Chapter 10
I’m up with the sun on the morning of the auction.
Shocker—I got zero sleep last night. I can’t stop thinking about the fact that the woman who’s trying to get her life back on track decided to veer off the path and sleep with her neighbor.
Who is that bitch? Me. She’s me. I’d chalk it up to naiveté, except that I’m old enough to know better.
There’s a real-life lesson in this: no matter your age, horniness can still be your downfall.
I didn’t see Zach at all yesterday, and that was probably for the best. Hopefully he spent time with Brooke and focused on what’s really important in his life.
Spoiler alert: not me. Maybe he’ll manage to forget all about me and the very sexy things we did together.
I should be so lucky. His touch, his body against mine, and most important—the way he made me feel like an actual human woman—those are seared into my brain.
At least I can carry the memories into my new future, the one where I succeed in buying the house I want and am able to flip it for a profit without losing my mind.
Despite my mistakes, I remain mostly hopeful.
Of course, there’s still a big part of me that is a hulking ball of worry about what the coming year will really bring with regard to my neighbor. I don’t want to spend the totality of my home life avoiding a man who is pissed at me. Been there. Done that.
I go for a quick walk on the beach, then take a shower and get dressed.
I stuff my laptop into my crossbody bag and half expect Zach to be out there on the porch when I’m locking up.
But he’s not. And much like the other day, when I was sitting out here working on my computer and didn’t run into him, I’m disappointed.
Perhaps I was hoping to have a run-in with my foe, a bit of witty back-and-forth to get the blood flowing.
I go down to my car, only to discover that his truck is gone.
I stand there, my brain extrapolating what this means, but it doesn’t take long for me to figure it out.
He left because he wants to be at the auction early.
Which means he’s still determined to beat me.
And who could blame him? I said that I wouldn’t see him until it was time for the auction.
I essentially threw down the gauntlet. It didn’t matter that we’d slept together.
It’s game on. It’s time to face my formidable opponent.
Who has seen me naked. Because I wouldn’t be me without something being off.
I hop in the car and for most of the drive down to the county administration building, I am consumed with thoughts of beating him. Sort of like I did in the go-kart race. He counted me out the whole time, but his cockiness got him in the end. Hopefully that will be the case today.
I arrive at my destination and grab a parking spot on the street then hustle inside.
I swipe off my sunglasses and immediately spot Zach down the hall.
He might be looking like a damn snack dressed in dark jeans and a white dress shirt right now, but I feel the need to put this train back on the tracks.
I march up to him and tap him on the shoulder.
“Hey. Do you have a minute?”
He turns and my legs wobble when I get a whiff of him—he smells like sea salt and a Top Ten of my poor choices. “Sure.”
He’s given me virtually nothing to work with. No sign of his mood or how he feels about what happened between us. I guess that means I’m going to have to set the tone. “I don’t want to say that the other night was a mistake, but it probably wasn’t a good idea.”
He looks up and down the hall, then grasps my elbow and steers me into a corner outside the room where the auction is taking place. “A bad idea that you actually follow through on is the same as a mistake.”
Touché. “Semantics.”
His eyes narrow. “Do you really think it was a mistake? It didn’t feel like a mistake. In fact, I thought it felt pretty fucking good.”
My breath catches in my chest. I agree. Wholeheartedly. At least with the last thing he said. But I’m not sure about the rest and this is all just messing with my head at a time when I need to focus on me. “All I’m saying is that I think we should go back to our old dynamic. Let’s be friends.”
“Friends and professional rivals. Perfect.”
I swallow hard. He could bury my hopes and dreams today if he decides to. “Right.”
A woman walks past us, then catches sight of Zach and stops. “Hi, Zach.”
“Oh, hey, Zoe. Have a good auction today.”
“You know I will.” She smiles, then breezes into the room.
“Someone you know?” I ask.
“Sorta. Auction ringer.”
“A what?”
“Come on. I’ll tell you.” He walks inside and I follow. He nods in the woman’s direction. She’s taken a seat at the front of the room. “First seat, first row. Leather binder. Reading glasses. She’s a ringer.”
“And what does that mean?”
“Works for a flipper. Guaranteed. Will gobble up properties.”
Great. Now I have to worry about more than just Zach. There are already at least twenty other people in the room. I now feel like I have zero chance of getting my house. “Are you pointing her out to scare me?”
He casts me a look of pure admonishment. I won’t lie. It’s super hot. “No. I want you to be prepared.”
“Do you see any other ringers?”
He takes survey, then shakes his head. “No. I see bargain hunters. Amateurs. Curiosity seekers.”
I’d breathe a sigh of relief if I didn’t already have two considerable opponents—Zach and the ringer. “Okay. Good.”
“Are you nervous?” he asks.
I want to blurt out that of course I’m nervous, that this couldn’t possibly be as important or meaningful to him or the woman at the front of the room as it is to me, but I resign myself to this one fact: if this doesn’t work out, I will not be defeated.
It will be a speed bump, but I will get through it. “Nope. Just excited.”
“Great. I’m going to grab a seat. But I just want to say one thing, Jodie.”
“Another rule of flipping?”
He shakes his head. “Just my best advice for you, and only you. I know I told you to be cautious about this process, but now that you’re here, don’t play it safe.”
“Won’t I just drive up the price?”
He shrugs. “We’ll see how it all plays out. I want you to do what’s best for you.” Zach wanders a few rows up and takes a seat on the aisle. I sit on the opposite side of the aisle, one row up from him. I dig out my laptop and my readers, and prepare myself for battle.
A few minutes later, a pale red-haired woman and a reedy man wearing a bowtie appear at the front of the room. They inform us of the rules of the auction, facts that I have read over on the website dozens of times. I’m ready for this to just happen.
“Let’s start with our first property,” the woman says.
It’s an instant flurry of activity—bidding that comes fast and furious.
I’m grateful that the first five houses are not the ones I want.
Zoe, the ringer, wins all five properties.
I’m thinking I’m sunk, that she’s just going to bulldoze me; but then she packs up her clipboard and walks out of the room, triumphant.
My hope is buoyed. I have a chance. That’s all I wanted.
I turn around to give Zach one last glance before the bidding starts.
But he’s gone.