Ca.s.s took another big swallow of tea. "Did she also tell you how much he looks like our father?"

Sunny shook her head. "She neglected to mention that little fact."

"Hmm. I thought her eyes were going to pop out when she first spotted him. He already had an advantage before he turned on the charm-and he turned it on full blast. You could have bottled it and sold it for clover honey."

"I think Mom is actually considering meeting other members of the family."

"Fantastic," Ca.s.s said.

"I'm not sure she's ready for the whole mob at once, but maybe one of us could take her and Aunt Min down to Wimberley sometime and have lunch with Belle and Flora. Maybe visit Flora's art gallery."

"Good idea. Perhaps we turned down Belle's invitation for Sunday too soon. I think the only ones coming from Naconiche are Frank and Carrie. Want me to call Belle and reinvite ourselves?"

"No. Something tells me to leave it as is."

"Okay by me." Ca.s.s drank the last of her tea and stood. "Let's get the bank bag, and I'll be off."

Ca.s.s STARED AT THE color swatches taped to her bedroom wall, trying to decide which tones would be best for her living room. To get some ideas, she'd watched several episodes on HGTV. Several of the decorators were painting rooms gray or some shade of purple. She wasn't a fan of either color. color swatches taped to her bedroom wall, trying to decide which tones would be best for her living room. To get some ideas, she'd watched several episodes on HGTV. Several of the decorators were painting rooms gray or some shade of purple. She wasn't a fan of either color.

Maybe she should hire a decorator to help her. Trying to make so many decisions made her brain hurt. It was so much easier if you had a yellow wall to begin with and had to find things that would coordinate, rather than decide the color of the wall so you could find things to coordinate with it. She wanted to scream in frustration.

Luckily, she was saved from a meltdown when the phone rang.

"Hey, gorgeous, what are you doing?" Griff asked.

"I'm about to have a screaming hissy fit."

"Sounds serious," he said. "What's up?"

She told him about the houses and her frustration with color chips. "It's running me crazy, and I've barely started."

"Why don't you hire a decorator?"

"I considered it, but not for long. I love decorating."

He was quiet for a moment. "Ca.s.s, that doesn't compute."

She chuckled. "My frustration will pa.s.s, and once I get some basic selections, everything else will be easy. What's all that noise?"

"I'm at the airport."

Her heart sped up. "Are you on your way back to Austin?"

"I wish," he said. "I'm on my way to Miami. I have some business there I must take care of. I'm not sure how long it will take. Hopefully, only a day or two. It may be the first of the week before I can return to Austin. Ca.s.s, I have to go. My flight's being called. I'll try to get back with you tomorrow or Friday for sure. Love you. Bye."

Ca.s.s sat there, stunned, listening to dead air.

Chapter Seventeen.

The news Griff was flying off to Miami didn't startle her nearly as much as his last words. "Love you," he'd said. Was that a casual farewell or did it mean something more?

And why was she obsessing about it? The L L word hadn't been mentioned before. word hadn't been mentioned before. Cool it, Ca.s.s, Cool it, Ca.s.s, she told herself. she told herself. Don't rush things. Take it slow and easy. Don't rush things. Take it slow and easy. In the first place, she might have misunderstood him. In the first place, she might have misunderstood him.

No, she hadn't misunderstood. She'd heard what she'd heard. Loud and clear. And it wasn't three little words. It was two. Unless you counted "Bye." And she didn't.

Oh, cripes! Forget it. Concentrate on the color chips.

Concentrate!

When she'd finally selected colors for the outside of her house, she began to laugh. She'd picked the exact same hues as Sunny's house. Oh, the chamois shade she'd picked might have a tiny bit more gold, but basically they were the same. Would Sunny mind?

She'd have to ask, but knowing her sister, there wouldn't be a problem. No wonder Ca.s.s had immediately loved Sunny's house.

For the other house, she picked a soft gray trimmed with white, with a yellow front door. People were supposed to be drawn to yellow doors. By the time she went to bed, she'd selected wall colors for the entire interior of both places. All the paint was eco-friendly, and she was putting down bamboo floors everywhere except the kitchens and bathrooms, which would be tile. Greg Gonzales had promised to use reclaimed lumber wherever he could, and to think green in other ways.

Ca.s.s was really getting excited to move on the renovations, and she hoped Greg's bid was on target. Two months ago she'd gotten an estimate from another contractor, whose figure had been exorbitant. Several people had recommended Greg, and she had good feelings about the whole venture.

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Greg called as she was getting dressed. "I have your estimate together," he told her.

"Already? I like the way you work."

"I aim to please. When and where can I drop it off?"

"I'm working today at Chili Witches. I'll be there until closing. Anytime is fine with me."

"Great," Greg said. "By the way, I made a deal with your friend Oscar, and I'm buying his house down the street from yours. It worked out well for both of us. He needed to move to his new job as soon as possible, and I'll soon be starting renovations there as well."

"Fantastic. See you later."

She finished dressing and hurried downstairs to open.

