it landed so hard. She opened her mouth, ready for some verbal pouncing, when he held up his hands, palms out in clear surrender. “That wasn’t a criticism,” he said. “I’m always suspicious of people who are too neat. A home should look like people want to be there.”
“Great. I passed your test. Now, what do you need?”
“I was wondering if you’ll be going back to real estate now that you’ve left the department.”
She peered at him, hard. “You came out here to discuss my career plans?”
“No. I mean, perhaps indirectly. I happen to need a real estate agent, and since I’m new to Spellbound Falls, you’re the only one I know.”
“Is there something wrong with your cabin?”
“Other than being small and full of mosquitos, you mean?”
“Here in Maine, we call that charm.” Katy grinned, unable to resist reminding him he was an outsider.
The blue eyes twinkled. “Oh, I’m well acquainted with the charm of the place. I’m just not sure my Aunt May will share that view.”
“You have an Aunt May?”
“I most certainly do. And she means to come visit very shortly.”
Katy felt a little like the top of her head might lift off. This couldn’t be, not if Gunnar was a warrior from Atlantis. Not if he was ages old. Unless Aunt May was from Atlantis, too . . .
Needing to center herself, she walked over to her table, pulled out a chair, and gestured for Gunnar to take the other. “Let me get my notepad,” she said as she dug through a kitchen drawer.
“You’ll help me?” He sounded like a kid who’d just been given ice-cream money.
“I’ll listen. Do some looking. No promises.”
He dropped into the straight-backed chair. “None expected.”
Pen and pad in hand, Katy sat down opposite him and fixed her eyes on his. Something flickered deep inside, equal parts hope and intrigue and desire. How was this man constantly able to surprise her? “So, you need a house for Aunt May?”
“Well, I need a house for me, so I’ll have a comfortable place for her to stay.”
“Any specific location?”
“I was thinking I’d like something on Bottomless.”
Wow. Nice choice. “That’s going to be pricey.”
“I figured. But something about it reminds of me home, of Iceland, which should make Aunt May feel right at home.”
Iceland? Really? “You looking to rent or buy?”
“Maybe rent with the option to buy?”
Katy grinned again. “Commitment issues?” she said before she’d even realized her intention to speak. Why did this man make her want to flirt like crazy, even when she was mad at him?
Gunnar chuckled. “I’m working on it.”
Hmm . . . was he now? She took a minute to jot down the details, a break from his rugged face her ulterior motive. His smile was still impossible to resist.
“Tell me about Aunt May,” she said after a few moments.
“She’s hard to describe. I think you’re better off just meeting her.”
Her heart thrummed faster than seemed healthy. “I’ll be meeting her?”
He shrugged. “I think that’s part of the plan.”
Huh? Katy gulped. “Whose plan?”
“Well, Aunt May’s mostly, but I guess mine, too.”
“Why would that be her plan?” Katy’s voice sounded like it had in high school, squeaking exactly like it had when Ryan Forrester asked her to prom.
“I told her about you. Before. When it seemed like there was something to tell.”
“You talked to your aunt about me?”
He leveled a look on her, full of oh-please-you-know-what-I’m-talking-about energy. His eyes rolled gently, clearly calling her crazy. Katy’s smile begged to come back, but she held it at bay. Man, talk about an unexpected turn of events.
“What did you tell her?”
“Apparently, more than I’ve ever told her about a woman before. Hence the visit.”
Suddenly grateful she was already sitting down, Katy shook her head and looked back at her notepad. “You two sound close,” she said.
“Well, she raised me when my father couldn’t do the job. And she protected me, pulled me free of his toxic, alcoholic cloud.”
Katy’s heart wobbled. The little boy softness took over his features again, and a gust of gratitude blew through her, made her want to know this woman and to be a woman like her, someone who made space in her life for a child in need.
“She sounds wonderful.”
“She is. She’s also a handful, but I guess I consider that part of the wonderful at this point.”
Her own mother’s worried face flashed in Katy’s mind, bringing her back to their conversation on the island and the way she’d looked when Katy told her Gunnar was one of Nicholas’