Page 6 of The Playboy's Most Unexpected Baby

“I’m sorry,” Olivia said. “I’m telling you my dream career moves and we haven’t been introduced. I must sound like a lunatic.”

“I would have saidpassionate.” He grinned.

She smiled too. “I’m sorry I let myself get so carried away,” she said. “My name is Olivia Farley.” She held out a hand to shake. “And, as I mentioned already, I’m a realtor.”

“Nice to meet you.” The man took her hand and shook it. “Charlie Coldwell. Rich playboy.”

“Oh my God.” Olivia’s cheeks flamed. “I… oh, no. You should have told me!”

“So you could have kept your commentary to yourself?” He shook his head. “It was too good. Don’t worry about it. You only said what I’m sure everyone is thinking.”

“I’m sorry,” Olivia said. “I shouldn’t have said it. I didn’t mean?—”

“Of course you meant it,” he said. “Don’t backtrack now. You don’t have anything to apologize for here. It’s fine.”

“I should have figured that was why you were here. You inherited the house, right? And now you’re here to see it?”

“That’s right,” Charlie said. “And as far as your other guess, I’m not planning on keeping it as a party house. I don’t really even know whether I’m planning on keeping it at all.”

“I really didn’t mean any offense,” Olivia said. “I’m sorry I said those things. I shouldn’t have.”

“Don’t worry about it. You don’t know me. You couldn’t have known.”

“I should probably be on my way,” Olivia said. She couldn’t have been any more embarrassed if she’d tried, and she wanted nothing more to get out from under his gaze. “I shouldn’t have been loitering around your house like this. I’m sorry. I’ll go now.”

“Hang on,” Charlie said. “You’re leaving just like that?”

“Well… I mean, yes. What is there for me to do here? I’ve already made a fool out of myself.”

“Sure. I’m just surprised that you don’t want to stick around and try to convince me to let you list the house. I thought it meant so much to you.”

Olivia laughed. Was he messing with her? “You’re not going to hire me to list the house after that stuff I said.”

“You don’t know what I’d do,” he pointed out. “You just met me. I think you and I might be able to help each other out, actually.”

Olivia frowned. “What do you mean?”

“My siblings want nothing more than to sell this place,” he said. “I was keener on keeping it in the family, until I saw how they acted when my aunt’s will was read out. Now, I’d like to sell the house and take the profits for myself. And I think that’s maybe something you can help me with.”

“Are we talking about something legal?” Olivia asked. “I mean… is it yours to sell?”

“It is,” he said. “I’m the sole inheritor — for now, at least. But I need to move pretty quickly. And everything you said about getting the best possible deal for the place sounds perfect to me. I’d love it if we sold it for even more than my family expected it to be worth and they just had to deal with the fact that they weren’t getting any of that money.”

“You really want to work with me?” She could hardly believe what she was hearing.

“I think you and I might be able to help each other out on this one,” he said. “I’ll tell you what — can I take you out for a drink, and we can discuss it a little more, at least? And then you can decide for yourself whether we have a future or not.”

Olivia was in shock. Could this be real? It was like something out of her wildest fantasies.

And she would have been crazy to tell him no.

“Okay,” she said. “I could go for a drink. You’re on.”

CHAPTER3

OLIVIA

Charlie ordered a Hoffel’s Light, which struck Olivia as a fake thing to do. Surely someone like him, someone raised with a silver spoon in their mouth, had more expensive tastes than the local light beer. She didn’t say anything, though, just ordered herself a vodka cranberry and waited for him to break the silence.

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