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“There will be nothing to tell. Thanks for checking up on me. Have fun at practice.”
Liam helped teach basketball to the kids after school twice a week.
“I will.” He waved and walked out of my classroom.
Leaning back in my chair, I let out a soft sigh. My mind immediately went to Zach and how we had been with each other. We had flirted, but we had been playing off each other. There was an attraction there, but that didn’t mean we were going to do anything about it. I still wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t just treating me like he did all his other clients. But as I grabbed my purse and headed to meet him, I kept thinking about how he had been with me, the looks he gave me, and how it felt when he ran his hand down my arm, and I hoped that maybe I was more than just a client to him.
Chapter 2
Zach
The house was cute, quaint, and without a doubt the smallest house or commission I had ever taken on. Still, as I looked at the simple three-bedroom, two-bath house, I liked it and was proud that I had been able to help Victoria get it. It had an open-air kitchen and living room that allowed for easy movement and entertaining. The closet space was incredible for such a small house, and all the electrical and plumbing had recently been upgraded along with the roof. The master bath and backyard needed some work, but no house was perfect, though this one came pretty close.
It was in an excellent neighborhood, close to Victoria’s school, without her running into the possibility of seeing her students or parents every time she went to the grocery store. Numerous families lived along the block, people who walked their dogs and said hello to their neighbors. All unusual things for me to find with my normal client list.
When my father had asked me to do a favor and help someone buy a house, I thought it was going to be one of his producer friends or even a famous actor. I was surprised when Victoria had shown up. She wasn’t like anyone my father normally knew and hung out with. At first, I thought she must be the mistress of one of his friends trying to find a love cottage for them. I quickly realized that wasn’t the case. I still didn’t know how she knew my father. I figured she must have interned for him or a friend of his, and they had kept in touch.
Not that it mattered. At first, I had thought to meet with her, tell them I would help her out, and then see if I could pawn her off to one of my assistants. But after spending just a few minutes with her, I’d changed my mind. I wanted to help her; I didn’t want to give her to anyone else. There was something about her that drew me to her, and I wanted to get to know her.
The attraction I felt for her had been immediate and almost overwhelming. I was used to being around sexy and beautiful women. It went with the territory and my line of my work. I thought I was immune to gorgeous women, but I was wrong. One look at Victoria and I had a new and complete understanding of what lust and love could feel like.
I told myself it was because she was so different from all the other women I had been around. There was an innocence, a sweetness, a vibrance about her that I’d never seen with anyone else. She wasn’t jaded by Hollywood or doing whatever she could to get ahead, to be seen, or to find the right contacts. She was just her— beautiful, incredible, amazing, her.
She was excited about finding a place, a home, and I had forgotten the joy that could be found in helping someone accomplish that. I was used to my clients looking for their current home, in a good location, with good investment opportunities, and one they could move out of in a few years. I was all for it as it kept my customers coming back and my commissions flowing. But I had started to lose sight of the joy of my job and helping people out.
Victoria allowed me to remember and find the love of my work again. I would be excited about seeing her and looked forward to the time we spent together. When I realized that she wasn’t a visual person and seeing a house online was useless to her, I did my own digging and saw what I thought would work for her. I spent more time finding a house for her than I had any other client.
There might have been a few houses that I showed her which were not in her budget or weren't what she was looking for. I told myself I was showing those to her so that she could see what she could have or what she didn’t, but the truth was, I wanted to see her. I found excuses to see her at least once a week, even if I really didn’t have a house to show her. Or some reason to call her just to hear her voice. I found any excuse I could to see her. So that I could look at her deep brown eyes and gaze at her incredible smile that lit up her whole face.
She was always patient with me. Never complaining that I wasn’t finding what she was looking for or even suggesting she hold off looking. She believed the perfect house was out there for her, and we were going to find it. She never got frustrated with me or the process. Instead, she found the joy in the looking, the hunting, saying that every house she looked at helped her see what she liked or didn’t, so when she found her perfect home, she would know it.
And she did find it. It had popped up on my searches one Monday morning, and as soon as I saw it, I knew it was the house that Victoria should have. I almost didn’t tell her about it because I knew once I did, our need to see each other would be over. But I couldn’t do that, not to her, not when her chance of having the perfect forever home was in her grasp.
I called the realtor on the listing and asked if they would give us an exclusive look at it before it even went on the market. They were a bit hesitant to give me such a jump on the competition, but when I told him who I was, they were more willing. I wasn’t above using my name to get what I wanted, or in this case, what Victoria wanted.
She had loved the house and immediately put an offer in. I knew if she didn’t, it was going to get snatched up by someone else. She offered more money than she had wanted, but I told her it would show how serious she was and secure it. I had been right, and before the house was technically on the market, it was taken off as the owner accepted her offer.
That had been a little over three months ago. I still kept in touch with Victoria, keeping her apprised of everything that was going on. We didn’t need to meet as frequently, but I might have held back some paperwork that she needed to sign so that I could see her twice instead of once. I told myself I was doing it so she wouldn’t be overwhelmed by everything, but it wasn’t just that. I just wanted more excuses to see her.
That was all going to end in a few short days. After the inspection, the escrow papers would need to be signed, and then there would be no need for her to see me anymore. Technically, I didn’t even have to be there for the inspection or the signing, but I would. I was going to take any and all excuses to see Victoria as much as I could for as long as I could.
I watched as her car pulled up, a rundown Prius that had seen better days. I knew she had been saving her money up so that she could buy and then renovate the house, but I didn’t like that she had such an old car. She took good care of it, and it ran fine for a seven-year-old car. I almost wished I could buy her a better car, but I knew she would never take such a gift from me, even though it wouldn’t even begin to put a dent into my savings.
Victoria got out of the car, and I was taken aback by how sexy she looked. No matter how many times I saw her, she continued to amaze me with her beauty. She wore a soft green dress that came just below her knees. It swayed with her when she walked, giving me a better view of her shapely legs, and it only made me want to see more. It was snug without being form-fitting and showed off her sexy body and full breasts.
I could tell it wasn’t something that she would wear to school. It was a bit too risqué for the classroom, not that it was inappropriate in any way. It was probably one of the most conservative dresses I’d seen a woman wear in quite a while. Still, it was the sexiest. The simple V-neck showed off her assets without being overt, and just like her legs, it was driving me crazy.
“And here I was hoping I might beat you here today,” Victoria said as she approached.
I smiled and shook my head. “Never. I’m always here to meet the client, not the other way around.”
“Well, in a few days, I won’t be your client anymore.”
“I know. What am I going to do with myself?”
She stood in front of me, and I had to resist the urge to hug her. I could and did hug my clients if that was what they wanted or I felt that was appropriate for the relationship. It was good to be friendly but not friends with them, and I hoped that I was able to find that happy medium. I never tried to hug Victoria, not because I didn’t want to; I just knew if I did, I might not be able to stop with the hug.
“Oh, I’m sure you have plenty of other, bigger, and better houses to buy and sell than this little ol’ thing,” she said.
