Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
REECE
Did I just propose marriage to Andi? What is wrong with me? I hardly know her.
Andi stares at me for a long, stunned moment, then bursts into laughter. “You almost got me.”
I let go of her hand, still holding the doorknob, and step back. Part of me wishes it weren’t a joke. “It’s the only thing I could think of.”
“With that level of smooth, why are you still single?” Her laughing question cuts through my embarrassment—and heaps more on top. When I turn, she fixes those gray eyes on me and raises one perfectly shaped brow. “You’re a good-looking guy. Nice enough, if a bit grumpy. Plenty of women would be happy to marry you. Maybe you need to smile more.”
I glower, not sure why she seems to find that statement so funny. Or why I feel compelled to answer. I shove a hand through my hair and turn away again to stare out the window. “There have been a few girls, but never the one. I don’t need to tie myself down. I have things to do.” I try to bring the conversation back to her. “Maybe I could hire you. I wonder what it takes to get an employment visa?”
“Why would you do that? If I really need a job, I can probably get Teo to hire me. But I’m trying to make it on my own.”
“Taking help from family isn’t the opposite of independence.” I’m talking as much to myself as to her, but neither of us appears to be listening.
“That sounds like a story.”
I shrug one shoulder. “This flip isn’t working as smoothly as I’d hoped. There were some underlying issues that had to be addressed. New well, new irrigation, the yard… It’s all taking longer and much more money than it should.”
“I thought this place belongs to someone else?” She lets the backpack slide to the ground and perches on the edge of the couch. “You’ve mentioned your employers a couple of times. Why do you need money? Shouldn’t they provide the funding?”
“My parents bankrolled the ranch. I told my dad I could make it profitable, but the county regulations changed. No, that’s not true. I messed up. My original understanding of the regulations was faulty. I believed we could make it into a profitable event venue. But my plans are not an ‘allowed use’ under the current zoning laws. And nothing I’ve been able to come up with is going to change that. So I’m planning to flip it and sell. But people who buy big ranches want really nice houses. It takes money to make money.”
“And you don’t want to ask your parents for more funds because you don’t want them to know you made a little mistake?”
I interrupt. “It wasn’t a little mistake. It was a huge, total beginner mistake. My parents didn’t grow up with money. In fact, my dad was about as poor as they get. And Mum didn’t know Grandad was sitting on millions of pounds of real estate. They were frugal.”
“I get that, but now that they have money, wouldn’t they want you to make use of it? Especially if you can do something really spectacular with it?” She bites her lip, and the sight of her white teeth against the plump pink flesh makes it hard to breathe. When she releases it, air whooshes back into my lungs.
And oxygen back into my brain. I turn and lean my butt against the windowsill. “Yes. Very. You’re right. But I still need to keep the costs as low as possible.”
She snorts out a laugh, then covers her mouth, her cheeks pink. “Kellie is not your answer if you’re looking for cheap.”
My gaze strays to the television, still playing Demo and Reno on mute. “Maybe I need to do it myself. I don’t suppose you want to help?”
She stands again. “I’d love to smash some walls with you, but I need to get back to work. And find a DIY answer for myself, too.”
“If Teo has a green card, he should be able to help you get one.” I move to the door and open it for her. “And the offer stands.”
“For the marriage?” Her eyes sparkle as she asks.
Words catch in my throat, and I cough. “I meant the demo. But we might be able to work something out.”
She goes pink again, then turns away and laughs. “I’ve got to stop taking everything you say so seriously. But right now, I need to get back to work. See you.”
I watch her climb into her ugly orange car, reminding myself that any intentions I might have toward Andi need to stay platonic. Between her brother and her royal connections, a relationship with her is off the table. And I need the complication of a girlfriend like I need a hole in my head. Especially an eternally cheerful, happy-go-lucky, royal disaster like Andi Feltz.
Her engine turns over three or four times before it starts, coughing and spluttering, and she drives away, a plume of dust billowing up in her wake.
