Page 35 of Unscripted Love

“I don’t want less than two acres or more than five or six,” I explained.

“Believe it or not, I think I might know the perfect house,” he told me.

“You do? I’ve been looking for the past few days and haven’t found anything close to what I’m looking for,” I told him.

“There’s a property that’s about to go on the market that meets all the requirements you listed. I can call the seller’s agent and ask if you can see it before it gets listed,” Becker told me.

“Really?” I asked.

“Absolutely,” he said proudly. “Let me give Stacey a call and we’ll see what she has to say.”

Becker called fifteen minutes later and said we had an appointment to look at the house the following Monday night. He provided me with an address, and I drove by it after I left work for the day. The house was perfect, and I couldn’t wait for my tour. If the interior was as nice as the exterior, I’d make on offer Monday night. I was too excited to go straight home and decided to drive to the salon to see Chaz. I hoped to steal a few minutes of his time before he switched jobs.

I drove around to the back of the salon and parked since he was due to leave shortly. I started looking through my emails on my phone to pass the time and was startled when someone knocked on my window. Meredith stood on the other side grinning mischievously at me. I rolled down my window and said, “Good evening, Mere.”

“Have you taken to creeping around here at twilight?” she asked.

“Nah, I just wanted to tell Chaz some exciting news before I went home. Do you think that will be okay?”

“I think it’s just what the doctor ordered after the kind of day he had,” Mere told me. “He won’t be much longer.”

“Okay,” I replied. I would wait as long as it took, especially if there was any chance that I could make his day better.

I saw him before Chaz saw me. He looked down at his feet as he walked down the back porch steps. I didn’t need to see his face to know he was stressed; his body was rigid with tension. “Hey, handsome,” I said through the open window.

Chaz stopped suddenly and jerked his head in my direction. A smile spread slowly across his face, and I was happy to see some of his stress fade. “How long have you been sitting out here? You could’ve come inside.”

“I’ve only been here a few minutes,” I answered. “I don’t want to keep you long because I know you have a writing deadline, but I have some exciting news that I wanted to share with you.”

“Yeah?”

“I decided to move forward with buying a house instead of staying in the rental in town. I got preapproved for a loan and talked to a realtor tonight. He found the perfect home for me, and I’ll get to tour it before it’s listed on the market. I drove by the house before I came over here. I can’t wait to see the interior.”

Chaz tipped his head to the side. “Does it have your pond?”

“It does, and it’s the perfect size—not too small and not too big,” I replied.

“Good to know that you’re not a size queen,” Chaz teased. “Tell me about the rest of it.”

“How about I show you in person?” I asked.

“Now?”

“Monday,” I answered. “I’d like for you to come with me.”

“Me?” Chaz sounded surprised that I would want him to tour the house.

Apparently, I needed to step up my game if he couldn’t see how much I wanted to be with him. “Who else?”

“Your mom or sisters,” Chaz suggested.

“I prefer that you go with me,” I told him.

“Okay then,” Chaz said. “The salon will be closed, so I’m available anytime.”

“I’ll pick you up at six thirty,” I told him. “Mere said you had a rough day. Is there anything I can do to make it better?”

“You already did,” Chaz answered shyly then stood on his tiptoes to lean in the window. “Maybe a kiss.”