by Nicole Ellis
“Uh, is your husband coming in?” Gretchen said to the back of her head.
Charlotte closed the door. “Sorry, I couldn’t hear you, what did you ask?”
“The man you’re with, is he coming in?” She looked back toward the front door. “Should we wait for him before I show you the rest of the house?”
“No, we’re fine.” Charlotte opened up a closet and nodded approvingly. “There’s a surprising amount of storage space in this house.”
“The closets upstairs are roomy too. Let me show you the two bedrooms upstairs.”
They walked up the stairs and she pointed out the bathroom and the bedrooms.
Charlotte ran over to the street-facing window and looked outside. “I love this. You must spend so much time just staring out at the ocean.”
“Not as much as I probably should,” Gretchen admitted. “You live here long enough and you start to take things for granted.”
“I don’t think I ever could. My family is from Haven Shores, but we live closer to the center of town than to the ocean.”
Gretchen shrugged and gazed out the window at the expansive ocean. A ship drifted across the horizon on its way to the next port. At this time of the evening, the sun resembled a giant fireball sinking into the water.
“It’s getting dark,” Charlotte remarked. She turned to Gretchen. “I love the house. Do you have a rental application I can fill out?”
“I have the paperwork downstairs in the kitchen.” They returned to the kitchen and Charlotte sat down at the table to fill out the rental application.
Someone knocked at the door. Was it the mysterious husband? How was he not interested in the house he’d be living in?
Gretchen flung open the door and greeted the man, who had his back turned to her. He turned around and her mouth gaped open.
“Parker?”
“Gretchen,” he said with surprise. “It’s nice to see you. I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to call you.”
She could see why he hadn’t called. Parker was married? To Charlotte? She couldn’t even hate Charlotte because she was so nice. But Parker? She could hate him plenty. What kind of married man took another woman out on a date? A cad, that was for sure.
“Nice to see you,” She managed to say through her shock. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“Well, Charlotte wanted to see the house, but I didn’t know you were the landlord. What a coincidence.” He looked around. “It’s a beautiful house and piece of property.”
“Feel free to look around. Charlotte is in the kitchen,” she said. “I need to get something out of my car, but I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Gretchen...” he said.
The blood in her ears roared, making her deaf to his words. She didn’t know whether to cry or scream at him. The best plan was to not make eye contact with him.
She led him into the kitchen. Without turning around to face him again, she exited out the back door towards the carriage house and her car. Once safely outside, she took a deep breath. It wasn’t like she was highly invested in a relationship with Parker, but she’d thought they had something special.
Sheesh, what kind of bad luck did she have? She looked back toward the house. He stood like a statue at the window, staring at her. She averted her eyes and walked to the car. Reilly barked when he heard her approach the carriage house. She ducked her head inside to shush him.
Outside, she rummaged around in the car and contemplated her options. She could accept Charlotte and Parker’s application and then lease the house to someone else. After all, she had several other prospective tenants who wanted to see the property the next day. That seemed a much better choice than to have to see the couple every day and run the chance of running into him in their shared backyard.
But, as a real estate professional, she couldn’t in good conscience turn them down simply because she thought Parker was a cheating jerk. That wasn’t a legal reason to refuse housing to someone—although it should have been. She’d have to accept the application and evaluate it fairly along with those of the other applicants.
She slammed the car door with a resounding bang and returned to the house.
“So, did you decide to apply for the house?” she asked the couple. To her ears, her voice was bright but hollow. She did her best to avoid looking at Parker.
“Here’s the completed application.” Charlotte handed her the form, which she’d filled out in bubbly blue handwriting. “Thanks so much. When do you think you’ll make a decision?”
“I’ll notify you tomorrow afternoon. I’m showing the house to two other applicants tomorrow morning. I’ll need some time to run the credit checks and make a decision.” She guided them toward the door. “Thank you for your application.”
Parker gave her an odd look and then walked down the steps toward the car.
