Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
She stretched her legs out in Sam’s SUV. He’d insisted on driving since he knew his way around town, and now she was glad she’d agreed.
“It’s not picky to want to like where you live.” He rested his arm across the two front seats, his fingers grazing her shoulder.
She suppressed a delightful shiver. “At least you’re not annoyed. Which I don’t understand. Most men in their right minds would have no patience for a day like today.”
“Are you saying I’m insane?”
She shook her head and laughed. “No, just special.”
He grinned, revealing that dimple in his cheek. “Thank you.”
“I guess it’s time to head home,” she said, discouraged.
“Not quite. There’s one more place that isn’t listed.”
She turned toward him, hopes raised. “Really?”
He nodded. “It’s in a nice neighborhood, has a backyard with a barbecue, and a really good-looking next-door neighbor.” He winked at her.
Her eyes opened wide at his implication. “Seriously?”
He nodded, and his devilish grin had her wanting to agree to move in sight unseen. “Why didn’t you mention this place before?” Unless he didn’t really want her living so close to him but was offering because she’d run out of options.
“Because I wanted you to see everything else out there. The sellers are an older couple who want to test the weather down south for a year. You’d be making a one-year commitment and—”
She leaned in closer. “And?” She urged him to continue.
“It’s a whole house. I wasn’t sure you’d want such a big responsibility on top of the year lease.” He shrugged.
“So it wasn’t because you didn’t want me as your neighbor? Because I can understand why you wouldn’t. I mean, we could hang out and discover we’re not interested in each other. Then we’d be living almost in each other’s backyard, and that would be awkward.”
He shook his head, the easygoing grin never leaving his face. “Like I said, I wanted you to see everything else first. That’s it. You didn’t like the other options, and I’d have shown you this last even if you had. Besides, I would love to have you as my neighbor.” He paused. “If that’s something you’d want.”
As if she’d say no. “I’d love to see it.”
“Good.” He spun and focused on driving, turning the car and heading toward his home.
“I have to say, I’m surprised you live in a house,” she said.
“Why is that?”
She shrugged. “I guess I expected you to live in a bachelor pad of some sort. An apartment or condo where you don’t have to worry about taking care of things when an association or landlord could do it for you.”
“I always knew I’d stay in Serendipity, so why throw my money away on a rental?”
Why indeed? The man had hearth and home written all over him, making Nicole wonder why he hadn’t settled down with one woman long before now.
“So why haven’t these people listed their home?”
“It’s been up for rent for a while, and they live on a fixed income. They didn’t want to spend any more money on advertising, so they put up signs around town. But they plan on leaving their furniture for whoever rents. They left me the key to show potential buyers when they’re gone.”
He turned onto a treelined street with older but appealing-looking homes. The kind she’d always imagined living in when she was growing up in her parents’ overly large, too coldly decorated mansion.
“Home sweet home,” he said, pulling into a driveway that appeared to have freshly laid blacktop.
“This is your house?” she asked.
“Mine and the bank’s,” he said. “But I’ve been able to pay a little more on my mortgage each month, and I hope to own it outright sooner rather than later.” He jumped out of the truck and came to her side just as she’d picked up her bag and opened her car door.
“Let’s go inside, and I’ll show you around. Then I’ll call the Browns and ask if it’s a good time for us to come over.”
Excited, she scrambled out of the car, eager to see where and how Sam lived.
* * *
As Sam led Nicole into his house, damned if he wasn’t nervous to see her reaction. Not something he understood, but he realized her opinion of him was important.
“The good news is my mother and sister insisted on making this place livable, so you won’t find that bachelor pad you mentioned.”
He swung open the door and gestured for her to walk in ahead of him.
This, of course, gave him a good view of her delectable ass in fitted white denim. Her pink flip-flops with flowers on top smacked against the floor as she entered.
“Sam, I love it,” she said from the den immediately on the right, the room that overlooked the street.
He shut the front door and headed into his favorite space, the family room, which boasted a large television on the wall above the stone fireplace and plush oversized furniture in brown and cream. But some touches made the place a home, like photos of his family and accent pieces, as Erin called them, that looked good, but Sam didn’t know anything about.