There was an iron staircase on the side of the house that led to the upstairs apartment, and I had been talking as I ascended it. I slowed my pace because climbing and talking at the same time (combined with the unexpected nerves) had me struggling to catch my breath.
"So is the house yours, then?" he asked from behind me.
I could tell by the way he spoke that he was not winded at all, so I took a second or two to regulate my breathing before answering him. There was a small landing at the top of the stairs, and I smiled at him before unlocking the door.
"Yeah, it's my place," I said. "I live on the main level with my daughter and rent out the attic and basement apartments."
I held the door open so he could walk inside. It was a small, simple apartment with an adjoining living room and kitchen and a tiny bedroom and bath. I was right about this guy being way too big for this place. He seemed a little out of place in it, and I could tell by how he looked around that he couldn’t quite see himself living there.
"We updated everything when I bought the house," I said, trying to convince him to at least give it a chance. I walked around, turning on lights. "It was a single family house when it was first built, but it had already been broken up into apartments when I bought it. We remodeled all the bathrooms and kitchens, so everything's pretty new." I turned on the light over the sink and gestured around like Vanna White, trying to demonstrate how nice everything was. "And it comes with this picture," I said, smiling as I pointed to a little drawing that Shelby had hung on the fridge. She had been upstairs working on that while I was cleaning the apartment, so I hung it on the fridge when I was done. I glanced at him, and he smiled.
"Well, I wasn't really interested in renting the apartment, but now that I see this picture…" he trailed off, teasing me.
"The bedroom's right this way," I said, walking past him and feeling way too breathless and smitten.
"What's your daughter's name?" he asked as he followed me.
"Shelby. She's three."
"Is she your only child?" he asked, coming into the bedroom.
"I have a single bed in storage if you need it," I said, gesturing to the empty room. "I don't advertise the place as furnished, but I do have some extra furniture if you need it." I paused and smiled at him. "And yes, Shelby's my only child. Her dad was in the Army, and he passed away."
"I’m sorry to hear about your loss," he said. Our eyes met when he said it, and he gave me a sincere expression like he wanted to say something more but couldn't quite find the words. "You never remarried?" he asked.
"No," I said simply.
"Is it hard?" he asked.
"You mean raising her alone?"
I assumed he would be curious about the apartment instead of me, so I wasn't expecting to answer any questions about myself. I hesitated at first, honestly, but he was so sweet and handsome that I easily let my guard down.
"At times it is," I said. "But I've got a lot of support from my family. My mom and dad live two miles down the street and would drop everything and run over here if I needed them. Plus, Randy's right downstairs, and he's really sweet."
"Good," he said, nodding. "How about financially. Is the Army taking care of you?"
"I got a settlement when Seth died," I said. "He was new to the Army, so it wasn't a whole lot, but I'm fine. I have a job and everything." I gestured around us. "That's one of the reasons why I bought this house. Rental property is like having a second job. I put y'all's rent money toward the mortgage, and that helps a lot." I glanced at him and shrugged sheepishly. "Maybe I shouldn't admit that when I'm trying to get you to rent the place. I also do it because it's nice having people around."
"I think it's smart," he said. "For both reasons, actually. Have you ever had any problems with tenants?"
I shook my head, wondering why in the world he was so curious about me. It was weird. It honestly seemed like he just genuinely cared about me even though he didn't know me.
"So you work outside the home?" he continued.
I nodded. "Part-time," I said. "Monday through Thursday. I teach music at a little private school not too far from here."
"Does Shelby go with you?"
"My mom keeps her," I said. "I've had to bring her with me a couple of times, and it's not a problem, but my mom or some other family member is usually able to watch her."
"You're a music teacher, you're into real estate, and you've got your family right here to help you out if you need them," he said as of summarizing our last few exchanges.
I smirked at him. "Yes, but I thought I would be the one doing the interviewing."
"I think you're a strong woman, Jane," he said. "It must have been terrible losing your spouse."
I didn't identify with that word, and I smiled regretfully once I realized it. "I don't want to seem heartless or anything because I loved Seth, I really did, but it's just odd hearing you call him my spouse. We only knew each other for a couple of months, and then we made a last-minute decision to get married the day before he left for the military. I didn't get to know him much as a wife. I mean, enough to make Shelby obviously, but barely." I laughed, thinking back on how awkward things were between Seth and me. I had no idea how we managed to bring Shelby into this world. That was pretty much a miracle. "His parents live out in Arizona," I continued. "They're not a part of our life or anything. I've never even met them. I don't even think they believe me that Shelby's his. That's why I decided to go back to my maiden name."
"Yeah, but you still gave the girl her father's name," he said, referring to the fact that I had used Seth's last name as Shelby's first name.
I nodded, feeling only slightly confused that this guy seemed to know a little more than I was telling him. I thought maybe I had said more on the phone than I remembered. I went to the bathroom, turning on the lights so he could see inside, and trying to remember if I had told him everything I wanted him to know about the apartment.
"I play music," I said. "I do have a piano downstairs, but I practice on my keyboard mostly, so it's quiet. I make a little noise sometimes, but I won't keep you up in the middle of the night or anything."
