Page 67 of Just One Fake Date

His brows rose. “I thought that’s what the kiss was about.” His tone was thoughtful which made her wonder what he was thinking. “What are you going to do with it all?”

“Clean it up. Sell it. Buy a roof.”

Tyler nodded. “Do you have a buyer in mind?”

“No, but I’ll find one. I have a couple of regulars. It should be easy.”

“Might be easier than you think,” he mused.

“You have a plan,” she accused and he smiled.

“No, just an idea. Let’s see how it plays out.”

And he wouldn’t tell her any more than that. Shannyn decided to get it out of him over tapas.

Not long afterward, Tyler pulled into Shannyn’s driveway and leaned forward to take a good look at the house. She wondered what he was thinking, but his expression was impassive and she couldn’t make a guess. She figured he was glad his car didn’t have to get any closer to the garage. Derek was parking in the long single driveway behind them.

Shannyn reached for the door handle and Tyler placed a fingertip on her arm. She turned back to find his gaze serious.

“We need to act like I’ve been here before,” he reminded her quietly and Shannyn nodded. She’d agree to anything for him in this moment.

“In the middle of the night,” she teased.

“Or otherwise.”

She pointed to the house. “Kitchen at the back, living room at the front, cat with attitude probably hiding in between. Tenant on the second floor. Unfinished attic. Deluxe garage.”

He almost smiled, nodded once, then swung out of the car.

Derek was already standing outside his truck surveying the house. “This house!” he exclaimed as he took a picture. “Paige is going to go nuts.”

“What do you mean?” Shannyn asked.

“My sister stalks old houses,” Tyler said. “You must have made the short list.”

“Riding high on the Brooklyn top ten,” Derek agreed.

“Which means that if Paige ever comes here, she will investigate every corner without shame, and even go through your closets to assess their relative size,” Tyler said. “She’ll know more about your house in an hour that a normal person would learn after living in it for a decade.”

Shannyn felt new appreciation for his foresight in ensuring that Paige hadn’t come with Derek. “Thank you again,” she whispered.

“I’m not keeping a list,” he murmured, his eyes twinkling. “Because I’m just nice.”

Shannyn laughed out loud, unable to stop herself.

Derek was opening the back gate of his truck. “Where are you going to put your score?” he asked, glancing at the decrepit garage.

“Fortunately, my place is pretty empty,” Shannyn said. “We’ll fit it in where we can.”

Ty didn’t knowwhat he’d expected of Shannyn’s house, but it hadn’t been this run-down Victorian with its sagging porch and chipping paint. He tried to act as if he’d been there a thousand times, and was well aware of Derek’s curiosity. She unlocked the front door and he had a good look while she unlocked a door beside the foot of the stairs.

Tenant upstairs.

The foyer floor was tiled in black and white stone and there were huge hot water radiators on either side of the front door. The walls were painted a lemon yellow that was both welcoming and bright. The color alone made him want to smile. There was a small chandelier that glittered overhead, with an ornate plaster medallion on the ceiling. The ceiling was really high, and the stairs were of dark wood. The stairs were walled off in a way that couldn’t have been original.

Shannyn smiled and shrugged. “Unfortunately, there’s no pretty way to duplex a place like this.”

“Not a bad job, though,” Derek said. “You can still see the stairs. With those dark spindles, they must be really something without that wall.”

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