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"Oh yes," she said. "Definitely."
"Then I'll give the instructions to my lawyer and he’ll work it out with the realtors," Turner replied. “They’ll be in contact soon. You’re not to discuss with my brother.”
“I don’t really know your brother. I just know of him.”
“Keep it that way. Don’t engage him if you want this house.”
"All right, I won't. Goodbye, Mr. Turner, and thank you again."
Just as there was no greeting, there were no departing niceties, merely a click as he disconnected on the other end. She looked at her cell for a moment as if it were a foreign object and then lay it on the table nearby. As her bewilderment passed, a smile spread across her face. The house was hers.
It occurred to her that King might have had something to do with this. Turner had been set against her having the house and suddenly, it was hers after she had discussed it with King? She had to wonder. Opening her phone back up, she sent a text to him to let him know, but more because she wanted to tell someone, and her choices were limited.
He's going to sell it to me!
There was no response, but it did nothing to dampen her mood. She spent most of the night sleepless, overwhelmed by just how well her new beginning was working out. Still, something told her the hard part was still to come, on levels she had yet to understand.CHAPTER NINEJo used the next couple of days to work with Trey on the plans and get true estimates for the work to be done. Though he was primarily a realtor, his passion was restoration and renovation. He reveled in flipping houses, something he had been doing with his father since his teens.
Trey had already started work on the plans, it turned out, while they were waiting to hear if the sale was going to go forward. He said he hadn't been able to resist. For several days, she thought of nothing but where to put the cupboards and the light switches, what color to paint the bedroom, and what kind of counters she wanted in the kitchen.
Trey made her a model of what the house would look like, and she poked around endlessly in the tiny rooms, thinking about what she would put where, and what kind of plants she would put in the winter garden. Carter was so far from her thoughts now. This was her new life.
Neither was her ruse with King on her mind. She had begun to view it as a job, like any other. She was an actress, engaged to play a role that would evolve into something that could consume a lot of her personal time, so she’d make the most of what free time she had in order to get a head start on her own home. It would be where she lived while they were “dating” and where she returned to once their deal was finished.
Everything happened quickly as Saul Turner’s attorney contacted Jo directly and got the ball rolling without issue. She was not exactly pleasant, but that seemed to be her manner. And then Holly intervened.
She called mid-morning as Jo was trying to decide what to wear to her rendezvous with King. He had given her instructions on how to dress. Sexy but not trashy. Classy but not uptight. He wanted her to be someone he would normally be attracted to. He was describing his type, which she realized kind of summed up her usual look. It was just a fluke, as he had no way of knowing how she dressed in a social setting, but it made it easier to achieve the proper look.
"I'm afraid there's been a setback," said Holly. "Mr. Turner has had a better offer."
"But he's accepted my offer," Jo groaned.
"Well, I know, but nothing's been signed yet."
"How much is the other offer?"
"I don't exactly know. I only heard about it last night."
"But who made the offer?"
"I don't know that either. I only heard about it indirectly, you understand."
Jo was bereft. "Has he talked to you about it?"
"No, he's out of town right now."
"If he's out of town, how can this other person have made him an offer?"
"Well, I suppose it would have been by phone. So, I was wondering, do you maybe want to rethink your offer? Otherwise, we may simply lose the deal."
"How can I rethink my offer until I know what the other people are offering?"
"Well, maybe I can try to find out how much it was."
"Thank you, Holly. If you could do that and call me back, then I can think about it over the weekend."
"Over the weekend? But that may be too late."
"Look, Mr. Turner called me himself to tell me he accepted my offer. Surely, he'll call to tell me that he's changed his mind?"
