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Kimmie continued, her voice coming from somewhere behind him. “And the saltwater pool is warmed to a comfortable eighty degrees in the summer. It’s open to residents and their guests.”
Jesse froze. Like a deer in the headlights. Maybe if he stood still, nobody would notice him standing over here.
No, that was ridiculous. He was a resident. He had every right to hang out on this roof on a Saturday afternoon.
With that surge of adrenaline, he spun to face them—and lost a little of that confidence. It was one thing to say he had the right to be up here. It was another to come face to face with the woman he was trying to forget.
Kimmie looked amazing in a calf-length dress with a dark pink sweater. She hadn’t even noticed him standing over here. A couple followed her over to the bar area, where she’d sat with Jesse less than twenty-four hours ago.
Jesse had a couple of choices. He could stand here, hoping they wouldn’t notice him on their way out. Or he could make a break for it. If he hurried, he’d be in the elevator and on his way down before they even turned around.
Too late.
While he stood there, they’d turned. Now Kimmie was the one who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She’d frozen and was standing there, staring at him like her brain couldn’t process what her eyes were seeing.
But she sprung into motion suddenly, the spell seeming to be broken. “Look who we’ve found,” she announced as she crossed the walkway toward him. “This is Jesse Fulton. He lives next door to the condo you’re looking at. He would be your neighbor. This is Jeff and Margie Green.”
That put Jesse on the spot. He had to unfreeze himself and pretend nothing out of the ordinary was happening here. Just a normal day talking to potential buyers on the roof of his building.
“We love this place,” Margie gushed. “Are there people our age here?”
The question threw Jesse off a little, mostly because he was trying so hard not to focus on Kimmie, who seemed to be taking over his entire consciousness. But he quickly recovered, doing his best to assess the ages of the couple in front of him.
“You’ll love the Simpkins,” Jesse said. “They downsized here from the suburbs when their kids graduated college and moved away. They’re in the lobby every morning, hanging out with their coffee. They love being able to walk to shops and restaurants and catch a rideshare if they want to go farther than this area.”
Jesse could tell as he talked that he was saying all the right things. Margie even nudged Jeff with her elbow when Jesse mentioned walking to shops and restaurants. Jeff was trying to keep a straight face about the whole thing. Typical homebuyer move. Don’t let anyone see how excited you are until your offer has been accepted.
“Kimmie here said there’s a happy hour?” Jeff said. “Is that every night?”
Jesse shook his head. “Just Friday nights, but there are people who gather up here, especially in the summer. The bartender is only here on Fridays, though, unless there’s a special event.”
“Well, we’re going to have to do something about that,” Jeff announced. “Come on, Marg. I want to check out that balcony again. We’ll be in touch.”
He said that last part to Kimmie, who seemed a little thrown off that her couple was on their way to the elevators. They seemed to be fine without her.
“I think you made that sale,” Jesse said.
Kimmie turned to look at him. “It’s not mine.” She shook her head. “The listing agent wants to work with me, though, so I thought I’d show these clients around for her while she talked to another client.”
“Good networking,” he said. “I can respect that.”
Silence. Things seemed suddenly awkward between them, but he’d expected that. He wasn’t sure where they stood, aside from the fact that he’d let her down.
But he did know one thing. If she got in that elevator and headed to the condo, he’d lose his chance to say anything. He had her here in front of him. It was his only chance.
“I’m an idiot.”
Those were the three words that came out of Jesse’s mouth. Of all things, that was what he said. Kimmie blinked in surprise, and he could tell she had no idea what to say next.
But things no longer felt awkward. That had to count for something, right?
“Why’s that?” she finally asked when he didn’t come up with an immediate explanation for his announcement.
But there was a reason he hadn’t come up with an immediate explanation. He didn’t know what to say. “I’m an idiot” pretty much summed up how he felt.
So he plunged in. “From the second I met you, you intrigued me. Your smile, your eyes, but it wasn’t just how beautiful you are. It was the way you think. It was the fact that you care so much about this place. That you’re under pressure, but you don’t compromise your integrity. So I wasn’t honest with you from the start.”
He had her full attention now. He could tell by the way she looked at him that she was listening. He had to keep going, even as nervous as this made him.
