Tom is six years my junior, and practically my baby brother, but there’s nothing babyish about him.He towers over me and Joel Hummel at six-three, with broad shoulders, and muscles.
True to form, he doesn’t waste any time.Leaning into Joel, he growls, “Get the fuck out before I call the cops.”His menacing tone opposes the comfort I feel when he pulls me tighter.
Joel knits his dark brows, surveying how close I am to Tom.His gaze lingers for a beat or two on every place where our bodies are touching, and then, without dithering or even so much as a rebuttal, he walks out the front door.
He doesn’t rush or shake at Tom’s threat and I can’t deny I’m a little disappointed.Oh, how I wish Tom’s presence made him run, but his pace does quicken as he crosses the street to his car.He even peers over his shoulder once or twice to make sure no one is on his heels.
Still at Tom’s side, I look on as he tightens his hold and looms in the doorway, staring intensely at my jerk landlord until his car is out of sight.
“You okay?”He shuts the door behind him and peers down at me.
“Yeah.Thanks for coming.”
“Pippa’s texts were all caps and freaked out emojis.I put on my shoes and ran.What the hell happened?”
Tom rents a house three streets over with a group of friends.We see each other occasionally in the neighborhood and I’ve even dropped in on one of their frequent weekend get-togethers.
I fill him in on my creepy encounter with my landlord while he downs two bottles of water.“Shit, that’s fucked.”
“Hopefully he got the message.He can’t come over whenever he wants.”I shudder and his stare hardens, looking at me directly.
“Paige, he’s bad news.You should start looking for a new place to live.”
2
Zach
“No, it’s all right.Thanks, Gary.I appreciate the call.”I fall into my leather office chair and close my eyes at another missed opportunity.
“Mr.Rothwell, do you want me to keep looking?”
“Yes.”I struggle to keep my frustration in check.“The Azure looked great, had all the specs I wanted.Keep looking and we’ll talk soon.”
I stiffen, preparing for Gary to push me.This is the second property I’ve passed on without giving him any explanation and he’s busting his ass.If I were him, I’d be pissed and want to know why it looks like I’m wasting his time.
“All right, will do, Mr.Rothwell.Have a good afternoon, sir.”
Dropping my mobile on the desk, I stand and pivot to face the floor-to-ceiling windows.Gary’s a good guy and even with all I’m putting him through, he follows my orders and doesn’t challenge me, no matter how frustrating.
The view of the lake is calming, and the long streaks of glittering sunbeams paint the surface.Today is unseasonably warm for the last day of April and I suddenly wish I was anywhere but here.
There’s a brief rap on the closed door and I glance over my shoulder to see the very reason why I had to walk away from Gary’s findings.Again.
“Zachary, do you have a minute?”My grandmother doesn’t wait for a response, coming into my office and shutting the door behind her.
“Nan, of course.”I step away from the peaceful view, resigned to a day filled with work and meetings.
Meeting Nan in the middle, I bend to kiss her barely weathered cheek.Her familiar and heartening rose fragrance fills my nostrils.
“I’m glad I caught you.I’ve called you several times in the past day and you’ve yet to return my messages.”
At the age of eighty-five, the woman doesn’t look a day over sixty and has the mind of a thirty-year-old.And that’s why I’m still answering to her and not running our real estate empire.
I no sooner think it than feel like a piece of shit for doing so.When I was thirteen, my parents died in a plane crash and Nanette Rothwell, my father’s mother, stepped in to raise me.She’s the only parental figure I have and one of only two people left in my family.
“Sorry, I’ve been busy.”
Busy trying to avoid her because of her meddling in my plans for a new venture.We both know it and fortunately, neither of us is willing to say so.
