was a little bigger and had a full fitness center and swimming pool, but she didn’t seem all that enthused as she followed me inside the apartment. She didn’t say a word as she strolled through the two different bedrooms and the living room with a large fireplace. Confused by her silence, I asked, “You don’t like it?”
“Are you kidding?” she scoffed. “It’s even more incredible than the last place.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“I’m just worried.”
“About?”
“Clay.” She walked into the kitchen and opened the pantry. “He’s starting his new life with Landry, and they’ve got their own bills to pay. I don’t want to burden him with—”
Before she could finish her sentence, I said, “Hold on, Alyssa. If you’re worried about Hyde being able to afford it, you don’t have to. He can pay for this place and more.”
“But how? He’s a mechanic at the garage.”
“He’s more than a mechanic, and the garage does damn well, so you can rest easy there. Besides, you might be able to afford it on your own.”
“Maybe”—she glanced around the apartment and smiled—“but if I can’t, I could always pay him back when I start making more.”
“Doubt he’d let ya, but yeah, you could.” I walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. “So, what do you think of the place?”
“I love it.”
“Good. I thought you would.” I gave her a quick wink. “You ready to go see the others?”
“Absolutely.”
She followed me back to the main office, and after I’d returned the keys, we drove over to our next stop—a small rental house with a fenced-in back yard. As I’d hoped, she really liked it, even better than the two apartments, which made her very excited about seeing the last place I had to show her. As soon as we got back in the truck, Alyssa turned to me and said, “I really appreciate you doing this for me. I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you.”
“I can think of a way.”
“Oh, really?”
I could tell by her tone that she thought I had something inappropriate in mind, and even though it was tempting to play along, I decided against it. “Once you’re all moved into your new place, you can fix me one of those fancy dishes of yours.”
“Oh ... Yeah, I could definitely do that.”
“Great. I’ll look forward to it.”
We were getting close to the final house I wanted to show her when she turned to me with an odd expression. “Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Sure. Whatcha got on your mind?”
“You told me that your road name is T-Bone, but you never told me your real name.”
“It’s Beckett. Beckett Walker.”
“Hmmm ... I get why the guys call you T-Bone and all. There’s not many people who can eat a steak that big and win dinner for the entire group, but Beckett is a great name.”
“Thanks, glad you think so.”
“Do you mind if I call you Beckett instead of T-Bone?”
“Baby, you can call me whatever you want.”
Before she could respond, I pulled up into the driveway and parked. When she saw the quaint yellow house centered in the middle of the historical district, she gasped. “Oh my … Is this it?”
“Yep.”
“Seriously?”
“Do you want to see inside or what?”
“Are you kidding me? Of course I want to see inside!”
We got out of the truck and climbed up the front porch steps. Excitement was radiating off of Alyssa as she watched me reach into the mailbox and pull out the key then unlock the door. When we stepped inside, I was impressed to see that it looked even better than I’d expected. As she started to walk through the living room, I said, “They just renovated the kitchen. It has all new granite countertops, new cabinets, and tile floor. There are hardwood floors throughout with two bedrooms and—”
I stopped talking when Alyssa started to giggle. “You sound like a realtor.”
“Is that right?”
“Um-hmm. But you don’t look like any realtor I’ve ever seen.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
Her brows furrowed. “Nothing ... I, uh ...”
“You don’t think I could do the whole snub-nosed, suit-wearing sales-guy thing?”
“W-wait a minute. I didn’t mean it like that,” she stammered. The freckles that dappled her nose crinkled as her brows furrowed with worry. It was clear that she thought she’d actually offended me. “I just—”
“Don’t sweat it.” I chuckled. “I was just messing with ya.”
“Seriously?” She raked her teeth across her bottom lip, then smiled and shook her head. “That’s just wrong.”
“Sorry, couldn’t help myself.” I laughed as I