Miranda strode away, banging out of the clinic with a whole lot of fussy sounds.

Mabel turned to her. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for someone to take that queen bee down?”

“If I’d been really smart I could have kept the cookies.” It struck her that Mabel knew a lot about the town. “Should I expect other visits from women who think Armie will finally be theirs once his tender innocent daughter is pawned off on a man? Are they waiting for her marriage or just for her to leave home?”

“You trust him that much? You didn’t even think twice about it. How do you know he doesn’t have a whole bunch of women on his string?”

“My sister likes him and she’s a good judge of character. My brother-in-law likes him, too. And I know self-delusion when I see it.” She’d seen it in the mirror for years.

The door swooshed open and Noelle wheeled herself in, followed by the man himself. No wonder Miranda had come to protect her turf. That man was fine. He walked beside his daughter, and the man rocked the khakis.

He turned and looked out into the empty parking lot. “Was there something wrong with Miranda?” He glanced back her way. “Hey, did you ask her about what’s up with the wiring in that house she sold you? I want to know if she’s paying off the inspector.”

Even his suspicion was sexy. And great minds and all that. “I did ask her about that and she avoided the question. She did not come here for business purposes. She’s angry because I stole her man.”

He winced. “Roxie might have mentioned that could happen today. Lila, I’ve never given her any reason to think we’re together.”

“You should look out for Annie Dubois, too,” Noelle offered with a cheery smile. She didn’t seem to mind that Peanut was sniffing all around her. She simply reached a hand out and gave the dog a pet. “Just like Miranda, she’s been after Dad since high school, according to the gossip.”

“She helped me out in math,” Armie said with a shake of his head.

Yep, he was cute when he was confused. It was exactly what she’d thought it was. He was a guy and many, many times men didn’t pick up on the subtleties of female desire.

“So I’m not wrecking your future home?” she asked.

The slightest smile curled up his lips. “I am a perfectly single man. I cannot help it if a number of women around town find me attractive. I can assure you I’ve done nothing to make them desire me. In fact, I gave Miranda a ticket for parking violations a couple of months back.” He glanced over at Mabel. “You think she’s going to cause trouble? Should I talk to her?”