by Simply BWWM
“I do,” he said warmly. “I don’t say I want something unless I’m sure I do.”
The relief was overwhelming. She should have known that Jake only said what he meant, but she’d been burned in the past.
“I guess that you probably don’t want to move into my apartment.”
“If that’s what you wanted, I would be willing. Right now, I’m living at the Omni Hotel, so it doesn’t matter.”
“You’re not living at your parents’ house?”
“No. I can’t stand to go in there, and really, I’m a city boy at heart. My cousin, Tyler Berrington, has a cattle ranch adjacent to ours, and I worked out a deal with him. He’s going to run his herd on both properties, which will save on hay, and in exchange, he’s going to make sure the house is maintained.”
“Do you think you’ll ever go back?”
He shrugged.
“I’m not going to worry about that right now. If you don’t want to live in your apartment, then we can buy a place in town.”
“Just buy it?”
“Renting is a bad investment.”
“Alright. Is there a budget?”
He shrugged.
“Ten million?”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’m serious,” he laughed. “We’re going to land right before lunch. If you want to look at houses online and get a list, we can look at them when we land, if you want.”
“On a Sunday?”
“Yep.”
“Does your realtor have a website I need to look at?”
Jake smiled, then sighed.
“You find the houses and save the links, and I’ll send it to my realtor. By the time we land, she should be able to show us several houses.”
“Alright,” she said. “I guess I’ve been doing this the hard way my entire life.”
“Being a stay-at-home girlfriend is starting to sound better, isn’t it?”
“Don’t get your hopes up. I have big dreams, and they don’t involve sitting on my ass and looking pretty.”
“That’s too bad,” he laughed. “I would enjoy that.”
She shook her head, perusing the online listings on the plane’s laptop. She went through hundreds of pictures, discarding the houses that weren’t perfect and saving the ones that she really liked. Jake searched with her for a while, then left her alone to pick what she liked.
“I’m really indifferent. As long as it has an office and a nice master suite, I can live anywhere.”
“You might regret those words,” she teased.
He kissed her on the forehead.
“I doubt it. I have some work I need to wrap up really quick, so I’m not tied up tonight. Are you good here?”
“I am, but I already have ten houses lined up.”
“Line up a hundred if you want. I don’t think we’ll be able to look at more than two or three today, so try to rank them in some kind of order. I’m going to work in the master, so I can focus. If you need anything, ring the attendant.”
She watched him walk away, admiring his ass as he went. When the door closed behind him, she went back to what she was doing.
She decided to look for places close to Highland Park Village. If she couldn’t afford a storefront there, maybe she could convert part of the house into a salon near the quaint little shopping village. It wasn’t quite the same, but it was certainly a wonderful second best. He’d given her a budget of ten million. She was certain she could find something that would fit the bill and the budget.
Excited, she discarded the first group of houses, focusing only on the Highland Park area of Dallas.
The prices of the houses were shocking, but even more shocking was the luxury that each house boasted. There were fountains, courtyards and elevators, and some amenities that Deena had to look up to be able to visualize. Every last house was at least five bedrooms with as many bathrooms, and all within walking distance of Highland Park Village. She found seven in total, but she was in love with two of them.
They were on the same block, within sight of the shops at Highland Park, and with a little effort, they could revamp the first floor so that the great room was a salon instead. She was sure that she could convince him of her plan. If she couldn’t, then at least she would be able to save on the rent she wouldn’t be paying on the apartment anymore.
She could save every last penny she made at work, and when she had enough, she would buy her own dreams. She would have her salon, no matter what it took to get it. Anything worth having was worth the work, and she wasn’t one to shy away from hard work.
“You got this,” she said to herself. “You’re going to shine, Deena. Shine.”
She looked at the closed door and decided not to interrupt Jake. He was working so that he could devote the afternoon to house hunting with her. The least she could do was give him the space he needed. It was probably better to spring her idea on him while they were out looking for the perfect home. Then he wouldn’t have time to come up with a list of reasons why it was a bad idea.
She laughed to herself, adding one more house to the list, then saving the word document so she could give it to Jake when he emerged from the master suite. Until then, there was enough to do on the huge jet to keep herself occupied.
In the end, she decided to lay on the couch and watch television. But she was exhausted from a dreamy week on the beach, and she soon fell asleep.
***
Jake finished checking his email, then went to the door and listened without opening it. He could hear Deena typing away on the keyboard, clearly entranced in the errand he’d asked her to do.
Good, he thought. It wouldn’t do to have her overhear him. Deena had a sixth sense that made it almost impossible for him to hide even the smallest thing from her. If he believed in ESP, he would be certain that she could read minds. But he knew it was her natural street smarts, coupled with growing up a cop’s daughter. Half the time, she didn’t even realize that she was sizing a situation up until he pointed it out. It was an endearing quality, until it messed up his plans.