Sometime after eleven, Ca.s.s was in the office chasing down an invoice when her mother stuck her head in. "Someone out front is asking for you," Gloria said. Her mouth drew into a sly smile. "A man. A very handsome man."

"Must be Greg Gonzales. He said he'd be dropping by."

"The same Greg Gonzales you went to school with? The football player you used to swoon over when you were fifteen?"

"The very one. You don't forget much, do you, Mom?"

"How could I forget? For a year I never heard such sighing over a boy. It looks like you finally have your chance. He seem very nice."

"Don't go matchmaking, Mom. He's a contractor, here to drop off an estimate for renovating the houses I bought. Besides, I imagine he's married with four kids by now."

"Maybe so, but I didn't see a ring on his finger. I checked."

Ca.s.s shook her head. "Rings don't mean anything these days, especially in his business. They're sometimes a safety hazard."

She hurried out to meet Greg, who was standing by the bar with a large envelope in his hand.

He smiled when he saw her. "Good morning, Ca.s.s."

"Hi, Greg. That for me?" She motioned to the envelope, which he handed to her. "Have time for me to buy you a cup of coffee?"

"As a matter of fact, I thought I'd grab a hamburger and some fries while I'm here. I've been up since five with my roofing crew, and it's time for my lunch."

"Sure. Where would you like to sit? You've beat most of the lunch crowd. Grab any table you want."

"Do you have time to join me?"

"For a minute. I'm eager to see your figures." She turned to tell her mother to watch the door, and almost fell over her. "Eavesdropping?" she whispered.

"Certainly not," Gloria said. "Go ahead and have a bite with your friend. Min and I can handle everything. After all, we did it for years without any help."

Ca.s.s gave her an exasperated eye roll and trailed after Greg.

Gloria followed. Ca.s.s had no choice except to introduce her to the contractor.

"I'm so delighted to meet you, Greg. I remember you as a boy. Now, what can I get you two for lunch?"

Greg ordered, and Ca.s.s said, "I think I'll just have coffee for now, Mom. Thanks."

She could see her mother open her mouth to argue, but Ca.s.s gave a small shake of her head. "Wonderful," Gloria said. "I'll get those drinks right out."

Actually, one of the waiters brought the drinks, and Ca.s.s opened the envelope to check the estimates. After a quick scan of the figures, she said, "I'll want to study this in more detail before I give you a final answer, but my first impression is that it looks very satisfactory. When can you start?"

"Anytime you give the word. We should be finished with our current job by the weekend, and I can have a crew there Monday morning. If you want to wait-"

"I don't. I've put this off long enough. I'd like to get started as soon as possible. I'll check your estimates later this afternoon and get back to you. Is this your cell number?" She pointed to the letterhead.

"No. Let me write it down for you." He made a note on the outside of the envelope.

"I'm so excited about this. I already have the paint colors and flooring picked out. I'm going over in the morning to take some measurements so I can begin to plan for rugs and furniture."

"Want me to help with the measurements?" he asked.

"Oh, not necessary, Greg. I'm sure you have better things to do."

"Not at all. My men can work without me for a while, and I'd like to talk to you about a fireplace."

"A fireplace?"

"Yes. I'm thinking about adding a gas fireplace to the house I'm buying from Oscar, and I was wondering if you're interested in one in your house as well."

"I hadn't even thought about it, but that's a wonderful idea. How much would it cost?"

"I'm going to get some figures together later this afternoon," he said, "and I can let you know tomorrow."

The waiter appeared with Greg's hamburger and fries. Aunt Min was right behind him with another tray. Ca.s.s again made introductions.

Aunt Min gushed a bit over him, then said, "I'm trying out new recipes for sweet potato empanadas, Ca.s.s, and I wish you would try out these two kinds and the different sauces and see what you think." She laid out two plates, one holding baked empanadas, the other fried, along with three sauces, side plates and silverware. "I just finished them."

"Could I do that later? I need to get back to work. We have customers coming in."

"Oh, pish," her aunt said. "Gloria and I can handle everything. Greg, I'd like your opinion as well. After you finish your hamburger, of course." She smiled brightly.

"Yes, ma'am," he said. "I'll give them a try."

After Min wiggled her fingers and left, he asked, "Are your mother and aunt twins, too?"

"No," Ca.s.s said. "But they do look a lot alike. And they conspire in tandem."

Greg looked puzzled.

"Never mind." She was glad he hadn't snapped to their obvious efforts to get something going between Greg and her. Ca.s.s sighed and took a baked empanada onto a plate, cut it in half and topped one bite with one sauce, the other bite with a different one. "These are really good."

"So's this hamburger."

"Thanks. Our hamburgers are the best in Texas, second only to our chili."

"I love the chili here. I'll get that next time."

She tried a fried empanada and the other sauce, then left him to his meal. "See you in the morning about ten?"

He nodded.

Ca.s.s made a beeline for her mother and pulled her around a corner and out of sight. "What's the big idea?"

Gloria raised her eyebrows and feigned puzzlement. "I don't understand."

"Greg is my contractor. Nothing more."

"He's very handsome and seems quite nice."

"I prefer Griff."