Page 34 of Seductive Nights

"Of course. Why wouldn't I want to keep it?"

He shrugged, though no one could see it. "I thought maybe you asked me because Sierra was there."

She let out a long breath. "I'll admit it prompted the question at first, but as the night wore on, I became more and more excited about our date."

He smiled so big his cheeks stretched. "Good. I've been looking forward to it. I thought we'd go somewhere outside of Blossom Springs so we could both just sit and get to know each other. With both of us owning businesses in town, it's kind of hard not to know someone wherever we go."

"That's a fact. I like that idea. Thank you for thinking of it."

"Of course. So..." He hesitated, then decided to go for it. "Did you find the necklace?"

She huffed. "No."

"Oh..." he tsked. "Shit. I'm sorry."

"Well as I've told my sister every time a new issue comes up, or a new surprise presents itself with this whole ridiculous situation, it helps me get over the grief that much easier. I'll tell you I had no idea I was sharing my house with such a lying piece of shit. No idea. It's like he was a complete stranger."

"Yeah, I can't imagine how that must feel, and I am sorry for that Margo. You don't deserve it."

"Well, thank you. I do appreciate that."

"Okay, well, I'll see you at six o'clock tonight. I'll pick you up. We'll just do casual. How about that?"

She chuckled, and it sounded good. "Casual sounds great. I can't wait. Thank you. Talk to you later. Bye."

He hung up the phone, and he wished he could sit and talk with her. He wanted to know more about her. Why did she like real estate? What were all the things that he wanted to know about her? Mostly, what he knew right now was that he thought she was stunning and smart, and her poise through this turmoil, as he looked at it now, the few terse words she had spoken to him were nothing compared to what he would have done had the shoe been on the other foot. She was handling this far too gracefully. But it spoke about her class and her demeanor. And he wanted to get to know her so much better.

20

Margo got a bit of work done at the office, mostly for Jace's closing, but she had some customers who had called, and she needed to take care of finalizing their things. Make sure the title companies were lined up, schedule closings, and then she needed to touch base once again with the closing that Logan had in the pipeline that was to close in two weeks.

She arrived home just before noon, and she was tired. She hadn't slept much last night. Irritation over the necklace and what to do about it, and Logan and his lying and cheating and now stealing, wouldn't let her sleep. She thought before she went out for her date with Jace, she should certainly take a nap. And she had Carley at her house, so she wanted to get home and spend some time with her sister. She wasn't going to be there very long. After all, she had her own home to get to and a boyfriend waiting for her.

As soon as she walked into the door, the house smelled freshly cleaned. Music played softly through the built-in speakers. She glanced around and everything was in its place. The vacuum marks stood out on the white carpeting and the oven timer sounded from the kitchen. Such a welcome feeling.

She set her briefcase on the floor near the entertainment center where she always kept it and moved toward the kitchen. Carley pulled a fresh sheet of cookies from the oven as she entered.

"Hi. I thought I'd try my hand at this chocolate chip cookie recipe I found. I'm sure they aren't Hanna quality, but I like having a cookie with my coffee in the morning."

"They smell wonderful."

Carley smiled. "Sit." She pointed to the counter opposite her where the bar stools were.

Carley pulled a plate from the cupboard, scooped a fresh hot cookie straight from the sheet, and laid the cookie on it. "Milk?" She asked.

"Ah...sure." Margo smiled.

Carley fussed over her a moment and poured them each a glass of milk.

Then it dawned on her. When was the last time she walked into this house and felt welcomed to be home? It seemed like she had grown accustomed to the fact that she was supposed to be here, walk into the house, and decide what she had to do first, then second. Was Logan going to be home? Supper needed to be made. Laundry needed to be done. Dust. Vacuum. Mow the lawn. All of it had fallen to her over the years. To be honest, Logan had never made her feel welcome. His conversations and questions were always, did you get any listings today? Did you write any offers? When's the next closing on your schedule? Mine is this day. Things were business-y. Is that all they ever had was a business relationship?

It puzzled her that she'd never noticed it, but now that the thought entered her head, she didn't see it leaving anytime soon.

Carley lifted her glass of milk and held it between them. Margo grinned and picked up hers. They clinked their glasses together, and Carley grinned. "Welcome home. I'm making lunch. It'll be finished soon. Crock-Pot stew."

"Where did you learn to make that?"

"Well, I found this recipe this morning as I was looking through the internet."

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