Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

"This is great advice," the elderly client said to Hudson, jotting down comments in a little notepad, his handwriting spidery on the page. "My sons offered to help with all the heavy lifting, but we didn't know what to prioritize before getting on the market."

"Happy to help," Hudson said absently. This was the kind of pre-sale meeting he had had hundreds of times with hundreds of clients over the years. "But your instincts were already correct. You want to fix anything that's going to ding an inspection and then any obvious aesthetic elements, especially ones that are easy fixes. Slapping a coat of paint up can also get you a lot of bang for your buck, in terms of getting higher asking prices." Forcing himself to focus, Hudson grinned. "Especially if your sons are doing the painting for you."

"Darn tootin' they are," the older man said. "They put all these gray hairs on my head with their antics over the years, so it's time for them to pay up."

The two men shared a chuckle and then a few more moments of polite small talk before the client left, promising to be back in touch when he had his house in better shape to go on the market. Hudson thanked him for his time, then settled back into his chair with a sigh as he found himself alone in his office.

Time was, meeting new clients had been the best part of Hudson's job. And this meeting hadn't been bad, nothing of the sort. But it just didn't feel quite as satisfying as it usually was.

Not when half his mind was on Lori and the Burrows property instead of here, in his own office, where it belonged.

Or… was that where his mind belonged anymore?

The best parts of his job, or of any of his days, really, had recently all been the times that he spent with Lori. He felt his mouth begin to tip up into a smile at the mere thought of the redhead that had captured his thoughts… and his heart.

It was incredible, truly, how far they had come in such a short period of time. They were reaching those latter days of summer now, when the sun started to feel more golden as if reminding everyone that the oranges and reds of fall were just around the corner. But it was still summer, and when the season had begun, Lori and Hudson had still firmly considered one another rivals.

Working on Dorothy's house together had changed everything for him.

He needed to send Dorothy some flowers or a fruit basket or something, he decided. Find a way to thank her for being such an overall pain in the butt that Lori had needed to take on Hudson's help… though he probably wouldn't phrase his thanks exactly like that.

"Hey, Hudson, how'd that meeting go?" Hudson's assistant, Dan, a guy in his mid-twenties who had a baby on the way with his wife, stuck his head through the door to Hudson's office.

"Oh, good," Hudson said, wondering how long he'd been woolgathering. "They're going to spruce up the place and then come back to get the sale moving. The owner wants to downsize now that all his kids are grown and possibly move closer to the grandkids who live outside Boston."

Dan nodded. "I'll put a note to touch base with them in a few months if we haven't heard back," he said. "Just to keep up the contact."

"Amazing," Hudson said. There was one thing to say for his distraction: he could afford to let his mind wander a little when he had an assistant as efficient as Dan.

Dan moved slightly, as if he was planning to leave the room, then seemed to change his mind.

"Everything okay, boss?" he asked. "You seem a little distracted."

Hudson smiled, giving his head a clearing shake. Apparently he was so dreamy-eyed about Lori that people were starting to notice.

"Oh, yeah, everything's a-okay," he said. "I'm just thinking about the Burrows property."

That wasn't totally a lie, he figured, even if he was technically more focused on the real estate agent that managed the property than the property itself.

Dan nodded. "Yeah, what a project that's been, huh? Looks like it's starting to wrap up now though, right?"

"Right," Hudson said, not as happy about it as he should have been. He and Lori were realtors, so obviously selling a house was always a good thing, but…

But he'd be sad to stop working with her when it was all over. The feeling crashed over him like a wave.

Except… Why did he have to stop working with her just because the one house they'd worked on together was finally getting sold? What if they decided to keep up their collaboration?

Now that was an idea.

"Hey, Dan," he said, already reaching for a pen, his mind racing a mile a minute. "Hold my calls for the next little while, would you? I have something I want to work through."

Dan looked intrigued but didn't ask any questions. Hudson decided to fill the younger man in later, when he had turned the wisps of an idea floating through his brain into something a bit more solid.

"Sure thing, boss," Dan said, returning to his desk.

Hudson was old school, preferring to make notes on a legal pad rather than typing them into his computer. He pulled one of the pads, which he always had within reach, in front of him and started scribbling. The ideas flowed out of him like water.

It was very simple, when he really laid it all out. He wanted to spend more time with Lori, both personally and professionally. The collaboration and connection between them weren't restricted to one realm or the other, and the more time he spent with her in one capacity, the stronger their bond became in the other.

And maybe, if he made some adjustments, there was a way to make both of those bonds even stronger and closer…

He kept writing for ages, a broad, optimistic smile spread across his face.

"Honestly, it is just marvelous, darling," Dorothy gushed, turning in a wide-armed circle like she was Maria von Trapp taking in the hills alive with the sound of music. Despite the long and arduous road to getting this house staged, Lori bit back a smile. She couldn't fault Dorothy for her flair.

"Thank you very much," Lori said politely.

"And truly, darling, don't think I don't know that I put you through your paces," Dorothy admitted. At least she recognized it, Lori thought, although Dorothy didn't precisely look sorry about it. "But when you've lived in a place for as many years as I've enjoyed in this house, it becomes a part of you. And I couldn't let that part go until I knew it was in the perfect hands."

