Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 83368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
After a lifetime of not making impulsive decisions, he made one. “I’ll take it. I’ll pay the asking price, and I have the money ready. How soon can we close?”
She looked as though she might hug him—even took a tiny step closer. He held his breath. Was she about to embrace him? But no. She stopped and flashed him that megawatt smile again. “You, Herschel Greenfield, might just be the perfect client. And my gut says that if we sign the agreements and transfer the money, you’re in as soon as you’d like to be. Since the sellers don’t have to move everything out, it couldn’t be easier.” She turned and pivoted a little coquettishly. “I’m positive that in less than a week, you could be sleeping in that bed.” Then she paused. “Though I have to warn you, sometimes deals do go sideways. But let’s hope for the best and not borrow trouble.”
So Mila Davenport was a realist. And honest. He liked that a lot. But he needed to get out of this bedroom before he could act on any of his raging fantasies. But as they returned to the living room, he couldn’t help but picture her on the floor in front of that fireplace, reflected flames licking her naked body. Who was he kidding? This woman had gotten under his skin.
He said, “Let’s go make an offer.”
Chapter Nine
Mila was on cloud nine. She loved it when her instincts about people and houses were right. She was definitely a bit of a matchmaker in that sense. She’d scored Herschel the perfect match on her first try. Those first two houses had been a warmup, and she had a feeling Hersch knew that too.
They drove back to her office, chatting happily as if they’d known each other for a long time, not a couple of days. Mila felt herself relax, even though the deal was one of the quickest and most exciting she’d ever made.
She settled Hersch at the conference table in the office and then excused herself to phone Dan Ferguson and tell him the good news. He picked up right away. Dan always did. He might say he was going to take a night off work and spend the evening with his wife and a cold beer, but she knew as well as he did that if there was a deal on the table, he’d be back here like a shot.
When he answered, he didn’t beat around the bush. “Mila. Your client like the house?”
“Dan, put that beer away and crack open the champagne. He’s making an offer tonight. Full price, cash. His only hard line is a quick closing. He’d move in tomorrow if he could.”
Dan chuckled. “Mila, honey, it was a great day when I decided to teach you everything I know. Sometimes I think that the student has surpassed the master.”
“Never. But I did learn from the best.”
Dan said, “It’s late back East, where the owners live, but we’ll submit the offer anyway. We should have this all wrapped up by tomorrow.”
She went back into the office and gave Herschel the good news. She said, “If all goes well, you’ll be sleeping in that primary bedroom in a matter of days.” Why did she keep mentioning the bedroom? What was wrong with her? No sooner did she picture that beautiful bedroom with the balcony and the view and the fireplace than she imagined the two of them curled up in that bed, slowly peeling each other’s clothes away. She had to stop herself. Right now!
While she got the paperwork together, she said, “Is this the first house you’ve ever bought?”
Hersch lifted his gaze from the survey that had already been done on the property. He was definitely reading every word—something very few of her clients ever did.
“I already have a house in Mountain View near work,” he said. “This would be a second home. But it’s a lot nicer than my first home. I could picture living here full-time one day.”
She liked that answer. “Carmel is amazing. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I’m sure you’ll feel the same way too, once you get settled. Just one night in that cozy bed and you won’t want to leave.” As soon as the words left Mila’s mouth, she felt like clapping a hand over her lips. She had mentioned the bed again.
Herschel paused just long enough for her to think that maybe she wasn’t the only one so focused on the bed. She felt such a strong longing to be in his arms that it frightened her.
She wrote up the offer, and he signed it.
She went through the motions of sending the offer, her head still foggy with desire. It was those darned rippling arm muscles and his calm, thorough way of being. The combination created a dizzying desire for him to not only throw her across that bed, but also take her in his arms and tell her everything was always going to be okay. As long as they had each other.