The Ivy House - By Drea Stein Page 0,44
He hadn’t said he was single when she had given him the chance, but he hadn’t claimed to be dating anyone either. Had she mistaken the vibes she’d been getting from him all along?
Phoebe almost turned, ready to hurry back to Ivy House, when she was spotted.
“Phoebe.” Chase’s voice was sexy, still tinged with the laughter he had been sharing with the woman on his arm.
Without bothering to disentangle himself, he walked over to Phoebe. The woman under his arm glanced up at him and then over at Phoebe.
“Hello, I’m Caitlyn Randall.” She held out a hand and Phoebe couldn’t quite miss the way the light caught the enormous diamond on her hand. Phoebe felt herself stiffen and plastered what she hoped was a cool and professional smile on her face as she shook the other woman’s hand.
“Forgive me. Caitlyn, this is Phoebe Ryan, the new owner of Ivy House.”
Caitlyn’s eyes lit up and she glanced at Phoebe, speculation in her eyes. “Ivy House, you mean that beautiful old house just up from town? The one with the tower?”
“Yes, I suppose that would be the one.”
“Phoebe recently inherited it from her grandmother, Savannah Ryan.”
“Oh.” Interest lit up in Caitlyn’s eyes and Phoebe braced herself.
Instead of the usual questions, Caitlyn’s look turned serious. “I am so sorry for your loss. I loved your grandmother’s movies. All of them.”
“Thank you,” Phoebe managed to say, knowing she sounded stuffy, but she couldn’t help it. So, this was Chase’s type, this East Coast preppy looker. Caitlyn wore a simple wrap dress with knee-high boots and carried an understated leather bag. She looked like she would be equally at home on the deck of a boat in a retro two-piece or riding out on top of some great Charger, leading the hounds in snuffing out their quarry.
Phoebe thought she should have dressed better. What seemed to pass for California chic seemed hopelessly casual here. The morning had promised warmth today, so she had put on a pair of cut-off jeans and a flowing printed blouse and let her hair fall down loose, held back by her sunglasses.
“Well, good luck. Chase says you’re planning on doing some renovations before you sell. I can’t tell you how excited he is, he’s been dreaming of Ivy House…”
“Caitlyn, surely you need to get back to work,” Chase broke in smoothly. Caitlyn shot him a surprised look.
“Yes, the market waits for no woman,” she said and glanced over at Phoebe and then back to Chase.
“Be sure to say hi to Noah. Tell him I have those parts he wanted.”
“I will. And you make sure you keep my little surprise to yourself. His birthday’s coming up and I want him to truly be delighted.”
“My lips are sealed.”
Caitlyn turned to Phoebe again. “It was wonderful to meet you. Perhaps if you’re going to be in town for a while, I can convince you and Chase to come over for drinks. Noah hates to drink alone.”
“I’m sure that would be wonderful,” Phoebe said, puzzled by the comment.
“Chase, I’ll let you explain. Do you have a card, Phoebe? That way I can be sure to track you down. I find men are terrible with details like that.”
Before Phoebe had quite realized what had happened, she had exchanged cards with Caitlyn Randall.
“Noah as in Noah Randall?” she asked. She remembered now what Lynn had told her and realized she had just come in contact with one-half of a power couple.
“The very same. We go way back,” Chase explained, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and Phoebe saw that it was for him. She smiled. Perhaps it was like having a tableful of Hollywood legends over for Thanksgiving.
When she had told Chase she had some questions about the contract, he had quickly ushered her out of the store and across the street to a set of offices above a modern row of shops. People were busy working, and they paid them little mind, except to say hi to Chase as she followed him down the open floor plan and into his own office.
“Coffee, tea?”
“Coffee would be great,” she said. He pressed a button on his phone and ordered it.
“So you go way back with Caitlyn and Noah Randall?” she asked.
“Noah and Caitlyn live up along the east bank of the harbor. Caitlyn loves to entertain, so you better watch out. You will be getting a call from her. Oh, and she’s a financial advisor, so she’s likely to make sure that