Page 51 of Love and Loathing

She sniffled.

“Thank you.” He swiped a tear out from under her eye. “If he asked you about what he should do with them, it was because he knew what you would say. It was the obvious thing to say, and he knew it. He has always had a way of maneuvering situations to his favor. You’ve seen it. Stop being so hard on yourself.”

She let out a watery chuckle. “Don’t boss me around.”

“But it’s my favorite pastime,” he said as seriously as he could manage.

She pulled back from him and stared up at the house. “Okay, it’s not my fault, then, but I’m still so sorry your project isn’t going through. I love this house.”

He looked back at it with her. Directly behind them were the double glass doors that led to the dining room and kitchen. “You do?”

“It’s the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen.” She nodded. “It kills me to think no one will live here. That none of the other houses you wanted to build will be made.”

“Oh, this house will be lived in,” he said. “In fact, we’ve already got a buyer for it.”

She smiled. “You do? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”

“No.”

“I hope it’s a family, with lots of kids and a big dog.” She sighed. “It just looks like a good family home, doesn’t it?”

He nodded, but he no longer looked at the house. He was looking at her. She was magnificent in every way, and he loved her more now than he’d thought possible before.

She turned her gaze on him, and her smile quickly fell. His gaze fell to her lips. She sucked in a gasp, put a hand to her mouth, and stood.

He closed his eyes. His heart thudded hard in his chest, ached. So she hadn’t changed her mind about him.

“What’s your favorite thing about this house?” she asked. She bounced her arms off her sides.

He pulled it together and stood next to her. “The secret room.”

“The what?”

“Our cabinet guy, Zach Hughes, specializes in secret rooms. When I found out about it, Dave and I had another go at the blueprints and added one. In this case, it also doubles as the movie room.”

A smile lit her face. “A secret movie room? Oh man. I’d love that. If my family ever came over, I could hide and watch a movie and they’d never have a clue.” She went up on her tiptoes and stared in the windows. “Where is it?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, now, would it?” he laughed.

She faced him, a wry smile on her face. “I bet I could make you talk.”

He’d bet she could too. He rested a hand on her hip.

A spotlight blasted them from the driveway. Jessie squirmed back, and Alex lifted a hand to his eyes to cover them. Off to the side of the house, a sheriff’s SUV rolled to a stop.

A speaker came on. “This is Deputy Roger—step away from the girl.”

Alex frowned. The man had to be kidding. Step away from the girl? If he didn’t have the worst luck in the world, he pitied the guy who did.

Jessie squinted into the light? “Roger! Lower it, would you? You’re blinding us.”

“Hey, Jessie.” Roger spoke through the speaker again. “Do you have the newest Brenda Lee Mitford book? Lorna’s been chomping at the bit. She just loves Pumpkin.” He turned off the light.

“Yeah, we just got it in stock this afternoon,” Jessie said.

“What?” Alex said, his irritation growing.

Jessie turned to him as Deputy Roger got out of his patrol vehicle. “Pumpkin’s a Labradoodle in Mitford’s romance novels. Roger, his wife Lorna, and their two kids are big readers—come into Winslow Books all the time.”

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