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29
Ty pulled up to Elite Lending, his heartbeat pounding in the back of his throat. He’d closed seventeen deals this summer alone—and it was only mid-August—but for some reason, he’d stopped by Gourmet Goods for a breadbasket for this signing extravaganza.
That was what he called the hour-long process of clients signing a mound of paperwork to make the house they’d bought theirs. He told them it was a celebration, because they got their keys afterward and could go enjoy their new place.
Everyone liked getting their new house; they just didn’t like everything that came with it. He aimed to make the process as smooth as possible, and he usually got the selling agent to let him into the house during the signing extravaganza, where he’d leave a little welcome-home gift for his clients.
But this morning’s client was Katherine Tallison, and thus, Ty reached for the breadbasket and headed inside the lender.
He’d told Bessie last week that he’d preorder breadbaskets for his clients if she had them available. He’d taken her and Sage to Gourmet Goods to show her the different shaped and sized baskets with baked goods in them, caramel pretzel rods, and even home décor signs.
She’d been interested, but wary, and Ty supposed he could appreciate a businesswoman who considered all of her options before diving in. Right now, she couldn’t really dive into anything new anyway, as the Heritage Festival sat only three weeks away.
Ty’s pulse now bounced in his jugular for a whole new reason. He and Sage had first gone out at the Heritage Festival, and while it hadn’t been a stellar first date and the second hadn’t happened for six more months, Ty wanted to take her back there. He wanted to come full circle. He wanted to see if things were different this year.
“Of course they’re different,” he muttered to himself as he pulled open the glass door. Since she’d come to cut his hair near the beginning of June, things between them had been just amazing. He kissed her every time he saw her. She didn’t forget the things they’d set up to do together. She let him come lounge with her on her deck, and she came to his place plenty too.
They hung out with their friends—the number of beach days Ty had attended this year outstripped any he’d done in the past five years combined.
And his birthday?
Ty had fallen completely in love with Sage Grady on his birthday.
He could admit it inside his mind, but he had not told her yet. He wasn’t sure when he would, and somehow, the Heritage Festival held all the answers for him.
“Katherine Tallison?” he asked the woman at the front desk. “Or Peter Klein.”
“Mister Klein is setting up in Harbor Bay,” she said, indicating the hallway to his right. “Straight down and in the corner.”
“The corner,” Ty repeated. Nice touch for a client as big as Katherine. Ty stood to make almost fifty grand from the sale of this one home, and suddenly, the breadbasket felt too small and insignificant.
He found Peter in the room and set the basket down on the credenza just inside the door. “Good morning, Pete.”
“Ah, the man of the hour,” Peter said as he turned from setting down a third pen on the oval conference room table. It only held six people, because people didn’t usually bring their entire clan to an hour’s worth of signing papers.
Nautical art hung on the wall across from the table, and the corner two walls bore big windows. “Great room,” he said.
“That’s such a real estate thing to say.” Pete chuckled and shook Ty’s hand. “I don’t normally see you at these.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said, reaching to button his suit coat. “It’s Katherine. I showed her two dozen houses to get here, so.”
“So you’re telling me I better have my A-game on.”
“A-plus,” Ty said with a grin. He settled into a chair and pulled out his phone, because he had a full morning of showings after this, then he was meeting another client for another round of walking through houses. The number of texts he could send in one day boggled the mind, and he checked for confirmations for that morning and sent reminders for the afternoon.
When Katherine walked in, she wore a ball gown—a legit ball gown—in red and feathers, and Ty jumped to his feet, his phone forgotten. “Good morning,” he said, moving to embrace her and kiss both cheeks. “You ready for this?”
She smiled at him and took the offered seat. “Yes,” she said. “I can’t wait to move into this house.”
Everyone in the room knew Katherine wouldn’t do any of it, but she did have to put her John Hancock on every paper to make it all legal. When it was done, Ty presented her with the breadbasket, laughed with her, and walked her out to her car.
As she drove away, his adrenaline buzzed through him. His high-profile clients stressed him out, but already, he couldn’t wait to find another one.
Feeling brave and confident, he strode toward his luxury SUV too. Behind the wheel, he stared straight ahead, his heart in some sort of freefall-jackhammering beat.
He couldn’t even believe what he was considering, and yet, the thought to go find Sage a diamond ring would not leave his mind. He put his car in gear and backed out of the spot. He drove down the road, making turns until he found himself heading south to the shopping and lighthouse district. His showings were down here too, but he had forty-five minutes to spare.
“You can’t find the perfect ring in forty-five minutes,” he said to himself. He pulled into the mall parking lot. He’d been here plenty of times before. He knew where to park to get over to Steiner’s quickly.
