This place meant the world to her, and he was the monster who’d come to tear it down.
CHAPTER
21
Dread churned in Karly’s gut as she watched Hudson stride out of the agency, leaving her to deal with her grandfather’s unbridled enthusiasm. There was no doubt: Pop wanted to sell. So where would that leave her?
‘That’s an impressive young man,’ Jem said, taking a sip of coffee and eyeing her speculatively. ‘But by the expression on your face, you’re not convinced.’
‘You know how I feel about selling, Pop. I haven’t hidden it.’
The amused twinkle in his eyes faded. ‘No, you haven’t, and I appreciate your honesty, honey. But you know my thoughts and I want to move ahead with this sale.’
She sighed, wishing there was something she could do to stave off the inevitable. ‘He said we had until the end of the week. Can you at least wait that long?’
‘Why? It’s not going to change anything.’
‘I know, but Roger might not be able to read over the offer so quickly, and it’s good not to rush into these things.’
Considering the local octogenarian lawyer didn’t have a huge influx of clients in a town this size, he’d probably assess the offer in a jiffy, but Karly was clutching at straws to delay the inevitable and she knew it.
‘Okay, fine, we’ll wait until Friday to give him our final answer,’ Jem said, eyeing her as if he expected her to burst into tears any moment. ‘I wish there could be a different outcome, but it’s the only logical solution.’
Karly nodded because the lump of regret welling in her throat made speaking difficult. Pop selling might be a sound business decision but that meant diddly-squat to her, shattering her dreams of one day being her own boss and carrying on a family tradition.
Hudson had appeared magnanimous in offering her a job but she knew it wouldn’t be the same, working for some corporate suit who would probably want to micromanage her. Unfair? Maybe, but with his excellent presentation still reverberating in her head she wasn’t in the mood for logic.
She stood and headed for her desk, needing to get out of here before she started bawling. Considering she had to be in Serenity in thirty minutes—true to his word, Hudson’s presentation hadn’t taken more than half an hour—she didn’t want to ruin her makeup. She’d gone all out that morning, determined to present a professional front. And by the admiration in Hudson’s heated gaze, he’d noticed. She’d been equal parts thrilled and annoyed: thrilled he’d appreciated her appearance, annoyed at herself for caring what he thought of her.
As she picked up her handbag, Pop laid a hand on her shoulder. ‘It’s going to be okay.’
She turned to face the man who’d given her so much, the man who’d raised her, the man she could depend on. Concern accentuated the wrinkles under his eyes and she forced a smile, knowing she had to give him something to placate him. ‘I hope so, Pop,’ she murmured, pressing a brief kiss to his cheek before bolting for the door as fast as her heels could carry her.
Karly needed chocolate. Badly. Something sweet and gooey to stop the gnawing in her gut. She knew all the cacao in the world wouldn’t kill the churning nerves but she had to try something before she headed out to meet with Xia to finalise putting the house on the market.
Nev always made extra double choc brownies towards the end of the week and those decadent squares of goodness often sold out by late morning. Hoping that wasn’t the case today, she entered the Vegan Vault and was relieved to see a small stack still displayed in the front cabinet.
However, her relief was short-lived when she spied something far less appetising at a nearby table: Hudson, demolishing one of the brownies she’d been craving.
‘Why do you need chocolate? Or is it your go-to victory treat?’
As if sensing her brittleness, he edged out the seat opposite his with his foot. ‘Join me.’
She’d rather eat sand, but as Nev breezed out of the kitchen, caught sight of her and raised an eyebrow in the direction of Hudson, Karly knew if she absconded Nev would make a big deal of it later and assume there was more going on between her and the enemy than there was.
‘Give me a sec,’ she said to Hudson before heading to the far end of the counter, relieved when Nev followed.
‘You okay? You look a little pale.’ Nev, intuitive as ever, lowered her voice. ‘Does he have that much of an effect on you?’
Hell yes, not that she’d ever admit to it. ‘I just need a chocolate fix.’
‘One of my cure-all brownies coming up.’ Nev snapped her fingers. ‘Do you want another coffee too?’
‘No, just the brownie, thanks.’ She didn’t have the heart to tell her friend she’d barely sipped the coffee she’d bought forty-five minutes earlier because she’d been too sad during Hudson’s presentation.
‘Eating in or to go?’ Nev sent a pointed look in Hudson’s direction. ‘If it was me, I know what I’d do.’ Her eyebrows wiggled. ‘Chocolate andthat? Oh my.’
For the first time all morning, Karly smiled. ‘I haven’t got long but sure, bring it over there.’