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“Thanks,” she says.
“You’re welcome. I’ll be downstairs when you’re done.”
I reckon I owe her a cup of coffee after that fiasco downstairs. I turn on the coffee machine and as I wait, I turn my thoughts to the reason why Vanessa is here.
The cottage. Do I want to rent it out to her? Hell yes. Who knows, we might even keep each other warm on cold nights. Ace’s fierce face floats into my mind and I immediately discard that as a bad idea. She’s hot as heck and I’m attracted to her but if she likes the cottage and I rent it to her, the last thing I want is to be entangled with her.
An affair with a neighbor is a messy affair.
In the silence of the house, her soft footsteps permeate the air. When she appears in the kitchen, she models the outfit, keeping her glance straight ahead and a hand resting on her hip.
“Nice,” I say, though I’m definitely not talking about the clothes.
“They fit perfectly, thank you,” she says. “Tell your girlfriend I’ll return them soon and pass my gratitude.”
“You’re welcome.” I pour the coffee into two cups and carry them to the island. “Sugar?”
“No, just black,” she says. “You didn’t have to make me coffee.”
“I wanted to. Have a seat.”
We face each other across the island. I stick out my hand. “We didn’t really meet properly. I’m Logan Watson and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She grins and takes my hand. “I’m Vanessa Allen and it’s nice to meet you without a blast of water pointed in my face.”
“I’m so sorry. I guess I’m used to pointing the hose at the source of the fire. It came automatically.”
She laughs. “Don’t worry about it. It’s forgotten. Besides, it was a hot day and my body appreciated getting cooled down.”
She really is something else. I don’t know who else would make being drenched in water by a stranger a cool thing to have happen to them.
“So, where do you currently live?” I’m curious about her and the fact that she’s a potential tenant gives me the right to ask a few personal questions.
She tells me about her residence at the hospital apartments and her new business teaching birthing classes. By the time we finish our coffee, I’ve already made up my mind. She’s perfect for the cottage. Just the kind of person I want as a tenant.
“I’ll give you a tour of the cottage,” I tell her. “It came with the house and was built as a guest house.”
We leave through the front door and cut across the lawn to the cottage with its own picket fence.
“Your lawn is so well kept,” she says. “The back garden belongs in a gardening magazine.”
“Thank you,” I say, pleased by the compliment. “I like to maintain it when I’m not at work.” She’s the first woman who is not a relative I’ve publicly admitted to that I love gardening. Gardening and my playboy persona do not match. I like to keep those two parts of my life separate.
I push open the front door and hold it open for her. As she walks in, I inhale a lavender scent but I tell myself that I’m imagining things. She changed clothes, so any scent on her clothes would have been lost.
She looks around an expression of awe on her face. The living room is good-sized and furnished simply with a couch, loveseat, and a matching chair set around a sturdy wooden table. A TV mounted on the wall and a few landscapes complete the look. Janice is an interior designer and she furnished the house and cottage for me.
“I love everything about this space,” Vanessa says, moving deeper into the house. The cottage has one main bedroom and a smaller one. She murmurs as she walks, clearly happy with everything she sees.
The back door opens up to the backyard.
“You’re welcome to use the backyard any time,” I tell her. There are benches and loungers arranged around the garden and I make use of them myself when I’m off work.
“Thanks,” she says and turns around to face me. “Does that mean that I can take it?”
“Yes,” I say and go on to quote for her the rent, automatically slashing it by fifty percent.
She narrows her eyes. “That’s even cheaper than my current apartment and you definitely can’t compare the two.”
“My goal is not necessarily money,” I lie smoothly, though I certainly make more than I need from my job. Plus, I’ve always dappled in the stock market, and over the years, I’ve made good money.
“My aim is to have someone live in the cottage and care for it.” I’d had no plans to rent it out until Ace mentioned it. I had no reason to say no when it’s just sitting here and it could help someone.
