Page 13 of Fixing Up My Love Life

He shows me the bottom line—$175,000 to $200,000.

“What can we do with a hundred thousand?”

“We can trim it down. Or you can talk to your grandma.”

“Mind if I call her now?”

He shakes his head. “Go for it.”

Grandma answers on thefirst ring. “Hello, dear.”

“I’ve got Jack here. He quoted 175 to two hundred. You’re on speaker.”

He steps closer. I catch a whiff of pine and soap. Dangerously familiar.

“Hello, Mrs. Hensley.”

“Jack Sanders! What a surprise. Hazel didn’t say it was you. Lovely to hear your voice again.”

My cheeks burn.

“If it was anyone else, I’d question the cost. But if you say it’s fair, I trust it.”

She means well, but it’s embarrassing. I cringe.

“I’ll talk to Aubrey and have Hazel call you back,” she says.

“Thanks, Mrs. Hensley,” Jack replies.

I hang up.

“So I guess I’ll be hearing from you?” he asks, his voice softer.

I nod. “Hopefully soon.”

“Are you busy after this?” he asks, just as I say, “I should pick up my kids.”

He smiles, just a little. “I should check on my daughter too.”

“How old?”

“Sixteen. Caroline.”

I laugh. “I’ve got one of those. Lila. Total sass queen.”

He chuckles. “Sounds like they’d get along.”

I grab my purse just as Grandma’s name flashes on my phone.

“I don’t care what Aubrey says,” she says when I answer. “Just tell Jackson we’re doing it. And maybe work things out while you’re at it.”

I choke. “What?”

Jack raises a brow.

“You heard me, dear.” Something crashes in the background. “Got to go. The cats are fighting again.”

She ends the call without another word, so I hang up. “She says it’s a yes.”

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