On resumingtheir journey, Todd opened the sunroof once again and turned up thevolume of the car’s excellent sound system. They sang along to themusic. He could see in his peripheral vision that Chloe hadnoticeably relaxed in the passenger’s seat. However, when theypulled into the long driveway and the two-storey house loomedahead, she sat bolt upright. Open-mouthed, she stared out thewindow, with a look of utter amazement on her face. He hadn’tdivulged any details about the house, other than he wanted to fixit up. He had wanted to surprise her. Mission accomplished.
The sandstone beach housesat on a rise of land set back approximately one hundred metresfrom the cliff. Facing them, several large picture windows had anuninterrupted view of the sea and the sky. It had been a familyholiday home for several years but was sadly in need of a facelift.If he purchased the property, his plans included extending theliving and entertaining areas, upgrading the pool behind the house,and developing the native gardens to showcase the coastalaspect.
Chloe haddivulged weeks ago that when her mother became too ill to travelback and forth to their weekend retreat, her father had sold theirPortsea property. Surmising her parents would be on her mind, heallowed her to take her time walking around the grounds. He tookseveral photographs of the exterior to share with Samantha and toascertain Patrick’s opinion on the remodelling. He took note ofChloe’s suggestions on his iPad as she voiced her opinions. Hehadn’t requested the local agent attend, so they couldn’t ventureinside. Looking at the interior was irrelevant. It could easily bechanged. The striking facade and elevated block of land drew himlike a moth to the flame. He hoped it had the same effect onChloe.
“It is sobeautiful and peaceful up here. My head is spinning thinking ofwhat you could do to this place if money was no object!” She spreadher arms wide and took in the view and the endless expanse of paleblue sky. The wine and the sea air had brought a pink flush to hercheeks and a sparkle to her eyes.
He stood back andrecorded her image on his iPad. He wanted to capture the wondrousexpression on her face. He would treasure this picture. He hadstolen a moment in time.
Todd parked outsideChloe’s house a little after nine o’clock. It had been a full dayfor both of them, but neither appeared in any hurry to saygoodnight.
“I want to thank you for a lovely day, Todd. Everything wasperfect. The beautiful lunch, the drive, the weather, the excellentcompany, fish and chips on the pier for dinner, and not forgettingthe karaoke in the car. I would never have guessed you had suchan interesting singing voice.” She giggled. “Not that I’ve won anycompetitions for singing. But today sure was fun, wasn’t it?”Unclasping her seat belt, she leant over the seat and kissed hischeek.
Todd inhaledher floral scent and enjoyed the brush of her soft lips against hischeek. He pushed down the urge to pull her into his arms and … Overtoo soon, he sighed as she retreated back into her seat.
“Oh, by theway. Earlier this week, when we discussed my renovations, yousuggested asking your brother Patrick to give me a quote. I thinkit would be a good idea. So if he could come and see the house andgive me an idea of the cost of relocating my kitchen, I would bevery grateful. It’s hard to find a reliable and reputable builderwho won’t overestimate and under deliver.”
“Sure, I’llcall him tomorrow. Not a problem.”
He scooped her handbagoff the back seat and hopped out of the car.
Before she had retrievedher walking stick from the floor, he had opened the passenger doorto help her up. She placed her hand in the crook of his arm, and asthey made their way up the path, leaned into him companionably. Hehad noticed she’d hardly relied on her stick throughout the day.She opened her front door, turned and blew him a kiss, before sheclosed it, effectively ending the best day he’d had for a very longtime.
As he slidbehind the wheel, he had thoughts of the kind of kiss he would havepreferred. If he’d had his way, he would be carrying her upstairsnow to demonstrate exactly how far that kiss could take them.Instead he headed towards an empty apartment, looking forward todrowning his sorrows in a glass of Scotch, and inevitably a coldshower before bed. There’s anotheroption. It would be so easy to call one ofhis many female friends for a late night rendezvous, to blow awaythe cobwebs.
Strangely,and to his surprise, that thought did nothing at all for his moodor his libido tonight. There’s a firsttime for everything, I guess.
Patrick’s intuitionwarned him that his older brother Todd had roped him into anotherone of his building schemes, and for “a friend”, no less. Toddcontinually searched for projects they could take on together, andwhen Todd said “together”, that meant he would provide the propertyand the upfront cash, and Patrick would provide the buildingexpertise and the brawn. To be fair, this combination worked well,so he shouldn’t complain. They had made a substantial amount ofmoney from this partnership over the last few years, and workingtogether had the added bonus of bringing them closer. Sofundamentally different, like chalk and cheese, outsiders doubtedthey were family, let alone brothers.
Everyone acknowledgedTodd took after his father, a politician at heart and businessmanthrough and through. His brother could talk him into anything, withlittle effort. He preferred a more hands on, outdoor lifestyle.Using his hands and skill to build a house gave him a sense ofaccomplishment like no other.
Manoeuvring through thehorrendous Melbourne traffic took him a lot longer than he hadanticipated. The thought of arriving late for an appointment with aclient, more so this client, whom he had never met, raised hisstress levels. First impressions were important.
As he drove, hequestioned Todd’s motives in offering his services for this friendof his. Preferring the windows open,
