Chapter 4
4
O ut of the corner of his eye, he saw Carley walk in and stop near the door. The girls at the bar were being flirty and it made him feel skeezy when women he didn't know came on so strong. The chick in the tight white sweater was laying it on thick. From his peripheral vision, he saw her pull her sweater down to show more cleavage. She was on the hunt, but he wasn't interested in being her prey, or anyone's.
When Carley didn't approach the bar, he looked up to see what she was doing and saw she was watching. From her vantage point, it probably looked like he enjoyed the attention, but it was his job. The longer they stayed at the bar, the more money they brought in. He wasn't stupid; he understood capitalism as well as the next person. Since Jace had given him a chance to work here, he wasn't going to let him down by chasing paying customers out the door.
When his eyes met hers, he couldn't look away. She was a gorgeous woman. The first time she'd come into the bar, he noticed her. It was right after her sister's husband passed away. He didn't know anything about her, but he knew she was pretty and she always had a smile on her face. She took a few steps toward the bar, and he set a napkin on the top, in front of an empty stool away from the flirty girl.
He smiled at her, and she smiled back. It lit up her face, and it took his breath away.
"What can I get you?" he asked, though his voice cracked.
Her smile grew, "I'd love an iced tea, please."
"Not a Sandbar Punch?"
She laughed and it sounded like music. "It's the middle of the day and I still have work to do."
"Fair enough."
He turned and poured her an iced tea, setting it on the napkin. She pulled a twenty-dollar bill from her purse, and he shook his head. "It's on me."
"You don't have to do that."
"I'm aware."
She smiled again, took a sip of her tea, and licked her lips. He watched every movement.
"Oh." She pulled her purse onto her lap. It was a ridiculously small purse with a chain for a strap. He figured she could fit her phone in it, and nothing else. But it worked for her. She pulled something small from inside, and her brows pinched together. She dropped it back into her purse and pulled out a set of keys. "I thought I'd bring these to you in case you want to get an early start on moving tomorrow."
She held the keys up, and he gently took them from her hand, brushing his fingers against hers. Her skin was warm and soft, though they barely touched, he could tell. Her eyes dropped to their hands, then flicked up to his eyes.
Her eyes were an incredible blue. Framed in dark lashes with a head of long dark hair, she was a picture.
"Thank you," he finally answered.
He took a deep breath as he pocketed the keys, and she nervously played with the little chain strap from her bag.
The door opened and Quinn Kurtz entered with a flourish. "There he is."
Mason saw Quinn staring at him, and he felt heat climb up his body. He didn't relish extra attention. "Hi, Quinn. Thank you for letting me move in early. Carley just brought me the keys."
Quinn stopped next to Carley, and she reached over and shook his hand. "Congratulations on selling another condo, Carley. You're killing it there."
"Thank you for trusting me to sell them for you. They really do sell themselves, or maybe I shouldn't say that."
Quinn laughed. "I'm sure you have a lot to do with them selling."
Her cheeks turned pink, and it was stunning on her.
"You want a beer, Quinn?"
"Yes, please."
Quinn sat next to Carley, and Mason hustled to pull a beer from the cooler. He set the beer and a clean mug on a napkin in front of Quinn.
Carley turned to Quinn. "Yesterday when we were at the condo, I saw a man running from inside. Mason saw him too. I don't know how he got in, but maybe one of the workers left a door open. Also, when I got to the condo Mason bought, the door was unlocked."
Mason tilted his head slightly and a chill ran down his back. "You didn't say anything about that."
"I thought I was being paranoid. After all, the carpenters had been installing the carpeting in the closets. I assumed they left the door unlocked."
Quinn's brows bunched. "Did you see the man enough to be able to identify him?"
"No."
Mason cleared his throat. "I saw him too. I chased him out of the building and saw him run into the woods. We checked the other units..." His eyes met Carley's. "It didn't appear that anything was damaged. We locked up afterwards."
Quinn nodded. "Thank you for telling me. I think I'll have the security system installed tomorrow. Since residents are living there now and someone managed to get in, I'd rather take care of that right away."
Carley nodded and Mason responded. "Thank you, that's wonderful. I'm not worried about me, but Carley shouldn't be showing the place alone if there's someone causing trouble there."
"I agree," Quinn responded.
Jace came out of the back office and greeted his friend and sister-in-law. "Carley, Margo will be pissed if you don't go back and say hello while you're here."
Carley laughed. "I will."
Jace sat on the other side of Quinn, and Carley finished her tea. "I'll go see Margo now. Let me know if I can help you with anything, Mason."
His cheeks warmed, and so did the tips of his ears. Jace gave him a funny look; one side of his smile ticked up higher than the other, and Mason busied himself washing glasses.