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Chapter 1
Victoria
“Today’s the day, isn’t it?” Liam, my best friend, asked me.
I was sitting at my desk in my classroom, having dismissed my second-grade class twenty minutes ago. I was finishing up some grading, trying to kill time before I had to leave for my appointment.
“Yes. I should be heading out shortly. Did you want to go with me?” I offered.
“You know, I would love to meet this sexy realtor, but I think I’ll leave him to you,” Liam said with a sly smile.
“I never said that Zach was sexy.” I blushed when I said it, and I wouldn’t meet Liam’s eyes. I might not have said it, but Liam had picked up on my attraction to Zach, even if I had tried to hide it.
“You might never have flat out told me that he was sexy, but I can tell you like him by the way you talk about him. And you blush too, just like you are right now,” Liam said and pointed at my telltale blush.
“He’s my realtor; he’s helping me to buy a house. There’s nothing more to it.”
“And your stepbrother. I think you like that about him as much as you do his sexy ass.”
“I do not! And how do you know he has a sexy ass?”
“Oh, so you admit he has one?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I might have cyberstalked him. I had to make sure my best girl was okay. You hear stories of people being scammed all the time; you could have by him.”
“He’s technically family, so I doubt he’s going to have his way with me, kill me, and then throw my body into a ditch.”
“But you wouldn’t mind if he just had his way with you.”
“He’s my stepbrother. Our parents are about to get a divorce, and knowing my mother, she isn’t going to be amicable about it. Zach is doing me a favor by helping me out. And the sooner I get the paperwork signed and done, the better off I’ll be.”
“So, you can then be with him in an unprofessional way.”
“No, so that there can be no confusion or concerns if my mother tries to make his father’s life a living hell and Zach decides to take it out on me.”
“Maybe your mother will be better with this divorce.”
“When have you ever known my mother to be better, nice, or kind about anything?”
My mother. Sharon Maxwell was a former child star who had been married and divorced more times than I cared to count. Her latest and soon-to-be ex-husband, Charles, was the director of her latest movie. They had met on the set and had a whirlwind romance and got married the day before the movie had opened up, which bombed. The marriage was already doomed from the start, but my mother had been counting on the movie and the romance to revitalize her career, and she blamed Charles for it not working out. Knowing my mother, she would take out the anger and frustration from her lack of career on Charles, and the divorce was going to be anything but easy for him.
It wouldn’t be the first time she had done it, nor the last. Why men didn’t learn from her previous marriages and actions was beyond me. But my mother had a way of making people love her and want to be around her until she didn’t want them there. Then she made their lives miserable.
Charles had told me that his son, Zach, was a realtor when I had mentioned I was looking to buy a house. I didn’t make a lot on my teaching salary, but my father had left me some money when he died, and I was going to use it as my down payment. I couldn’t afford much and was surprised when Zach Thomas, the realtor to the stars, was willing to work with me. Though I was sure it was only because I was his stepsister.
With our parents divorcing, I wanted to be done with him and any sort of backlash he might want to cause on me. I didn’t think he would do anything, but I figured the less contact we had with each other once the divorce became public knowledge, the better.
It didn’t take away from the fact that Zach was indeed very sexy. He had the quintessential California surfer look with blonde hair that fell around his face and ice blue eyes that could turn a deep blue when he looked at you just so. A look he had given me on more than one occasion. He was well built and kept himself in shape. I had admired how well he looked in his khaki pants and polo shirts on more occasions than I cared to admit.
The attraction to him had been instantaneous. I had felt it from the moment he had shown me the first house. I wasn’t one who believed in the spark, the heat, the electricity you could feel from another person simply by looking at them. But I felt all that and more the first time I looked at Zach. I could tell he felt it too, but he had been professional and nothing but the best realtor a woman could ask for.
He had been patient and understanding with showing me multiple places. I hadn’t been sure what I wanted, and while I could look on the internet all I wanted, it wasn’t the same as seeing them in person. I had found that I would like one online only to see it in person and hate it. Zach had been quick to figure that out and had stopped sending me houses to look out online. Instead, he got a feel for what I wanted, where I wanted it to be, and my price range. He learned my schedule and the best time to do a viewing and set it all up for us.
Each and every time I went to a house, he was there, telling me everything about it, the history, the former owners, the neighborhood, anything he thought I might want to know. He gave me a rundown on what might need to be upgraded or changed, how much it would cost, and my chances of getting the house. He really had gone above and beyond for me, and I appreciated it.
I kept telling myself it was what he did, that he would do this for any other client. And being a man who worked with celebrities and stars, he was probably used to dealing with people who were a bit eccentric and hard to please. He would go the extra mile for any of his clients; I was no different.
