I spent the next morning wiping down my counters and floors. I was so into my chores that when there was a knock on the front door, I jumped. Could it be Mr. Daire? I glanced down. I was still in my pajamas, and I had twisted my hair up into a ball on the top of my head. This was not the look I wanted when I met my curmudgeon of a landlord.

I pulled my hair band out and fluffed my sleep-flattened hair. Realizing I had no time to change, I tightened the belt on my robe. I hurried to the door and yanked it open. I wasn’t sure what I had expected. An old man with a walker? The hot guy? Jackson? It was neither of those. Instead, it was the Guzmans.

“Sorry to bother you,” Mr. Guzman said. He looked pained as if being here made him extremely uncomfortable.

“It’s all right,” I said. “I was just cleaning.”

Mrs. Guzman beamed in approval. “Excellent. I told you she was responsible.”

Mr. Guzman rolled his eyes. I got the feeling I had been the topic of a disagreement for them, and I felt bad about that. I glanced at their hands. They weren’t holding a letter.

“No note?” I asked, just to confirm.

“No.” Mrs. Guzman shook her head. “You’re wanted at the house.”

“Oh,” I said. She and I exchanged a look of understanding.

“Also, I brought you some muffins.” She held out a small basket.

“Thank you,” I said. “Very thoughtful of you. Won’t you come in?”

Mrs. Guzman stepped forward but her husband shook his head.

“You’re wanted at the house immediately,” he said.

I grinned. “Of course, but I have to change.”

They followed me inside. Mrs. Guzman suggested a nice dress while Mr. Guzman raised his hands in the air as if perplexed by us both. I had been summoned. Clearly, to him, an outfit was not as important as answering the summons in a timely fashion.

I was very quick, leaving Sir, who was still on the bed, to the comforts of the house while I was gone. The walk to the main house was brisk with Mr. Guzman, striding forward as if we were late for an appointment, which I suppose we were, given that I should have met my landlord when I moved in. In my opinion, we were weeks late for this meeting but that was me.

We cut across the backyard, walked around the pool and the hot tub, which still had puddles of water surrounding it from my guests. Following the walkway through the line of citrus trees to the wide veranda, we climbed the steps and entered the house through the back door.