Page 37 of Belonging: KT & Lolo (Good Hope: The Next Generation #2)
“It is. My great-great-grandfather had it imported from Italy when he built the house.” Eliza took a sip of wine and studied him through lowered lashes. “You bought the house without seeing the interior. Risky move.”
“Probably,” he conceded, then chuckled. “You’re right. Definitely risky. But the exterior is in amazingly good shape, and the realtor said the home had been in the same family for over a hundred years. Odds were the interior would meet with my approval.”
They remained standing, neither of them making a move to sit.
Eliza lifted her glass, gestured. “Well, now that you’ve seen a little of it, what do you think?”
“It’s a beautiful home.” His gaze met hers. “I want to assure you I’ll take good care of it.”
Instead of immediately responding, she took a seat and he followed her lead. She swirled the liquid in her glass and considered how to best play this. “I’m not moving out.”
He leaned against the back of the sofa and studied her. Instead of anger in those baby blues, there was assessment. “I own the house.”
“It should never have been placed on the market.” Though Eliza was not one to discuss family matters with friends—much less with a stranger—in this instance she had no choice. “Every word I said to the sheriff is true, Kyle.”
She had his attention. Now she had to make him see that her moving out and him moving in would be a waste of time for both of them.
“You mentioned you’d retained an attorney.” His voice, like hers, was easy and conversational. “You didn’t give details.”
“I don’t like to air my family’s dirty laundry.” She took a breath, then let it out. “But because this is a special situation, I’ll share the details with you. I’d appreciate it if you’d keep what we discuss confidential.”
He gave a slight nod, took a sip of wine.
“My grandmother, who previously owned this house, had instructed my father that the home should go directly to me upon his passing.”
“He’s still alive. The title to the home was in his name.” Kyle kept his gaze on her face. “He was within his legal rights to sell it.”
Eliza couldn’t stop her fingers from tightening around the glass. “She wanted it to go to me.”
“If that’s true, your name should have been on the title.”
The man wasn’t stupid.
“You’re right. I should have insisted my name be placed on the title.” Eliza rose to her feet but waved Kyle down when he started to stand. “I was in college when she died. I trusted that when the time came, the house would be mine. That was my error. I shouldn’t have trusted him.”
A look of sympathy crossed his face. “You should be able to trust your own father.”
“Yes, well, not all fathers are created equal.” Eliza strode to the fireplace, resting her hand on the cool marble. She loved every inch of this place.
“Why didn’t you remind him of that promise when he suggested selling the place?”
“I wasn’t aware the home was even on the market until my father e-mailed me it had been sold.”
“He e-mailed you?” The look of shock on Kyle’s face would have been laughable at any other time.
“That’s right.” Eliza had to press her lips together to keep them from trembling. Angry. It wasn’t hurt but anger she felt toward her dad. She was so angry with him.
“Did he say why he sold it? Did he need the money?”
“Money isn’t a factor. He’s simply meddling in my life. He wants me to move so I can soar.” Eliza’s laugh held no humor. “He’s convinced I can’t do that in Good Hope.”
Kyle shook his head. “He’s placed you in an awkward situation.”
Eliza crossed the distance and sat on the sofa beside him, turning her body to face him. “Let me buy the house back from you. It may take me a little time to arrange the financing, but I can’t lose my home. All I’m asking for is time.”
His gaze searched her face, and something he saw there must have satisfied him, because some of the tension left his shoulders. “I’d like to help you. I really would.”
“I can find you another house in Good Hope.” The words tripped over themselves in her haste to get them out. This was the only place she’d ever felt safe, the only place she’d felt loved. Bits and pieces of her grandmother were everywhere she looked. “I’ll even cover the rent.”
A softness filled his eyes. “I can see you’re really willing to go above and beyond to make this work. But this house is within walking distance of the middle school.”
“Middle school?”
“My sister is coming to live with me.”
The comment elicited all sorts of questions, none of them relevant to the discussion.
Eliza wasn’t sure why the comment had startled her. After all, lots of people had siblings, herself included. But his sister must be young if being close to the middle school was a consideration.
“Why is she going to live with you? ”
“It’s a long story.” He waved a dismissive hand. “But Lolo—Lorraine—will be with me for several months. I want to give her a home while she’s here.”
While Eliza applauded his desire to provide appropriate lodging for his sister, surely there were other houses for sale near the middle school.
“The Dunleveys are considering selling their home down the street. Of course, they’ve been talking of doing that for the last few years.
Eventually, it will come on the market, and it’s a beautiful place. ”
“I don’t have time to wait. Lolo is arriving Saturday.”
Reaching over, she touched his arm. “Please don’t make me move out.”
Something flickered behind his eyes, a look she couldn’t quite decipher.
He rubbed his chin. “This is a large home with a lot of bedrooms.”
Eliza wasn’t sure where he was going with this, so she waited. She told herself it was a good sign he hadn’t yet ordered her to pack her bags. Until that happened, she held on to hope for an amicable resolution.
Even if things went south, that didn’t mean she’d move out. This was her place, and didn’t someone say possession was nine-tenths of the law? All Eliza knew was she’d chain herself to the banister before she’d be kicked out of her own home.
“There may be a solution.”
Eliza expelled the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Kyle was a reasonable man. Why had she ever thought him arrogant?
She smiled and attempted to hide her relief. It was never wise to let someone know they had the upper hand, even if they did. “What are you proposing?”
“We’ll live here together until the legal issues are resolved.”
Enjoy the rest of this feel-good love story today!