She hoped so, too. It just wouldn’t be the fairy tale Letty envisioned.
No, it’ll be more like Four Weeks and a Funeral.
Chuckling, Jo unblocked Avery and sent the picture of the sad spray of lilies.
Jo: You should have saved this one for our last date. Enjoy the cookies. See you Tuesday morning.
Chapter Twelve
Jo’s rideshare pulled to the curb outside the first stop on the list of properties Avery had forwarded, along with the name of the Van Haven realtor who would show them around—Leighann Somebody.
For that reason, she was surprised to see Lincoln waiting on the sidewalk. Especially since he was one oftheVan Havens. His family made their fortune in real estate. They owned half of Texas and a good part of the U.S.
He stepped forward to open her door and held out a hand. “Don’t you look lovely this morning.”
“Thank you.” She accepted his help exiting the car, her cheeks warming, but not at the compliment.
She’d gone all out for Avery’s seduction. A butter-yellow wrap dress with spaghetti straps. High heeled sandals to emphasize her legs since he seemed to like them so much. And a white cropped cardigan to ward off the chill of early spring but easily removed when the moment got hot. She’d left her hair down and falling in waves to frame her face.
Looping her purse over her shoulder, she gave Lincoln a smile. “I didn’t expect to see you here. Avery said one of your realtors would meet us.”
“I need to get away from the office now and then to see the listings for myself, and Avery is a good friend. Where is he, by the way?”
“Something came up. He’ll join us when he’s done.”
Avery had texted earlier about a last-minute meeting and that he’d be late picking her up, so she’d called a rideshare andtold him she’d let him know where they were on the tour when he was free.
Lincoln tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow. “Shall we?”
“Actually, I can already tell you it’s not what I’m looking for.” The building was too big. The location was good, but the overhead alone would kill her profit margin, not to mention the cost to lease it. “But we can take a look. It might give me some ideas.”
As they walked the building, Jo shared her plans for the patisserie of her dreams to help him narrow down the list—small to begin her business, practical setup, and close to wedding themed shops but with other businesses to draw the general public.
Ten minutes later, they were back outside, Lincoln gesturing toward a sleek black BMW. “We’ll head on to the next site.”
As his hand fell away, she glanced sideways at him. Dark blond hair cut similar to Avery’s, blue eyes, sharp cheekbones, and a body reminiscent of his Viking ancestors. Yet her heart didn’t race, her palms were dry, and the butterflies in her stomach remained dormant.
Just thinking about Avery caused a riot of emotion swirling in her chest—excitement, lust, angst, fear, and something that skipped about so fast she couldn’t name it. Something that scattered her butterflies into a chaotic storm that drowned out her grandma’s warnings. Resisting him was like icing a cake in the middle of a hurricane. Futile.
“We’ll head deeper into Midtown.” Lincoln opened the car door. “There are several there that are closer to what you’re looking for.”
Once they were on the road, she opened her text thread from Avery to send him the address of the next showing. A message from him sat unread from around the time she’d climbed out of the rideshare.
Avery: Got out sooner than I thought. Leaving now. Wait for me.
Jo: The first site was a bust. We’re already on the move.
As she pressed the send button, another text popped up.
Avery: I’m here. Where are you?
She sent him the address as a flutter behind her ribs chased away the disappointment of just missing him and swarmed lower, stirring a kaleidoscope of sensation in her belly. Hopefully, he’d take care of those tonight. Assuming she could pull this off. She’d never tried to seduce a man before.
“How did you and Avery meet?”
Leaving her nervous jitters behind, she focused on Lincoln. “He didn’t tell you?”
“No, he didn’t actually tell us much.”
