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She nodded. “I suppose. I was kinda saving it for a rainy day.”
I couldn’t decide if she was serious. “I heard it almost never rains here.” I eyed her slyly.
Kate broke out in giggles. “Pretty much. I’ll be right back.”
When we sat down to eat, part of me wanted to rush through it so I could check out the binder tempting me from the end of the table. The other part wanted to savor every moment because all I had to look forward to the rest of the day was waiting for Harry and Drew to get over their hangovers. Then they would repeat the same cycle all over again. Of course, not entirely. Both of them had to work in the morning, so I had purchased plane tickets to get them home.
“You know,” Kate murmured while staring at me over the rim of her glass, “you’re nothing like I expected.”
My brows peaked. “Oh, really? And how’s that?”
She softened some as she spoke. “I thought you were going to be terrible. No lie.”
I chuckled. “I can see how you’d get that impression in the three minutes we spoke the first day.”
Her head tilted. “You can come off as pretty arrogant.”
I licked my lips. “Just part of my charm.” Then I pushed my chair back.
She froze. “What are you doing?”
I settled back into my seat. “Well, I thought I’d help clean up before we looked at the binder.” I jerked my head toward the end of the table.
Her brow furrowed. “You want to help?”
“I think I should. I ate here.” Then I stood and started clearing the table before she could object any further.
Kate followed me into the kitchen carrying more plates with her. Without speaking, she started packaging food and placing it in the fridge while I rinsed plates and silverware and loaded the dishwasher. Within minutes we were done.
“Would you look at that?” She sounded shocked.
“What’s up?” I frowned.
She shook her head. “We just worked together. That’s all.”
Sure, part of me wanted to act like it was no big deal, but it felt nice, being a team with someone. Paisley had always expected to be waited on hand and foot. I’d been a team of one for as long as I could remember. I sighed happily, feeling fresh and playful. “Are you trying to distract me from the binder?” I crept past her, making an obvious beeline for the table.
“Wait!” She giggled and raced past me. “I need to explain. I need to preface it.” Kate seemed ready to panic.
“Okay.” I held my hands up. “We do it your way.”
Her shoulders heaved and I recognized the relief in her face. She reached for the binder, picked it up, and held it lovingly in her arms. “You mentioned you liked the house,” she began quietly.
“I do. Very much.” Then I studied the cover of the binder. It was one of those where she could slide a piece of paper in between the binder and the clear plastic film to act as the cover. I recognized the address on the picture as being for this location, but the exterior looked nothing like what I had seen when I drove in to meet Doug at the clubhouse. I know this because real estate is my thing and I’d considered purchasing a place here the minute I made it through the gates. Why wouldn’t I want a house with a private pool on a golf course?
“Wait.” I strode to the front door, opened it and then rushed down the sidewalk so I could see the house from the street. Maybe my bearings were all off. I stood in the middle of the road, studying her place. As I stared, my eyes widened. I noticed she had followed as far as the entryway. She stood leaning against the door frame, watching my reaction. I wandered back to join her. “Wow. So, can I see the rest of it?”
She grinned and I liked the way her cheeks turned pink as she passed me the binder. “This is my fifth house,” she explained.
“Right, fifth.” I barely paid attention to her words. Instead, I focused on the images and notes I saw as I flipped through the pages. “You’ve made a lot of changes. I really would love to speak with your designer.”
“You’re speaking to her.” Kate smiled proudly.
“Okay, right. So, I need to talk to the person who gave you suggestions. Then you picked. I’m hoping I have a hotel to redesign soon.” I grinned.
Her brow arched. “Me. The person you need to speak to is me.”
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