“Let’s check out the backyard. Duke likes to run and does his business outside—like a real dog.”
“Duke is your dog?”
“Yes. What did you think?” He gave her a sideways glance.
“Nothing,” she said, turning her head in case her cheeks were turning pink. So, no live-in boyfriend. Nice. Not that she cared. That didn’t necessarily mean he wasn’t involved with someone either. It only confirmed he didn’t live with that someone.
They walked to the back slider, which opened to a massive patio. Half of it was covered, and there was a built-in grill the size of a truck.
“Oh my gosh,” she said, pushing past him to go outside. “I didn’t realize where we were, but now I do.” She laughed. “See that house on the other side of the lake?” She pointed across the lake to where there were several homes. “That’s my house.”
“I can’t tell where you’re pointing,” he said, leaning down next to her head, trying to get to her eye level. There was that pheromone-inducing cologne scent again. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Describe it. The one with the slide off the dock?”
“No, no. To the right of that one.” His hand was big and warm. It seemed to engulf her shoulder and heat up a lot more than just her arm.
“The one with the maple tree in the yard?”
“No, to the left of that one. Right where I’m pointing,” she said, flustered.
“I’m trying to see where you’re pointing, but it all looks like the same area to me. Is it the one with the huge pool? Does it have some kind of waterfall?”
“Yes, that’s it.” She straightened and moved away so that he would have to drop his hand. As good as it felt, touching seemed like a no-no for clients. At least, she’d never been touched by one before.
“Your pool looks bigger than mine,” he said, nodding to the pool they were standing above.
“Yeah, yours is small.”
“Kate, never say those words to a man. It’s not something any of us want to hear.”
It took her a minute to understand what he meant, and the look on her face when she figured it out made him bark out a laugh.
She waved it off and ignored him.
“Luna, time to go potty.” She walked over to a grassy area and let the dog out of her purse. The dog sat at her feet. “Come on, honey. Don’t you want to stretch your legs and go tinkle?”
“Did you just tell your dog to ‘tinkle?’” he asked in disgust. “You gotta tell her what to do. Be the alpha. Otherwise, she’ll never mind you.”
“Are you a dog expert or something? I think I know my own dog.”
He walked over to where they were standing, looked at the dog, and said, “Luna, go potty. Now.”
Damn it, if the little traitor didn’t squat right where she was and pee. Kate had to jump out of the way to avoid being peed on.
“Hmph.”
“Next time, we’ll tell her when she’s on the grass,” he muttered. “Looks good out here. I like the dock and the pool, even though it’s not as well-endowed as some other pools.”
“Are you making excuses for your pool?” she asked. “And how small it is?” A teeny, tiny bit of flirting couldn’t hurt.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he said, brushing past her. “Come on, let’s go check out the inside.”
It took about five seconds for him to run through the rest of the house, declare it perfect, and ask when she could write up the offer.
“Are you serious? You barely even looked around. How can you make such an important decision so quickly?”
“Well, I guess when I see something I like, I go right after it.”
“What do you wanna do? Just drop right down on the tile and go for it?” She blurted theTop Gunmovie line without thinking, then gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, mortified.