“I’ll need to come out and survey the land. All of the things I design are based on the land itself. My philosophy is that the structures and nature should be in harmony.”
“I’m buying the January George property.”
His head shoots up. “That old place?”
“Yeah. Her granddaughter is selling it to pay for the purchase of a boat. Girl’s going to yacht around the world.”
“Damn. The death of her husband really did that girl in.”
“The place is loaded with debt. Two mortgages and a line of credit.”
“You want to tear that old mansion down and start over?” Novak’s eyes are gleaming with excitement. He might be an asshole, but he’s damned good at his job.
“Not sure, to be honest. Like I told you when I arrived, I have a list of things I want in a house, and if they can’t be done through a reno then we’ll probably need to move to plan B.” I get to my feet. “I’m going over to the bank to close, and we can meet there tomorrow.”
Novak reaches out to shake my hand. “I’ll be there.”
He follows me into the reception area where Reese is busy at the copier. Her back stiffens as she hears us leave Novak’s office. He doesn’t make one step toward her. For all his talk, he’s not doing much about it, but maybe that means he’s secure in his standing with her. He shouldn’t be. Not if she’s going on blind dates with Justin, of all people.
“Need anything else?” he asks, probably trying to get my ass out of the door and away from Reese.
I should be leaving too, but I can’t tear my eyes away from Reese’s back. There’s a small thread hanging from the slit in the back of her skirt. If I pull on it, does the entire seam unravel?
Novak clears his throat—loudly. Reese grows stiff as a statue.
“See you tomorrow.” I amble out of Novak’s office and down to the end of the block where my truck is parked in front of Hupy’s Floral. I pause in front of the window display. Birdie, my cousin’s wife, likes roses, and she’s looking frazzled these days with her baby and an upcoming show. Seems like the woman is either designing or showing at all times.
I end up buying four bouquets because it occurs to me that if I come home with only one, the other girls might think I’m showing favorites and spike my evening whiskey.
“Those are a lot of flowers,” says a sweet voice as I exit the shop.
I lower the armful of roses to see Reese’s face over the top of the petals. “Thought you were glued to the floor inside Novak’s office.” I shouldn’t care that she wouldn't give me the time of day, but I do. Not that I deserve it after how I walked away from her last night.
She shifts from one foot to the other. “I guess I did look like I was stuck there, but I didn’t realize you were coming, and I needed to ask you a favor.”
“Sure.” I think I might know what is coming already. She doesn’t want Novak to know she’s swiping right on dating profiles if they might have a thing going themselves. Another reason I should stay clear. “If you’re asking me to keep my mouth shut about your date at Coffee’s, already ahead of you. What you do outside of work is none of my business,” I lie. Everything about her is going to be my business.
She smiles wanly and brushes a lock out of her eyes. “Thank you. It’s not that I really care if he knows, but it’s better if he doesn’t because then I don’t have to answer a bunch of questions. Know what I mean?”
I jerk my chin in acknowledgment and step to the side. I can feel her eyes following me as I near my truck. I lay the roses in the backseat, but before I climb into the driver’s side, I turn back. “Edison’s a small town. Your man is bound to hear something, especially if you play your games close to home,” I say, my anger and jealousy getting the best of me.
“My…man…games?” Her forehead wrinkles adorably.
I curse myself out and get behind the wheel, needing to get the hell out of here before I say something to piss her off more. What I need to do is stay away. She’s spoken for—but then again, there is no ring on her finger.
Yet.
CHAPTER 6
REESE
O nce again, Blake leaves me feeling uneasy. I hate it. It reminds me of being back home and makes me feel as though he’s judging me. The same way my mom and stepfather used to. Nothing I ever did felt good enough for them. No matter how hard I tried, they always found a way to pick at it. So I’m going to do my best to avoid Blake going forward. I’m not sure how easy that will be, though, if he’s working with Novak on something.