Tom turned to Jeanette. “And a friend,” he suggested.
Jeanette saw Mary Vaughn’s eyes narrow at the innuendo. She might be handling the situation with aplomb, but she wasn’t overjoyed about it.
Though Mary Vaughn looked as if she desperately wanted to make some comment, she was prevented from it by the arrival of another couple. “Ah, you’ve come back,” she called to them, her expression filled with delight. Though she looked eager to escape, she turned to Tom. “You’ll be okay on your own for a bit?”
“We’ll be fine,” Tom assured her.
After she’d walked away to greet the young couple, Tom turned to Jeanette. “Okay, tell me the truth. What do you really think?”
“I think it’s cozy, just the way she said,” she admitted cautiously.
“What aren’t you saying?” he asked. “Did you spot mold somewhere? Stains on the ceiling that suggest the roof leaks?”
She shook her head. “It’s perfect.”
“Then why don’t you sound more enthusiastic? What’s the problem?”
She lifted her gaze to his and opted for honesty. “I want this house. I fell in love with it the second we walked into the garden. The house is just the right size for me, too. I’d turn one of the downstairs bedrooms into a study, then use the other one temporarily while I had the upstairs made into a master suite, just the way Mary Vaughn suggested. There’s room for a huge tub, a walk-in shower. I’d put in a skylight, too.” She let her imagination run wild. “And a king-size bed with mounds of pillows, a sofa I could curl up on to read.” She sighed. “It would be amazing.”
When she risked a look at Tom, he was studying her intently. “Any room in there for me? Especially in that king-size bed?”
She swallowed hard. “Are we talking hypothetically?”
His lips curved slightly. “If we must.”
“Then hypothetically there might be room in there for you.”
“Why didn’t you mention you were looking for a house for yourself?”
“I didn’t really intend to do that today. It’s just been in the back of my mind for a while now that I’d like something permanent. I thought I might get a few ideas while we were looking around, but I didn’t expect to find the ideal place. Then I walked out here and knew this was the house I wanted.” She regarded him with regret. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” he said, touching her cheek. “I can see how much it means to you. And to be honest, I can see you out here.” He grinned. “Of course, I can also see me with you.”
“What do we do now? Are we going to have a bidding war?”
He laughed. “I’m sure that would make Mary Vaughn extremely happy, but no. Since you think the owner might negotiate on the asking price, do you have a number in mind? Are you ready to make an offer?”
Her palms turned damp at the thought of actually committing to a mortgage for the next thirty years, but then she envisioned sitting outside with the Sweet Magnolias and a pitcher of margaritas and she was instantly calmer.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “You’re the one who needs a place sooner rather than later. You can’t stay at the inn forever.”
“If you’re really all that worried about my well-being, you could agree to share this house with me.”
She laughed. “Do you always have an angle? You are such a guy.”
“I’m not joking,” he assured her. “At least not entirely. I could help out with the renovations, and that room you’re intending to use as a study could be mine for the short term. I’ll pay rent, which will help with your mortgage. Seems like a win-win to me.”
She wasn’t sure if he was serious or merely testing the waters, but she shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Don’t be so quick to turn me down. I’m very good with a hammer.”
“Do you know the kind of talk that would stir up? Your job would be on the line within a month.”
“Just because you and I have a legitimate landlord-tenant business arrangement?”
She rolled her eyes. “How long do you honestly think it would stay that way?”
He shrugged, his expression all innocence. “Up to you.”
“If I thought you could really live by that, I might consider the idea, but we both know otherwise. You’d spend every spare second trying to seduce me.”
He didn’t even try to deny it, just grinned and said, “But you’re not easy to seduce, are you?”
“Not usually,” she said. “But I don’t trust myself around you. You have an unpredictable effect on me. I think you can persuade me to do all sorts of things I don’t plan on doing.”
He tried and failed to hide a self-satisfied smile. “That’s the most encouraging thing I’ve heard in a while. Go make an offer on the house. We’ll deal with the details of our arrangement later.”
“We don’t have an arrangement,” she insisted.
“Later,” he said, waving her off. “Go, before that other couple puts in a bid and all of this becomes moot.”
Jeanette hesitated. Could she really do this? Could she impulsively make an offer on a house she’d seen for the very first time just minutes ago? She’d been frugal with her money. The down payment was tucked away in her savings account. She wasn’t a hundred percent certain what the mortgage and taxes would be, but she knew she could swing it. She was making good money at the spa and she spent very little beyond groceries and rent.
“Do you want me to run numbers for you?” Tom asked, evidently guessing the source of her hesitation. “I have a calculator with me.”
“No. I’m just nervous. This would be a huge commitment.”
“Okay, let’s break it down. You planning on leaving your job and moving somewhere else anytime soon?”
She shook her head. “No. I love it here.”
“You have enough for a down payment so that the mortgage won’t strap you?”
“Yes.”
“Then this makes financial sense