I turn slowly to look at the property. We’re located right on the edge of the mountains, where the stands of ponderosa pine give way to the twisted junipers. Bunches of grass, dried out by the unrelenting sun, dot the open landscape to the east. A barbed wire fence denotes the boundary between my land and the prosperous farm beside it.
The new front yard looks good, but I need to pave the driveway—or at least bring in gravel. Beyond the house, a small ridge hides the remaining acreage from sight. I have several fields that can produce alfalfa or provide grazing for cattle. But I don’t want to. I did my fair share of ranching in Texas. I went to college to get away from that life. Yet here I am, back in the saddle, so to speak. Except we don’t have any horses on this property—and I couldn’t afford to feed them if we did. Not without a source of income.
With a sigh, I pull out my phone. I need to call Kellie and tell her our deal is off. Maybe I can pay for her design plans, then do it myself.
* * *
An hour later, the unmistakable spluttering of Andi’s engine brings me around to the front of the house. I swipe an arm across my sweaty forehead and toss a handful of weeds into the garbage can as the orange disaster pulls down the long, dusty driveway. It stops in front of the house and rattles for a few moments before dying with a choking cough.
The driver’s door creaks open, and Andi leaps out of the seat, advancing on me like an army headed for battle. “What did you say to her?”
I lift both hands to ward her off. “Kellie? I told her I needed to use our contract’s exit clause.”
She stalks up to me and pokes a finger into my chest. “Well, she seems to think I had something to do with that.”
I frown. “You kind of did. You talked sense into me.”
She glares. “She thinks I convinced you to hire me instead! She’s talking about suing me for breach of professional ethics!” She brandishes her fist at me.
I choke back a laugh. “I don’t think interior decorators have a professional ethics board. If they do, there are a couple of restaurants in Portland that should be suing for malpractice.”
She splutters a laugh, then covers it with a glare. “She fired me! I have no job. I should sue you for lying!”
“I don’t think ‘liar, liar, pants on fire,’ is a legal claim.” I grab the finger she’s poking into my chest again. She tries to wrench her hand away, but I hold on tight until she stops struggling. “I didn’t mean to get you fired. But it was a crappy job.”
“It was a job that paid my rent!”
Dismay washes over me like a bucket of cold water. “I’m sorry. Where are you living?”
“I’m renting an apartment over the gas station. And now I can’t pay for next week.”
“Next week? But you only have another month here, right? Your family loves you. They’ll let you stay with them, won’t they?”
She yanks her finger free and stomps away. “I’m trying to make it on my own! Prove I can be independent. And my family isn’t sitting on millions of pounds of real estate like some people’s. If I can’t make rent, I’ll have to move in with Teo. Sleeping on your brother’s sofa doesn’t scream ‘personal sovereignty,’ does it?”
“You could stay here.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize what a huge mistake they are. Teo warned me to stay away from Andi. He’s not going to be happy with me offering her a room. Not to mention the whole hidden princess thing. If the press ever got a hold of that…
She swings back to me, smiling. “Really? I could help you with the remodel to pay for the room! It will be so much fun!” She pauses, her gaze clicking to mine. “Are you sure? That’s a pretty big imposition.”
How can I disappoint those puppy dog eyes? “I’ll make you work for it. You’ll probably wish you’d stayed with Kellie.”
“Ha! You’d have to be a complete ogre for me to wish I’d stayed with Kellie.” She turns slowly, taking in the property. “When can I move in?”
I rub the back of my neck. “You aren’t paid up through the end of the month?”
“No. I told you, I’ve been paying by the week. I can’t afford a whole month. I’m out on Thursday.” She rubs her hands together, and her eyes sparkle. “We can redo your whole house on the cheap. I’ve made friends with the secondhand store owners in town—they have all kinds of amazing stuff! Even some appliances.” A flash of doubt clouds her sunny smile. “Although I’m not sure they’re much better than what you have.”
“It’s okay. I have a little money budgeted for the interior. If I—if we are careful, I should be able to get new appliances.” I take in a deep breath. This could be an excellent partnership or a complete disaster. Or both at the same time. “How much stuff do you have to move?”