"I appreciate that," Lori offered graciously. "But I have to tell you… it wasn't all me. I got quite a bit of help from Hudson Boone." She felt a giddy smile crossing over her face as she spoke his name and quickly looked out the window so Dorothy wouldn't see.

Her efforts weren't terribly successful, however, because when she looked back, Dorothy was eyeing her with a speculative look.

"That," the older woman said, "is very interesting. Because, you know, darling, it wasn't the easiest thing in the world, choosing between you and that handsome young man."

Lori's lips twitched in another smile. She wasn't sure Dorothy was older by enough years to get away with calling Hudson a "young man," but she wasn't going to argue with the quirky client either.

"If I'd known I could have had you both though," Dorothy went on musingly, "I would definitely have gone that route. Although perhaps I ended up on that road anyway. Isn't life strange like that?"

Lori decided this was probably a rhetorical question. She liked, however, the idea that working with Hudson was the work of fate at play. Their connection was so special that she felt it deserved that kind of acknowledgement from a larger force.

"Anyway," Dorothy beamed, "it's wonderful to see how well the two of you work together. I am certain that the house will sell like hotcakes now that it's in such beautiful shape. I do say, you and that nice Mr. Boone do have quite the eye for things, once you put your heads together… instead of butting them," she added with a raised eyebrow.

A fleeting blush crossed Lori's cheeks. From this side of things, their rivalry felt very childish, indeed.

She decided to focus on the more professional side of Dorothy's words. "I'm hopeful the property will sell quickly too," she said diplomatically.

She wanted to come off as confident, but on the inside, she had doubts. Dorothy's house was beautifully staged, yes, as well as being a lovely property. But it was big and expensive. Despite the handful of successful showings she'd had over the last week or so, she still hadn't had any offers, and it was starting to make her the tiniest bit nervous. Not that the house would never sell, of course. It was too beautiful for that. But sometimes large houses like these lingered on the market while potential buyers hedged over making such a significant financial investment. It wasn't a problem , per se, but it was definitely a process that was frustration for both the seller and the real estate agent.

"Hope is as hope does," Dorothy said. Lori was pretty sure this was nonsense, but the older woman spoke with such confidence that Lori didn't dare correct her. Besides, she'd known Dorothy was eccentric from the jump, hadn't she?

"So true," she responded neutrally instead.

"Well, I must be going," Dorothy trilled. "Don't want to hang about the place while you show it to buyers like I'm some sort of ghost of homeowners past. Toodles, darling, and do say hello to that handsome fellow of yours for me, will you?"

And with a knowing wink that said Dorothy was well aware that Lori and Hudson had been doing more than working together, the older woman disappeared, leaving Lori shaking her head and chuckling. Despite everything, she still found she liked Dorothy… though liking her was definitely easier when Dorothy wasn't sending her bonkers instructions at all hours of the day and night.

Lori was still in a cheerful mood when her next potential buyer arrived. When the woman came through the front door, Lori had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't Dorothy returning.

But no, this woman was younger, probably younger than even Lori herself. But she had Dorothy's exact same air about her, as evidenced by the way she spread her arms grandly at the house in an echo of the pose Dorothy had struck not long prior.

"Well, golly," the woman said in a delighted gasp. "Would you look at this place?"

Lori crossed to her and offered her hand for a shake. The woman took it in both of her hands, which were liberally decorated with rings.

"Hi, I'm Lori Sims, the agent managing this property."

"Yes, yes, dear, of course you are," the woman answered. "I'm Matilda Cartwright, of course. We spoke on the phone."

"I'm so glad to finally meet you in person."

"Me too, Lori, me too," Matilda answered, tucking the ends of her sandy bob, which was only slightly tending toward gray, behind her ears. "Now, show me your masterpiece, won't you?"

The two women quickly began the tour, and Matilda cooed and clapped over many of the little details that Dorothy had insisted that Lori painstakingly enact. Matilda practically fainted when she saw the antique teacups.

"My, my, what the most charming collection!" she exclaimed. "I wonder if the seller is interested in parting with any of these rooms as is. I do love to let the old flair of a house into a new ownership. One must respect the history and spirit of a place, I think."

"I would be happy to ask her if she's interested in that," Lori said, hiding a smile. Apparently there had been a method to Dorothy's madness after all. The tour went smoothly, leaving Lori very optimistic at the end.

"Well, my dear, this place is perfect. Just perfect! Precisely what I've been looking for," Matilda gushed, offering Lori two air kisses above her cheeks as she prepared to depart. "You shall be hearing from me soon, don't you fret." And she swanned off airily, leaving the pleasant, lingering scent of expensive perfume behind her.

As Lori locked up the house, which had caused her so much stress but had brought a wonderful relationship into her life as well, she looked at it with new eyes. Matilda's eyes, maybe. From that perspective, the house didn't look odd… it looked personalized.

"It's like I always say," she murmured, patting the front door of the house like it was an old friend. "There's a house for everyone."