I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.

I don’t know what the hell I was doing, letting Levi talk to me like that in his car. I don’t know why I ever agreed to ride in his car in the first place.

By the time we pulled up to the house, I’d made a damn fool of myself. And now he’s in there with an appraising look in his gray eyes that makes my skin crawl.

The moment he walked through the door, I could practically see the prices moving rapid-fire through his brain, on everything. It made me remember why I hated him in the first place, and I can’t fathom why I’ve been fantasizing about him since then.

Because he’s super fucking hot.

The thought is a foul one, and I try to push it out of my mind. I fail. It’s true—he is unbelievably gorgeous, like nobody I’ve ever seen, but waking up in the middle of the night and rushing off to retrieve a card I never should have thought twice about is clearly affecting my ability to make good choices. There are any number of people in New York City who could have arranged this entire affair without resorting to being a relentless flirt. Totally unprofessional. Totally unacceptable. 

I stand in the yard for as long as I can, breathing in the freshly cut grass. This time of day is my favorite at my parents’ house. Everything is still and serene, and it’s like something out of a storybook.

One day, this house was going to be mine. When I was small, I thought of the property in back as my kingdom. And I know it’s stupid and selfish to be distraught about this—my brother barely escaped that accident with his life. I shouldn’t be hung up on the fact that I won’t one day inherit my childhood home. I shouldn’t have taken it for granted, anyway. Nobody I knew in college—well, very few people—had come from families where something on this scale was an option.

I take one last deep breath. If I stand out here much longer, I’m going to get a sunburn, and then I’ll look like even more of an idiot.

Levi is standing at the back door when I turn around, looking at me. I give him a tight-lipped smile, but the sight of him—which was so intoxicating this morning—turns my stomach.

I go across the grass, and then across the flagstone tiles that make up the wide patio. My parents haven’t put out the awning yet. I’m not sure why—since they’re going to end up selling the house, potential buyers should be able to see it at its best—but maybe they have plans I don’t know about.

“Do you have everything you need?”

A smile flickers across Levi’s face, but when he speaks, it’s all business. “I was able to make an initial assessment, yes.”

I stop several steps away from him, putting a clear distance between us. Any closer, and I might fall into the trap of thinking that a man like Levi could ever become a cornerstone of my life. At the very least, I have to keep him far enough away that I won’t be consumed by the heat generated from every one of his flawless muscles, that tight waist, the powerful arms, the powerful hands...

Focus.

“What did you decide?”

He levels his silvery gaze at me. “You were right. My initial offer was insulting.”

I smile at him again. I was right to kick him to the curb when he showed up acting like a cocky bastard. I just can’t let myself forget that he is that cocky bastard, even if he seems far more harmless while he’s sitting across from me eating pancakes. Of course, he’ll never be harmless. He’s the kind of man who will make you want to straddle him on the nearest bed, and then he’ll take you for all you’re worth.

“Go on.”

“Three hundred thousand.” 

That’s a far better offer, but I narrow my eyes. “That’s all?”

He shakes his head. “No. That’s what I’m willing to pay out now. I expect to find pieces that exceed that value while I’m liquidating the property. If and when I do, I’ll add them to the collection and find buyers that will pay prices you’ll be pleased with.”

I narrow my eyes. “That’s not how this works.”

“Isn’t it?”

“No.” Shame curdles in my gut. It was easier to face this in the city, when it wasn’t right in front of me, but now that I’m standing here again... “How it works is that you pay, and I have to take what you can give me. I can’t stand the thought of having people parade through the house again. It makes me sick enough that you’re here.”

The words rush out of me faster than I can stop them, but Levi doesn’t flinch. He just looks at me, his expression neutral. “I can understand that.” He takes in a breath and lets it out again, his shoulders rising and falling underneath his hoodie. Damn it, I want to take that thing off of him. I should have conducted this conversation from the other end of the patio. “But you’re wrong about...it’s a small thing, really.”

Jesus. He is relentless with reminding me how much I don’t want him to be here right now, and it’s almost too much for my mind to handle. I want him, and I want him gone. Can both those things even be true at once?

I guess so.

“What am I wrong about? Please, enlighten me.”

“That’s how it would work if I were here as a buyer for an estate sale. That’s not what I’m offering. That’s off the table.”

My heart drops straight to the flagstones. “What is on the table, then?” It’s a bold question, and I know it, given what I’ve just said to Levi.

“I’m not offering to run an estate sale, or buy out what’s left of the previous sale. I’m offering three hundred thousand against the eventual sale of the pieces here. An estate sale? No.” He scoffs at the thought. “I’m offering to conduct an auction.”