Turbulent Intentions (Billionaire Aviators #1) - Melody Anne Page 0,35

sure she wouldn’t be accepting whatever it was he planned on offering. She couldn’t take advantage of their friendship.

“I know of a great little two-bedroom cottage that’s sitting all empty and alone,” he said, making her heart thump. This might be something she wouldn’t mind accepting if it were affordable.

“I’m listening,” she said. What if it were truly great, though, and just outside her budget? That wouldn’t end her day on a positive note.

“It’s a beautiful place with sweeping views of Puget Sound, all the fog your heart could ever desire. The cottage sits on the property of my relative, and the house is just up the hill so you wouldn’t feel as if you were in the middle of nowhere, but you’ll also have privacy,” he said. “And it’s all yours, if you want it.”

The idea of living right on the water in a place where no neighbors were pounding against her walls was a dream she’d never imagined coming true. But as all dreams had a tendency of shattering when you opened your eyes, she was leery. There would be no way for her to afford such a wonderful place.

“I guess the big question is how much does the person want for rent? I don’t have a terribly large rent budget, Sherman. There’s not a lot I can afford.” Stormy refused to make eye contact as she told him this.

She hated talking money with people, especially someone like Sherman. No, he didn’t flash his money around, but she knew he was far from poor. She didn’t know what exactly he had, but she was sure it was enough to never have to want for anything.

“I think this just might be in your price range, Stormy. The person who owns the property is gone a whole lot and has finally figured out that it’s better not to leave the grounds unattended,” Sherman said. “And with you about to be homeless, it works out best for all parties concerned. As a matter of fact, there’s no rent. You would just take care of the house, make sure no one is coming in when the owner is gone, and maybe stock up on some supplies for when they are back.”

She looked at him with suspicion.

“This seems a lot like a handout to me, Sherman,” she told him.

With innocence shining in his eyes, he held up his hands in surrender. “It’s nothing like that, I swear,” he promised her.

She still wasn’t sure about this. Things that were too good to be true had a tendency to come back and bite her on the ass.

“Who’s this home owner?”

“It’s my nephew. He really isn’t home much at all and you probably won’t even see him—which is why he needs someone living in the guest cottage. But at least I can vouch that your landlord is an upstanding citizen.” Sherman told her.

“Oh. I don’t know why, but I just assumed the owner was a woman,” Stormy said, unsure if she wanted to live so close to a man, even a man related to Mr. Sherman.

It wasn’t that she was a man-hater or anything, but wouldn’t people talk if she moved to his property, make assumptions of who she was and what she was doing there? It mattered to her what people thought about her, though she knew that was stupid. They weren’t living in the olden days.

“I assure you my nephew is utterly harmless,” Mr. Sherman said with a laugh.

“I wasn’t thinking anything other than that,” she quickly said. “It’s just that people . . .” She trailed off. She knew her reasoning shouldn’t be uttered aloud. He didn’t comment, but continued to prod her for an answer instead.

“How about it, Stormy? Help ease my conscience and take this one favor. If you hate living there, you can always move when you have a little bit saved up,” he told her.

Was this charity? Maybe, but he really wanted to do it, so that made it okay, didn’t it?

“That’s a good point,” she said. She wanted to say yes so badly, but still . . .

“You’re a kind soul, Stormy, and I wish you’d allow me to do more for you,” he told her, again patting her hand.

Stormy was speechless at his generosity. She was torn over what to do. She certainly didn’t want to be a charity case, but it sounded like this was legitimate. Besides, it wasn’t like she had a whole heck of a lot of options in front of her. She was