The Billionaire's Kiss (The Sherbrookes of Newport Book 14)

by Christina Tetreault

  “Caryn’s taking her around, and you’re going too? I won’t need to call Sandy and give her an update on your relationship,” she said with a laugh. “The looking at houses thing is self-explanatory, but why is she looking at the dance studio?”

  What did they say about assuming things? Considering the time they’d spent together and their mutual love of dance, it had seemed natural Juliette would have shared her idea with his sister. Now that he’d let the cat out of the bag, he’d share what he knew and apologize to Juliette in case she hadn’t mentioned it to his sister for a reason.

  “She’s not only thinking about moving to the area, but she’s considering opening a dance studio in Avon. I don’t know any of the specifics. You’ll have to ask her.”

  “Next time I see her, I will. Right now, I’m heading up to bed. I’m subbing at the elementary school tomorrow.” Standing, Candace folded the throw blanket she’d been using and set it down on the sofa. “I’m glad you got your head out of your butt and went out with Juliette tonight. I knew you two would have fun together.”

  They’d already discussed how he’d been wrong. He didn’t need his sister to bring it up again. “See you in the morning. Have a good night’s sleep.” He didn’t see himself getting one. Nope, he expected he’d be replaying his evening and wondering what tomorrow would bring.

  Wide awake despite the time, Juliette pulled out her cell phone as she headed upstairs to her bedroom.

  I know you’re dying for the details. Call if you want to talk.

  After sending the text message off to Holly, she grabbed a clean pair of pajamas. Her nosy friend expected a full report about their night. Since she knew darn well she wouldn’t fall asleep if she got into bed, she needed a way to pass the time. A chat with Holly would satisfy that and her friend’s curiosity.

  Her cell phone rang before she added her jeans to the laundry hamper.

  “I’ve been thinking about you all night,” Holly said in lieu of a proper greeting. “Isn’t it a little early to be home already?”

  If they’d been in the city, perhaps their evening would’ve lasted longer. Instead of going back to her place after bowling, or whatever other activity they did after dinner, maybe they would’ve gone to one of her favorite clubs and spent time there before going back to her condo for drinks. Then again, perhaps not. She honestly couldn’t picture Aaron at any of the clubs she liked to visit.

  “Holly, did you forget where I am?”

  “True. At this time, only the movie theater is open, and even that will be closing soon. Did you have fun?”

  How should she answer Holly? The evening had been like no other date she’d ever gone on. At the same time, it’d been one of the best nights out she’d had in a long time, and not because she’d suddenly discovered how much she loved bowling. The evening’s enjoyment rested on Aaron’s shoulders.

  “Delightful.” She couldn’t recall ever using the word to describe a date, but it fit.

  “You found bowling delightful? Maybe you’ve been in Avon too long. I think you should consider coming back to the city this week and spending a few days here.”

  Driving back to New York City was the last thing she planned to do this week. “Knock it off. You love it here.”

  “In small doses. We can talk about that later. First, tell me what else you did besides bowl, and then I want to know what made your night with Aaron ‘delightful.’”

  She pictured Holly making air quotes. “We went for dinner at the restaurant you suggested. I found it a little odd that a retired teacher Aaron had in middle school waited on us. But he didn’t.”

  “It’s not unusual for teachers in town to retire and work a part-time job afterward to keep busy. Actually, a lot of them work as substitutes for the district. Do you remember who waited on you?”

  “A Mrs. Fuller. Aaron said he had her for eighth-grade math.”

  “I had her for math too. I can’t believe she retired. She was ridiculously tough but a great teacher. Sorry, I didn’t mean to get off topic. You had dinner followed by bowling. Anything else?”

  “After we left Silver Lanes, we went back to my cottage, had some wine, and talked.”

  “Did anyone recognize you while you were out?” Holly asked.

  When Holly had called her earlier in the day, they’d discussed the possibility that someone in town would recognize her and the likelihood everyone in town would soon after know she was staying at the campground.

