Page 17 of Architect's Christmas Nanny

“Amanda?” Sloane called back.

“Hi, guys,” a pretty blonde lady said, stepping inside. “I just thought I’d stop in and see if you had any questions.”

“Amanda is the owner of the building,” Sloane told Brad.

“You’re familiar,” Brad said. “Are you one of the Luckett girls?”

“I sure am,” Amanda said, her cheeks suddenly looking flushed.

Something about one of those girls having a thing for him back in high school flashed through his mind. He’d been too busy dating Natalie Bell to worry about it.Though that ended with high school, and Natalie was married to Shane Cassidy now.

“What do you think about the place, Brad?” Sloane asked, sounding a little stiff, like she was also aware of some awkward backstory, and trying to help them get past it.

“It’s ideal,” he said. “I guess I’m not supposed to admit that to the owner, but I could really see myself setting up shop here. I don’t need that apartment though.”

“Well, it’s all one thing,” Amanda told him. “I’m not zoned to separate them. You could always use it for storage.”

“That’s true,” he said, hoping one day he would have enough business to need a separate filing area.

“So, is it a go?” Amanda asked, looking excited.

“It’s a maybe,” Brad told her. “I like to sleep on big decisions. But it’s definitely not a no.”

“Well, I probably shouldn’t say this to a potential tenant,” Amanda said with a smile. “But there’s no rush, because no one else is looking at it.”

Brad chuckled and nodded, glad she was being up front.

“I love it when landlords and tenants are careful to be honest with each other,” Sloane said. “If things move forward, you’ll each be relying on the other for a good working relationship, so starting off on the right foot is a great sign, guys.”

“Hey,” Amanda said. “Brad, I’m glad to answer any questions you might have about changes you would want made. And apart from this place, I was wanting to pickyour brain about something. Any chance I could treat you to a quick lunch at the Co-op to compare notes?”

“Sure,” he said without thinking twice. “That sounds great. Sloane is that okay with you?”

“Of course,” she said with a smile. “This was our last stop anyway.”

“Do you want to join us?” Amanda asked worriedly. It was clear she wasn’t an experienced landlord, or she would realize her agent might like to be present for any negotiations.

“You two are just brainstorming,” Sloane said right away. “I don’t want to get in the way of that. Just know that anything you want to agree to would have to be possible to commit to writing and conform to zoning. So, once you two have some ideas just give me a call and I’ll run over and join you—whether it’s today or tomorrow.”

“Sloane, you are the best,” Amanda told her, pulling the other woman into a brief hug.

Brad frowned. He thought he remembered Amanda as kind of a cold person—more worried about looks and popularity than real friendships.

People change,he scolded himself.

He had certainly changed—for better and for worse. When Christine took off shortly after Josie’s birth, he realized that he had grown up in a sweet, protective bubble. He was much more guarded now with his emotions, and it took a lot more for others to gain his trust. But being Josie’s dad had also made him more patient and more loving than he had ever been before he saw that sweet little pink face.

So how could he be surprised that Amanda Luckett had changed too?

“Ready?” Amanda asked him.

“Absolutely,” he said.

He followed her down the staircase and into the alley behind the building.

“I can’t believe I’m a landlord,” Amanda confided, as they headed to Park Avenue on the other side of the alleyway. “But it’s actually pretty neat. I like feeling like I own a piece of Trinity Falls.”

“That is pretty neat,” Brad agreed.

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