"What kind of music do you play?"
"Blues and soul, mostly. My mom was a singer, and I guess I take after her a little. I'm not as good as her, but I enjoy it."
"I'll bet you are as good as her," he said. He smiled at me. This man was an All-American slice of wonderful.
"I'm really not," I said. "Maybe if I worked at it enough I could be, but Mom was serious about it. She recorded albums and went on tour and everything."
"Really? What's her name?"
"Ivy Bishop."
"Seriously? I've heard her music," he said. "My dad used to play one of her records when I was growing up. I don't remember the name of it, but I remember there was a motorcycle on the cover."
I smiled and nodded. "Broken Spoke. That was her first solo album."
"I can't believe that's your mom," he said. "I love that album. I love her voice. Can you sing like that?"
I smiled at his excitement. "I already told you I'm not as good as her," I said, teasing him.
"Let me hear something," he said.
His expression was completely serious and I looked around indicating that we had no musical instruments or stereos or anything. "Are you asking me to sing?"
"I am," he said, continuing to stare at me as if waiting.
There was an awkwardly long pause. We stared at each other for what must have been ten whole seconds before I spoke. "Are you seriously asking me to bust into a song right now?" I asked with a sideways stare at him. He grinned and nodded, which made me shake my head. "No," I said. "I'm not doing that."
"Why not? Are you scared singing in front of people?"
"No. I'm going to do it in front of a lot of people this weekend. You're welcome to come out to that if you want to hear me sing."
I was officially smitten. I not only wanted him to come to my concert, I wanted him to rent this apartment
.
"You have a band?" he asked.
"Yes—drums, bass, and guitar. I play keys."
"And you are the lead singer?"
"Yes," I said, still smiling at the fact that he seemed so amazed. "We're playing Saturday night at Natalie's, and then we have another gig coming soon at the fall festival. It's hosted by my uncle's church, but it's always a good time—games, and pumpkin carving, and all that good stuff."
I heard someone coming upstairs, so I stopped talking. It was a small apartment, and it was void of furniture or anything else to block the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. I turned to head toward the door, noticing that he followed me.
I expected Shelby or my mom to walk in the door, but instead someone knocked on it. I glanced back at him with a curious expression before crossing the living room to open the door. There was a young man standing there. He noticed my look of confusion and gave me an apologetic bow.
"You said on the phone that it was the upstairs apartment, so I assumed it was okay to come up here," he explained.
I continued to stare at him with a completely perplexed expression.
"Are you Jane?" he asked, now beginning to look confused. "I'm Greg. I was supposed to meet you at seven o'clock to look at the apartment."
Chapter 3
"I thought you were Greg," I said, quickly turning around to stare at the man I'd been talking to for the last ten minutes.
He put his hand to his chest. "Me? I'm Gray."
"I'm Greg," said the guy at the door.
I stepped back so I could see both of the men. "I thought you said you were Greg," I said, regarding the gorgeous one while wearing a slightly skeptical expression.
He shook his head and put his hands in the air in a pose of surrender. "I'm Gray," he said.
The two names were so similar that I was genuinely confused. "Wait," I said. "Which one of you did I speak with on the phone?"
"Me," the new guy said. I glanced at him, and then at the other one, wishing he would say it had been him. He just shook his head.
"I didn't speak with you on the phone. I just drove by and saw your sign."
I stepped back, still feeling so confused. "And your name's Gray?"
He nodded.
"Like the color?"
He nodded again.
"Did I call you Greg?" I asked, wondering why in the world he went along with it.
He shook his head. "I kind of guessed you thought I was someone else, but you didn't call me Greg or anything. Or if you did, I didn't hear you."
Greg cleared his throat from his place in the doorway. He had come inside and closed the door behind him while I was talking to Gray, and I didn't even notice.
"So, excuse me, are we still…" Greg asked somewhat awkwardly.
I turned to look at him and realized he was wearing an annoyed expression. I had always been a people-pleaser, so I reacted by instinct when I said, "Oh, yeah, sure. I'm sorry. It was just a misunderstanding, I think."
I glanced at the handsome one with a reluctant expression, and he looked at me before turning to take in Greg. The two men stared at each other for a few extremely awkward seconds. Greg was agitated and antsy while Gray stood still, watching him intently. "I like the place, and I can pay a year's rent in cash," Gray said.
"Seriously, man?" Greg said, throwing his hands up. He looked at me as if expecting me to step in.
"Yes, I am serious," Gray said. "I didn't see any reason for her to show you around if I've already looked at the place and have cash on hand."
My heart pounded.
Gray's demeanor had changed, and I realized he was cautious of the other man. "I had already basically promised the place to him before you got here," I said regretfully to Greg. "It was a misunderstanding, but I did basically promise him the place."
"Sorry," Gray said with a cordial but forced smile aimed at the other man.
"You have got to be kidding me," Greg said, staring back and forth from Gray to me.
"I'm sorry," I added.
Greg turned and went out of the door mumbling profanities. He slammed the door behind him before stomping down the stairs.
I glanced at Gray who lifted his eyebrows at the sound of the other man's temper tantrum.
