Page 24 of The Love Fix (The Sunrise Cove #8)

The next day, Lexi borrowed the truck and drove into town to begin work with her first official client. Cassidy Tyler and

her three siblings had inherited a large piece of property from their parents, and while the will was perfectly clear and

for once there was no dispute between the benefactors, the five-thousand-square-foot house was filled from forty years of

living. The parents had passed several years before, and because there’d been no issues between the remaining family and no

one had wanted to rush into anything, the estate had never been evaluated. But now, for whatever reason, Cassidy and her siblings

were looking to get everything evaluated so they could decide what to sell and what to keep.

When Lexi had first gotten into the business, it’d been unexpectedly more difficult than she’d imagined, entering homes where

someone had died, where the property needed to be thoroughly gone through without any emotional attachment, putting what essentially

came to a dollar amount on the deceased and the life they’d lived.

But she’d quickly found that the beauty in honoring those lives was actually in doing just that. Not to mention the undeniable thrill she got handling antiques and antiquities alike, feeling the power of history thrum through her, loving the sense that each item had a story to tell.

She’d already met with the family after her and Ashley’s trip delivering Judy’s envelope, so she dove right in, spending the

day happily lost to the work. She liked that it kept any errant thoughts at bay. Especially since she had a lot of them.

The good news was that when she finished up here in a few days, she had that second client in South Shore. After that, if

no other jobs came through, well, then she’d probably be waiting tables to keep herself afloat. There were far worse things,

but she’d been a waitress for several years while working herself through college. People sucked when it came to treating

servers right, not to mention that the job was vastly underpaid to begin with, so the thought of going back to it, working

so damn hard that her entire body hurt after every shift, made her want to cry.

But she’d given up crying. Given up feeling sorry for herself too.

As always, she’d find a way.

That night, she slept better than she expected. She woke up to a text from Cassidy that the painters they’d hired had shown

up a week early, so she suggested Lexi give them a day or two before going back to finish the job.

Her day suddenly free, Lexi opened her laptop to check email. Nothing. No new clients, and no responses to applications she’d

submitted back home. To distract herself from that, she ended up scrolling through Instagram, stopping cold when she came

to a post from Elaine, her work friend.

Or her used-to-be work friend. Elaine and a group of others from the office were at a restaurant, all squished into a pic, smiling broadly. In the center was Dean, her ex, a birthday hat on his head, his arms spread wide as he hugged the people on either side of him.

They’d all gone on with their lives without any concern for the fact that hers had been destroyed.

For something she hadn’t even done.

She was so intently staring at the screen that she nearly screamed when Ashley poked her head over Lexi’s shoulder. “Who are

they?”

“Coworkers,” she somehow managed to say evenly.

“How great is it that they’re letting you work remotely for these six weeks?”

So great. She smiled noncommittally.

“I know you probably have to get to it, but I was hoping we could go through more of Mom’s stuff when you’re free. What time

will you be done for the day?”

“How about now?” Lexi stood and looked out the window. Rainy and chilly. “Though the garage will be freezing.”

“So let’s get started on Mom’s bedroom. When it’s done, one of us could move in there, since it’s the biggest room, with a

bathroom.”

“It’s all yours,” Lexi said.

They walked into the room together. Lexi sucked in a breath and turned in a slow circle. Every last corner was an ode to the

seventies—Daisy’s self-proclaimed favorite decade. A lot of orange and green and brown. And paisley prints. Oh, and a disco

ball overhead instead of a light.

“She loved that thing,” Ashley said, staring up at it. “She got it for ten bucks at a garage sale.”

“She was ripped off.” Lexi shook her head. “It looks the same in here as it did when I was little.”

“That’s because it is . She loved it just like this, never wanted to change a thing.” Ashley’s smile faded. “After...” She swallowed hard. “After

she was gone, I couldn’t bring myself to touch anything. But you’re here now. You can make sure we don’t toss out anything

of value.”

They started with the closet. Within two minutes, Lexi had three piles going. One for the local thrift shop, another for trash,

and the third for things Ashley wanted to keep. That pile was the biggest, and looking at it, her sister sighed. “I know,

I know. But so many things in here have a memory of Mom attached to them.”

Lexi picked up a gaudy peace sign necklace made of plastic and wood beads, then eyed Ashley with doubt.

Her sister smiled. “I made that for her. Yes, it’s god-awful, and don’t get me started on my questionable color choices, but

she wore it proudly.” She lifted a brow. “No pile for you?”

