

"I'm just curious! He looks so familiar and it's driving me crazy." She holds up her phone. "What's your last name? I'm just going to do a quick search, satisfy my curiosity, and then I'll drop it."

"Brit—"

"It's fine," I say, even though it's not. "Howe. Travis Howe."