Bidding Wars (Love Strikes) (5 page)

“It’s one of the perks of my job. Oh, and you’re in the phone book. You happen to be the only Molly Harper in the area.” Luke gestured with an upturned palm.

“So not only do you want my house, but you’re a stalker.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame.

He was just about to speak when the delivery boy came up with her food. She handed the money to him and took her bags. The delivery boy looked at them with a quizzical look before thanking her for the tip and departing. Damn, she gave the kid a twenty and didn’t get any change. No wonder he thanked her.

“Make this quick. I don’t want my food getting cold.”

“I’m sure you know what I’ve come to talk about.”

“You know, my realtor wouldn’t be happy about you being here.”

“Yes, and mine wasn’t happy with you coming to my workplace. But this has become personal, so it’s only fitting I come to you for a change. Can I come in?”

“You’re a stranger.”

“I’m hardly a stranger. And besides, I should be scared of you and your temper. I promise, this won’t take long and when you want me to leave, just say so and I’ll go.”

She shrugged. What the hell? What could it hurt? At least now she could call Diane and tell her he had approached her, proving she wasn’t the only nut job out there. “I don’t know why I’m doing this, but OK, you can come in.”

He followed her in. Molly took a seat on the couch, and he followed suit.

“How’s Sammy?”

“Much better. And you were right; it was just a bug. I just dropped him off with his mom. She doesn’t live far from here, actually.”

“What a coincidence.” Her voice was full of sarcasm. “So…talk.”

She stared at him, trying to figure out what he wanted and what was left to discuss when it came to the house. Maybe he was here to gloat or ask her to withdraw her offer.

As she waited for him to speak, she studied him a little more carefully, but all she could see was a very attractive man who was gazing at her with kindness. He looked nervous, but his eyes were speaking to her as though they were trying to look through her own eyes and deep into her soul.

A fluttery feeling started in her stomach, and her heart rate sped up. She wasn’t sure what had come over her, but she was seeing Luke in a new way. That way Theresa had wanted her to look at him. And she wasn’t sure why.

“What did you want to talk about?” She glanced away from him.

“Did you want to eat while we talk?” He motioned toward her food.

“I don’t want to be rude and eat in front of you.”

“I see two pairs of chop sticks. I could join you.”

Eating dinner with him would be too personal. She didn’t want to get on that kind of a level with him. He was her enemy. She had to remember that. But the way he was looking at her, she wasn’t so sure he was feeling the same about her. In fact, she couldn’t quite pinpoint why he was staring at her the way he was. God knew she looked a wreck. Her hair was in messy bun, and she’d had these pajamas for years.

“I can wait.” But after she said it, her stomach rumbled, betraying her once again.

Luke leaned forward and took out the first box and handed it to her. “Eat. I don’t think you’re being rude. I actually ate with Sammy before I took him back to his mother.”

She took the food from him, and her hand lingered a moment too long. He had a spark in his eyes. Crap, that’s what she was worried about. He was attracted to her. But why? Maybe he’d come over here to seduce her and make her fall in love with him, and in return he was going to steal her house.

She shook her head. She was being crazy.

“So why are you here?” She took a bite of her food.

“You’ve been on my mind since I met you.”

“Well, we have something in common we both want.”

“If things were different and I asked you on a date, would you go?”

She dropped her chopstick into the takeout dish, not expecting him to ask her such a question. “I don’t know you.” She tried her best to focus on picking up her chopsticks with shaking fingers and not on the man in front of her.

“Would you want to know me?”

Yes!
She took another bite and shrugged her shoulders.

“I want to know you.” He leaned toward her a bit and panic set in.

“Stop right there. Don’t get any closer.” She brandished a chopstick.

He didn’t say anything, instead he added the distance she needed back between them as he rested in to the couch cushion. She wasn’t ready for this. A man hadn’t come on to her in years. Her ex-husband was the first and only man she’d ever dated or been with. This was a new territory for her. She had to get in control of this situation.