"Thank you," I said. "I know you were just saying all that to help me out. You don't really have to take the place."
"Would you have given it to him if I hadn't been here?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No. With some people I can tell from over the phone it won't work out, but with others I can't tell till I meet them. I would have showed him around and just not called him back. No worries. I have someone else coming tomorrow morning to look at it, anyway."
"Don't you think you should call them and cancel since you already promised it to me?"
I gave him a knowing smirk. "You were just doing that to help me out. I could tell you weren't really thinking about living here."
"What makes you say that?"
"I could just tell," I said. "I could see by how you were looking at the place that you weren't imagining your stuff in here."
He glanced at me, and I smiled.
"You're right," he said. "I wasn't imagining my things in here. But I am now."
"You really don't have to," I said. "I know it's small."
"It's great," he said, looking around the living room as if considering moving in for the first time.
"Really," I assured him. "I have that other lady coming by tomorrow."
"What's the rent?"
"Two hundred, but it includes electricity and cable. I could do one-seventy-five," I added since, for whatever reason, I really wanted him to move in. Okay, so I knew the reason. He was a kind person. He was sincere and honest, I could tell that just from the short time we had spent together. He was also remarkably handsome.
"You can't go cutting people deals on rent," he said, shaking his head. "Two hundred's fair for this place—especially with the utilities. I'll get you a year in cash like I said. I can bring it by tomorrow if that's okay."
I nodded instantly. Any plans to see him again seemed good to me, and it was even better that they were as soon as tomorrow. "You don't have to pay me for a year, though, unless you really want to. I just ask for first and last month's rent, and a pet deposit if you have a dog. Do you have any pets?"
He shook his head. "No. Do you?"
I shook my head as well. "Shelby's dying for a puppy, but I'm just not ready for that right now. I mean, it's a lot just with her at this age. She's out of diapers now, and that makes it easier, but still, I have my hands full—too full for a puppy. I'll be ready to get one sometime. But until then, I wouldn't be upset if one of my tenants had a dog just so Shelby would have one to play with that I don't have to take care of."
"My mom's got a dog," Gray said. "I'll see if I can bring it over sometime."
"Oh, that would be great," I said. "Shelby would love that. Does your mom live close by?"
"No," he said. "My parents live up in Park Forest."
"Where's that?"
"Illinois. It's up by Chicago."
I laughed.
"I could still bring Roxy over sometime," he said. "I'll be spending most of my time back home in Illinois. I'm just getting this place for the times when I'm here."
"Oh, so, you're not going to live in Memphis full time?" I asked.
"Is that a problem?"
I shook my head. "Not with me," I said.
He smiled. "I figured as long as I paid the rent, it wouldn't matter if I was here or not."
"Yeah, but I just hate charging you if you're not going to be…" I trailed off, shrugging and shaking my head when I saw how he was smiling at me.
"Thank you, Jane," he said, holding out his hand to shake mine. "I'm thrilled about renting your apartment."
"You're welcome," I said. "Thank you… Gray." I added his name as an afterthought when it crossed my mind. "That's an interesting name."
"Its my mother's maiden name
."
"Like Shelby," I said. "A last name for a first name."
He smiled. "Sometimes they work for both."
I tried my hardest to think of what I should say next. I knew there was a lot I was forgetting to tell him about the apartment, but I couldn't really think straight when I looked at him. His chin was flat across the bottom with the slightest indention and I traced the bottom of it with my eyes before glancing up at his mouth. The shape of it was exactly perfect. It was hands-down the best mouth I had ever seen, and I made myself look away right after I laid eyes on it.
"I'll take you up on that bed if you don't mind," Gray said, pulling me from my thoughts.
I smiled and glanced at him again. "Not at all. I have some other furniture, too, if you need it. My mom always gives me stuff she's getting rid of. I don't have an extra couch, but probably just about everything else—a bed, a table and chairs, and a couple of bookshelves and stuff. My dad actually might have a couch at his shop that he's gonna be getting rid of. He and my brother would help me get any of that stuff up here if you can use it."
"That'd be great," he said. "I don't have any furniture in Memphis."
"What did you say you're doing here? Work?"
Gray shook his head, but he wasn't in a big hurry to elaborate.
I grinned. "Is it a secret?" I asked, looking at him out of the corner of my eye as if I was suddenly skeptical, which I wasn't.
Gray smiled and shook his head. "No, it's not," he said. "The truth is, I don't really know why I want to rent a place in Memphis. I'm surprising myself by doing it. I just drove by and saw your sign." He shrugged. "I'm sure I'll be in Illinois full-time, but I'm excited about having a place to hang my hat in Memphis if I want to come here to visit. I like it here. I think I'll check out the music and the food."
I stared at him not knowing what to say. "I'm fine with you doing whatever you want to do, but you really don't need to pay me for a whole year all at one time," I said. "I’m okay with going month-to-month."
He regarded me sincerely. "Trust me when I say it would make me happy. It would make me feel good to pay you for a year's rent."
"Why would that make you feel good?" I asked, when what I really wanted to ask was, what would someone like you want with a little apartment in a city where he doesn’t even live?
Maybe Memphis (Bishop Family Book 3) Page 2