Page 43 of The Housekeeper

Chapter Eighteen

“It’s Roger McAdams,”the voice on the phone announced.

“Mr. McAdams,” I said. “I was just about to call you.”

“Perfect timing. And please, call me Roger.”

“I’ve been compiling a list of properties that I think might be suitable…”

“Which is exactly why I called. I think I may have found something.”

“Oh?”

“I got a tip from a co-worker about a condo at Harbourfront. Not on the market yet, but the owner is willing to let me have a look-see. Are you free to go over there around five this afternoon?”

Shit,I thought. Last night Harrison had accused me again of putting my job ahead of my family, of not being around enough for Sam and Daphne. And then he’d added a new wrinkle, asking if I was jealous, if I felt threatened. And however vague and unfair such statements had been, hadn’t I promised to try scheduling my appointments so that I was more available to him and the kids?

Of course, that was before he sprang the news of his little weekend getaway to Prince Edward County.

Now you know how it feels,he’d said, a tad too smugly for my liking.

“Sure,” I said to Roger McAdams. “What’s the address? I’ll meet you there.”

He gave me the address. I hung up the phone and left a message for Harrison on his cell, telling him something had come up and I likely wouldn’t be home before seven, and to start dinner without me.

Half an hour later, Harrison left me a message in return: “Why aren’t I surprised?”

No surprise there, either.

Roger McAdams was waiting for me in the all-white marble lobby of the condominium building at Harbourfront. He was taller and better-looking than I remembered, and he seemed so genuinely pleased to see me that it was all I could do to keep from bursting into tears.

“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he said in greeting. “You look beautiful. Blue is definitely your color.”

I brushed some invisible hairs away from my face in an effort to hide the blush I felt spreading across my cheeks. Was he flirting with me? I wondered. “Have you been waiting long?” I asked in return. As I’ve mentioned, flirting has never been my forte.

It’s fun,I heard Elyse say.Maybe you should give it a try.

“Just got here,” he said. “I really appreciate you being able to do this on such short notice.”

“No problem,” I lied, already anticipating the cold shoulder waiting for me at home.

“This way.” He led me through the lushly furnished marble lobby to the bank of elevators to his right. “The condo is on the eighteenth floor, overlooking the water. I have the key.”

“You heard about this place through a co-worker?” I asked on the ride up, even though I already knew the answer. But it was better than listening to the unexpectedly rapid beating of my heart.

What’s the matter with you?I thought.A man pays you a simple compliment and you go all weak in the knees?

“Yes. It’s her boyfriend’s place. He proposed over the weekend, so she thinks they’ll be in the market for something a little bigger. This is supposedly a two-bedroom, but technically it’s really a one-bedroom and a den. Not sure what the distinction is.”

“It means the room has no windows,” I explained. “It would have to have windows for it to qualify as a bedroom.”

He smiled. “You see. That’s why I called you. I didn’t know that.”

The elevators opened onto the eighteenth floor.

“This way,” he said, his hand on my bare elbow as he led me down the carpeted hall.

I felt a jolt of electricity as the palm of his hand connected with the flesh of my arm, and I confess to being disappointed when his arm returned to his side.