Charlotte looked longingly at the house and then waved at her. “Talk to you tomorrow,” she said. “Thanks again.”
Gretchen watched them get in the car and drive away. The sky was darkening. She looked at her watch. Almost six o’clock! They had stayed longer than she’d expected. She’d promised her friends that she’d meet them at Pete’s Pizzeria for dinner at six. She ran back into the house, applied some lipstick, grabbed her coat, and set out to meet her friends. For once, she had a good story to share with them. They’d never believe it. Her stomach twisted. She wouldn’t have guessed Parker would turn out to be a liar like all the rest of the men she’d dated.
5
“You’re kidding me.” Dahlia set her glass of wine on the table and stared at Gretchen. “So this guy was married? Seriously?”
“I know.” She sighed. “It’s like I’m a magnet for lying jerks. You never met him, but the last guy I dated wouldn’t win any prizes for boyfriend of the year either.”
Maggie nodded. “Sorry Gretch, but I’ve got to agree. Chuck was a jerk. I still can’t believe he cheated on you with someone he met at the gas station.” She sipped her beer daintily. “I thought this guy had potential though. He seemed really into you.”
“I guess appearances are deceiving,” Gretchen said. A waitress wound her way across the room and set a Pete’s Deluxe pizza down in front of them.
“Let me know if you girls need anything else,” the waitress said.
“Thanks, Reba,” replied Maggie. She eyed the pizza hungrily. “Yum.” She pulled a piece of pizza off the pie and slid it onto her plate. Gooey mozzarella cheese trailed from the pizza tin all the way to her plate.
“Oh my gosh,” Gretchen said. The aroma of the pepperoni and Italian herbs mixed deliciously in the air and her stomach rumbled. “This looks fantastic. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” She thought she’d lost her appetite after seeing Parker with Charlotte, but it had returned full force. She wanted to tell her friends about the call from Martin, but she didn’t want to monopolize the conversation. It could wait until later.
“So what about you two?” Gretchen asked. “How is everything going? Any news?”
Dahlia’s eyes danced. “Actually, I do have some news.” She pulled her left hand out from underneath the table and held it out to them.
Maggie and Gretchen squealed when they saw the princess cut diamond on her finger.
“He proposed?” Maggie grabbed her hand to get a better view of the ring.
“When did this happen? How long have you been keeping this a secret from us?” Gretchen’s mouth twitched as a smile threatened to break through her mock glare.
“Relax! It just happened last night,” Dahlia said. “I didn’t even tell my parents until this morning.”
“How did he propose?” Maggie asked, releasing Dahlia’s hand. “We want all the details.”
“He took me to dinner at Lilian’s in Haven Shores to celebrate the anniversary of the first time we met. He gave me a bouquet of red roses and had arranged for us to have the best seat in the restaurant, with a view of the ocean. I thought that was romantic in it
self, and then halfway through the meal, he got down on one knee and proposed.” She beamed at the memory.
“I want to see the ring now,” Gretchen said.
Dahlia shoved her hand across the table to let her get a closer look at the ring. “It’s beautiful, right?”
“Gorgeous,” Gretchen agreed, holding Dahlia’s hand. The white gold shone as she twisted the ring to examine it.
She wanted to be happy for her friend—correction, was happy for her friend—but a little part of her was jealous. She tried to push the thought away. One of her best friends was getting married and was obviously in love.
“Of course, you guys are going to be my bridesmaids,” Dahlia said.
They grinned.
“Yay! I’m so excited for you,” Maggie said. “With the exception of Alex’s birth, my wedding day was the best day of my life.”
“When’s the wedding?” Gretchen bit into her pizza and looked at Dahlia.
