Page 12 of The Playboy's Most Unexpected Baby

“I can’t believe you,” she said. “Look at this.” She slapped a copy of the will down on the breakfast table in front of him.

“Where did you even get this?” he asked her.

“Your office. It was sitting on your desk in a clearly labeled folder.”

“You went through the documents in my office?”

“I didn't go through anything. I wanted to see the will, and it was clearly labeled and sitting out in the open. And might I add, it's a good thing I did look at it, because either you didn't know or you just decided not to tell me that we’re not allowed to sell the house for six months!”

It seemed to take a moment for him to process what she had said. “What do you mean, six months?”

“Did I stutter? Six. Months. We are not allowed to list the house or advertise the sale in any way until that time is up. Your aunt must have anticipated that you would do something like this.”

“Let me see that.” He held out his hand for the will.

Olivia just stared at him. Did he think she was going to pick it up and hand it to him? Just what exactly did he think this arrangement was?

With a sigh, Charlie picked up the paper and flipped it over. “What exactly am I looking at?”

“Third paragraph,” Olivia said, her voice tight. “It's not even in legalese or anything. There was nothing hard to read about this. The house can't be listed or sold for six months.”

“All right,” Charlie said. “I guess we'll just have to wait six months and sell it then.”

Which meant that the two of them would have to remain married for six months before they could even talk about selling the property. The time stretched out in front of Olivia. She had agreed to this thinking that the house sale would be handled quickly, and that she would soon be able to help her family. Now, though, it looked as though that might not happen for a while.

She couldn't quite face this without a cup of coffee. At least there were some upsides to the current situation. The coffee selection here was just incredible. She poured herself a cup and joined Charlie at the table.

He rubbed both hands over his face a few times, clearly trying to wake himself up. “You know it isn't that bad,” he said. “The six months, I mean. It gives us the time we need to get this place in condition to sell.”

Olivia let out a sigh. She had to admit he had a point. When they had moved in here, she had been taken aback by the condition of the place. The upkeep had been managed fairly well, but it was hopelessly out of date. If they wanted to get a good price for it, they would have to do some renovations. It didn't look as though it had been updated in several decades.

“What you want to do to the place?” she asked.

Charlie looked at her. “You're asking me?”

“Of course I'm asking you. This is your house. It’s up to you what we do to it, what kinds of updates we make.”

“Well, you’re the realtor,” he threw back. “You know what we might need to update in order to make a sale. That’s what I want to do. I want to sell the place for the most money possible. I don’t care what the specific changes are.”

“Okay,” she said. “But a remodel costs money. How much do you want to invest in this project?”

“We’ll get it all back when we sell anyway, right?” He shrugged. “I don’t think I care. Whatever you think is best.”

“You’re giving me a free hand?” She could hardly believe what she was hearing. As if this project hadn’t been enough of a dream come true already — now this?

“Just tell me what you’re doing before you do it, that’s all,” he said.

“Well, I think we should decide together,” she said. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened a notepad app. “Let’s make a list. What would you put down first?”

“I guess there are some creaky floorboards. We should get those fixed, right?”

“Definitely.” She made a note of it. “And the door that leads into the backyard doesn’t quite hang right in the frame, did you notice that?”

“No,” he admitted.

“It’s not a major problem, but if we’re tuning the place up, we want it to be the kind of home that someone will pay top dollar for. What about the bathroom in the basement?”

“What about it?”

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