CHAPTER
30
Like a sappy heroine from a romcom, Karly watched Hudson walk across the garden towards the granny flat, hoping he wouldn’t turn and spy her peeking out the blinds. He didn’t but her relief was short-lived when she saw Pop arrive home and start chatting with him. She was so caught up in wondering what her grandfather would think of Hudson creeping out of her house at dawn it took her a full minute to realise Pop had been out all night and was just getting home himself.
Good for him. He’d never dated when she was growing up and when she finished school it made her feel guilty to think he’d sacrificed so much of his life for her. She didn’t remember her parents at all and while he didn’t talk about them often, whenever she asked a question about her folks, he’d answer her. He didn’t have a lot of photos lying around the place and she assumed it was too painful, but he’d given her a framed photo of Janie and Christopher—her mum holding her, her dad with his arm around her—on her twelfth birthday and she treasured it.
As she watched Hudson head towards the granny flat and Pop go inside, she realised how selfish she was being. Pop was right. Selling the agency was his opportunity to have a life far removed from Acacia Haven if he wanted and she couldn’t begrudge him that. Not that it made it any easier to swallow but she had to, for his sake.
She’d arranged to meet Hudson out the front at seven-thirty, giving her plenty of time to shower, dress and talk some sense into herself.
What was she thinking, taking a day off to spend it with him?
He’d be leaving tomorrow, so going for a romantic stroll along the beach or having lunch at a cosy boutique pub a few towns over wouldn’t change facts. She should cancel and try to forget the monumental night they’d spent together.
The way he’d made her feel … she groaned and flung an arm across her eyes. Yeah, like that would block out the erotic memories. They both may have stipulated last night was casual, but him asking her to spend the day with him and her agreeing implied it had meant more than either of them had anticipated.
Her mobile rang and she snatched it up, hoping it was Pop needing her for an urgent listing at the office. However, it was Summer’s name on the screen and she wondered if her friend wanted the lowdown on her evening with Hudson before realising her friend would never call this early for something so trivial.
She answered the call, hoping this wasn’t bad news. ‘Hey, Summer, what’s up?’
‘Sorry for calling so early, Karl, but I’ve got a bit of news and I thought you might want to hear it.’
‘Oh my god, you’re pregnant.’
Summer snorted. ‘Not bloody likely; it’s only been six months and you know me, I never jump into anything.’
Karly refrained from saying her friend had jumped into living with a guy she’d known for five weeks. ‘What’s this news?’
‘I was talking to Mum and Leo last night, and they mentioned something really interesting. Apparently, Mum wants to sell the shop to Heidi, but Leo knows how much this town means to her, so he wants to invest in real estate or whatever.’
‘Sure, get him to call me and I’ll arrange to take him around once he sees what’s on our books.’
‘You’re not understanding me, babe. If he wants to invest in something, and you want to buy Jem out but can’t afford to, could this be an option?’
Shock made Karly’s hand shake and she almost dropped the phone. ‘Do you think he’d be interested in something like that?’
‘He sounded pretty positive about investing in real estate or a local business when we talked last night, and while I haven’t mentioned anything to him about the agency because I wanted to run it past you first, I think it could be a win-win.’
‘Wow.’
Stunned, Karly exhaled a long, deep breath. Miracles like this didn’t happen to her. If she had a genuine shot at saving the agency … her fatalistic acceptance in letting the place go was instantly superseded with a vision of keeping it in the Vogel family. Either Leo could be a silent partner and let her have carte blanche in managing the agency how she saw fit, or maybe he’d loan her the capital so she could own it outright? That would be a dream come true. Sure, she’d still be in debt, but perhaps they could work out a better interest rate and repayment schedule than the bank would offer?
‘Mum and Leo are coming up this weekend so perhaps you can tee up a meeting then? I can give him your number if you want?’
‘That’d be great.’
‘No worries. Gotta dash.’
‘Thanks, sweetie. I owe you one.’
Summer made a pfft sound. ‘By the way, anything happen with that hottie Hudson?’
‘Plenty, but I don’t have time to talk now. Brunch on the weekend?’
‘Deal.’ Summer gave an odd giggle, followed by a shushing sound that meant Jy had to be close.
‘I’ll leave you to it.’