Chapter 2
CHAPTER
TWO
Skye
“Okay, everything looks ready,” I murmured, checking the time on my phone. Ten minutes until the clients would arrive and I looked a mess, but that couldn’t be helped.
The future owner would choose the house because they liked it, not me.
I’d barely made it on time from Lower Manhattan to give the place one last sweep.
I lived next door, and when my neighbors had moved out, they asked me to handle the selling process.
Their youngest daughter got very sick, so they quit their jobs here and moved to Houston, where they were from, so their families could help out.
I missed my neighbors, and I hoped they’d be able to recover quickly, building a good life in Houston.
The mother had already found a job there, but they were struggling financially.
Wanting to help them, I’d said yes. In college, I’d worked part-time at a real estate agency, so I knew the nuts and bolts, and a friend of the family was a lawyer, so he was going to take care of the legalities.
My job was to show people the house. It sounded easy, but between running the lingerie store and the commute, I’d been in over my head for the past week.
So I’d decided this time I’d schedule everyone at once with the hope that one of the buyers would work out. There were two families with kids, one guy, and an elderly couple.
I was keeping my fingers crossed for one of the couples with kids. I liked having young children next door.
Five minutes to go.
I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, combing through my hair with my fingers.
My shoulder-length brown hair was in complete disarray.
I had a blunt cut, with bangs that almost fell into my eyes.
I loved them—they usually looked sophisticated, but now they were a complete mess and a bit curled.
My black eyeliner was a little smudged under my blue eyes.
I looked unprofessional, which wasn’t like me at all, but I had no time to run over to my place and reapply makeup.
I did refresh myself at the sink, though—I drew the line at sweaty armpits.
At seven o’clock on the dot, the bell rang. Both families arrived at the same time, without their children. The elderly couple arrived a few minutes later.
“If you want, you can look around on your own, and then I can find you and answer your questions. I’m just waiting for one more. Or you can just wait with me and I’ll give you a tour.”
“We’ll wait,” one of them said. The rest nodded.
I was keeping my fingers crossed for the guy not to show up. I already had a good feeling about one of the couples, and fewer people at the viewing meant fewer questions.
“Okay. We can begin the tour,” I said five minutes later. “It looks like?—”
The sound of the bell interrupted me.
“Ah, one second. The last client must have arrived.”
I opened the door and came face-to-face with the most gorgeous man I’d seen in a long time.
“Hello. I’m Robert Dumont. I have an appointment to see the house.”
“Yes, we were just about to start.” I was mesmerized by his eyes. They were so vibrant that I couldn’t look away.
Taking a step back, I made space for him to walk inside.
His hair was wavy, somewhere between dark brown and black in color.
And those eyes, dark green with full lashes that framed them, were incredible.
He was beyond handsome. Now I wished I’d redone my makeup.
I caught myself smoothing my hands over my lilac dress, then finally crossed them behind my back. The man had me on edge already.
Robert had to be at least six foot two and had the physique of a pro athlete. I just couldn’t stop looking at him. He was wearing jeans and a black shirt, and the top button was open, showing just a bit of skin. My cheeks were warm, and my brain was on pause. Wow, way to win this crowd over, Skye.
“Shall we join everyone?” I asked. As we approached the others, I realized it wasn’t just me though. There was a shift in the group as all three women instantly looked at him. Two were blushing. The men threw him unhappy glances.
“Okay, everyone. Let’s start. I’ll walk you through each room, and then you have fifteen minutes to explore the house on your own.
You received all the information I have via email, but of course, if you have any additional questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.
Anything I can’t answer, I will forward to the owners and get back to you tomorrow. ”
I made eye contact with everyone, trying to ignore the way my stomach tumbled when I locked eyes with Robert. How could he be this good-looking? New York was full of attractive men, but Robert Dumont was in a league of his own.
Turning on my heels, I led the group through the house.
It was a lovely home. The family had lived here for three years before their financial situation went from super good to super bad.
There was no furniture now, but I remembered it the way it had been, decorated with a lot of love and care.
Each bedroom had had a different wall color, and even in the living room, the wall next to the kitchen island had been painted terracotta.
Now everything was white, which experts said increased the chances of selling a property.
There was a fireplace in the living room with a marble mantelpiece where one could put picture frames. The kitchen itself was the only room that looked as before—a Scandinavian mix of white and wood with a granite countertop.
The living room and kitchen were open-plan, and at the end of the hallway was a spacious guest bedroom.
The upper floor had the master bedroom and en-suite bathroom with ample closet space. The attic was huge and could be used as an office or yet another bedroom. From time to time, I looked at the visitors, trying to gauge their reactions as we walked through the home.
Eh… I couldn’t lie to myself. I was glancing at Robert far more often than at everyone else.
“Okay, that’s it. Does anyone want to see the garage?”
There was a chorus of no, but the elderly couple nodded.
“Okay, come with me. Everyone else, you’re welcome to look around now. I’ll just show the garage quickly, and then you can find me downstairs if you have any questions.”
The garage visit didn’t take very long. Unfortunately, I could tell the elderly couple wasn’t sold on the house.