  “Two women at the bowling alley asked if I graduated high school with them because I looked familiar, but otherwise, no one said anything to me.” No one had approached her while she shopped either.

  “I’m sure you’re happy about that.” Holly didn’t give her a chance to reply. “Dinner, bowling, and talking sounds like a rather standard date for anyone living in Avon. What made it ‘delightful’?”

  “Aaron. He’s not like anyone I’ve been out with before. He’s easy to talk to—”

  “And easy on the eyes,” Holly added.

  “Well yeah, but so was Daniel.” Although if she ranked the two men according to their looks, she’d give Aaron a perfect ten and Daniel a seven. Before the disaster involving his wife, she would have given the man an eight and a half, but somehow knowing what a creep he was diminished his looks.

  “True enough. Please continue. I promise not to interrupt again.”

  I’ll believe that when it happens. “He doesn’t treat me like an empty-headed idiot.” Way too many times, she’d gone out with a man who assumed her career choice of modeling somehow meant she couldn’t even handle simple addition. “And he listens to me.”

  “You mean he doesn’t just stare at your boobs while you’re talking and then not realize when you’ve stopped? I didn’t think men like that existed.” Holly’s laughter traveled through the phone, and Juliette smiled.

  “Hard to believe, but yes. Maybe they only exist in New Hampshire, and that’s why they’re so difficult to track down.” Flopping back on the bed, she stared at the ceiling fan. “There’s something else about him. I don’t know what, but I enjoy being around him. You know how I felt unsatisfied with life?” Other than Aaron, Holly was the only person she’d shared those sentiments and her desire to make some changes with.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, I don’t feel that way anymore. I didn’t expect it, but I’m happier here in general, and even more so when I’m around Aaron.”

  She hadn’t seen a single house or stepped inside the dance studio, but her gut told her tomorrow she’d be making an offer on at least the studio. Since they’d discussed her state of mind before she left New York, now seemed like a good time to drop the news on Holly.

  “I’m thinking about opening a dance studio.”

  “Huh, sounds like it could be fun, and your name alone will give it a boost over most of the other ones around. Whereabouts in the city are you thinking? And have you told Pierre?”

  Yeah, she still needed to have that conversation. “Not yet. I’m waiting until it’s a done deal. But if I do, the studio won’t be in Manhattan. It’ll be here. The school in town closed last June, and the building is for sale. I’m going to look at it and some houses in both Avon and Ashford tomorrow.” The more people she told about her plans, the louder her conscience insisted it was the right move.

  Dead silence followed her statement. She’d have to mark it down on her calendar as the first time Holly Lambert had no response.

  “Holly,” she said after a few seconds. “Are you still there? Should I call my brother and ask him to come and check on you?”

  “Funny. I’m trying to wrap my head around things.”

  Juliette pictured Holly’s eyebrows scrunched together as her friend digested the bombshell she’d dropped.

  “You… you’re considering moving to Avon and opening a dance school? I know you wanted a change and were tired of the photoshoots, but isn’t this a little… uh, drastic?”

  “Maybe, but I’ve got a goo
d feeling about it.”

  “I’d need more than a good feeling before I gave up my career and left Manhattan to live in Avon again. But hey, to each their own. Whatever you decide, I’ll support you.”

  She’d known Holly would support her decision, but it was still nice to hear.

  “If you want to reschedule to Thursday, I can drive up tomorrow and go with you,” Holly offered. “A second opinion can be useful.”

  In the past, she’d consulted Holly for advice, and she appreciated her offer to come and help her now. But it wasn’t Holly’s opinion she wanted this time. “Thanks for offering, but Aaron’s coming with me tomorrow.”

  “I can’t say I blame you for picking him over me,” Holly teased. “Let me know if you make an offer on anything. Sometime next week, I might come up and visit. I can look at houses with you then, if you’re still looking and Aaron’s not available.”

