Stroke of Luck - Opal Carew Page 0,22

you keep your equity.”

Her gaze turned to his, and he was happy to see hope gleaming in her lovely sapphire eyes.

“Why would you do that? You don’t even know me.”

He smiled warmly. “Of course I do. We met earlier today. Remember?” he teased.

Her cheeks flushed. “Thank you, Austin. It’s very kind of you.”

He rested his hand on hers and squeezed. “I don’t like to see anyone bullied.”

Goddamn, touching her had an effect on him he hadn’t anticipated. He meant his attention to be friendly. And a little protective. But there was a need that simmered below the surface. A need that flared when he touched her. It had happened in the pool. Fuck, his cock had lurched to attention when her soft, almost naked body and fallen against his.

“We should order dinner,” Quinn said, picking up one of the menus from the table.

Austin released her hand, his gaze darting to Quinn. He’d expected to see jealousy, or suppressed anger, but none of that flickered in Quinn’s eyes.

The waiter came by and took their orders, and soon they were eating their entrées and making small talk.

Austin had just pushed aside his plate when his cell vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out for a quick glance, and when he saw there was a message from his lawyer, he opened it.

“Damn it,” he said when he scanned the message.

“What is it?” Quinn queried.

6

Austin compressed his lips. He hated to be the bearer of bad news, especially after April had already been through so much today.

“It seems that they’ve already sold your town house.”

“That’s awfully fast. But isn’t that good news?” April asked, her sweet blue eyes wide as she gazed at him.

“No, because they essentially sold it to your ex at a rock-bottom price. So low that you make nothing on the deal.”

“Can they do that?” Quinn asked.

“April, my lawyer said your ex cosigned the loan.”

“Yes. I’d just started my job and didn’t have much of a credit history. Maurice pushed me to buy right away, saying it would be better for me in the long run. He negotiated the mortgage so that I didn’t need much of a down payment, and he got me a low interest rate, but the bank required that he cosign.” She frowned. “But I paid the bills. Every month without fail.”

“It seems he had a clause worked in so that if you defaulted on a payment, or the bank decided to call in the loan, he had the option to buy the property for the amount of the outstanding portion of the loan. It would have been in the small print. He probably had his lawyer go over the contract for you, right?”

She nodded. The color had drained from her face. “I trusted him.”

“Can he get away with this?” Quinn asked, anger flaring in his eyes.

Austin shrugged. “It looks like he did.” He turned back to April and took her hand. “April, I’m sorry I got your hopes up.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “You tried. Thank you for that.”

The waiter came and took away their plates, then brought by a cart covered with tempting desserts. April chose a blueberry custard tart, and Austin took a slice of decadent chocolate cake. Quinn chose mocha cheesecake. The waiter poured them each a cup of the restaurant’s special blend of coffee.

“Let’s do something to lighten the mood,” Austin said.

“Like what?” Quinn sipped his coffee.

“Something that will get us in the right frame of mind for the rest of the evening.” Austin nodded toward a table with a couple sitting together. “Do you see that couple?”

Quinn glanced at the couple who were holding hands and gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes in the secluded booth in a corner of the restaurant.

“Yeah.”

“I bet you a hundred bucks they leave separately.”

Quinn shrugged. “That doesn’t seem likely, since they look like they’re ready to race off to the bedroom together, so sure.”

They watched as the waiter placed a bill on the couple’s table. The man glanced at it, then dropped a pile of cash on top. He slid his arm around her and kissed her, their lips lingering. Then he stood up and walked out of the restaurant. The woman settled back in her seat and sipped her drink.

Quinn pulled out his wallet and snagged a hundred-dollar bill from inside, then handed it to Austin.

“How do you always do that?” Quinn slid his wallet back into his pocket.

“In this case, research, my friend. I saw that he was wearing a wedding ring, and