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“Plenty, actually.” I rubbed my neck sheepishly. “At the beginning, all I could afford was stuff farther out in Greene County. A couple of small multi-families that we flipped for rental income. But it took a while to save up for places in town. Especially because we set rents below market value.”

“So it’s not just about stability.” She glanced at me.

“Pardon?”

“If it was about amassing cash, you’d milk these rental properties for all they’re worth.”

“If I can charge below market and still make a profit…doesn’t seem fair to rob these poor renters. It adds up to be more than enough, all in.”

“Is that all?”

I shrugged. “Everyone deserves a safe home…and I care about this place. This feels like a small way to give back: if we can keep rents reasonable for locals and small businesses, it keeps Valemont from getting completely gentrified by those Atwood yuppies.”

Tess nodded, a small smirk playing at her lips as her gaze returned to my computer. As her focus intensified, she leaned close to me — closer than I think she realized. I could feel her soft breaths against my shoulder, hear the subtle gasp as her eyes flicked from my potential investments wishlist up to the open tabs on my browser.

“557 Johnson? That’s…”

“Lola’s building.” I inclined my head, fingers flexing over the keyboard.

“But Carl owns it. Why…?”

“Just doing some research. For now. Men like him don’t deserve to own property. They have no respect for their tenants…”

When I turned to meet her eyes, I was startled to find that mere inches separated our faces. My instinct was to recoil and give her some space. But one chuckle from those beautiful lips, and I was frozen in place.

Those sparkling blue eyes broke something inside of me open. It felt like she could read me with a single look.

Usually, my thoughts were so loud: always scheming, always strategizing, always worrying. But this close to her, the voices sort of just… stopped. Logic faded away, replaced by an overwhelming urge to be closer.

My eyes dropped down to her softly parted lips, which broke into a smile under my gaze. I knew what it was like to claim them, to press down on them greedily, to use them hungrily.

But what would it be to let my walls down? To let the shield of my lust fall away and give in to the tender emotions underneath?

“What are you thinking about?” Tess asked, her voice like honey.

“That I should have come looking for you earlier. That every second I’ve spent away from you has been an utter fucking waste.”

As the admission slipped my lips, a pulse of energy passed through my chest. No matter how hard we tried to fight it, we were two comets that had always been on a collision course. But maybe it didn’t have to end in destruction. Maybe that’s how stars were born.

I leaned in closer, giving in to the undeniable need to be near Tess. But just before our lips could meet, a meow startled her. She flinched, nearly clashing our teeth together as Butch jumped into her lap.

“Jesus, Butch.” I growled.

But Tess just smiled, scratching between his ears. “I’m sorry, were you not getting enough attention, sir?”

And as if the interruption wasn’t bad enough, the motherfucker curled up in her lap, giving his tail a boastful flick as he blinked at me.

As quickly as it had arisen, the moment was gone. I tried not to sulk as Tess turned her attention to the cat. It was for the best, anyway. As long as Rubin was running around Valemont, we didn’t need this situation getting any more complicated.

Even the fucking cat can see that this is a bad idea.

Sinking back into the couch, I turned my eyes to the TV. With the main drama of the episode passed, the contestants stood around a massive fire for the last recoupling. This time, the women would pick their partner for the finale, which meant that the last man standing single would be dumped.

“Come on…” I muttered, shaking my legs as the other women wrapped up their selections. The final choice was on Bethany: keep Chad around, or go for a friendship couple with John.

I held my breath as she stood in front of the two of them, rolling her shoulders back and delivering her final verdict. “Tonight, I’m not choosing a man. I’m choosing me. Chad, I can forgive the mistakes you’ve made while you’re here, but I can’t forget them. And I hope you don’t either. John, I think you’re a wonderful guy, but the spark isn’t there for me. So that being said, I’ve made my decision… to go home single.”

“What?” I shot up, totally shocked by the decision.