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The thought of someone living in the house still made her a bit queasy, but Colette couldn’t figure out if it was a good or bad feeling. She looked up from her work to check the clock—and right on cue, a knock sounded at the door, echoing through the house.
Rushing toward the foyer, she stopped for only a moment to check herself in the hallway mirror to smooth down her hair and make sure she looked presentable.
“Not that I care if he finds me attractive,” she whispered to herself as she strode toward the front door.
She pulled it open with a flourish, and as expected, Zach was standing on the porch. Her memory of his handsome face had not done him justice, and she was almost awestruck all over again as she gazed up at his face.
“Hi,” she said, and embarrassment flooded through her when the word came out light and a bit breathless.
“Hey.” One corner of Zach’s mouth pulled up in a lopsided, confident grin, and her stomach did a somersault.
Colette stepped back and waved her hand in front of him, inviting him in. When he stepped past her, she got a whiff of his cologne. It was something deep and woodsy, and she had to fight the urge to raise her nose in the air and sniff again. He smelled amazing.
She closed the door behind him, hoping that he didn’t notice her hands shaking just slightly.
“I made sure everything was cleaned and ready for you,” she explained, walking past him and farther into the house. “I can show you around, and then if you like what you see, I already have a contract drawn up.”
Zach nodded, his eyes roving over the space around him, taking it all in. Colette tried not to talk too much, not wanting to annoy him as he tried to decide if he really wanted to live there, but she made sure to check in from time to time to see if he had any questions. She wrung her hands together nervously as they walked through the large house, nerves filling her.
But the problem was, Colette wasn’t sure if she was nervous that Zach would take the house, or if he wouldn’t.
She tried not to focus too much on him, because every time she looked at him for too long, her mind began to wander in a direction that she didn’t want it going. He had a relaxed, comfortable air about him that she couldn’t help but find intriguing. His dark jeans, slouchy, relaxed t-shirt, and worn boots gave him a casual appearance that somehow still looked put together on his muscular frame.
“It’s a beautiful home,” Zach said as they walked up the stairs to the second floor. “I can tell the woman who owned it before you really loved this place.”
“She did.” Colette nodded, her heart warming a little at his kind words and the obvious respect in his voice. “Emma loved this house, this town, and the people in it.”
“She sounds like an incredible woman.”
“She was.” Once again, Colette found an unexpected lump rising into her throat, and she hastily swallowed past it.
Memories swirled around her as they walked into each room, but she tried her best to see the house from Zach’s eyes, in a way that wasn’t clouded by the rose-colored tint of the past. Objectively, she knew the house was beautiful. Zach wasn’t wrong about that. Emma had done a lot to make sure that the house was maintained and cared for. But even when she tried to strip away the memories, Colette still felt like the house was special.
A few more moments passed in silence while she and Zach walked from room to room. Finally, when only one door remained, she walked in front of him and put her hand on the doorknob.
“This is the primary bedroom,” she said. “I told you before that Emma loved natural light, and a few years ago, she had this room completely re-done to accommodate that love.”
She opened the door with a flourish, revealing the sunshine pouring into the room as she and Zach stepped over the threshold. While he had been relatively stone-faced throughout the tour aside from a few random, appreciative nods, now his mouth popped open in surprise. Colette’s lips tugged up in a satisfied smile.
He walked over to the large, panoramic windows that overlooked the side and back yards.
“That’s the flower garden I told you about,” Colette said, pointing toward a section of snow that was lumpier than the others. “In the spring, this view is really spectacular.”
“This room is amazing.” Zach’s voice was filled with awe. “Don’t get me wrong, the entire house has been great. You weren’t lying when you told me there would be plenty of natural light, even on the first floor. But this? I can definitely work with this.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his words, and she tried to keep her face neutral when he turned to look at her.
“So you’ll take it?” Colette asked, and despite her best efforts, a hopeful smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
“Absolutely.” Zach grinned down at her.
“Great! The paperwork is downstairs, then.”
“Lead the way.” Zach nodded toward the door and began following after her when she passed.
She focused on her footsteps as she walked in front of him, trying her best not to trip over her own feet as she so often did. The last thing that Colette wanted was to fall in front of this gorgeous, confident man whose presence had her feeling so off-kilter. They made it back to the kitchen without incident, and Colette sent up a quick prayer of thanks.
Grabbing the contract from the kitchen table, she held it out to him.
