She didn’t have a clue about the location of Hutch’s temporary apartment. But she did know which house he had bought. It was the only one for sale in her neighborhood. Suddenly, her curiosity overcame her good sense.
The pizza she had eaten earlier rolled suspiciously in her stomach, but she ignored it. She was on an investigative mission. Soon, Hutch was going to be living very close to her. What if he brought beautiful women home with him? What if Simone saw them arriving and departing in a steady stream? How was she going to handle that?
The For Sale sign was still up in the front yard, but the Realtor had tacked a Sold banner diagonally across the original notice. Simone parked in the driveway and got out. The landscaping looked scruffy. Nothing a master gardener couldn’t take care of in a week or two.
Unlike Simone’s more modern home, this was one of the last original structures on the street. It probably dated back to the earliest days of Royal. She remembered that the previous owner, or maybe the one before him, had gutted the inside and created a more open floor plan.
Of course, the front door was locked. Someone had left a single light burning somewhere down the hall. She had to be content with peering through a window. The hardwood floors gleamed. In the front
foyer, a set of stairs led upward to the second floor. Did Hutch have plans to settle down and fill his new home with children and a wife?
A wide porch ran all the way around the main floor of the house. It would be perfect for swings and flowerpots and maybe even a hammock on the side facing away from the street. She sat on the back steps and propped her hands behind her. The night breeze picked up, raising gooseflesh on her arms beneath the light sweater.
Hutch had clearly come home to Royal planning to stay. He’d been awarded a prestigious job, and he had family nearby. Everything he could possibly want, Royal had to offer.
It would be up to Simone to learn how to be friendly without betraying her secret. Hutch could never know she still loved him.
Moodily, she kicked at a cricket that hopped around her shoe. “Go away,” she said. “I don’t like pests.”
“I hope that doesn’t mean me.”
The deep voice startled her. She jumped to her feet, and as she did so, her toe caught the edge of the top step. She pitched forward in slow motion, striking her knee hard on the wooden floor of the porch.
Hutch reached for her, but she went all the way down in an ungainly heap. Pain shot from her shin to her toe.
“Did you hit your head?” he asked urgently, squatting beside her as she struggled to sit up.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
She gaped at him. “Seriously? You don’t even think I’m capable of assessing my own injuries?”
“Do you have a medical degree?” he asked mildly.
Refusing to admit that her leg hurt like hell, she shook her head. “No, Doctor, I don’t. I can tell you with confidence, though, I’m fine.”
He helped her to her feet. “What are you doing at my house?”
That was a tricky question. He didn’t sound mad, but he didn’t come across as friendly, either.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“So you thought breaking and entering was the way to go?”
Thirteen
Hutch was stunned at how glad he was to see her. The last twenty-four hours had been rough. He’d been forced to rethink his whole life’s plan. And all because of an impetuous, contrary, completely frustrating woman who was pregnant with another man’s babies.
Simone’s grin was sheepish. “I was curious about your house.”
“Would you like a tour?”
“Of course.”
He unlocked the front door, feeling the same rush of satisfaction that had overwhelmed him when he signed his name on the sheaf of closing papers. This old house welcomed him. Though he wasn’t a whimsical man, he had a healthy respect for the past. He liked feeling a part of something bigger than he was.
He led Simone from room to room, standing back and observing as she got to know his home.