AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Property?” Darcy asked.
“Right.” I kept my eyes on her. “I want to see what’s available.”
“You’re thinking of moving back?” Liz asked. She was standing now, moving around to the side of her desk so she could perch on it. Though I answered Liz’s question, I kept my eyes pinned on Darcy.
“I’m thinking more of a commercial property. Something I could turn into a business.”
“A business?” Good, I had caught Darcy’s attention. I held back a smirk as I congratulated myself on drawing her into conversation.
“A recording studio,” I told her. “Liz is always complaining about how I don’t visit enough. If we had a recording studio in town, I could come here anytime I need to record music.”
Darcy seemed skeptical, as if trying to figure out if I was telling the truth.
“You won’t find any recording studios in Maplewood. Not in any of the surrounding towns, either.”
“That’s alright. I can renovate it. Some of the most famous studios were converted from other spaces. Could be a cool project. And it might even bring some other artists to town.”
“How exciting!” Liz said. “There are plenty of spots you could look at. A bunch of old factories and stores shut down ages ago and the owners don’t know what to do with them. We can look at some this afternoon—”
“I want Darcy to take me.”
This silenced Liz, and I watched my sister look between Darcy and myself. Slowly, she seemed to understand that something else was going on here. To Darcy’s credit, she didn’t seem shocked by my words. She only looked at me casually before dropping her eyes, still pretending that the contract on her desk required all of her attention.
“Liz usually handles our commercial buildings,” she said, dismissing me. I had no way of knowing if this was true, but I wouldn’t let it deter me.
“I’d like you.”
She looked up and stared at me, her gaze full of challenge and a hint of anger. I stared back, unwilling to back down. I needed Darcy to know who I was as a person, and if forcing her to show me real estate properties was the only way to do this, then so be it.
“No,” Darcy said.
It was a simple and decisive answer. I hadn’t expected an outright decline, but I wasn’t ready to give up.
“You wouldn’t turn down business, would you?” I asked. “Not when I have good money to spend.” I saw the hesitation on Darcy’s face. It would be impossible for her not to think about all that rock-star money sitting somewhere in my bank account. I knew Darcy was looking to expand into the next town, and I knew an all-cash offer from me might just seal the deal.
“Have Liz take you,” Darcy tried again. Her voice was conflicted, and I could tell she was losing steam. Still, I didn’t want to push my luck. If I was determined to show her I was a nice, down-to-earth guy, then I needed to start now.
“Look,” I said, getting closer to her so our conversation could be more private. “It’s just looking at some properties. It’s nothing more than that. And I love Liz, but if I take her along, she’ll spend the whole time trying to make my decision for me.”
“I can hear you,” Liz called out, and I glanced over to give her a rueful smile.
“I need someone objective,” I said, returning to Darcy. When I caught her gaze, I saw something shift there, a gentleness that was more in line with the Darcy I knew last night. The Darcy I held in my arms …
She stared back, and I saw the hint of hunger in her eyes.
“Fine,” she said. She stood up from her desk with a sigh. I watched as she carried the contract over to Liz’s desk.
“Deal with this,” she told Liz. She crossed back to her desk and grabbed her purse before opening her desk drawer to sort through what looked like dozens of keys. I watched her pick out the ones she wanted, dropping them one by one into her bag.
“Come on,” she said. Darcy squeezed her way through desks and chairs as she headed for the front door.
“Where?” I asked.
“You want to see properties, don’t you?”
Now it was my turn to be surprised.
“You want to go now?”