“This isn’t what we’re looking for, I’m afraid,” the woman said. “But thank you for having us. There’s no point going back inside with you, but I wish you luck with the others.”
“Thank you for coming by. Have a great evening.”
Feeling a little disappointed, I headed back inside. There was no one in the living room, but I took it as a good sign that everyone was still looking around. It meant they were interested. One of them would buy it, I was sure of it.
I wanted to call Tess, my sister. We owned a lingerie shop in the city, and evenings were busy. I felt bad for leaving her to mind the store on her own, but I could only schedule everyone together in the evening.
I’d barely reached for my phone when I heard someone step inside the living room. I knew before turning around that it was Robert. I couldn’t even tell how I knew, but the second our gazes crossed, my pulse quickened. I licked my lips, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yes. I have a few questions.”
“Of course.”
“Is it available right away?”
“Yes.” Wow. He was seriously considering it? My heart was racing.
“Okay. There’s no furniture in here right now, but is there anything in storage?”
“The family took the furniture with them. I’m afraid we can’t help you with that.”
He frowned, rubbing his jaw. I could imagine he was the type of guy who preferred everything to be ready.
“Right. I’ll figure something out. Lastly, is your commission included in the costs on the website, or do they come on top? It wasn’t clear on the listing.”
Ha! He thought I was a realtor.
“Oh, I’m not getting a commission. I just wanted to help out the family. I’m not a real realtor… but I’ll help you facilitate everything.”
He cocked a brow, making me realize how odd that sounded.
“Their youngest daughter is sick, and they had to relocate to Houston. Finances are tight, and they didn’t want to lose money by giving a realtor a commission.
I’m in charge of showing people the house, and they have a lawyer for all legalities,” I added even though he hadn’t asked for specifics.
But everything from his body language to his tone of voice told me he was used to having all the details, used to being in charge.
And damn, I liked that a little too much.
I was hoping he wouldn’t use the information to lowball them, but in case he did, they could always deny his offer.
“In case any issues arise after the sale and I need to contact the previous owners, how do I go about it?”
“Through the lawyer or through me.”
“And how do I contact you?”
“Messaging, calling, or emailing will do. Or throwing stones at my window.” I smiled, and a strange hiccup sort of laugh escaped my throat. How can this be happening? “I’d be your neighbor. I live next door.”
“Excellent bonus point. You should’ve started with that.”
Holy shit. I almost swooned right there. My throat instantly dried up as Robert’s gaze perused my body, slowly and deliberately. I suddenly felt so hot that I wished I could down a glass of ice water right now… or even better, throw a bucket of ice all over my body.
The other couples descended in the next second, bombarding me with questions.
It was mostly stuff already written in the listing, but I didn’t mind repeating it.
I felt Robert’s gaze on me, determined and smoldering.
He was quiet, but his presence still dominated the space.
He was confident, sexy, as if he owned the universe.
I wondered why he wanted to live here. He looked like he belonged in a penthouse in Manhattan.
The owners of the house insisted any interested parties should send me an application before so no one wasted my time.
His position and last address had been in it, so I knew he was a hotshot CEO who was moving here from LA.
Quite honestly, I couldn’t imagine having this sexy god as my neighbor.
“Right, I think we’ve covered everything,” I said after the last question. “Do let me know within seventy-two hours if you’re interested.”
“Can we take another look around?” a man asked. “We’ll just show ourselves out afterward.”
I was so happy, I could dance. They were going to take it, I was sure of it.
“Of course.”
“I’ll take another look too,” Robert said, gaze fixed on me.
Damn. There was that flash of heat again.
The second couple left as Robert and the pair who wanted to take another peek went upstairs.
This time, I did manage to call Tess.
“Hey, everything all right?” I asked.
“Yes, it was a successful evening. Twenty percent more sales than yesterday.”
“Awesome.”
“How did the house showing go?”
“I’m still here, waiting for three clients to finish a second tour.”
“Families?”
“One is a couple with two kids, the other is a guy.”
“Dumont?” she asked. She’d gone through the potential buyers’ information with me.
“That’s the one.”
“What’s he like?”
“Ah, I’m trying to think what the best way to describe him is. Smoking hot or fucking gorgeous. He has green eyes and lots of muscle. I’m surprised I didn’t catch fire just looking at him.”
“Wow. How many muscles are you able to see exactly?”
“None. But the contour of his ass looks sexy as hell even in jeans. I definitely saw some pecs under his shirt.”
A light sound alerted me that I wasn’t alone anymore. Shit. I turned around slowly, bracing myself. Robert stood at the bottom of the stairs, smiling.
“Tess, I’ve got to go,” I murmured. Oh God, he could not have heard that.
“What? But you were just getting to the good part. And?—”
I disconnected the call, clutching the phone tight.
Crap! He did hear me; I was sure of it. My cheeks were on fire.
“Any questions?” I asked.
His smile grew more pronounced. Masculinity just rolled off him, wrapping around me as he came even closer.
“One or two, but I think you and I are better off if I keep them to myself.”