‘Okay, hon, bye.’
It took Karly a full minute to realise she still had the phone pressed to her ear after Summer had hung up, shock rendering her immobile. To be given a second chance …
She had to talk to Pop, get him to hold off on selling.
Unless … She’d be spending the day with Hudson. What if she could convince him to give them some more time to come up with the required funds?
As she glanced at the old circular clock above the back door and saw she had to meet him soon, she knew she was deluding herself. In what alternate reality would a go-getter like Hudson Grenville renege on a deal he’d been pushing from the start on the off-chance she could achieve her dream of owning the agency?
Which meant she’d have to withhold the truth.
She didn’t approve of lying, but maybe if she got creative asking for an extension, technically it wouldn’t be so bad?
Only one way to find out.
CHAPTER
31
When Jem sent her a text a few hours after leaving her house, asking her to meet him at the agency, Heidi couldn’t contain her excitement. Would he shut up shop for an hour so they could have an early lunch? Or maybe he craved her hands on him the way she yearned for his?
Because that’s how he’d made her feel after last night—yearning for more. Did women her age yearn? She didn’t think so and especially not her. She was far too practical. But after he cooked her those sublime eggs and she spent the rest of the night in his arms, alternating between talking and cuddling, she definitely wanted more.
Maybe she was reading too much into this. Jem could be asking to see her because of the house sale. But his text had ended with a significantxand while it might’ve been foolish to pin her hopes on that one little kiss she couldn’t help it.
She needed someone to talk sense into her, but she dismissed reaching out to Meredith. Her new friend would tell her to clamber all over Jem, in what would probably be one of her least outrageous suggestions. Rayne would be a better option and, before she could second-guess herself, she called her friend.
Rayne picked up on the fifth ring. ‘Hey, Heidi, exactly the woman I wanted to talk to.’
Just hearing her friend’s soothing tone calmed her and she snuggled into the sofa, tucking her legs beneath her. ‘Great minds, huh?’
‘I’d planned on doing this face to face when Leo and I popped into town over the weekend, but I wanted to ascertain your interest first.’
‘Interest in what?’
‘How would you feel about buying the shop? Becoming outright owner?’
For someone embracing her independence, it would be a dream come true, but she could hardly believe that something she’d secretly hoped for could become a reality.
‘I would love it,’ she said, emotion making her throat tighten. ‘Are you sure you want to sell?’
‘Positive, Heids. My life is here now and you’ve been doing such an amazing job with managing the shop I know it’ll be in good hands.’
Heidi had been extremely proud of how she’d increased profit margins at the shop by twenty percent in the last six months. And to think she could have complete control of proposed changes she wanted to make to grow the business … she couldn’t believe it.
‘You don’t know what this means to me,’ she murmured, not surprised to find a tear trickling down her cheek. She’d been Bert’s wife for almost three decades, an adjunct to him and his boat repair business, the seemingly happy homebody who’d submerged her simmering dissatisfaction. Managing the shop had given her a new lease on life but to own it … it made her want to bawl or laugh hysterically.
‘I think I do, Heids. We both deserve to embrace our independence and I can see how you’ve blossomed these last six months.’
‘How? You abandoned me and I see you about once a month.’
Rayne laughed at her snideness. ‘Well, we’ll see each other on Saturday and we can finalise details then, okay?’
‘Sounds good.’
She wanted to say so much to her friend: how grateful she was that Rayne had forgiven her after she’d behaved like a prat when Noel left, how incredibly thankful she was they’d re-established their old friendship after being estranged for sixteen years. But she’d never been good with words, so she settled for a simple, ‘Thanks, Rayne. This means the world to me.’
Rayne, intuitive as ever, cleared her throat. ‘You’re welcome. See you Saturday.’