  “I’ll keep you up to date.” Juliette stifled a yawn. She’d been wide awake when she answered the phone. Now she wanted to crawl between the sheets and go to sleep. Thankfully, she didn’t have far to go to make that happen. “I’m going to bed, Holly. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Moments after her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep, and once again, Aaron invaded her dreams.

  Chapter 13

  The bright pink awning caught Juliette’s eye even before she turned into the parking lot. It, along with the equally bright pink door, called a person’s attention to the white building better than a neon sign. If she purchased the place, both would have to go.

  She put her car in Park and turned off the ignition. For the moment, they were the only ones in the parking lot, but they had arrived ten minutes early. “I wonder if the pink theme continues inside?”

  “I don’t think I have ever been in the building. Not a fan of pink?” Aaron asked as he unbuckled his seat belt.

  Juliette followed his lead, but her eyes never left the former dance studio. The pink color aside, from here the structure looked well-maintained. It was a promising sign.

  “It’s okay, but not my favorite.”

  “Neither of my sisters like pink either. And Tiegan’s favorite color, at least right now, is dark green. Speaking of my sister, I told her you’re thinking about opening a dance school in town. I assumed you’d already told her. I’m sorry.”

  By the tone of his voice, she’d have thought he shared her deepest secret with Candace. “Until I talked to Holly yesterday, you were the only person I told. But don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal. And if I go ahead with this, I’m going to ask Candace if she’d like to teach a few classes. I was also going to ask her if Sandy might like to teach since they worked together before, and both do the classes through the park and rec department.”

  “You’ll probably get a yes to both questions. If Candace could have afforded to purchase the school when Merry retired, she would’ve. I’d say the same was true in Sandy’s case,” Aaron explained before gesturing toward the driver-side window. “Caryn’s here.”

  Excitement zigzagged through her body as she stepped out of the car and waited with Aaron for the real estate agent to join them. When Caryn finally exited the metallic gray Miata, she had two folders in one hand and a leather purse large enough to carry a small child in over her shoulder. Juliette couldn’t even begin to imagine what the woman brought around with her that required her to use such a bag.

  “I hope you haven’t been waiting long. A last-minute call came in about a closing next week, and I had to deal with it before I left the office,” Caryn greeted, approaching them.

  “We just got here ourselves,” Juliette assured the woman.

  “Good. I hate to keep people waiting. When you called, I thought your name sounded familiar. Now I know why.”

  Did she have her recent magazine appearances and association with Daniel to thank for Caryn recognizing her or was the woman referring to all the times she’d appeared in the fragrance section at Caryn’s favorite department store on a poster advertising a new scent from one of the many companies she’d modeled for? She’d prefer the latter but wasn’t going to hold her breath.

  “It’s so nice to meet you.” The older woman’s attention moved to Aaron. “I don’t remember the last time I saw you, Aaron. How have you been?”

  “Fine, and you?” Aaron replied, although Juliette doubted the woman was paying attention to anything he said. In fact, Juliette could all but see the wheels spinning in Caryn’s head as she took in Aaron’s arm across her shoulders and tried to determine the exact nature of their relationship.

  “Busy but well,” the other woman finally answered, proving she’d been listening while determining what to tell everyone she knew. “I put all the information about each of the properties we’re looking at today in here as well as some information about the Ferguson Real Estate Agency.” She handed over one of the two folders before using the key in the lockbox to open the studio door.

  Someone liked the color pink. Juliette stepped into a small waiting area. Although a light gray carpet covered the floor, the owner had painted the walls the same shade of pink as the main door. Without even taking another step, she could see the color continued on into the office located off to the left.

  “The building is forty-six years old. Originally it was an apartment complex. Merry Baxter, the current owner, purchased it thirty-five years ago and remodeled the entire place. We’ve been friends for a long time, and I remember when she first bought the building. She spent hours with the contractors, making sure everything was laid out to fit her vision.”

  From the outside, Juliette never would have guessed the building was almost fifty years old.

