She opened her mouth but nothing came out, and she turned several shades of pink. Yup, just as I suspected. “I, um, found out from the lawyer. Probably the same one who spoke to you. We were…connected by a mutual acquaintance.” She started moving toward the door.
I thought fast—I didn’t want to let her go until I learned more about her and her interest in Cordy’s house. I checked my watch, and we descended the stairs back to the foyer.
“So Garnet, if you don’t have to run, I’d be happy to show you the grounds. My workday is winding down. This is a good time for me if it is for you.”
She slowed down, clearly intrigued by the offer. “Oh! I’d like that, thanks.”
I led her outside, past the rose garden to the redwood grove that grew right up to the cliffs overlooking the water.
“Let’s have a seat,” I offered, pointing to a couple Adirondack chairs.
“It’s breathtaking,” she said, taking it all in. She was right.
“So, Garnet Foster, where do you live now? How are you gonna live in a big house like this all by yourself?”
She swallowed hard. I figured she was thinking through the next lie she wanted to lay on me.
“Oh, well, I could always get a roommate, you know.” She glanced back at the house. “I’m not sure it’s for me, though, to be honest. I don’t know if I could afford a place like that.”
“What kind of work do you do?” I asked her.
“I’m a bartender. The Drive By Saloon. Ever been there?” she asked.
I’d heard Cordy talk about hanging out there. Maybe that was how she found out about the house? I had figured she was just nosing around, and it looked like I’d been right. A bartender couldn’t rent a mansion in Belvedere. Did she think I was a freaking idiot?
“I’ve never been there, but I remember hearing Cordy talk about it. In fact, I might even have heard him talk about you.” Now that I thought about it, I wondered if this was the bartender he’d taken a liking to.
Her eyes opened wide. “Really? He talked about me?”
“I remember him talking about someone there who he liked.”
She tilted her head toward me. “You’re kidding. He barely ever spoke to me. I didn’t think he even knew that much about me.”
“He seemed fond of you. Said you were a hard-working young lady who was very nice. Maybe he also had a bit of a crush on you.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “I could believe that. He tended to stare a lot.”
I still wasn’t sure why she was snooping around the property, but now that I knew she had a connection to Cordy, it was coming together. I found myself not wanting her to leave, and not only because I wanted to know what she was up to.
* * *
“Hey, there are some beers up at the house. Would you like one?” I offered.
Chapter 7
Garnet
Oh. My. God. Cordy’s house was insane. I never would have guessed, not in a million years, that he lived like this. He had always looked borderline homeless.
Mom always said, “don’t judge a book by its cover.”
And to make things a bit more interesting, his groundskeeper was off the charts hot. The guy’s bright blue eyes popped against his tan, lined face. From his rugged appearance, I guessed he must have spent a great deal of his life working outdoors. He was so good-looking in fact, that I had trouble keeping my story straight about Cordy and why I was there at the house. And while I eventually won him over, he had clearly not been happy when he first found me checking out the property.
In fact, I thought initially he was going to kick me out for trespassing. He’d been kind of a dick, with the way he confronted me. But I guess he changed his mind. Of course, it helped that I was wearing my tightest blue jeans and some high-heeled boots that gave a nice little lift to my butt.
I followed him from the redwood grove where we’d been talking, back up to the house to take him up on the beer he’d offered me. It didn’t seem likely I’d ever get to live in Cordy’s incredible house, but it could sure be fun to dream about it. Thirty days were going by freakishly fast, and I wasn’t any closer to having a husband than I’d been the day the lawyer had come to see me at the saloon.
But that hadn’t stopped me from fantasizing about what I’d do if I did get five million dollars. First, getting my student loan debt off my back would be a dream come true. Not a week went by when I didn’t wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare about all that I owed and how unlikely it was I could ever pay it off. But even better would be the opportunity to do something, even if it wasn’t anything huge, to help others. I’d begin with the homeless people in my neighborhood. I had no illusions that I could solve San Francisco’s homeless problem, but I could start in my own backyard.