Graham laughed. “I do but between you and I, we can get him in with a chance on this deal. It’s perfect for him as an investment in his future. You know how much your property has risen since you made the purchase.”
“I do.” Although that wasn’t the reason he’d bought the place.
Simon shook Graham’s hand and walked him to the door. The fact that the property next door had a boat house at the bottom of the garden might be the only thing that would convince Tyler it was the home for him. His present loft apartment wasn’t ideal but he’d gotten it cheap and that was why he stayed there. “I’ll let him know but keep me in the loop anyway. Love to Laura.”
Simon walked back to his desk, his mind churning over with Graham’s words. Yes, he should tell Ruby he used to own the land. They were connecting again and he liked that feeling and didn’t want anything to undermine that. Not because it was a secret but because of the trust issue. She’d been hurt before because he didn’t trust her enough and he wasn’t going to go there again.
But something niggled in the back of his mind. Would she take this in the manner it was given or would she automatically jump to the conclusion that Simon was doing a swift deal here to help sway her back into his arms. Either way, this could go sour on him. He dropped into his chair and turned around to stare out the window. How on earth was he going to decide the best course to take?
Chapter 10
Ruby called him that evening when he was kicking back on the couch with George for company watching television. He’d left the timing of the dates up to Ruby as she had a lot on her plate. Tonight she wanted to rest up and do shelter stuff.
“I had a wonderful time yesterday and I wanted to let you know. Thank you for taking me somewhere I could take my fur babies, Simon.”
He smiled, finding it hard to keep the ridiculous grin off of his face.
“And I love George. He’s just adorable.”
Simon glanced at the dog in question, rubbing his ears. “He is rather lovely, isn’t he? It was a bit of a challenge at first but we’ve managed to work around each other. Mom spoils him rotten of course and looks after him during the day for me. He runs that household.”
“It’s easy to see why. He’s a great character. Listen, I have some exciting news.”
And she wanted to share it with him. That made him even happier. Even though he knew what it was, he needed to hear it from her lips. “You have my undivided attention.”
“We had a visitor today. One of the gentlemen at the fundraiser stopped by. A local property developer. You might know him.” She barely paused for breath, let alone his answer. “He wants to be our benefactor.”
“That’s wonderful news, Ruby. You’ve worked so hard for the shelter.”
“Yeah, well. You know how much it means to me. But get this – he’s donating a block of land for our permanent home.”
He should tell her now so there wasn’t anything to come back on him at a later date. “Listen, about that…
“There’re hoops to jump over to get it but I’m so freaking excited. I can’t wait to go and see it. He’s taking Carly and me one day this week.” She squealed and he pulled the phone from his ear. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to do that but I wanted to let you know and I wondered if we could make our other dates later. I have so much going on now.”
His heart took a dive. “Um, sure, I guess that…”
She rushed in before he managed to get his sentence out. “Excellent. Not trying to get out of it, Simon. The last thing I want to do is re-neg on a deal when you’ve already paid for it. It’s just that we have so much to organize now we’re moving. Plus I have to try and rehome sixty animals before then to meet the requirements for a free lease. Our current lease was due to expire in three weeks and now we don’t have to renew, I doubt the owner will cut us any slack moving out.” She sucked in a breath. “Carly is freaking out over how we’re going to manage. I have to admit, I’m a bit the same.” She sighed. “The shelter is full and I don’t know how many dogs we can adopt out before we move or what upgrades we have to do to the buildings yet. So glad you understand, Simon. Knew I could count on you. Talk to you later. Bye.”
And after that whirlwind of words, there was silence. He dropped his cell on the couch. “I think I’ve been pushed to the side, George. At least for now.”
He stared out the window, staring as the city lights flickered over the water sending beams of light across the small waves. There wasn’t that much that needed doing to the buildings but he couldn’t tell her that. A couple of builders could section off the largest of the outside sheds into individual rooms for the animals to make them habitable in a couple of days. It would easily contain all the rescues they had for now and they could improve the other sheds as they grew.
The office block was certainly doable. A lick of paint was all that would be needed there for the time being. The gardens were overgrown but didn’t detract from the entrance. The property was fenced off so security wouldn’t be an issue either. It was the ideal property and only ten minutes from the main street. There was even a small manager’s cottage
