Page 10 of The Wedding Pact
But instead of taking in the vista, he was looking at her soon-to-be house, and then down at something on his phone.
‘Hmm?’ he looked up. ‘Oh, thank you so much, I really appreciate it. You’ve helped me feel like the weekend wasn’t a total washout. I can now go to work tomorrow knowing what city I live in.’
‘Good,’ replied August. ‘That’s enough of a rave review of my services for me. What are you looking at?’ she asked.
‘Is that house number eighteen?’
‘It certainly is. And this is where I need to leave you,’ she said, beaming.
‘Do you live here?’ he asked, turning to her in surprise.
She hesitated. ‘I will be living here.’
Flynn’s lips curved into a smile. ‘You’re here for the open house too?’
But August did not smile. Instead, shocked, she pointed between Flynn and her dream home. ‘You’rehere for the open house?’
Chapter 8
Flynn
‘You’re here to view this same flat?’ August asked. She was pointing at him, and at the house that was his last hope of lining up somewhere to live before starting work the next day.
‘Yes,’ Flynn replied. ‘Don’t you already have somewhere to live here in Bath?’ He wasn’t sure why she was so taken aback, but he had a strong gut feeling he was more deserving of this house.
‘B-but … I have to live there … ’ she stammered in response. ‘Why were you creeping around here so early if you were coming for the open house?’
‘Thanks to jet lag I was awake and thought I’d come up and check it out, make sure it wasn’t going to be a waste of time like all the places I trudged around yesterday. Why were you here, “creeping around” so early?’
‘Because I’m going to get that house.’
He laughed. ‘I see, so you were staking claim like someone who turns up hours before a concert begins, to make sure they’re in the front row.’
‘Something like that,’ she said, nodding. ‘Only you have to share the front row with other people. This place is mine, and you – you distracted me.’
‘I did not distract you. How was I supposed to know you were house-hunting?’
‘Well, I am, and I’ve got to live in that house, man.’
Flynn put his hands on his hips. ‘So have I. I have nowhere else to go. This is my last shot.’
‘What are you talking about? There are a million places to live in Bath.’
‘Yes, there are,’ he agreed. ‘But very few of those are available to move into soon. And those that are, that I can afford, well, I’d frankly rather stay in my hotel.’
‘Great!’ August cried. ‘Then you should do that – wait for something you really like to come up.’ She paused and then pointed her finger at his outfit like he’d duped her. ‘Isthatwhy you’re wearing a suit? So that you make the best first impression at the open house? Damn, that was a good idea,’ she muttered.
‘No, it’s like I told you, I’m just out of clean sweatshirts, now even more so,’ he looked down at the dried coffee stain. ‘I packed light coming from Japan. A baby threw up on me on the flight, I then threw tea on my only other jumper yesterday, and I’ve not had a spare minute to hit a launderette because I’ve been viewing flats since I arrived.’
‘Well, it sounds like you have choices. I think you should pick one of them.’
He shook his head. ‘Believe me, they were not good choices.’
She threw her hands up in the air and huffed, which made him smile. ‘Why didn’t you get a flat sorted before you arrived?’ She demanded. ‘You didn’t think to line something up before packing up your life and flying around the world?’ She gasped and lowered her voice. ‘Are you on the run?’
‘No, I’m not on the run,’ Her life must be a lot more dramatic than his to even ask that. ‘Actually, I did have something lined up, a room in a house, but it fell through last minute. How come you’re looking to move already, if you’ve only been here six months? Is there a problem with your flat?’
‘No, it’s fine. It’s great, in fact, you should move in there,’ August teased.
