Nuts.“It was worth a shot,” he mumbled, then added, “I found someone else who’s interested in bein’ a bachelor.”
Harper put the car in Park and shut off the engine. “We can always use more. Who is it?”
“My grandfather.”
***
Harper’s mouth dropped open. “Senior?” she said, not sure she’d heard Rusty correctly. “He wants to be auctioned off?”
“Yep.” Rusty raised his hand. Grease was embedded under the nails. “I promise. It was his idea.”
Now this was an interesting development. “That would sure shake things up. In a good way,” she added, smiling. “The gala committee will love it. I’ll let them know we’ll have an extra bachelor. I like his gumption.”
“He’s always had plenty of that.” Rusty stared down at his worn work jeans. “Wish he’d passed a little bit on to me.”
“You have gumption too.” A strong breeze blew against the car. This was a newly developed neighborhood, and the builders had cut down most of the trees, so there was little shielding against the autumn wind. “Not everyone owns their own business.”
“I’m not talkin’ about business,” he said, an atypical bite to his tone. He opened the car door.
“Hey.” She put her hand on his bare arm. How he wasn’t cold on a day like today she had no idea, but his skin felt warm. “Are you okay?”
He looked at her and nodded. “Just a little nervous about the auction, that’s all.”
“It’s two weeks away.”
“I know.” He rubbed his palms over his pants legs.
His anxiety threw her for a little loop. He was always so confident. Even when he told her at the pizzeria about that horrible date he’d had, he’d shrugged off the woman’s rudeness like it was no big deal. Clearly the auction was, though. “You don’t have a thing to worry about. You’ll have plenty of women throwing their money at you. Not in a creepy way, though,” she added quickly. “Just wanted to make that clear.”
Rusty sat back in the seat and shut the door. “I need to level with you, Harper. I don’t think I can go through with the gala.”
“Rusty—”
“It’s nice that you think women will want to go out with me. That’s not been my experience, though.”
Her heart squeezed. It couldn’t be easy for him to talk about this. She was well aware of men and their egos. As a businessperson she’d dealt with enough of them, even though there were more female real-estate agents than male in the area. Not to mention there were several female ones whose egos rivaled the men. Like Brielle. “Remember what I said the other night?” she asked, kicking her nemesis out of her mind before she grew angry again about Brielle blowing her off this morning. “For you to trust me?”
He nodded.
“I meant that.” Right now wasn’t the time to bring up the makeover, and they still had another house to look atafter this one. And there wasn’t much to make over, anyway. A shave, haircut, and new outfit was all he’d need. She thought about offering the same service to Senior, but unless he showed up wearing a barrel and suspenders, he’d be fine. The crowd was going to love both of them. “I never let anyone down,” she said. “Seriously. Just ask my family and friends.”
Finally he smiled. “All right. You know what you’re doin’, so I’ll let this drop.”
“That’s what I want to hear.”
Unsurprisingly, the first house they toured wasn’t what Rusty wanted, and neither was the second one. By the time they arrived back at her office, he had to go back to work. “Don’t feel bad about today,” he told her. “It’s just hard for anything else to live up to Miles Road.”
“And we’ll get to see that one, I promise. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Thanks, Harper.” He got out of her Mercedes and walked over to Lois, where he turned and waved, then unlocked the driver-side door and got in. Harper smiled as she watched him drive away. He was so genuine, and it couldn’t have been easy for him to admit his lack of confidence about the auction. Maybe he would find a girlfriend at the gala, one who was deserving of him.
Her smile faded as a pang of... something sprung up in her heart at the thought of him with another woman. Envy? No, that couldn’t be it. She wanted him to be happy, the same as she wanted for her other friends. But she’d never felt like this when Riley and Anita had started dating their husbands.
She shook her head. What was she doing, sitting in her car wasting time? She got out of her Mercedes and walked through the back entrance of her office. When she went to Sharon’s desk to check for voice mails, she froze. Madge was sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting room. Oh no. She’d forgotten to lock her office door. And had completely forgotten to call her mom . . . again. Her mother’s last message had said it was an emergency, and just as she was about to phone her back, she’d gotten a call from yet another client who’d decided not to renew his listing with her, and that had sent her brain off track . . . again. “Mom,” she said, rushing to her. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call you—”
“I waited to make an appointment with your receptionist, but it appears she’s not here.”
As her mother stood, her expression remained impassive, her eyes cold. Harper braced herself for one of the calm yet acidic guilt trips Madge was famous for.I definitely deserve it this time.
