Chapter 3
Dusty boxes packed tightly with all of my holiday decorations lay strewn around me in the living room as I sort through them, in search of all of my fall things.
I peel back a lid and I’m met with an eyeful of yellow and orange.
Jackpot. Maybe this year will be the year that I actually label the boxes.
But probably not.
I pull out the strings of leaves, the pumpkins, and all the other random items I’ve collected over the years. Glitter is already scattered all over the floor, buried in my fluffy grey area rug.
I love it all.
A calming, festive ambiance video is playing on the TV screen, and the smell of cookies baking in the oven is heaven. I’m trying to have the whole house set up before Jessica gets home from school as a surprise. She’s going to freak out. It’s not often that we have homemade goodies.
My phone vibrates and as I’m pulling apart a tangled string of leaves. I set the knotted mess on the rug and reach for my phone lying on the carpet nearby.
Normally, I wouldn’t answer calls from numbers I don’t know. Absolutely not. But since I’ve recently started doing real estate on the side again, I unfortunately have to answer all the time.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Hi. Is this Carly Penbrooke?” It’s a smooth, rich male voice.
“It is. Who is this?”
“This is Jameson O’neill.”
“Oh. Uhh…”
“We met at Liam’s wedding. And the other night.”
“Yes, I remember...” I hesitate.
Why is he calling me right now? It’s so weird, especially since Daniela had just brought him up the other day, and then I saw him again at the restaurant. Now I’m thinking she’s responsible for this.
“I was calling because I’m looking to acquire a vacation home in the area. A friend told me you work in real estate and sent me your information.” The friend being Liam, I assume.
“Oh!” I say a little too loud. That makes sense, I guess. “I’m so sorry. Yes, I can definitely help you with that. How soon were you wanting to get started?”
“Are you free Saturday?”
Saturday! That’s three days from now…
“Yeah…I can do that. You’re coming here to look in person, then? We’ll just need to get you set up with a bank and get you a pre-approval so we know what we’re working with.”
“Already squared away. It will be a cash offer. I’ll have them send everything you need before Saturday.”
“Okay, sounds good. Do you know what kind of property you’re looking for? Do you already have some in mind?”
“Just a modest vacation home for myself. I haven’t looked at anything specific yet, but I can send you the details of what I’m looking for and we can go from there?”
A cash offer? For a vacation home? Jeez.
“Great. Yeah, sounds good.” I cringe. I think I’ve already said great and sounds good at least twice each. “I’ll see you Saturday, then. Around ten okay?”
“Saturday at ten,” he confirms. Then he pauses for a moment. “Looking forward to it.”
“Okay, great. See you then.”
He hangs up, and I hold the phone to my ear for an extra couple of seconds, processing what just happened.
I guess it’s not all that strange that he called me if he’s looking for a place in the area.
I wonder if Daniela already knew about this through Layla and Liam when she brought him up the other day.
I may have omitted some details when I talked to Daniela.
I remember him well. I was only briefly introduced to him the night of the wedding, but he caught my eye a few times.
He was insanely hot and broody. And his voice on the phone just now?
Possibly even hotter. So smooth, so sure.
And I might be imagining it, but I thought I caught the smallest hint of an Irish lilt or something in there.
So subtle a lot of people probably miss it. I certainly did before.
That night, even though I was with a date, I could have sworn I felt a tingling once or twice, and each time I turned to find his gaze locked on mine. I could have brushed it off and told myself I was crazy…except the other night, he definitely did it again.
I just wonder why his interactions with me so far, besides that random phone call, have been less than friendly.
If they’re any indication, house hunting with him is going to be rough.