Page 20 of Devil in the Details

On the surface, it did look a little odd, especially since this was a house that had been remodeled before Caleb even moved in and didn’t need any updating.

But even though Aaron’s questions seemed innocent enough, Delia knew she shouldn’t say anything that might point toward Caleb’s new home.

Well, a little creative obfuscation never hurt anyone.

“Oh, he decided the place was too big for him, and he didn’t want to deal with all the yard upkeep and that kind of stuff,” she said, hoping she sounded completely reasonable and not like a woman who was lying through her teeth. “So I just sold him a condo in Lido Isle.”

Which was a gorgeous neighborhood down in Summerlin with lakes and canals, just far enough away that she doubted Aaron would head over there to investigate.

He seemed to accept the story, and gave a nod as he said, “I can see why this house might be a lot for one person. It practically screams ‘family home.’”

“That it does,” Delia replied, since her first impression of the place was that it was pure Brady Bunch — updated for the twenty-first century, of course.

“Well, I’ll take a look around,” Aaron told her next. “There are just a few things I’d like to get some extra photographs of.”

“Take your time,” she responded at once, although she hoped he wouldn’t dawdle too much. Officially, the open house was supposed to end at five-thirty, but she knew some people liked to linger, which was why she’d told Caleb she’d meet him for dinner at half past six rather than right on the hour.

Aaron sent her a friendly smile and then headed into the backyard, phone already out so he could get whatever supplemental photographs his client might need. While he was outside, several more brokers left, and she wondered if she was going to get stuck alone here with him.

A little chill went down her spine, and she told herself not to be such a baby. It wasn’t as if she’d never met the guy before, and besides, she couldn’t spend the rest of her life jumping at shadows.

Especially since neither she nor Caleb knew for sure whether the smudges he’d spotted on the back door had even belonged to a demon.

She supposed that was another annoying thing about the hellish creatures. Once you’d admitted the truth of their existence, it was almost impossible not to start seeing them everywhere.

Sort of like cockroaches.

But there was Marcy, coming by to snag the penultimate snickerdoodle.

“I probably shouldn’t,” she said, even as she placed the cookie on a napkin and broke off a piece. “But I didn’t have any lunch today, and I’m just famished!” After consuming the bite-sized morsel, she added, “Did you make them?”

“Oh, no,” Delia replied at once. “I’m not much of a baker. There’s a great bakery just a few blocks from my office — Short and Sweet. That’s where I get all of my goodies.”

“And you always have the tastiest treats,” Marcy said. “I’ll have to check that out. I’ve been trying to make my own things for my open houses, but it’s just so much work that I think I’d be better off grabbing something from a bakery instead.” Another bite, and she went on, “I have a buyer who I think will be perfect for this house. Is it all right if I bring them by tomorrow?”

For all her outward flightiness, Marcy was an excellent real estate agent and very good at matching houses to clients. If she had someone she thought was a good fit for Caleb’s former home, then it might be a done deal. And thank God for that. Delia had the feeling that the sooner they unloaded the place, the better. “Whenever you like. I’ll be putting the lockbox on after the open house today.”

“Then I’ll look up the code on the MLS sometime tomorrow. Thanks again for the cookies!”

And Marcy headed out, breaking off another piece of her snickerdoodle as she went.

Only one left — both in terms of the cookies and the agents who’d been looking at the house. Delia was sorely tempted to wrap up that final cookie and put it in the bag from the bakery so she could take it home, but professional courtesy told her she needed to leave it on the platter while Aaron was still here. If he didn’t scoop it up, then she could safely consider it hers.

He came back downstairs as she was straightening the flyers on the kitchen island, more out of a desire to look as if she was doing something than because they’d actually gotten shifted out of place.

“The upstairs bedrooms are really nice-sized,” he said as he approached her. “That was something I wanted to check on, since it’s one of the hardest things to tell when you’re just looking at a picture.”

“Your client has children?” Delia asked, knowing she needed to remain polite and professional, even though now it was almost a quarter to six and she just wanted to get the hell out of there.

Aaron nodded. “Two. And she works from home half the time, so being able to use the extra bedroom as an office is a real selling point.” His gaze moved from her to the one remaining cookie on the platter. “Mind if I take that?”

Delia repressed an inner sigh. “Not at all,” she replied, even as she told herself she didn’t need the calories, especially since she was meeting Caleb at Battista’s. “Saves me having to pack it up.”

It wasn’t as if she couldn’t order a cannoli after dinner if she needed to satisfy her sweet tooth.

“Thanks,” Aaron said, then picked up the cookie and a napkin. “Anyway,” he went on after he’d taken a large bite, “I have a feeling my client will probably want to see the house sometime tomorrow.”

“It’ll be ready,” Delia said. “Like I just told Marcy, I’m going to put on the lockbox as I’m leaving tonight, so the house will be available to be shown whenever you like.”

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