Page 28 of Love Is Brewing

He snorted. “Pretty much the story of my adult life.”

“And that isn’t why you accidentally called me,” she said. “Or why you were trying to figure out what to text. Care to share that with me?”

He looked out past his open door to make sure no one was around to overhear him sounding like an idiot.

Here he’d gone and been all confident with her flirting and wanting to see her again and yet he couldn’t find the words to actually ask her on a date.

“I don’t mind sharing,” he said. “I was calling to see if between doing laundry and looking up ambulance phone numbers, if you’d like to get some dinner again.”

“Since my laundry is almost done and I think there might only be one ambulance service around, I could find time for dinner.”

He laughed. “Good to know.”

“But you might work all day and then have to do chores around your place too. Unless you live where you work. I know people do that too.”

“No,” he said. “I live a few miles away and this is horrible, but I don’t do much around my place. I’ve got someone to take care of the grounds and another coming in and cleaning weekly. I do wash my underwear and buy food.”

“Well, that is something,” she said.

It was the dry tone that had him laughing.

“I’m positive having cleaning people isn’t a foreign concept for you or your clients.”

“Nope,” she said. “But I do wash my own underwear too.”

He wished she hadn’t said that because now he was trying to figure out what her underclothes looked like.

“And you live in an apartment so don’t have to worry too much about maintenance.”

“I don’t,” she said. “Had an apartment before I moved too. I didn’t have enough time in the day, nor the desire to take care of a house. Ben has a home. Matt owns a condo. Same thing, not much work on his end, but he owns the place at least.”

“Not a lot of places to rent around here. Not a lot of homes either and I wanted one out of the way. When my place came on the market I jumped.”

“I’m sure you did,” she said.

No reason to say anything else.

That he paid over asking, then gutted it and made it into exactly how he wanted it.

He didn’t want to move again. He’d moved enough in his life and had cramped living quarters on top of it.

He wanted that forever place and was going to get it at any cost.

Since he had the money, might as well.

“So, back to dinner,” he said. “There are a few restaurants in town or I can text you my address to have dinner here.”

“Hmmm,” she said. “Most times I’d say no to going to a stranger’s house, but how much of one are you really?”

He snorted. “You know where to find me. Your brother does too. I can assure you I’m an upstanding citizen of the community. You might even find some nice things said about me in your research.”

He was positive she was the type to look into him.

“I’m sure I would,” she said. “If I looked, but I’m telling myself not to.”

That was surprising.

“Why is that?” he asked curiously.

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