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The moment she opened the door the swarm of butterflies in her stomach multiplied and grew some extra long wings. Holy wow. Dressed in a suit and seated in his office he’d looked fabulous. The very image of power and wealth wrapped up in a handsome package. Today though, in khaki pants and a short-sleeved blue and white-striped polo shirt with his sunglasses dangling from the front and the sun dancing across his dirty blond hair, he looked godlike.
“I’m a few minutes early. It didn’t take me as long as I thought to get here. I hope that’s okay,” he said, the first to speak.
Addie took a step back so he could enter. “Not a problem. Please come in. I just need to grab my things and we can go.”
She took another step back and bumped into a body. “Chloe, sorry,” she said as she glanced over her shoulder.
“No biggie.” She pinched Addie in the back, a clear signal she wanted an introduction.
“Trent, this is my cousin, Chloe.” She nodded in her cousin’s direction. “Chloe, this is Trent Sherbrooke. I’m redecorating his office and perhaps his house in Newport.” Addie stepped away from her cousin. “I’ll be right back.” She retreated up the stairs, leaving Chloe and Trent to exchange pleasantries while she grabbed her things. Once in the safety of her room, she glanced one final time in her mirror and grabbed her bag with her laptop and her purse, then returned to the front door. “I’m ready.” She walked past her cousin. “If you need any extra paper for the printer, it’s in the bottom draw of my desk.”
“Thanks. See you later.”
In silence she descended the stairs and started down the walkway, but before she reached the car she stopped when she thought she saw someone or something move inside the sedan across the street. It’s just a shadow. A person would be nuts to sit in a parked car on a day like this. Already the thermometer on her tiny deck read ninety-five and that didn’t take into account the humidity.
Next to her Trent pulled open the door to a silver Mercedes with heavily tinted windows. Without a word she sat, the leather soft and warm against her legs. Unable to help herself, her eyes followed Trent as he crossed in front of the car and then slid behind the steering wheel.
“You look surprised. Is something wrong?”
Addie folded her hands in her lap. “No, I just... well, I expected something else.”
“I like to use this sometimes because it draws less attention than my other ones.”
His answer reminded her again just who sat behind the wheel next to her.
“The controls for your seat are right here.” He pointed to some dials near the glove box. “You can make the seat as warm or cool as you want. The dial all the way to the right controls the lumbar massage in your seat.” He started the car, but kept it in neutral. “You can also control the air temperature on your side.” He pointed to another dial above the stereo controls. “Please make yourself comfortable.” Checking the rearview mirror, he put the car in reverse and backed into the street.
“I could get used to a massage every time I drive.”
The corner of Trent’s mouth inched up. “It’s a nice feature for longer drives.”
Once underway, she grabbed onto the only topic they had to discuss: his office. “So I ordered the office furniture last night. The distributor promised it in two weeks. And I left a message with my painter. I expect to hear back from him today or tomorrow.”
“Excellent. I’m eager to have it done.” Trent merged onto the highway, then dropped the car into fifth gear.
“I’ve been looking forward to this since last night.” Addie grimaced when she realized how her statement must sound, and heat warmed the back of her neck. “That
didn’t come out right,” she said as a way to clarify her statement. “I meant I’ve been looking forward to seeing your home. This morning I did some research on the property and found a few older photos but nothing recent.”
From the driver’s seat Trent sighed and looked over at her for a moment. “And for a second I thought you liked my company. I should’ve known.”
Wonderful, not only do I look like an idiot but I insulted him, too. “It’s not that. I do but—”
A deep rich chuckle filled the car. “I’m giving you a hard time, Addie. Relax. You look about ready to jump out.”
In front of them a minivan cut them off without using a directional and Trent swore his voice barely audible.
“I hate when people do that,” she said, grateful the other car had distracted him from their conversation.
“You and me both.” Trent reached out to adjust the temperature on his side of the car. “So does your cousin live with you?” he asked, starting up another conversation.
***
Trent stopped the car in front of the three-story mansion. From the outside it looked pristine, nothing like it had during his last visit more than a year ago. Thanks to the maintenance company he’d hired, the exterior received regular maintenance now. He assumed the inside looked just as flawless. After updating Marty on the situation, he’d hired a service to come in and clean the interior from top to bottom in anticipation for Addie’s visit.
Salty ocean air washed over him when he got out of his car and he paused for a moment just to savor it. There was just something about the air near the ocean. It brought back memories of his childhood long before his mom died, when he’d run around Cliff House with his brothers and cousins or visit Martha’s Vineyard and spend hours outside while his mom tended her flowers.
“It looks like you’ve already done work here,” Addie said when he opened the car door for her. “In the pictures I saw the house looked a little run-down and the grounds overgrown.”
