Read Online The Very Thought of You by Carolann Camillo - Free Book Online Page B

prospective buyers. Don’t get me started on any aspects of building green, though. It’s one of my passions, and I tend to go on too long. Condo king is an exaggeration. It’s nothing I aspire to, anyway. My main goal isn’t making money.”
    â€œNo?”
    â€œMy goal is to find out what people want and need and then provide it. I never gouge the tenants on my rental properties. I keep the rents affordable, rarely raise them, and hardly ever lose a tenant. The city has changed and, in many ways, for the better. I just want to take a small part and create a more enriching future for people who choose to live here. I’d like to make urban living a little more pleasant and a lot more available.”
    The man certainly had a passion, not only for sparing the environment, but for his work. Now if he could only extend that to Mrs. Z and the other occupants of his apartment building.
    â€œWhat about your tenants? They can’t afford condos.”
    â€œTrue. That’s why we’re on the prowl today. To find out what’s affordable.”
    â€œExactly. Since we’re on the subject of what is or isn’t affordable, there’s a rumor floating around on the block … ”
    â€œThere is? Hmm. For some reason, I never would have taken you for a woman who put much stock in rumors.”
    â€œWell, generally, I don’t.”
    â€œOr spreading them.”
    â€œI never do.”
    â€œGood. Neither do I.” He checked his watch. “It’s almost eleven thirty. Maybe we should wait across the street. I’d hate to miss this guy. He said he owns a couple of other buildings, too. If he has a few more vacancies, it could turn into a big plus. We can network.”
    The way he so effectively quashed her mention of a rumor led Molly to believe it contained some truth. For sure, she’d better find a way to bring it up again later.
    At the first break in traffic, Nick exited on the street side. Molly slung her purse strap over her shoulder, put her folders on the floor mat, and opened the passenger door. By the time she swung her legs out Nick stood at the curb and offered a hand. His fingers grasped hers and he gave a gentle tug that brought her up and out of her seat and into his arms. One arm, anyway, since he still clutched her hand. They stood like that for what seemed like an unnecessary length of time. Close enough, too, for the tingle to shoot back into her heels. It marched up her legs and, somehow, she found the good sense to quash it at her knees.
    Finally, he stepped back and released her.
    Her heels screamed for additional gratification, and she dug them into the sidewalk.
    He ignored the crosswalk at the corner. When there was a lull in traffic, he took her arm and jaywalked her quickly to the opposite side of the street. When they arrived at the apartment building, he led her into a narrow setback formed by the front door and two shallow walls. Chips in the dark paint exposed an undercoat of gray. Candy wrappers, an empty soda can, and assorted flyers and newspaper flotsam littered the floor.
    â€œListen, I think there’s something I better tell you before this guy shows up.”
    The words, coupled with the tone of his voice, put her internal radar on alert. “What’s that?”
    â€œHe … ah … ” He bit down on the inside of his lower lip and appeared to wince.
    â€œYes?”
    He came up slightly onto the balls of his feet, then set his heels down. “He thinks we’re married.”
    â€œWhat?” Dim light suffused the doorway, and she gazed up at him through a web of shadows. “How did he get such a weird idea?”
    â€œWhen I phoned him, he asked if only I was interested in the apartment, or if I planned to move in with a wife. Before I had a chance to think, I said I didn’t have a wife. Then I remembered you.”
    â€œMe?”
    â€œYeah, we’d be checking it out together.