Page 50 of Keep On Loving You
He hadn’t given her much to go on as far as criteria, so she’d arrived with everything from family-style homes that were newer builds in some of the more recent communities on the edge of town, to a few older miner houses that needed renovation work. There was an acreage property complete with a barn and outbuildings;that was an easy one to reject because he didn’t have any time for land.
Jess had even come through with a studio suite that was situated over the kitchen shop in the plaza. The location was perfect, and that didn’t even take into consideration that it was only a few shops away from Kat’s place.
Still, none of them appealed.
None of them were Kat’s apartment.
Andy knew that was ridiculous and not at all the way he should be thinking. It’s not like they were even in a relationship. They were in asituationship.
He almost laughed out loud at the idea, but caught himself moments before he did.
“Andy? Anything?”
Jess was waiting for an answer. And really, he owed her one.
He exhaled slowly and reached for the paper on the top of the pile. “This one looks pretty good.”
Jess took the paper from his hand, looked at it strangely before lifting his gaze up at him and back to the paper. “This one? Really? I didn’t really take you for a fixer-up type.”
For the first time, Andy took a peek at the house he’d chosen to see that it was a house built almost one hundred years ago that would require a complete remodel. Jess was right. He wasnotthe remodel type. Between the new job and helping Kat with her list, Andy wasn’t going to have much free time at all.
And even if he did, the last thing he wanted to spend it on was ripping out old flooring and painting walls.
But Jess was watching him expectantly, so he smiled and shrugged as casually as he could. “Well, you never know. I might be up for the challenge.”
She laughed and shook her head before choosing a different paper from the pile. “What about this one? When I saw the listing, I thought of you immediately.”
He looked at the paper she’d chosen for him and smiled a little to himself. It was the listing for the apartment in the plaza close to Kat.
Was that a good thing? Or would the proximity turn out to be more temptation than he could handle when things between them finally ran their course?
The smile slipped from his face at the thought.
“No?”
Andy met the Realtor’s concerned eyes.
“I thought the convenience of this one might really suit you and?—”
“It does,” he interrupted her. “It’s just that…” He pretended to examine the paper. “It’s not big enough for what I’d like.”
It was a lie. The studio was more than big enough for what he needed.
“Well, maybe we could go take a look at this one?—”
“Uncle Andy!”
Andy spun around at the sound of the little girl’s voice, ready to greet Craig’s little girl Meri, but his eyes locked on someone else instead.
Kat.
Despite seeing her only a few hours earlier, Andy’s instinct was to jump up and greet her by pulling her into his arms. Instead, he swallowed hard and focused on the little girl who, in typical Meri style, was running full speed toward him. He stood, caught her easily in his arms, and swung her around before setting her down.
“Hey, kiddo. What are you up to?”
“I found Auntie Kat,” Meri said proudly. “She caught me spying on her.”
Behind her, still standing close to the doorway, Kat shrugged, but she wasn’t smiling. The expression on her face was unreadable.
