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“I’m sure. She seems like a great dog.”
“Okay, thanks. So, you’re looking for a general quote on repairs to get the house ready to sell, right?”
I nodded.
“Want to show me around?”
“Sure. Well… This is the kitchen, obviously. The living room is through there, the bedrooms are across the entrance hall, down the hallway. The bathroom is down there, too.” I was speaking in a rush. “There’s no laundry room inside. The washer and dryer are out there, in the guest house.” I was gesturing vaguely toward the west side of the house when he stopped me.
“I remember.”
“You remember? You’ve been here before?”
“Years ago, now. Patched up the ceiling in the living room and installed a point-of-use hot water heater under the sink in here.”
He looked around the horror of the kitchen and said, “The kitchen actually looks pretty good.”
I frowned, concerned he had well and truly lost it, then noted the twinkle in his eyes as he looked at me and winked. I chuckled, ignoring the way my heart turned over in my chest. “Sure. If it was a niche market I was aiming for.”
“I can’t imagine how niche it would have to be to be interested,” he laughed as he moved around the kitchen, opening cupboards, pulling out drawers, taking photos with his tablet. I stepped into the dining room to get out of his way, smiling as Bess followed me and sat at my feet again.
“No, seriously…” he chuckled, turning to look at me again. I had to force myself to breathe. “All jokes aside, you will definitely need to redo the kitchen. I’ll bring some brochures by at some point for you to have a look through.”
“That sounds great.”
He made some more notes on his tablet. “Okay, I’ll have to measure it properly, but I can do that later.” Then he just stood there, looking at me. I stared back. It was ridiculous how hot he was. “So…ah…”
I continued to stare when he didn’t go on.
“The living room?” he prompted.
“Right! Of course.” Cursing my blush, I gestured for him to go ahead, trailing after him through the French doors, feeling just as much like a devoted puppy as Bess.
“This is a great room,” he observed.
“It is.”
A memory flashed in my mind, bright and clear. I was about eight years old, standing in this room, looking forward to my very first sleepover with Aunt Ruby. My mother was in the kitchen talking to Aunt Ruby in a low, cold voice, leaving me by myself to inspect the unfamiliar room: high ceilings, crisp white walls, a thick, lush rug in muted shades of purple and green covering most of the polished floorboards. An overstuffed leather couch, nestled in the curve of the bay window, just begging me to snuggle into it.
There was a cupboard that looked like it would lead to Narnia against one wall, a buffet against another. An open, brick fireplace took up the end wall. Aunt Ruby had promised we’d roast marshmallows there next time if my mom let me sleep over again. Elegant French doors led into the dining room and kitchen area. Aunt Ruby’s ragdoll cat, Mopsy, was sprawled across the couch, enjoying the warmth of the winter sunshine streaming through the window. I plopped down next to Mopsy, stroking the soft fur from head to tail, delighted by the cat’s low purr. Then I heard my mother moving back into the entrance hall, the front door closing, the sound of her car starting up and driving away. She hadn’t said goodbye to me.
Aunt Ruby called out. “Zara?”
“In here.”
She came through the double French doors, her tiny frame encased in a voluminous floral house dress, her silvery hair held back by a blue headband. Her blue eyes twinkled kindly, and she looked to me exactly like a fairy godmother.
“Your Mom’s gone. Would you like to help me in the kitchen? I’m thinking of making some chocolate chip cookies and I might need someone to lick the spoon.” Grinning, I jumped up from the couch quicker than Mopsy could lick her ear.
I shook myself back to the present. Everything was arranged just as it had been when I’d visited as a child. I could almost see Mopsy lying on the back of the couch, almost smell the lemon-scented furniture polish mixed with the fragrance from the bouquet of flowers that had always graced the sideboard. But no one had been in here since Ruby had moved to the nursing home and there was an unmistakable air of neglect, not to mention layers of dust, that would have broken Ruby’s heart. She had always taken such pride in her home.
I pushed the memory down and swallowed past the lump in my throat, not looking at Matt as I led the way across the entrance hall and down the hallway. I paused at the bathroom door, figuring it needed some obvious attention, but I’d stopped unexpectedly, which had Matt colliding with my back. “Oof,” I said, heat rushing through me as I felt his broad chest at my back and his hand on my hip to steady me. Jesus, I’d never been so clumsy in my life.
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. It was my fault,” I replied. Then I made the fatal error of glancing over my shoulder and up at him. My breath got caught in my lungs and heat pooled in my belly as our eyes collided. Jesus, what the hell was going on here? Whatever it was, it had my insides all tangled up. “I’ll…uh…I’ll leave you to it. I have to uh…go.”
So eloquent.
