“I’ve got everything mapped out in the most efficient route, so we don’t waste time backtracking,” he said.
“Nice. I do love efficiency.”
“I can tell. And order and organization. Am I right?”
“What’s wrong with those things?”
“Nothing,” he said. “Good qualities for a real estate agent.”
She looked at him sideways, sensing a dig, but not sure what it was. What he didn’t say was that those traits left something to be desired in life and especially in a relationship. Even a temporary one. He wondered if she liked order so much because her family was so chaotic.
“I saw you put money down on whatever the Three Stooges were betting on this week. Why wouldn’t they tell me what it was?”
“Sorry, I took an oath. Top secret, manly stuff. I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She sipped her coffee and crossed her legs. Her long, tanned, sexy-as-hell legs. He had to remind himself to keep his eyes on the road.
“So, you survived dinner with my family. Barely. I noticed you high-tailed it out of there before the tiramisu was served. I tried to warn you.”
“I wasn’t scared. I had to get to my mom’s. She told me she was only making dessert, but when I got there, she’d made dinner too. Damn, I was full.”
“So, your mom lives in New Bern. Did she move here recently? Are you close with her?”
“Ugh. Don’t get me started on that.” He made a sour face. Chuck rubbed him the wrong way, and he couldn’t understand what his mother saw in him.
“Her latest boyfriend talked her into moving in with him up here. She still has her place in Jacksonville, but spends most of her time in New Bern. We have a complicated relationship. We’re not close as in, we love the same things and have the same ideals or values. But we are close in that she’s my mother, and I’ll do anything for her.”
“You’ve been taking care of her for a long time, haven’t you?”
He did a double-take. “Intuitive.”
She shrugged. “I’m good at reading people.”
“Oh, yeah. What am I thinking right now?” He took his eyes off the road for a second to waggle his eyebrows.
“I said I was good at readingpeople, not minds. Even if I could, I’m not sure I’d want in that pretty little head of yours.”
“Pretty?”
“You know what I mean.”
He found out all about Kate on the forty-five-minute drive. She’d graduated from the University of North Carolina with a political science degree, intending to go to law school. A change of heart led her to real estate. After working as an agent for about eight years, she’d recently become a managing broker and opened her own brokerage, which apparently meant a lot more administrative work.
They spent the day looking at houses and filling out the required paperwork for each home. It was time-consuming and tedious, but had to be done. They did half in the morning, stopped for lunch at a teriyaki place, and finished up in the afternoon.
Watching her work was mesmerizing. She handled everything in an organized, businesslike way, but she also had these funny little mannerisms that were equally endearing.
His favorite was when she would slide her hand down her hair and push up the bottom. She also bit her lower lip when she was concentrating. The way she talked to Luna was nuts. Not unhinged-like-his-ex crazy, just over-the-top, eye-rolling crazy.
“Ready to head back?” he asked.
“Yeah. Lemmie let Luna out real quick.” She put the little ball of fluff on a patch of grass, and it trotted around looking for a place, finally squatting and dropping a tablespoon of liquid.
“Feel better, baby girl?” she said, reaching down for the dog, who jumped eagerly into her arms.
On the drive back, he thought about his wager with the Three Musketeers. Betting he and Kate would get together was an impulsive decision he hadn’t really thought through. Sure, he’d been attracted to Kate from the moment he walked into her office. With that pretty face and pin-up girl figure, who wouldn’t be? But now that he’d gotten to know her a little, he saw her as a bit of a challenge. He wanted to get her to relax, see what was under the prim and prissy.
Getting her to go out with him would be a feat. After knowing her for two minutes, he could tell she’d have a problem with the whole agent/client relationship thing, but that wouldn’t deter him.