“We’re thinking about having it in early December. I want to be able to take a honeymoon, and that wouldn’t be possible if we get married in summer. The bookstore is way too busy to take time off during prime tourist season.” Dahlia rotated her hand and admired the way her ring sparkled in the overhead light. “Candle Beach will be decorated for the holidays and maybe we’ll even have snow. I’d love to have snow in our wedding pictures. I’m thinking red or violet dresses for the bridesmaids?”
Maggie nodded in approval. “You’ll have gorgeous pictures, especially if there’s snow.”
“It sounds beautiful,” Gretchen said.
“You’ll be a perfect bride.” Maggie reached for another slice of pizza.
“I thought about not having a big wedding celebration since this is my second marriage, but Garrett insisted. He’s a romantic at heart and wanted a big wedding.” Dahlia shrugged. “I’m excited too. I know Garrett’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, so why not have a formal wedding?”
Gretchen’s heart panged. With her luck with men, would she ever experience the happiness that was written all over Dahlia’s face? Not that she’d had plans to marry Parker, but how could she have been so wrong about him? They’d seemed to have a very real connection, but she’d obviously missed some major red flags.
The waitress came by to deliver their check. It was now or never to share her good news.
“I had something else...” she began, but was interrupted by Maggie’s phone ringing. She stopped talking to allow Maggie to answer it. Maggie chatted with the other person for a minute and her tone became concerned.
Maggie hung up and dropped some money on the table.
“I’ve got to go get Alex from my mom’s house. She said he’s running a slight fever. Probably something he caught at school.”
“Oh, I hope he’s okay,” Dahlia said. “I heard there’s a stomach bug going around.”
Maggie made a face. “I hope it’s only a twenty-four hour thing. Last time he had a stomach thing it lasted for five days. Poor kid. Ugh. I’m not looking forward to tonight.”
“If you need me to bring you guys soup or orange juice or anything, let me know,” Gretchen volunteered.
“Thanks girls, I appreciate it. I’m sorry I have to jet. I always love getting out of the house and spending time with adults.” She leaned in to hug Dahlia. “I’m so happy for you and Garrett.” She waved goodbye and left.
Well, at least she could share her good news with Dahlia. Gretchen turned to her, but Dahlia had pulled her wallet out of her giant purse.
She fished around in her wallet for some cash and paid her share of the bill. “I’ve got to run too. I promised Garrett I’d go with him to tell his mom tonight about our engagement.” Her face flushed with joy. “I’ll see you next week at dinner?”
Gretchen nodded and Dahlia left her alone at the table. She nursed her drink and stared at the last piece of pizza. Oh well, she thought. Might as well eat it. She wished she’d had a chance to tell her friends about the real estate developer’s phone call. It would have to wait until she saw them next. She finished her food, paid the bill, and left.
Gretchen sat at her desk in the Candle Beach Real Estate office and stared at the rental applications for her house. She’d run credit checks on the two parties she’d shown the house to that morning and the news wasn’t great. There was no way they’d beat Charlotte and Parker’s application based on credit history alone.
Oh well, she could hope some other red flag popped up in their credit check. She sighed and pulled the couple’s application out of her file folder. She scanned the information Charlotte had filled out. Parker’s information wasn’t on the form.
She called the listed number. “Hi, Charlotte?” She tapped the desk with her pen.
“Yes, this is she.” A car honked in the background on Charlotte’s end of the call.
“This is Gretchen, the owner of the house you looked at yesterday.”
“Oh yes, did you make a decision yet?” Her eagerness came over the phone line. “I’m really interested in your house as I’d like to move to Candle Beach soon.”
“Not yet. I had a question about your application.” Ugh, she really wished she didn’t have to go through all this. She’d rather forget Parker existed.
“Sure, what about?”
“Well, I don’t see your husband’s information listed on the application. I need all prospective tenants to provide their information so I can fairly assess the applicants.”
“My husband?” Charlotte said. “I don’t have a husband.”
What was she talking about? She didn’t have a husband? Gretchen’s mind spun. “Parker. Isn’t he your husband?”
