Page 65 of What a Wolf Wants
“Yeah.”
Before Ethan could tell her what had happened, she cleared her throat. “Hey, I can’t talk right now. I’m looking at some other homes that I could turn into another rental house.”
That surprised the hell out of Ethan. She hadn’t mentioned to him beforehand that she was going out to look for another rental house. Not that she had to tell him everything she was doing, but he was worried that one of the men he was after might be following her now. And Noah hadn’t texted or called him either to tell Ethan that she had left the house.
Here Ethan figured she was safe at home with Noah discreetly watching over her.
“Just meet me at home when you’re through with your business,” Charlene said. “You can tell Noah what’s going on.”
“At your house? You know Noah was there?”
“Yeah. It’s not his fault. Talk to you later.”
“All right. Love you.” He headed for the house, not calling Noah because he figured he would just talk to him when he arrived. He sure hoped Thor ended up in jail and didn’t get out. But what was Noah doing at Charlene’s house when he was supposed to be watching her place in secret?
Chapter 18
Charlene was dying to know what had happened with Ethan and the guy who was tailing Renault, but she couldn’t talk with him about what was going on while she was with the real estate agent. Ethan had sounded annoyed with her that she wasn’t sitting at home staying safe while Noah was secretly watching out for her. She was glad he was concerned about her, but she had been thinking about looking for the additional property to rent, and while he was doing his business, she wanted to do hers.
If Charlene and Ethan were right for each other, they could talk things through like this, and everything would be fine. In a way, it was good to have these little bumps in their relationship because if they could successfully deal with them, she knew they were right for each other. If they couldn’t, things wouldn’t work out. She understood how he was feeling, but she hoped he also understood how she felt.
Jennie said, “Hey, two more listings just came up that are similar to what you have already purchased, though one is larger—a four-bedroom and three-bathroom. Do you want to check them out? They look good.”
“Yeah, let’s check them out.” One of the other listings Charlene had seen looked like it might be perfect for what she wanted, but she had to look at the others too. The other two homes she had seen online needed a lot of work. Shecould do it, but if she could find a reasonably priced home to rent out that was more ready, she would prefer that.
Still, she felt a little like she should go home and learn what had happened with Ethan and Renault. She sighed. That was Ethan’s business, and he would tell her later. This was her business and she wanted to do this now. Homes could be snapped up just like that, and she didn’t want to lose out on a good bargain if she found one.
“Okay, this one might be right up your alley,” Jennie said. “The couple are divorcing. They both want as much money as they can get out of the place, but they want it done quickly, so I’m sure we can get them to come down significantly on the price.”
When they arrived at the house, they walked inside and checked the place over. The first thing Charlene wanted to see was the back deck and the view of the ocean from it. That was one of the things that really enticed people to rent her places. But she loved the detailed molding around the floors and the tile floors throughout the living room, kitchen, and dining room. The house was about two miles down the road from her own home, so it was a nice location.
“What do you think?”
“So far, I like it.” Then Charlene looked through the bedrooms and bathrooms and it truly was a much bigger house than she normally rented out. But for bigger groups, she thought it might work.
Normally, she would have just decided on a place and purchased it, not having to ask anyone else’s opinion, but she realized she wanted Ethan’s input. She had never thought shewould feel that she would have to ask anyone else to help her make a choice. But she really wanted to include him in the decision-making, and that was a big change for her when she was in a relationship.
More than that, she realized just why she wanted his input. She wanted him to live with her—permanently. She just hoped when she told him, he was of a like mind. With Noah, she had told him what she was going to do; she didn’t ask him what he thought of it. “Let me call my boyfriend and have him meet us over here to look at the house.”
“Oh, sure. Go ahead,” Jennie said.
Charlene called Ethan and said, “Hey, have you gotten home yet?”
“No, not yet. I’m about ten minutes from there. Is anything the matter?” Ethan sounded worried that she was in trouble.
“No, but I would like you to help me decide on buying one of the houses for the third rental. I’m only two miles from my house, so we’ll just wait for you here.” She gave Ethan the address.
“All right. I’ll be there pronto.”
“Don’t break any laws getting here.”
He laughed.
She loved his laughter and she felt he was over being perturbed with her about not telling him what she had been up to while he was watching Renault’s back.
When he arrived at the house, he hugged Charlene and kissed her. “I’m so glad you’re fine.”
“I’m so glad that you are.”
