Page 8 of Second Love

Reluctantly, she stepped into the small living area. Low black beams gave the room a cosy feel and an unlit open fire dominated the back of it. Two couches lined the room and a coffee table took up the middle. There wasn’t a lot of space in what was once a fisherman’s cottage. And with Sawyer right beside her, there was even less. She had the desire to run back outside and draw in a deep breath of fresh air, and she had never really been the claustrophobic type.

“Have a seat.” He motioned to one of the black leather chairs.

She shook her head and folded her arms. She didn’t need to be sitting while he towered over her. Or while he sat opposite in some manly stance that made her tingle from head to toe.

But now he was right in front of her and the dip in his collarbone was right in her eye-line. And it was still damp. Was it that hard to towel himself dry? Really?

“So?”

“Yes, I’m selling off the house.”

“To developers?”

His jaw worked. “Yes.”

How could he be so callous? Did the fact it was his father’s house mean nothing? She knew he didn’t exactly get on with him, but who did get on with their parents when they were teenagers?

“You can’t let them tear down that house. It’s been in your family for years.”

“It’s a mess, Maddie. You haven’t seen the inside. It needs so much work.”

“If it’s the cost, I’d—”

He gave her a stern look. “You’d what?”

“Well, I have some money. I could lend it to you perhaps...”

No one except her parents and her five friends who she’d bought the ticket with knew about her lottery winnings. Four million meant they weren’t quite millionaires but it was more money than she’d ever expected to have in her life and she needed something to do with it. They’d agreed not to tell anyone apart from close family so she couldn’t very well explain that she had come into money and hadn’t quite figured out what to do with it. The financial advisor had suggested property might be a good start.

His eyes darkened, his arms flexed. “I’m not borrowing money from you.”

“I don’t mind, honestly. I’ve been thinking about investing in some property.”

“Look...”

“You can’t let them knock down the house. It’s too beautiful for that. God, Sawyer, it’s part of Ballicliff’s history.”

“I do know that.” He folded his arms and leant back against the doorway leading into the kitchen. “I just don’t have the time or the knowledge to manage a project like that.”

“So you’re going to let them knock it down and replace it with some horrible modern house?”

“I’m sure they’ll replace it with something sympathetic to the area,” he said slowly, as though she was really stupid.

Maddie narrowed her eyes as heat scalded her cheeks. “But it won’t have thehistory.It won’t mean anything. It’s a beautiful building. It just needs a little work and if you still want to sell it you can.” She could see she wasn’t getting through to him. “You’ll probably make a lot of money on it,” she added.

A tidy profit didn’t change his impassive expression. Apparently he didn’t need any. So his reason for not wanting to fix up the house wasn’t monetary. She didn’t know what he did for a living—the people of Ballicliff never spoke of Sawyer Steele and the day he left—but apparently he wasn’t poor.

Huffing, she copied his posture. She wasn’t backing down. For years, she’d admired the big house on the main road and wished it was hers. Even with her lottery winnings, she couldn’t afford it. It would probably sell for over three quarters of a million and that would be all of her money gone.

Sawyer glowered at her, the muscle in his jaw twitching. She tried to glower back which was difficult when her traitorous gaze wanted to take in every inch of his body. Finally, he broke away and turned into the kitchen. She stalked after him as he snatched two cups from the side and starting making a cup of tea.

“I don’t know what you want from me, Maddie. I don’t know the first thing about that house apart from the fact I used to live in it. I’m not a project manager. Even if I wanted to take the time to fix up the house, I couldn’t.” He dumped tea bags in the cup and flicked on the kettle.

“I do.” Maddie rested back against the counter, forcing him to look at her. “I know everything about that house.”

A dark eyebrow rose. “What?”

She was willing to but she blushed as she said, “I kind of love that house. I always have done. I’ve studied the architecture and history of it over the years.”

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