Satisfied that she was too far away and much too busy to overhear anything, he took out his phone and dialed through the plane’s server. A woman picked up on the second ring, obviously eager to receive his call.
“Is everything ready?” he asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“Perfect. Did you get what I needed?”
“I did. Are you bringing her here?”
“I am, but we’re going to look at some houses first. I don’t know how long that’s going to take, so be prepared.”
“Got it. Do you think she suspects anything?”
“No.”
“Alright. I just want to make sure it all goes off without a hitch.”
“It will. Just wait until you see me, got it?”
“Got it.”
Jake ended the call, looking at the clock and counting down the time until they would land. They had a little over ninety minutes before they would begin their descent. It was only a few more hours. Until then, he needed to stay calm and find a way to keep Deena from realizing something was up.
He walked out of the room, surprised to see the laptop abandoned.
Had she heard him? Where was she?”
He went to the front of the plane, hoping that she’d gone into the galley for some food, or had decided to watch a little television in the welcome room. He was not prepared for what he found.
She was stretched out on the sofa, the thin, chenille blanket from the back of the sofa tucked around her. Hands folded under her cheek, she looked so sweet and innocent. She really was so breathtakingly beautiful that there were times that Jake wondered if he was dreaming. But she was here, and she was quite real. She had a personality as big as Texas and a heart to match. He couldn’t figure out how she’d gotten this far without someone snatching her up, but it didn’t matter. That was all water under the bridge, and her life was about to change drastically.
He just ho
ped he could hold it together long enough to get through today.
He decided to let her sleep, closing the door behind him and going to the laptop. She’d saved her list to the desktop. He perused the listings, smiling at their location. She was dead set on living near Highland Park Village, and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She was feisty and resourceful, and he was sure she wasn’t going to make this easy on him. It was going to take everything he had to stay the course, but he could be just as stubborn as she was.
He sent the list to his realtor’s premium email and got a response back almost immediately. She would be able to show the properties by the time they landed and made the short drive from Love Field to the cluster of houses for sale in Highland Park. He thanked her, then placed a quick order, confirming that it would be ready by the time they landed. He wanted to make sure the night ended with a bang and that Deena was dressed for the occasion. He’d thought of everything, and he was certain that everything was going to go exactly as he planned.
He closed the laptop and stowed it, then decided to eat lunch. He wasn’t going to have time after they landed, and once they were on the ground, he knew he was going to be too nervous to eat while he waited for his plan to unfold.
He was finishing the last bite of his sandwich when he heard rustling behind him, and he knew Deena had woken up.
“Was I asleep long?” she asked.
He turned the chair, offering his lap and putting one arm around her waist when she sat down.
“Not too long. Are you hungry?”
“Yes,” she said, still rubbing her eyes.
“Turkey?”
“That sounds delicious.”
Jake used the recessed keypad on the dining table to order a turkey sandwich, then pushed his plate away and looked into her deep, soulful brown eyes.
“I love the houses you picked,” he said. “Corrine is my realtor. She’s going to meet us at the first house as soon as we land.”
“Did you get your work done?”
“I did,” he lied.
“Good. If we find a house we like today, are you just going to buy it?”
“Pretty much. Unless you’re not one hundred percent sure. If we look at all these and you don’t love one, we can hit it again tomorrow. There’s no hurry. I have my room at the Omni Hotel indefinitely, so there’s really no reason to rush.”
“I have to work tomorrow.”
“We can go when it’s convenient for you. Don’t worry. I’ve got everything under control. You just tell me which one you like the best, and we’ll go from there.”
“I can’t wait to show you these houses. Today feels like it’s the best day of my life. I don’t know how tomorrow is going to top it.”
She had no idea just how right she was.
*
As promised, Corrine was at the first house, ready to walk them through it.
“I hope we’re not disturbing the people that live here,” Deena said, nervous and excited all at once.
Corrine looked at her, one eyebrow arched ever so slightly in surprise.
“The houses are vacant. The clients have already moved into their new houses. Some of these will be staged with new furniture. If you’d like to keep the furniture, just let me know. I’ll add it to the price.”
Corrine walked into the house, leaving them to follow her.
“I think I already made it painfully obvious that I’m not rich,” Deena whispered to Jake.
His smile made everything right in her world, despite her faux pas.
“The best part about being rich is that you don’t have to care about those things,” he assured her. “People are going to judge every little thing you do. You get used to it, and you learn not to care.”
A laugh bubbled up out of her throat.
“I knew that. The less you care, the more power you have.”
“Exactly. So, the next time you say something that someone thinks is off, smile like you don’t give a damn, and then you do you.”
“I think my father would have liked you,” Deena said.