Charlotte snorted. “Oh, no. Parker’s my brother. He came along with me for moral support, not that he was very helpful while we were there. He lives in a condo in Haven Shores and doesn’t have any plans to move. It’s just me.”
“Oh.” Gretchen was quiet for a moment. She’d been awfully cold to Parker when he was at her house because she’d misunderstood the situation. “Uh, I’ll run your information and let you know about the house within the hour. Sound good?”
“Sure, thank you,” Charlotte said brightly.
Gretchen hung up the phone. Had she blown it with Parker? Maybe she didn’t have as bad of luck with men as she’d thought. The credit check revealed Charlotte to be the best of the three potential renters. She called to tell her the good news.
Before she hung up, Gretchen asked, “I know this is odd, but would you mind giving me your brother’s phone number?”
“Sure,” Charlotte said. “It’s not really odd. Women ask for his number all the time, but I think you’d be good for him.” She rattled off the phone number before Gretchen had a chance to explain the situation between Parker and herself. “Hey, I’ve got to go, but I really appreciate you letting me rent your house.”
“Of course,” she said automatically. “I’ll be in touch about a move-in date.”
“Thanks.” Charlotte hung up.
As soon as Gretchen ended the call with Charlotte, she ran home to call Parker. With her nosy co-workers on the other side of her cubicle wall, she didn’t want to make such a personal call in the office.
She leaned against the railing on her front porch and dialed his number. The phone rang a few times and then went to voicemail. She hung up without leaving a message. She sat down on the flowered cushion of the wicker porch swing. Well, she’d tried to make amends. Her stomach twisted with more disappointment than she expected to feel. She pushed the swing back and forth a few inches. What was her next move? At this point, should she try to call him again, or drop it completely?
The quiet movement of the swing brought out the scent of the magnolias growing next to the porch. She inhaled the flowery aroma and exhaled slowly to quell her rising anxiety. She was getting too wrapped up in this.
A few minutes later, her phone vibrated its way across the swing cushion. She stared at the screen as if it were an alien life fo
rm. It was the same number she’d just called—Parker’s number.
“Hello.” She tapped her fingers on the wicker arm. She’d wanted to talk to him, so why was she so nervous?
“Hi.” He sounded perplexed. “I got out of the shower and saw you’d called. I didn’t expect to hear from you again. Yesterday you acted like you wanted to forget we’d ever met.”
Before she could stop herself, she imagined him standing with his phone pressed to his ear and wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist. Her heart beat faster.
“Uh, yes. Sorry about how I treated you at the house yesterday.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No, it was me.” Gretchen laughed nervously. “It’s actually kind of a funny story.” She paused. The circumstances suddenly seemed much more awkward than funny. “I thought you were married.”
“Married? Why would you think that? We went out on a date.”
“Well, you showed up at my house with Charlotte and the two of you were looking at the property together.”
He laughed. “You thought I was Charlotte’s husband? No wonder you gave me the cold shoulder.”
“She never said you were her brother, and I just assumed.” She sighed. “I’m really sorry about the misunderstanding.” She hesitated and then pushed forward. “Would you be willing to let me make it up to you? We could have dinner tomorrow, my treat. I could come to Haven Shores if you’d like.”
“I can’t tomorrow night,” he said. “I have a business meeting.”
“Maybe Saturday night?”
“I’m sorry, I have another commitment on Saturday.”
Her stomach sank. She’d screwed up any chance with him. Charlotte had said women asked for his phone number all the time. He probably already had dates scheduled with beautiful women for every night this week.
“That’s okay. I understand,” she said stiffly. “Please accept my apologies for my behavior yesterday.” She pushed herself up from the swing, opened the front door, and let it bang closed behind her as she entered the living room.
“I can’t on Friday or Saturday because I have work commitments, but how about tonight?” he asked. “I’m free tonight.” His deep voice sent chills up her spine, stopping her mid-way through the living room.