Mila was on cloud nine. She loved it when her instincts about people and houses were right. She was definitely a bit of a matchmaker in that sense. She’d scored Herschel the perfect match on her first try. Those first two houses had been a warmup, and she had a feeling Hersch knew that too.
They drove back to her office, chatting happily as if they’d known each other for a long time, not a couple of days. Mila felt herself relax, even though the deal was one of the quickest and most exciting she’d ever made.
She settled Hersch at the conference table in the office and then excused herself to phone Dan Ferguson and tell him the good news. He picked up right away. Dan always did. He might say he was going to take a night off work and spend the evening with his wife and a cold beer, but she knew as well as he did that if there was a deal on the table, he’d be back here like a shot.
When he answered, he didn’t beat around the bush. “Mila. Your client like the house?”
“Dan, put that beer away and crack open the champagne. He’s making an offer tonight. Full price, cash. His only hard line is a quick closing. He’d move in tomorrow if he could.”
Dan chuckled. “Mila, honey, it was a great day when I decided to teach you everything I know. Sometimes I think that the student has surpassed the master.”
“Never. But I did learn from the best.”
Dan said, “It’s late back East, where the owners live, but we’ll submit the offer anyway. We should have this all wrapped up by tomorrow.”
She went back into the office and gave Herschel the good news. She said, “If all goes well, you’ll be sleeping in that primary bedroom in a matter of days.” Why did she keep mentioning the bedroom? What was wrong with her? No sooner did she picture that beautiful bedroom with the balcony and the view and the fireplace than she imagined the two of them curled up in that bed, slowly peeling each other’s clothes away. She had to stop herself. Right now!
While she got the paperwork together, she said, “Is this the first house you’ve ever bought?”
Hersch lifted his gaze from the survey that had already been done on the property. He was definitely reading every word—something very few of her clients ever did.
“I already have a house in Mountain View near work,” he said. “This would be a second home. But it’s a lot nicer than my first home. I could picture living here full-time one day.”
She liked that answer. “Carmel is amazing. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I’m sure you’ll feel the same way too, once you get settled. Just one night in that cozy bed and you won’t want to leave.” As soon as the words left Mila’s mouth, she felt like clapping a hand over her lips. She had mentioned the bed again.
Herschel paused just long enough for her to think that maybe she wasn’t the only one so focused on the bed. She felt such a strong longing to be in his arms that it frightened her.
She wrote up the offer, and he signed it.
She went through the motions of sending the offer, her head still foggy with desire. It was those darned rippling arm muscles and his calm, thorough way of being. The combination created a dizzying desire for him to not only throw her across that bed, but also take her in his arms and tell her everything was always going to be okay. As long as they had each other.
She shook her head. This was crazy. She barely knew the guy, and here she was dreaming about their great romance.
With the email sent, she reflexively checked her watch: nearly eight p.m. On a Saturday. She looked up at Herschel. “All done,” she said. “Hopefully, we’ll make a deal tomorrow.”
He smiled. “You’ve certainty delivered everything I hoped for.”
She held her breath. Was he also hoping to share his Saturday night?
He said, “Well…”
She waited, but nothing followed. She was sure he’d been on the verge of asking her out. But he didn’t, damn it. She contemplated inviting him back to her cottage. This wasn’t the Middle Ages. She could ask a man out without waiting for him to do it. But she sternly reminded herself of her rule about mixing business and pleasure. It was rarely a good idea, and they still needed to sign off on the deal. So she said, “Well… I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything. Shall I drop you back at your hotel?”
He nodded briefly, and she couldn’t help but feel rejected. It was stupid, but she’d been so sure the chemistry wasn’t one-sided. Why was he holding back? As they got into her SUV, she clung to the idea that he might invite her in for a nightcap at the hotel bar. The place he’d chosen was known for its dirty martinis. Maybe she could mention that…
She drove through the warm evening, enjoying the atmosphere of downtown Carmel as it floated through their open windows. It was peaceful. Carmel was a small town after all, but it still held the promise of a fun Saturday night, with the wine bars humming and the restaurants full of customers. As she thought of dinner, her stomach rumbled, and she realized she hadn’t eaten a thing since before surfing. She would love a good steak with a glass of full-bodied red wine. Surely Herschel was also hungry? He must need a lot of protein to maintain those impressive muscles.
She tried to steer her thoughts away from a candlelit date, and pulled into his hotel parking area. She switched off the engine and turned to face him only to find he had been staring at her profile. She felt electric with his gaze trained on her face. She opened her mouth to mention the martinis, but then closed it again. Instead, she asked, “How is this place? It has a good reputation.”
“It’s excellent. Quiet, private, very comfortable.”
She nodded. Would he invite her in? The notion seemed to hover there for a second, but then he said, “Thank you for everything. I’ll be giving you a great review.”
Then he leaned forward and gave her a kind of awkward hug. Forcing her voice to stay neutral, she said, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
* * *
Hersch walked into his hotel room, kicking himself. There had been a moment when it had been obvious he could have kissed her. Why hadn’t he taken the opportunity? He’d been unsure about whether the feeling was mutual, but then, she kept mentioning the bed. She was feeling that attraction, too, whether it was conscious or not, but instead of seizing the opportunity to kiss the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, he’d frozen.
