He smiles, his eyes bouncing to the man, who is still chuckling at his own joke behind the counter, then back to mine. “I’m around, just let me know when you’re ready.”
I walk out of the Sweetkiss Creek hardware store a little more educated than when I’d gone in. Georgie knew that I was living on the old Porter farm, she had to, and didn’t say anything. Why?
Ambling across the small parking lot, I toss my purchases into my car before grabbing my grocery list and jogging over to the store. Time to stock up the fridge.
I’d barely made it down the first aisle when a familiar voice calls my name. When I spin around, I’m not even one bit surprised, although, I am grateful for the serendipity to see Georgie again.
“This is awesome,” she says as she gently nudges my grocery cart with hers. “I love that you live here now.”
“I guess in a small town, you can’t hide much, huh?”
“Nope,” she says with a wink as she grabs a package of cookies and tosses them into her cart.
“I’m glad I ran into you, I’ve got a bone to pick,” I say, putting my cart in front of hers so she can’t get away quickly. “Why didn’t you tell me about Austin living on the farm—that it’s his grandparents’ home?”
“Oh, man. I know. I should have.” Georgie grimaces. “I was afraid you’d find out he was there full time and then see what a jerk he’s become and you wouldn’t want to move in. We didn’t even tell Spencer about his connection—plus, to add salt to the wound, Austin tried to buy your house.”
“He did?” My voice hitches with surprise.
She nods her head slowly. “And he wasn’t happy when Spencer bought it.”
“Headlines, Georgie. These are headlines. Things you lead with. I would have liked to have known what I was getting in my next-door neighbor, you know.”
“I know, but look, in the funny way things work out, I was telling Levi about seeing you. He says hi, by the way.” She grins, interrupting herself. “I love how interested he is in what I do and have to say.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say with sarcastic humor, rolling my eyes playfully. “I get it, you found Prince Charming.”
“I did, and it turns out the good prince may have work for you.”
If she was trying to pivot and change the subject, she did a good job.
“Really?” I start to move my grocery cart out of her path. “That’s awesome.”
“The thing is, as he put it, it’s got to be the right person to do the job.” She turns serious, reaching out and grasping my forearms. “Which I fully believe you are, but it could be a bit of a claustrophobic job, if you take it.”
“Claustrophobic. Would I be in a small tunnel or a box?”
She leans on the handle of her grocery cart. “The brothers are partners. Levi does a lot of work, but the deal he made with Austin was that he, Austin, would take care of running the day-to-day business of their rental properties here in Sweetkiss Creek when Levi was out on the road coaching.”
It’s not often you get a family that has two incredible sports players in its family tree, but to have brothers who both played in the NFL is saying something. Levi retired about a year ago, but only kind of; these days, he travels with his old team, the Carolina Cardinals, and coaches the offensive line. I know from chats with Georgie that he loves doing it, they are based in Charlotte after all, but it still takes him away from home more than he planned, even if he’s got more flexibility these days.
“I take it Austin is not holding up his end of the deal when Levi’s gone?”
“Nope. And therein lies the rub.” Georgie leans against her grocery cart and shakes her head. “Look, I wouldn’t be presenting this to you, but the fact that you live right next to him seems to be a sign.”
“Yeah. ‘No access granted’ is what that sign says,” I mumble.
Georgie ignores me. “I know from talking to Spencer that you’ve worked for some real challenging personalities, but you’ve always been able to handle them well. I think his exact words were that you do it with grace.” She flashes a megawatt smile, the kind that probably gets her anything she wants without even trying. “Which made me wonder if Austin can be one more challenge to add to your list?”
“You make me sound like the Pied Piper of personal assistants,” I say. “Why haven’t you guys hired anyone sooner?”
She shrugs. “We’ve talked about it, as a family, but it hasn’t been until recently that Levi realized how many balls are being dropped. He’s home for two days right now, and I’ll barely see him because he’s out at an apartment organizing new carpet for a new tenant, and then he has a walk-through for someone who’s moving out. After that, he’s got another appointment, but now we’re in the territory where I lose track, so all going well, I’ll see him for dinner tonight before he’s out the door tomorrow morning for a flight.”
I can hear the stress in her voice, never mind the fact she hardly took a breath during her monologue. “That sounds hectic.”
“It is.” She looks at me. “Is it convenient that you live next door to Austin now? Yes. Am I trying to get you to take this job because it’ll help my home life calm down some? Yes, but I swear I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t know how awesome you are at what you do.”
“Now you’re just trying to woo me.”
