Page 123 of Slumming It

"What?"

"I oweyousome fun in return."

"You do, huh?"

"Hell yeah." He leaned forward to say, "I told you what I'm gonna do for your sister. Now let's talk about you."

"Me?" I said. "But helping Vivianissomething for me."

But already, Reese was shaking his head. "That only solvesoneproblem I caused. Let's talk about the rest."

I stared across the table. "The rest?"

"You remember the original consulting deal, right?"

"How could I forget?"

"I want to do it again," he said. "But this time for real."

Nervousness crept up my spine. "For real how?"

"I'm looking for land, and I could use a local perspective."

This wasn't what I wanted to hear. "How much land?"

He studied my face. "Not as much asyou'rethinking."

"What do you mean?"

He smiled. "I'm not gonna buy up the whole town, if that's what you're afraid of."

Ihadbeen afraid. And now I was oddly touched that he'd used my exact wording to describe the thing I feared most.So he'd actually been listening?

Lately, he had been full of surprises, but I still wanted to make certain that he wasn't going to destroy the places I loved most. "So how much of the townareyou looking to buy?" I let out a shaky laugh. "Half?"

"It's not the town that interests me. It's the parcels around it."

I was surprised. "How big is a parcel?"

"I’m thinking maybe ten acres – something for a nice summer house."

"Foryou?"My pulse quickened. "Are you planning to actually live here?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." He gave another shrug. "Maybe I won't build anything at all. The point is, I want to take a look around, and I'd like your help."

It sounded too good to be true. "But I'm no realtor."

"Yeah, but you know the area, right? Trust me, I could use your help, and I'm willing to pay for it."

Already, my head was swimming with the possibilities – not just of looking for land, but of the idea that Reese Murdock might actually end up living here, even if only on a seasonal basis.

In a crazy way, that changed everything.

I felt myself smile. "Will you still give me a bonus if I say 'golly gee.'?

He smiled back. "If that's what it takes."

"And how about clothing?" I teased. "Do I get to pick out my own this time?