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“Of course.” She typed something into her phone. “I’ll get the numbers together and have them for you by tomorrow.”
They spoke for another thirty minutes about the property before Rebecca stood, promising to give him a call as soon as she had everything together. As she walked out of his office, he let his gaze linger on her ass. It was nice. But other than general appreciation, his body didn’t react. And for the second time that day, he wondered what the hell was wrong with him.
Kevin brought him a sandwich at noon, and he ate it at his desk while going through the new property listings. He tried to concentrate on square footage and the number of bedrooms, but it was a battle. It was almost a relief when his phone rang. “Hello?”
He spent the next hour addressing some tax questions with his CPA. And while he could have passed the task off to Kevin, Daniel had needed the distraction. For the first time that day, he’d been able to push Ali to the back of his mind.
At three o’clock, he said goodbye to his assistant and drove to one of his rehab properties. He wasn’t planning to keep this one. It was in an up-and-coming neighborhood and prices in the area were soaring. If he could keep the remolding costs down, he was set to make a hefty profit.
He strolled through the property, making note of the progress. The bathrooms were almost finished, and the kitchen cabinets were installed. If all went well, he should be able to have the house staged and on the market in thirty days.
“I didn’t know you were stopping by today,” Jeff, his project manager, lowered the drywall screw gun he was holding.
“Looking good.”
Jeff glanced at the bathroom they’d gutted and reconfigured. “The tile guys are coming Friday, and then we can get the floor in.”
“How are we doing with the schedule?” While Rebecca handled almost everything for his rental properties, Daniel was more hands-on with his flips.
“Two weeks.”
To someone who’d never flipped houses, they might think Jeff was saying the house would be done in two weeks. What he was really saying was that they were two weeks behind the initial schedule. Construction was always about delays. Whether it was waiting on materials, uncovering unknown issues that had to be addressed, or problems with subcontractors, things never went as planned. There was always something and two weeks was better than he’d expected.
“I’ll let you get back to work,” Daniel said. “Call me once the painting’s finished. I want to look at it before we put the flooring in.” The color his designer chose for the master bath was concerning him, but he was trusting her judgment and moving forward with it.
Jeff nodded, and Daniel took his leave. It was almost four thirty, and he debated whether to head home or stop by the gym. Ali had a key and the code, so it wasn’t as if he had to be there when she got home. But he wanted to be.
Daniel pulled into his driveway and maneuvered his SUV into its place in the garage. After tuning off the engine and grabbing his briefcase, he made his way inside.
The house was quiet. Ali wasn’t home yet.
Not that he expected her to be. It was only five thirty. Given rush hour traffic, he didn’t expect her till around six.
He tugged at his tie as he made his way through the main living area. Once in his bedroom, he shed his suit jacket and removed his cufflinks. They landed with a clinking sound as he placed them in the engraved dish his daughter gave him one Christmas nearly fifteen years before. Then he rolled up his sleeves and headed back to the kitchen to start prepping dinner.
Halfway through chopping the peppers, he heard the front door open and a whoosh of air left his lungs. Ali was home.
No. Not home. She was here. This wasn’t her home. It was his home. She was only staying here until he found her somewhere else to live.
Her shoes clicked on the hardwood floors as her steps drew closer. Then, she stopped.
Daniel took what he hoped was a calming breath and glanced over his shoulder.
She met his gaze. “Hi.”
He grinned, taking her in and feeling his groin tighten at the sight. “Hi.”
Ali shifted on her feet and looked down. “Let me change and I’ll help you with dinner.”
“That’s all right. I’m almost finished prepping everything. Take your time and I’ll call you when it’s ready.”
She scanned the plethora of vegetables on the counter, then nodded and turned toward the hall that led to her room.
Daniel went back to his chopping. As he drizzled oil into the sauté pan and turned on the heat, he tried not to think about how much better he felt now that she was there. His feelings didn’t matter. All that matter was what was best for Ali.
CHAPTER5
After changinginto a pair of leggings and a T-shirt, her favorite after-work attire, Ali dialed her best friend. They talked, at least by text, every day, but she hadn’t spoken to Kim since Sunday afternoon. She wondered how her friend was enjoying her new living arrangements.