Nothing in this room held any emotional attachment for her, but to say that would only hurt Ashley. “Haven’t found the right

thing to keep yet, is all.”

Ashley nodded thoughtfully. “You will.”

Onward they worked, with Lexi feeling oddly and annoyingly emotional. She hadn’t realized how different it would feel doing

this for Daisy rather than for a job. And she sure as hell hadn’t expected the warm sense of nostalgia that hit her, the ease

and comfort of doing this with her sister and not by herself.

“You okay?” Ashley asked.

“Yeah.” She paused, then admitted, “It’s not as hard as I thought it’d be. Doing this with you, spending time, it’s...

nice.”

Ashley bumped her shoulder to Lexi’s. “You don’t have to look so surprised.”

Lexi folded a tie-dye sweatshirt that had seen better days at least four decades ago and set it into the thrift store pile. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be surprised at all. You’ve never been anything other than sweet and amazing to me.” She paused. “And... meddling .”

Ashley turned her back to go through another box. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh. Let me submit the evidence. One, when we delivered the second envelope to Judy, you maneuvered it so that Heath and

I would be alone in the tent.”

“Because I wanted to sleep with the kittens.”

“Uh-huh. And two, the other night you sent me over to Gus’s house, saying Heath wanted to talk to me.”

Ashley winced. “Okay, yes. I did those things. But you were just staring at your phone, like you were waiting for a friend,

or anyone, to text or call. And I know that in all the time we’ve spent together since you got here, no one has. And ,” she quickly added when Lexi opened her mouth, “I also know it’s none of my business. But I recognize loneliness, Lexi.

I recognize it hard, and I knew I could help.”

Lexi’s heart tightened. Because Ashley didn’t have much more of a social life than she did, which made her ache—for the both

of them.

“And I know what I promised,” Ashley went on. “But there’s something between you and Heath. And I guess I worried that if

I didn’t... nudge, you’d both ignore it.”

“Which is our right.”

Her sister sighed. “I know.”

“Ash, I don’t need you to fix anything for me.”

“What? No .” Ashley shook her head vehemently. “I’m not trying to fix you. I like you just as you are.”

The warm fuzzies she felt at that surprised her. “Really?”

“Really.”

“I like you too,” Lexi said. “You’re clever, creative. You’re not a pushover, but you’re sweet enough to make time for anyone

and everyone who needs it. It’s an amazing and rare balance, and it makes you special.”

Ashley smiled, her cheeks going a little red. “Aw. Thanks.” She went back to her box.

Lexi waited, but Ash said nothing. “Aaaand...?” Lexi prompted.

“And what?”

“I thought maybe you’d say what you like about me.”

“Truth?”

Oh boy. “You know what? Never mind—”

“ Everything ,” Ashley said. “I like everything. You’re smart and fierce and strong, inside and out. I just really want you to be happy.”

Undone, Lexi had to clear her throat. “Thank you.” The two words didn’t seem adequate enough. “That truly means a lot. But

if your plan is for Heath to be the one to make me happy, you should know that we’re not... compatible.”

“Well, that’s a lie.”

Fine. So parts of them were extremely compatible—like their mouths... “Neither of us want this—”

“ Another lie.”

“Maybe I need to add shrewd to your list.”

Ashley laughed. “Don’t even try to change the subject. When you two are in the same vicinity, the air sparks from all your

chemistry.”

“Okay, so I admit, there’s some attraction—”

“Or a lot.”

Lexi had to laugh wryly. “Or a lot. But, Ash, that’s all there is.”

“No, I can tell it’s more! Look, I know you’re all about working hard and making your own way, but Heath is the same.”

“Ash—”

“All I’m saying is don’t take him at surface value, okay? There’s a lot more to him beneath all that effortless, laid-back

charisma. He doesn’t even realize his own worth. The way he grew up was hard. And his grandpa, wonderful and amazing as he

is, he’s from a generation that doesn’t know how to be emotionally available. There were no I-love-yous. Heath had to learn

to speak a different language. It’s made him kind of empathetic to people who are closed off.”

Lexi blinked. “You mean me. I’m closed off.”

Ashley’s smile was sheepish, and also full of understanding. “They say knowing your faults is half the battle.”

“Ha ha. And if the next thing you’re about to say is that Heath’s an onion and I should peel back his layers, please don’t.

There will be no peeling.”