“I don’t actually know if she’s single. But if you like mature women, Sally’s your gal. I’m guessing she’s in her fifties.”

“That’s cool,” Ezra said. He pointed his fork at Ivy. “You’re not having any cake?”

“I don’t really enjoy sweets,” Ivy said.

His eyes widened. “For real? Is it some kind of diet thing? I mean, not to get personal or anything, but seems to me you could stand to eat a few cheeseburgers.”

“I just don’t like sweets,” Ivy said. “Never have.”

“Not even as a kid? Like, no trick-or-treat candy? No pumpkin pie or birthday cake, or, I don’t know, Easter basket PEEPS?” He scooped up another bite of cake. “PEEPS! I freakin’ love Easter PEEPS.”

“Maybe when I was really little.” Ivy wanted to get off this topic. “So, earlier you said something about when you moved here? I somehow assumed you were a native.”

Ezra took a last bite of cake and sat back from the table. “Nope. Born and raised in a little town in South Carolina. I moved here about a year ago.”

“Why Tarburton, of all places?”

He looked down at his plate, chasing a gooey chocolate crumb around with the side of his fork. “Why does anyone move to a new place? I used to have family living in the area. I was working in banking in Charlotte. Trust me, there is nobody in Charlotte who does not work in banking. Like insurance in Hartford, or tech in California. I needed a change. Got my real estate license, and ended up here.” He took a sip of coffee and pointed at her. “Your turn.”

“Me? I got divorced. My ex and I owned the company together, and it was more than awkward, especially after I figured out his new squeeze was our biggest client.”

Ezra winced. “Superawkward.”

“Exactly. He bought out my share of the business, and our house. And then I had this bizarre urge to buy a broken-down farmhouse and fix it up. There’s probably something Freudian there. I’ll let you figure it out.”

Ezra looked longingly at the remainder of the cake on the counter. Ivy laughed, cut off another slab, and added it to his plate.

He attacked the second slice of cake with enthusiasm.

“Something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

“Not about the Christmas lights, I hope.”

“No. I’m just fascinated with the fact that you made an offer on this house, and bought it, without ever having seen it. Kind of a ballsy move.”

“And totally unlike me,” Ivy admitted. “The truth is, I’d been thinking about making a big change for months. I’d been browsing real estate listings, sort of daydreaming. But something came over me when I saw this place. It just … felt right. When you let me know there was another offer on the table, I think I came down with a bad case of FOMO.”

Ezra nodded. “Feeding frenzy. It’s a real thing. Tell me again what kind of work you do? Something creative, right?”