Page 5 of Saltwater Memories
“Will Harrington?” She set the card down in front of her. “I’m Amanda.”
“Nice to meet you Amanda.”
“So…why San Juan Island?”
He shrugged. “Lots of reasons, really. There are a ton of vacation homes here that need to be managed, and some of the owners like to make a little profit on the side by renting their properties out in the off-season. So I manage a lot of those – or, well, I’mgoingto manage those.”
“I see.”
“It’s more than that, though. We’re an investment group, but for real estate – what they call a REIT, or real estate investment trust. So, say that you’d like to get involved in real estate investment, but you don’t have time to manage a property, or to deal with buying and selling. You can work with our group, and it’s sort of like investing your money in an index fund. But instead of stocks, it’s a bunch of properties that we manage.”
“I know what a REIT is,” she said flatly.
“I’m sorry,” he laughed again. He felt like he was on trial in front of this woman. “I didn’t mean to over-explain to you. I’ve been working with the company for a few years, and no one ever really seems to understand what I do there, so it’s a habit.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“I actually have a lot more experience on the building side of things,” he found himself saying. Though she was hinting that she wanted him to be quiet, he couldn’t stop talking. “My dad was a contractor – well, he still is, but he can’t really work anymore. He injured his back. But I spent a lot of years working with him and understanding what goes into maintaining a property, so I’ll be handling that as well.”
She eyed him for a moment and he felt the urge to speak again, but resisted this time. He realized that he was talkingfartoo much. Amanda was quite pretty – which was part of the reason he felt so tempted to talk to her. She probably had guys hitting on her all the time, though. And it seemed like she was more than adept in warding them off.
“Have you ever been to San Juan Island before?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Not recently. I went camping here with my family when I was a kid. I’m excited to be back. Have you ever been before? From what I remember, it’s gorgeous.”
“Yes, it’s beautiful,” she said. “I grew up here.”
“No kidding! I get the feeling that it’s a very small town kind of place. Everyone knows everyone, sort of thing.”
She nodded. “It is.”
“So maybe…”
He paused. He wasn’t winning any points with Amanda, and she obviously wanted him to go away.
Yet her contempt only interested him more. He might as well give it one last shot – he had nothing to lose.
“You owe me some introductions after covering me in coffee.”
She laughed.
Ha! Sheactuallylaughed.
Maybe he had a chance after all?