“I’m sorry.” He spoke softly.

“I don’t understand where this is coming from. I thought you were here to talk about the house, not to come onto me. If I let out some vibe that I was easy, I apologize. I’m not looking for any hanky-panky or a relationship.”

“I can’t get you out of my mind. And I wanted to know if things were different, would you give me a chance. That’s why I came here today.” Luke moved farther away from her, giving her the space she desperately needed.

“Things aren’t different, so I can’t answer that.” Molly set the food down and stood up to put more distance between them. She couldn’t breathe being so close to him.

“What if I walk away from the house? Take away my offer. Would you give me a chance?”

Did she just hear him right? Had he said he’d withdraw his offer if she gave him a chance? She bit her lip. If she said yes, she would get her dream home and the bidding war would be over. But was that what she truly wanted?

Chapter Six

Luke watched the wheels turning in Molly’s head. He didn’t know what she would say, but if she said yes, he was prepared to walk away from the house. The whole situation was crazy, but it was only a house. There was something about the woman in front of him that made his heart speed up and cause him to not think straight. He felt things for her he had never felt before. And what the hell it was, he didn’t know. He’d never even touched her.

He knew though, that if he kissed her, his world would stop.

“I don’t know what kind of game you’re trying to play, but you’re insane.” She crossed her arms. “You just show up here and now you want to date me. I think you should leave.”

“You didn’t answer me. If the house wasn’t part of this, could we have something together?” He put his hand on his pocket, poised to retrieve his cell phone. “I’ll call my realtor right now, if that’s what it’ll take.”

She shook her head with anger, and he knew rejection was coming.

“I have no idea. You can’t just throw this on someone like that. You don’t know me. And if I wanted to, I could tell you yes to your silly question just to get the house. But I’m not. We both love that house, but it’s only meant for one of us. I don’t know which one of us it is, but we wouldn’t be in this position otherwise.”

She had a point. One of them was meant to have the house. He knew nothing about her and her life. What she did aside from being a nurse. He glanced around her living room. There weren’t pictures anywhere. Nothing to tell him a thing about her. The place was hardly decorated. All she had was furniture. It was a place she existed in, not a place she lived and loved in.

“How long have you lived here?”

“A year. Why?”

“I was noticing you have nothing here that makes this place yours. Nothing that shows me anything about you.”

“So sorry. I’ll get right on decorating this place for you.” Her tone was laced with sarcasm. “I asked you to leave. You’re making me uncomfortable.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I am a little thrown off about why you’re here and what you want. I’m hungry and I have a full week ahead of me. Can we cut this talk short?”

Probably a good idea, since she’d asked him to leave twice already. This visit did not go the way he’d planned. On the drive over, he had envisioned her being so happy he would give the house up, that she’d throw herself in his arms and they’d spend the evening getting to know one another. Maybe she was right—he was insane.

He stood and walked past her. Her arms were crossed, and her stance was cold. She wasn’t interested, and the rejection hurt. At her door, he turned to her. “I meant what I said. I’d like to get to know you.”

He opened her door and left. As he walked down her front pathway, he hoped she’d come out and call to him. Anything to give him hope she might be somewhat interested, but as he climbed in his truck, that didn’t happen.

She was full of pain—that was one thing he knew. He didn’t know what the pain was or who had caused it, but whatever it was, she was having a hard time moving away from it. Whoever had caused her that pain he’d like to find and lock away. All he wanted to do was take it away and make her feel better. He wanted to see happiness shine from those big brown eyes, not the sad eyes she always carried.

Picking up his phone, he dialed Leslie to check on Sammy. As usual, Sammy hadn’t wanted to go back to his mother’s, and that broke his heart. He didn’t know how much of it was his son playing him to see if he could stay with him longer or if he truly didn’t like living with his mother. Either way, something had to change.

* * *

“I’m really confused.” Sandy helped Molly stock the patient rooms for the day.

“You’re not the only one.” Molly stuffed some cotton balls in a glass container.