  “On this level, there is the office, two restrooms, and three dance studios. There are two more upstairs,” Caryn continued as she flipped to another page in her folder. “Four years ago, Merry redid the wood floors in all the studios. The paperwork says the wood is beech. She also replaced the HVAC system seven years ago.”

  Yep, so far, it sounded like Merry Baxter had kept the interior as well maintained as the exterior.

  “Like the rest of the town, the building has its own septic. However, it does have town water. You might already know this, but most of the town relies on well water.”

  Oh, she knew that and what it meant when you lost power. If she bought a home in town, the first thing she’d do was have a generator installed.

  Taking Aaron’s hand, Juliette followed Caryn down a short hallway and into a much larger waiting area. Pastel pink covered the walls in this area, although the white cubbies and hooks lining the longest one helped break up the color scheme.

  Opening the door closest to her, she stepped inside and switched on the lights. An immaculate floor gleamed despite the building having been closed up for so long, and mirrors covered one entire wall. Of course, the other three walls reminded her of bubble gum, but a fresh coat of paint would take care of that problem.

  “This is the largest of the three rooms on this floor,” Caryn said from the doorway. “Studio One is the smallest.” She gestured across the waiting room to a white door with the words Studio One stenciled in hot pink on it.

  She expected the other two rooms to be both well cared for and painted some shade of pink. She ended up being right on both accounts.

  “I think Mrs. Baxter had an unhealthy obsession with the color pink,” Aaron whispered in her ear as they followed Caryn up to the second level.

  “Really? I’m not getting that impression.”

  Aaron squeezed her hand and smiled. “As far as I can see, the only problem with the building seems to be the color scheme. Painting isn’t hard.”

  She agreed. The color aside, she liked the layout of the building, and even the smallest of studios provided sufficient space for a small class to practice without getting in each other’s way. And since the major items like floors and the heating system were all new, she wouldn’t need to replace them. At least not anytime soon.

  The
stairs opened into an extra-wide hallway. Cubbies similar to those downstairs filled the farthermost wall. Along with the storage space, the current owner had added a restroom to this floor, so dancers wouldn’t need to use the ones downstairs.

  Juliette opened the door marked Studio Four and flipped on the lights. Three magenta-painted walls greeted her while mirrors covered the fourth. Well, at least the owner was consistent. She could have painted each part of the building a different color of the rainbow.

  “The sale of the property includes the mats,” Caryn said, pointing toward the blue carpet bonded foam rolls left by the mirror. “I have no idea what they are used for, but I’m sure you do.”

  “You would use them if you’re teaching an acro dance class.” She’d seen acro dance routines, but she’d never taken a class. According to Tiegan, though, Sandy had taught it before, so maybe she would be willing to do it again. “It incorporates a lot of gymnastics moves; that’s why the mats are used.”

  “Never heard of it. It must be something they started teaching here after my daughter stopped coming. Feel free to walk around. Once you’re all set here, we can head over to Oak Ridge Lane.”

  When they walked out of the dance studio, Juliette dropped her car keys in his hand and asked him to drive so she could read through the paperwork Caryn gave her. He’d agreed happily. More than once on the ride over to Oak Ridge Lane, he had to remind himself to slow down. How Juliette managed to drive the car and not get a speeding ticket every other day was a miracle. Then again, maybe she got pulled over all the time, and the moment the police officers saw her face, they forgot why they’d pulled her over. Whatever the case, if they weren’t so expensive, he’d have a Porsche instead of a Ford parked in his garage.

  For at least the fifth time, Aaron reduced his speed and then turned onto Timberlane Road, which would eventually bring him to Oak Ridge. Located along the westernmost portion of the lake, he hardly every drove to this part of town. Other than a handful of homes and Camp Evergreen, a kids’ summer camp, there wasn’t anything out this way. And unless they’d done construction recently, Timberlane and Oak Ridge were the only paved streets on this side of the lake. There was, or at least there had been, a dirt road leading to an old log cabin, but who knew if either remained.