Of course, he had his reasons. The house deal had yet to become official, and he’d made a vow to stay unattached so as not to harm someone he loved. And yet, hadn’t he also figured Mila might be okay with things being casual? That she wouldn’t think that his asking her out meant he was proposing? Instead, he’d made a fast exit, and now, instead of being accompanied by the most exciting woman he’d met in a long time, he’d be eating alone in the hotel restaurant.
Again.
To distract himself, he allowed thoughts of his new home to take over. He didn’t want to jinx himself by being too confident that it was his, but he had a very good feeling this was going to work out. He couldn’t wait to check out of his room and move his one suitcase over to that incredible house. Somehow he just knew that place was meant to be his. If another buyer turned up, he’d just outbid them. That’s what people did in real estate. He didn’t want to pay more money than he had to, but he knew deep inside that he belonged there. The knowledge surprised him with its suddenness and its intensity.
A lot like the way he felt about Mila.
And there he went again—what had it been, thirty seconds before she popped back into his brain?
Why hadn’t he kissed her?
But no, he wasn’t that guy, the single man who took advantage of a female Realtor when she was taking him on a business call. A gentleman did not act like that, and his mom had definitely raised him to be a gentleman.
Thinking of his mom, he picked up the phone. He’d told her he was looking at houses down this way, but she didn’t realize how serious he was about the move. He hit the number on speed dial, and she picked up right away, though she sounded a little breathless.
For a second, he was worried. “Mom? Are you out jogging?”
Her warm laugh sounded in his ear, as rich and full as if she were standing at his side. He could almost smell her perfume—white roses—and instantly wanted to tell her about Mila. He shook his head. He needed to snap out of this.
“At this time of night?” His mom laughed again. “No. I just got in. I was at the movies with June.” June was one of her best friends, and the two widows often went out for a meal or a movie together. He was glad his mom had someone like June around when he was out of state or on a mission. The two gossiped like schoolgirls.
He said, “I’ve got some news.”
“Is it the kind of news where I should be sitting down?” she asked, suddenly sounding less lighthearted. They had a deal—before he told her about any of his missions, he made sure she was sitting down and had a glass of water beside her. Eleanor Greenfield could not be more proud of her son, but she also worried during every single second he was on a mission.
To save her any anxiety, he said, “I think I just bought a house in Carmel.”
“You did?” Her voice rose with amazement. “But that’s so quick. You barely got there. I thought you were just scouting the place.”
He settled on the plaid couch in the suite’s main room, but then got up to shut the curtains to block the view of the ocean. Seated again, he told his mother about the house. As he listed all the things he liked about it, he grew even more enthusiastic. At the end of the recital, he said, “You’ll have to come and see it, Mom. It’s gorgeous. With a big guest room for you.”
“Oh, honey, I can’t wait.” Then, being Mom, she said, “Are you going to know any people there, though? You have so many friends and colleagues in Mountain View. I thought you were happy there. Won’t you be starting all over in Carmel?”
Mila flashed back into his brain—her talent and her beauty and her brilliance—and he blurted, “I met a woman.”
His mom laughed with delight. “The kind of woman you might actually introduce to your mother?”
It had long been his mom’s complaint that he didn’t bring girlfriends home to meet her. But no matter how much he liked his girlfriends, he couldn’t let himself get carried away and let any of them become more deeply involved in his life. Not when he spent months away for training or up to a year in space. He sat back and tried to picture Mila and his mom having lunch or tea together… and he realized he liked the picture.
“I think you’d like her. She was a top-level pro surfer and then had an accident that ruined her career. She still teaches surfing for fun, and she looks pretty good out there on the waves, but she’s a real estate agent now.”
There was a moment’s silence while his mom seemed to process her son actually volunteering information about a woman he liked. “Wait,” she said. “Is she the one who sold you the house? You’ve fallen for your Realtor?”
He heard the smile in her voice, and he couldn’t help but smile too. “I met her before she became my Realtor… but then she found this perfect house for me. She knew exactly what I needed. She’s smart, sassy, knows what she wants. I definitely think you’d like her.”
“I think I would too. Maybe it’s time you gave romance a real try.”
Part of him yearned to follow his mother’s advice, but that constant, gnawing fear of leaving loved ones behind was too strong. “You know how I feel, Mom. Maybe when I retire.”
“Maybe is a long time for a woman to wait for grandchildren.”
This was where the conversation had to stop. Swiftly redirecting, Hersch said, “I’ll let you know the minute I hear the offer has gone through. You’ll come. We’ll have a housewarming.”
“Sounds great,” she said. “I love you, Hersch.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
He hung up. And wondered what he was going to do for the rest of the evening. He couldn’t stop thinking about Mila. If he’d asked her to dinner, would she have agreed? He kicked himself again. He could have said he wanted to celebrate the good news of making an offer on the house. Which would have been true. Sort of.
He decided on a long, cold shower. But that didn’t really work, as it reminded him of all the time Mila spent in cold water. And then he began to imagine her in the shower… washing that long, beautiful hair. Feeling hot, he shook the image away.
Was his mother right? He’d never yet been tempted to break his rule of no wife and family, no big romantic commitments. But he had to admit that if there was a woman who could make him rethink his decision, it was Mila.