If she was looking forward to the outing—or dreading it—there was no way to tell from her placid expression. He couldn’t help wondering if there was anyone who knew Jacqui well enough to read her emotions when she made an effort to hide them.
Mitch had predicted Jacqui would take the house hunt seriously—she seemed to take most things seriously—but he was rather amused by how intently she went about the search. During the drive to the first apartment, she helped him make out a quick checklist of the things that were important to him. Location, price, privacy, parking. Because he wasn’t committed to either renting or buying, they were looking at a selection of apartments, condos and houses.
“There’s always Seth’s house,” he said as he parked in the lot of the first apartment complex. “I’m sure he’d offer me a good deal. I know there have been a few nibbles on it the past week, one fairly serious offer, so if I take that one, I’ll have to grab it soon.”
She tilted her head his way to study his face as she reached for her door handle. “I don’t think you should buy Seth’s house.”
Apparently she was following through on her warning that she would tell him exactly what she thought today.
“Yeah? How come?” he asked, genuinely curious about her reasoning.
She lifted one shoulder slightly. “You aren’t excited about it. It’s something you feel obligated to consider because your mom likes the idea and because you think it would be doing a favor for your brother-in-law to take the place off his hands.”
“I’m not really excited about buying any house,” he reminded her.
“You should be. Buying a house isn’t like buying a pair of shoes. You’re talking about a home. A private retreat for you and for the family you might have someday. It’s a long-term investment and commitment and it should be important to you. Or you might as well just rent.”
Maybe she was afraid she’d revealed a little too much about herself in that lecture—as perhaps she had, he mused. Before he could respond, she had her door open and was standing impatiently in the parking lot.
“The location of this one isn’t ideal,” she said, her tone emotionless now. “A lot of traffic between here and the hospital at rush hour.”
“I don’t usually keep a typical rush-hour schedule,” he commented lightly, locking the car behind them when he joined her. “But you’re right, this wouldn’t be my first-choice site.”
“We should look at it anyway. Maybe there will be other assets that will outweigh the location.”
“Of course.” He followed her obediently to the rental office.
Jacqui didn’t have to tell him her opinion of that first apartment. He had no trouble at all reading her expression as she wandered through the boxy, sterile, white-painted rooms.
“You might as well live in the O.R.,” she said as they climbed back into his car after a very short tour.
“I pretty much do,” he replied with a laugh and a shrug.
She snapped her seat belt into place. “But there’s no need for you to come home to the same environment. You should feel welcomed and comfortable when you walk into your house, not as though you’re still at work.”
Fastened into the driver’s seat, he started the engine. “Is that the way you feel when you go home to your apartment? Welcomed and comfortable?”
The brief pause that followed his question was heavy, but when she spoke, her tone was even. “No,” she admitted. “But that’s what I’ll look for when I finally buy a place of my own.”
He wondered if she’d ever had a home where she had felt safe and welcome. From what little she’d said of her background, he somehow doubted it. Was that why she’d made a profession of taking care of other peoples’ homes?
The next stop was another apartment, this one somewhat nicer and in a beautifully landscaped gated complex. Jacqui gave that one higher marks, both for location and decor. He couldn’t say she looked enthusiastic, he thought as they drove away, putting a “maybe” checkmark by that place on the list. But then it was just an apartment. He could be comfortable there, so he’d definitely keep it in mind.
They toured one more apartment and a condo before stopping for lunch. As he had promised, Mitch treated Jacqui to a very nice meal at a popular bistro that specialized in the type of healthy foods she preferred. She seemed to enjoy the meal, but she kept their conversation strictly business, discussing pros and cons of the places they had toured thus far and the advantages and disadvantages of buying versus renting.
Maybe he would have liked to talk about other things during the meal, but he kept reminding himself this wasn’t a date. He’d asked her to help him find a place to live, and she was focused intently on doing just that. He wondered what she would say if he told her he was actually enjoying this mission that he’d dreaded all week, mostly because he was having a good time watching her reactions to the places they visited.
He supposed it was only natural that the rental and sales agents they had met assumed they were a couple. Jacqui didn’t bother to correct anyone’s misconceptions, but he saw her tense a little each time it happened. Maybe it was best if he kept his pleasure in her company to himself. At least for the remainder of this outing.
He’d reserved the three houses on his list for afternoon visits. The first was a big, French-themed house in an exclusive gated neighborhood off Chenal Boulevard in west Little Rock near a golf course and country club. Only two years old, the house had been built to impress, with soaring windows and doorways, impeccable landscaping, top-of-the-line kitchen appliances and decadently luxurious bathrooms. It was all very nice, but he couldn’t see himself coming home to this place any more than he could the sterile apartment they’d first toured that morning.
“Honestly?” he said to Jacqui as they drove away, “I prefer Seth’s house to that one.”
“So do I,” she agreed.
Although not as visually impressive as the house they had just seen, Seth’s previous home was still a very nice place. It was a safe, clean, quiet neighborhood and Mitch figured he would be comfortable there. He just wasn’t sure he wanted to invest in a house when there was always a chance he could decide to take a new position somewhere—maybe as soon as next year, he thought with that familiar ripple of restlessness. Seth’s house was a prime example. Seth had bought that house only weeks before meeting Meagan and had lived in it just less than a year before they had married and decided Meagan’s house was more suited to the family’s needs. Now Seth had to try to find a buyer. Even as nice a place as that one took a while to unload these days.
The second house was a Colonial style, also in west Little Rock but in a more established neighborhood. Mitch liked it well enough, but he couldn’t say he liked it more than Seth’s house. He could tell Jacqui preferred it to the larger house. She studied all the rooms and poked around in the closets and cupboards. He could almost see her mentally arranging furniture and decorating.