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Tommy clearly knew them, as he razzed the boy next to him and then inched closer to the girl on his right.
“Oh, boy,” Lauren said almost under her breath. “That boy is in troub-ble.”
“What do you mean?” Blake leaned forward, as if the six inches he’d gained would help him see better. He squinted, and that didn’t help either.
Just then, the girl on his right, brushed her fingers along Tommy’s. The boy across from him laughed, but Tommy didn’t. The next thing Blake knew, his son was holding hands with that girl, and his blood burned like lava in his veins.
He sucked in a breath and got to his feet. Then Lauren stood in front of him, one palm against his very bare chest, her touch burning into him. “Don’t go over there,” she said. “Blake. Blake!”
He blinked and looked at her. She shook her head, and he came to his senses. His pulse throbbed through his whole body, but he managed to sit back down. When he looked over to the group again, they’d broken up. Someone had a spikeball set, and Tommy currently stood on the sidelines while four other people played, including the girl he’d been holding hands with.
She wore a pair of cutoffs that showed the pockets hanging out of the front of them they were so short. On top, she had on a yellow sports bra, and her long, blonde hair had been tied on top of her head.
“She’s really cute,” Lauren said. “Who is she?”
“I have no clue,” Blake said darkly. “Tommy hasn’t mentioned a girl at all.” At least not one he liked, one he might hold hands with, and one he’d very obviously thought about kissing. And to think, he’d been “grossed out” by Blake kissing Lauren last night.
He shook his head, some of his laid-back attitude returning, especially when Lauren stroked her fingers through his hair. “It’s cute,” she murmured. “It’s like puppy love.”
“Except he’s not a puppy,” Blake said. “He’s a hormonal thirteen-year-old boy who told me that he thought we were ‘gross’ by kissing on the couch.”
Lauren giggled, and Blake liked the sound of that. He looked back at her, and she leaned further forward over her legs, clearly wanting to kiss him right now. He wouldn’t say no to that, but because they were on a public beach and not a private one, he kept it chaste and quick.
After all, he now had to keep a very close eye on Tommy—and not only because of the cute blonde. Once his son’s turn came to play spikeball…Blake could be looking at a trip to the hospital.
16
“This is the one,” Lauren said, her voice pitching up in excitement. She looked over to Cass and Bea, both of whom had come with her today to look at “the perfect house.”
She’d found it less than forty-eight hours ago, and she’d immediately texted Ty to set up a showing and then Blake to ask him about the neighborhood.
“Look at it.” She almost got out of the SUV while Cass was still driving it, but the handle flipped back as the door was locked.
“You’re like a tween getting her first makeup,” Cass complained. “At least let me put it in park first. Jeez.”
“It’s so stinking cute,” Bea said, and that only fueled Lauren’s excitement. Cass finally put the vehicle in park, and the door locks disengaged. Lauren flew from the SUV and stood in front of the house, the sidewalk outside pristine. Two huge trees sheltered the home, one on either side of the sidewalk, and flowers, bushes, and shrubs had been planted all along the front of it.
The porch came from the eighteen hundreds, when steps were wide so men and women could pass one another without touching.
Lauren loved everything about Southern architecture. The traditions. Why they’d built things the way they had. The colors and lines and shapes she saw in each design.
This house exuded charm, and Lauren closed her eyes and breathed it in. It was not on the beach, like Bea’s and Cass’s houses, nor like the one she had now. It was probably one-third the size of Cass’s house, but Lauren didn’t have three children who could drop in to stay with her at any time.
This house had soul, and it spoke to Lauren’s. “I want it,” she said.
Ty pulled up then, and when he got out, he said, “Well? What do you think? First impressions?”
“I want to put an offer on it,” she said.
He laughed and handed her a sheet of paper. “Let’s at least go inside first, should we?” He led the way, and Lauren practically skipped after him, Cass and Bea at her side. Lauren had seen the specs already, so she simply brought the paper along for the ride.
“Two bedrooms,” Ty said as he unlocked the door with his special realtor code. “Two bathrooms, one of which is in the master suite, as requested.” He gave her a winning smile as he pushed into the house.
The door squealed like Satan himself was trying to enter, and Ty frowned at it. “I can fix that for you,” he said. “Easy.” He spread his arms wide. “This house has such great charm to it. Good bones too, and the owners have recently renovated it in anticipating of renting it. But.” He hit the T really hard. “They decided not to. They’re leaving the island, and they didn’t want to hire someone like Blake to manage it for them.”
He drew a breath as Lauren squeezed in beside him. She paused, the sight before her glorious and bathed in light from heaven above. She could see down the entryway, which was much wider than she’d expected it to be. Newer homes had front offices or formal living rooms. This house didn’t have that, but the flooring was a deep, dark rich wood, met by white baseboards that gave way to light blue walls.
At least they looked blue. The palest of blues, like the sky in the early morning before the sun truly said hello. She wasn’t sure, because of the floor-to-ceiling windows at the back of the house. They gave light to the house, and the sun shone through them with vigor. That light lit Lauren’s soul, and she now really wanted this house.
