“Don’t take out your frustration on that poor table.”
He turned to find Erin inside the shop doorway, having ignored the closed sign he slapped in the window. Her hand was buried in Kujo’s thick fur, scratching his head.
“Kujo! What kind of guard dog are you?”
“The kind who likes jerky.” Erin fished in her pocket for a treat, holding it in the air while Kujo wagged his long bushy tail, knocking over items on the shelf like a huge wrecking ball.
Adam turned the hammer around to pry the bent nail from the board.
“I’m busy right now, Erin.”
“Yes, I can see that.” Undaunted, she strolled over to inspect his project. “Do you like Ash?”
“She’s my cousin. Naturally, I like her.” He lost his grip on the hammer, and it tumbled, clanking to the concrete floor.
“She’s not a blood-relative, you know.” Erin waggled her eyebrows. “There’s no reason the two of you couldn’t date.”
“Except she’s not interested.”
“And you are?”
“I didn’t say that.” He snatched the hammer from the floor.
“You don’t have to.”
Adam groaned, attempting once again to ignore her, but she drummed her fingers on the table where he was working.
“Verrrr-y interesting. She’s putting you off. Hmmm... Do you suppose Ash doesn’t realize you and your brothers are adopted? I’m pretty sure I told her...”
“She must know. My mother shared my entire history. I’m lucky they adopted me too late to have embarrassing naked baby pi
ctures.”
“Maybe she thinks you’re too old.” Erin laughed when he glared at her. “Your brother gives me that look every time I mention his age.”
“Whatever... I don’t really care.” He pried on the nail again, ignoring the pang in his chest. “She’s obviously not interested, so I’m going to leave her alone.”
“Did you know she’s meeting with Ryan Cooper right now?”
“I don’t care who she meets with.” Adam delivered the lie through clenched teeth, and Erin arched an eyebrow.
“Thou dost protest too much, methinks.” She gave him a good-natured punch in the arm. “I dropped by her house to ask her to lunch, and she barely opened the door. She said she was in a meeting, but I could see Ryan sitting on her couch. He’s an architect, right? I just wonder if she hired him because you rejected her colors.”
“So now you’re a detective?”
“Maybe... I love mystery books. I read about three a week.”
“I think your imagination is making this more than it really is. Maybe Ryan’s doing the hiring—he might want her to cater an event.” Adam went back to work on the nail, applying even pressure until it loosened and came out of the board. Finally. He moved to clamp the antique nail on his anvil and pound it straight, determined to salvage it. He zeroed in on his task, pushing all thoughts of Ash onto a back burner.
“Maybe she and Ryan are on a date.” Erin suggested.
Adam’s hammer slipped and hit his thumb, and he let out a few choice expletives. He spoke around the thumb in his mouth. “Not Ryan Cooper! That slime-ball goes through girls faster than Kujo goes through dog food.”
“Yes, and he’s dated almost every single girl in this town, so he’s probably looking for fresh meat, so to speak.”
“Cooper won’t get away with this.” Adam’s heart raced inside his chest as if he were running on a treadmill. “I’ll go to his house this weekend and we’ll have a little talk—man to jerk. He’s too worried about his expensive suits to risk a fist fight.”
“When are you going to do that? Aren’t you going to San Francisco with us tonight? I came by to see what time you want to leave.”