Jake stopped, and she knew that her words had touched him. He looked stricken, as if the weight of her words was almost too much to bear. She realized that his recent loss probably magnified everything so much, and she felt bad that they only had one living parent between them. Her mother would adore Jake, but she hadn’t even had a chance to call her mother yet. Everything had happened so fast she felt like she’d been swept up in a tornado. She couldn’t imagine how difficult processing everything would be for him.
His smile was soft and almost sad when he finally answered.
“My parents would have loved you too. More than you could ever imagine. My mom always wanted a daughter, but she could never have any kids after me.” He laughed. “I would have been the first only child in history to be his parents’ second favorite.”
She grabbed his hand, squeezing gently and looking into his eyes.
“I would have loved them.”
“How can you be sure?” he asked.
“Anyone who could raise a man like you has got to be good people.”
They finished the tour of the first house, which had been on the bottom of Deena’s list. They were working their way up, and with each house, they were getting closer to her favorite. She was still trying to figure out how to bring up her plan, but she was sure that it would come to her when the time was right.
“Corrine, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to look at another handful of houses before we get to the one that Deena and I both like the most,” Jake said when she pointed out the fourth house on their tour.
“Are you sure? Sometimes, they look different on the internet, and if you don’t like it, then you’ll know what everything else looks like.”
“Let’s look at the one we both love, and if it doesn’t meet our expectations, then we’ll look at the others.”
Corrine looked a little perturbed to be doing things a different way than she was used to, but Jake ignored her and smiled as if he fully expected her to just go ahead with his request. Deena was amused. She was going to have to adopt his technique. It would serve her well later, she was sure.
They took the short walk from Edmonson Avenue to Livingston Avenue. When Deena saw the second house from the corner, she knew that it was the one.
The Mediterranean Palazzo style home sat back from the street, a thick tree line providing a buffer between it and the road. Only the opening to each side of the circular drive was completely visible. It had the effect of feeling very secluded, even though she could see glimpses of the house through the trees.
There was greenery throughout the entire front of the house, perfectly manicured and matched to the style of the house. It looked like something out of a magazine, and they hadn’t even seen the inside.
“The floors are marble, tile, or carpet,” Corrine said, reading through the listing as they walked up the stairs in front of the house. “But the real gem is the entryway.”
She opened the wrought iron gate that served as the front door, and they walked into a small, marble-floored courtyard complete with a fountain, a small garden, and an outdoor patio. Deena couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. The pictures online didn’t even come close to doing this beautiful home justice.
The vaulted ceiling was insanely high, with skylights in the roof to make it appear completely open. Large, decorative fans kept the air moving, and hand-carved benches were strategically placed around the area.
She was ready to tell Jake that this was the one, and they hadn’t even seen any rooms yet. It was more beautiful than she ever could have dreamed.
“There’s another wrought iron gate at the back of the courtyard, which leads out to the backyard. This lot is good sized, so even though the house is almost six thousand square feet, it still has a large yard for a house in the city. The master suite is upstairs on the left side, which includes the largest bedroom, a nursery, a walk-in closet with his and hers
areas, and a bathroom with an elevated jacuzzi tub and a view into the courtyard below and the backyard.
The other side of the second floor has three bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. The bottom floor has the living room, dining room, kitchen, and guest room with its own bathroom as well as courtyard and backyard access. The office and half bath are off the living room. There is a total of six bedrooms, and that’s not counting the office. There are five and a half bathrooms.”
“Can we have a moment?” Jake asked.
Corrine nodded, leaving the room and going out onto the large patio.
“What do you think?” Jake asked.
“I love it. Love it.”
“You don’t look like you love it.”
She sighed.
“It’s not that.”
“Then, what is it?”
“Highland Park Village is right there. I can see it out the office window.”
“Right.”
“But the pictures were kind of misleading. It looked like I could set up a few salon chairs near the courtyard and work out of here, but that’s where the fireplace and a fountain are.”
“I hate to burst your bubble,” he said. “But you couldn’t do that anyway.”
“Why not?”
“This house isn’t zoned for a business, and there’s no street parking. There’s no way to put a salon in here, and why would you want to? It’s one thing to work from home sometimes, but would you really want your actual work in your home?”
“Yes,” she said, but she knew he was right. “No.”
“Alright, then. So, one dream at a time. Do you want this house?”
“I do.”
“But?”
“But I want a salon more. I’d rather have that and live in my apartment.”
“If you had your salon right now, would you want this house?”
“Do I have my salon?”
Jake looked exasperated, but Deena wasn’t giving an inch. She crossed her arms, and her hip popped out. She saw his eyebrow go up, and she knew that he was hearing her, even if she hadn’t said anything.
“Let’s take a break,” he said. “Why don’t we take a walk through the Village, and we can grab dinner at Bistro 31.”