‘So you’re bamboozled?’ Summer wolf-whistled. ‘Wow. This could be fun to watch.’
‘He’s wasted his time coming to town if he thinks he’s getting his hands on Pop’s agency, so there’ll be nothing to watch.’
‘If Pop sells, you’ll buy it?’ Summer asked.
Karly grimaced. ‘I hope so. I don’t want to take on another mortgage, but I’d rather be making repayments until I’m ninety than hand it over to Hudson.’
‘That’s a lot of debt,’ Summer said.
‘Tell me about it.’ Karly rolled her eyes, knowing she’d have to come up with a better option than another bank loan.
When Pop suggested she spread her wings when he sold she’d envisaged it for a fleeting moment: leaving Acacia Haven, moving to Melbourne, finding a job with a realtor in the city. But everything she’d ever known was wrapped up in this town. It gave her the security her parents never had and making a big move on her own terrified her.
‘I sense fireworks between you two,’ Nev said, her gaze contemplative. ‘And that mightn’t be such a bad thing.’
Karly didn’t want fireworks; she wanted a satisfactory outcome, which involved Hudson leaving her and Pop the hell alone. ‘What do you mean?’
‘When’s the last time you took time off work?’
She instantly knew where Nev was going with this and a small part of her hated to admit the truth: not many people could’ve convinced her to take an hour off let alone spend that time frolicking in the pool. And she’d enjoyed it; worse, she had a sneaking suspicion that had more to do with the company than blowing off steam.
‘You took time off work to hang out with him?’ Summer patted her back. ‘Honey, this guy must really be something.’
‘It was no big deal.’ She shrugged, feigning nonchalance which her friends wouldn’t buy for a second. ‘Besides, I’m trying that old “keep your enemies close” thing.’
‘Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that.’ Nev snorted. ‘In the meantime, what are you going to do when he knocks on your door in the middle of the night on some flimsy pretext?’
Karly almost blurted, ‘I wish.’ What was she thinking? She couldn’t afford to get too cosy with Hudson. For all she knew that was his end game, getting friendly in the hopes of undermining her.
‘He’s only here for a few days and I can’t wait to see the back of him.’
Summer snorted. ‘Methinks you’re protesting too much.’
Nev eyed her with open speculation. ‘If you really do suspect him of being underhanded, there’s another way you could handle this situation.’
An instant image of Karly handling Hudson leapt to mind and that damn blush returned, heating her cheeks. ‘How?’
‘I agree with you about cosying up to him rather than treating him like the enemy. Play nice. Get to know him a little.’ Nev snapped her fingers. ‘Who knows, it might get you a better price for the agency or gain you time to figure out what you want to do.’
‘That’s not a bad idea,’ Summer said. ‘What do you think, Karl?’
‘The idea has merit.’
However, Karly knew that letting Hudson in a little could result in a whole lot of trouble.
CHAPTER
14
As Hudson knocked on Karly’s door, clutching a bottle of chardonnay in one hand and two family-size blocks of chocolate tucked into his jacket pocket, he knew this was a bold move. Then again, he’d built his business on taking calculated risks and with the way she’d thawed towards him in the pool that afternoon, he’d be a fool to pass up the opportunity to get to know her better. Purely for work purposes, of course. Deals always went down easier if all parties were on the same page and not at loggerheads. And while Jeremiah seemed amenable to hearing his pitch, he knew Karly would be the hard sell and he didn’t want anything to jeopardise this deal.
When she didn’t answer, he knocked harder. He could’ve texted first but she would’ve fobbed him off with a lame excuse. This way, he had the element of surprise. Unless she peeked out her blinds, saw him on her doorstep, and refused to answer the door.
He’d seen her come home a while ago and she’d been holed up inside ever since. There weren’t many lights on, so maybe she’d gone to bed early, though at seven-thirty that was doubtful. Not that he’d been spying on her, but he’d seen her car headlights from the small living room in the granny flat when she came home. His initial plan had been to share a beer with Jeremiah, laying the groundwork for his deal in an informal setting, but the old man had gone out about half an hour ago and his house remained in darkness.
Feeling increasingly like a country blow-in with nothing better to do than keep an eye on his neighbours, he raised his hand to knock a third time—and the door swung open.
So much for warming to him in the pool this afternoon. Karly’s hostile glare swept over him like a dog had left a pile of crap on her doorstep. ‘What do you want?’