“If you agreed to go on a date with him, then he’d back out of his offer?”

She shrugged. “Something like that.”

“And you didn’t agree for the hell of it?”

She shook her head. “That wouldn’t have been right.”

“Who cares? It was his choice to lay out that offer.”

“I know. But he has a son and—”

“I think you’re just as crazy as he is for not taking him up on the offer. Did you ever stop to think about what he might feel for you? That’s a lot to give up just for a date. Maybe he likes you…a lot.”

Her friend had a point. She hadn’t stopped to think about that. Did he
really
like her? She’d done nothing but be mean to him. She’d shown no interest in him. Maybe he liked bitchy, bossy women?

“Can we talk about something else?” Molly sighed.

“No. Besides him giving you that offer, did he make a move?” Sandy leaned against the wall.

“Not really. He had this look in his face though. I haven’t seen anyone look at me that way since…since Steven and I were dating.”

“Maybe he really does like you.”

“But why?” That was what she couldn’t figure out. Love at first sight didn’t exist.

Sandy put her hands on her hips. “Have you ever looked in the mirror? First, you’re drop-dead gorgeous. I’m sure he took one look at you and wanted you. Next, you think you’re weak, but you don’t come across that way to others. You’re strong and passionate.”

“Whatever.” She walked out of the room. She didn’t want to hear anymore. Diane said she’d know something tomorrow. Then, hopefully, she’d never have to see or think about Luke again.

Date him
. Yeah, right. Everyone around here needed to be in a madhouse. There was no way that he liked her. Most likely, what happened last night was just an attempt to convince her to withdraw her offer. Perhaps his fine self had expected her to be putty in his hands and be flattered by his offer. He probably expected that the lonely nurse would turn it around and withdraw her offer for the chance that the hunky sheriff might actually want to date her. Now that was a scenario she could believe.

The morning had been slow, which was usual for a Monday morning. They’d get busy later in the afternoon when the nine-to-five pediatricians got full. One of the early patients was a little girl who fell off the monkey bars at school and sprained one of her wrists. Molly had been proud of the girl. She’d been so brave as they did X-rays and bandaged her up. The little girl had gotten a bright purple cast and couldn’t wait to go to school the next day to have all her friends sign it. The mother hadn’t been as thrilled as the daughter.

Her cell phone vibrated in the front pocket of her scrubs. Pulling it out, she saw she had a new text message from Diane.

Call me on your lunch break
.

She dropped the phone back into her pocket. What could it be about? The offers were just submitted this morning and Diane had said Tuesday would be the earliest they’d know anything. She doubted anyone had swooped in and taken the house. Perhaps another house popped up in the neighborhood and Diane wanted to let her know because she knew how much she loved the area.

The next half hour was the longest thirty minutes of her life. She was dying to know what Diane had to tell her. And it didn’t help that she didn’t have a patient to attend to. Finally the receptionist up front told her it was her turn to take a break. Molly didn’t have to be told twice. She’d forgotten her lunch on the counter this morning, so she was going to head out to get a bite to eat. Once she was in her car, she pulled her phone out and dialed Diane, who answered right away.

“Guess what?” Diane’s tone was almost giddy.

Molly’s heart sped up. “What?”

“You got the house!”

“I
what
?”

“You got the house.”

“Really, I had the best offer?” Molly could not believe her ears.

“I don’t know. Your competition dropped out. He withdrew his offer.”

“Luke did what?”

“He changed his mind on the house. Your offer was the only one the seller received this morning and the timeframe to get in his offer is over. So yours was accepted.”

“The house is mine. I can’t believe it.” A grin spread across her face. She was getting her dream home.

Diane gabbed away, but Molly was baffled that he had done such a thing. What kind of game was this man playing?

Chapter Seven

Molly gripped the brass handle and pulled open the heavy glass door. She stepped inside the building as a rush of cool air hit her. Rubbing her arms, she took a deep breath and continued on her mission.