The woman in her forties smiles brightly at me and seems awfully cheery. “Yes, I’m Katherine from the agency and just wanted to let you know that I’m setting up the sign now, so we should be getting some action quite soon.”
“Sign?” My face must seem perplexed.
“Of course, you can’t rent a house without the for-rent sign. It’s an essential to get traffic to view this place.”
Blinking my eyes a few times, I try to make sense of this. “Sorry, but did my landlord send you? She said she wasn’t thinking of selling until next year. Did she change her timeline? Normally she’s really good about talking to me directly. This is the worst possible time, right now.” Now I’m internally freaking out because this is too much to add to my current state of life.
Her smile drops and she begins to look confused. “The landlord? Well, I’m here because the landlord called and said she wants to rent out this address since it will be vacated soon. The paperwork initiating the process was signed yesterday evening.”
A skeptical laugh escapes me. “I assure you that I didn’t hand in any notice to leave last night. Hell, I’m not even sure I left my bed last night. You must have the wrong address.”
She grabs her phone from her big purse and immediately brings up a message that she quickly reads. “This most certainty is the correct place. Vaughn Madden wrote it down specifically in the email after speaking with the landlord on the phone who is down in New Mexico. He even got her to send over the paperwork via email.”
“What?” My curt response has me nearly spinning.
Before she can answer, I notice a car pull up to the curb. A fancy rental, with a guy in the driver’s seat that has a sharp jawline that I’ve enjoyed a time or two. We both watch Vaughn get out. I’m sure Katherine here is drooling and getting her panties in a twist. Vaughn is sporting a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that is tight enough to see the outline of his muscles. His hair seems to have a little gel, as his wave is swept back, and I’m not quite sure what the small box is in his hands.
He instantly smiles a welcome to our real estate trespasser. “Hey, Katherine, you beat me here. You go on, do your thing, and keep me posted. Isla and I need to talk.”
“Of course, I’ll be quick, as I need to go take down a sign over on Duck Road,” she greets him in passing.
I warily assess Vaughn, as I’m unsure what is happening or if I am still on planet earth. “Please explain.” My sharp tone hopefully informs him that I’m not impressed.
Vaughn is unfazed by my direct tone and strides straight to me before touching my arm to guide me inside. I quickly look back to see a sign getting hammered into my lawn.
That isn’t the kind of hammering I enjoy.
Vaughn kicks the door closed behind us, and I break free from his touch. “You’re leaving your house and moving in with me.” His tone is dismissive as we face one another.
I ogle my eyes at him as an electric shock seems to hit me. No words can express this bombshell demand, because he isn’t asking, he’s ordering me.
He hands me the box with a fake sweet smile. “Here.”
Examining the box, I’m torn between backtracking on what he just said or being happy. “I assure you, ice cream sandwiches are not going to solve this conversation.” That’s the road I choose; serious discussion.
His smug appearance has me worried. “Oh, you’re right on that, sweetheart.” The way he says sweetheart isn’t an endearing term, it’s a warning. “You kept the single most important news of my life from me, and I have every intention of rectifying that little judgement error, and you may or may not like what I have in store for you.”
My body straightens and again that swirl of confusion is on full flight through my body. A concern for what his decision may be, but damn, his word choice makes me hot and very bothered. I may be pregnant, but I’m ready to pounce on a little anger sex.
My glare is hopefully burning a hole through him; however, we have to put this aside. I indicate the sofa, and he nods once before going to sit down. I follow, holding the box of ice cream tightly, because despite what I said, I may need one to calm me down.
We get comfortable, and I’m waiting for him to begin. Not going to lie, I feel as though I deserve a lecture.
His head rolls to the side to look at me. “Here’s the deal, Isla. I’ve already missed enough thanks to your doing. I’m not going to miss any more, especially if the baby will be here before we know it. I heard you were looking for a new place to live, and I just so happen to have a house that I bought on a whim. Solution found.” His firm voice is far too cocky for me right now.
My face must be turning red due to irritation. “I’m sorry, okay? I should have told you no matter what. I've thought about it every day, trying to push my fears to the side. But you can’t just contact my landlord without asking. How do you even do that?” My voice cracks, because really? Howdo youdo that?
“Connections, and a promise of a financial bonus on her part. I’m fairly confident you will sign what needs to be signed to make sure you vacate like the good little tenant I’m sure you are.” His piercing gaze is chipping away inside of me.
“Vaughn, okay, Ihavebeen looking at houses because I will need more space. It’s not that I can’t afford a slightly bigger house to buy or with higher rent, it’s simply there isn’t much on the market here. People tend to rent out their three-bedroom homes for weekend and summer rentals,” I explain, as I don’t want him to get any ideas that I need to be saved. “Besides, I can make it work here for a bit, as the baby will sleep in my room the first few months.”
He holds a finger up as if he is going to correct me. “No, the baby can sleep in her own room inmyhouse where space isn’t an issue.”
I grumble a sound before opening the box of ice cream, not caring that it’s all going to melt. Ripping open a wrapper, I stuff a bite into my mouth. “I get the memo. You want to make me move as punishment, but just throwing a sign in my yard is a step too far and far too permanent,” I say with a full mouth as I chew, then I point at him with my free hand. "You know, before the baby news, I was a fun and spontaneous woman who would spend a night with hot hockey players," I begin my tangent.
"Players, plural?" he cuts in.
"Fine. You. Actually, you're the only hockey player. I've never done that before, but I am a spontaneous and fun woman. It's just when I found out I was pregnant that full-on mother bear mode kicked in. Roar.” I pretend to claw him with my hand not even in fun, I've gone psychotic.
