‘Fine.’
Was he laughing at her? She glanced across but couldn’t tell. ‘So, included in your four weeks’ worth of repairs...’ she walked through to the front of the house to the grand hall with its staircase that curved up to the first floor and pointed to the front door ‘...can you fix that?’
‘Check.’
She didn’t care if he was laughing at her. She tossed her head and walked into the grand parlour with its enormous bay window. ‘Can you fix the hole in the wall?’
He walked over to it, tested it with his fingers, bent over to examine it more closely and the denim of his jeans stretched across those powerful thighs and taut butt and Nell had to swallow as her saliva glands kicked into overdrive. Oh, my word. Rick Bradford filled out a pair of jeans to perfection. Her fingers fluttered about her throat. Her eyes widened in an effort to take in as much of the view as they could. A hunger, deep and gnawing, that no number of cupcakes would assuage, racked her.
Rick turned. ‘This doesn’t—’
He broke off, a grin bold and sure spreading across his face. Folding his arms, he leant a shoulder against the wall. ‘See anything you like, Princess?’
Heat scalded her face. She wished the floor would open up and swallow her. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ But her voice came out at a squeak, which only made his grin widen.
She gestured to the wall. ‘You were saying?’
Very slowly, he sobered and straightened. ‘I’m not on offer, Nell. I’m not part of the bargain.’
‘I never for one moment considered you were.’ How could he cheapen not only her but himself like that? And then she remembered his mother had been a prostitute.
She closed her eyes and swallowed. If she hadn’t been weak fifteen years ago, if she’d stood up for Rick, she could walk away from all of this now and...
Oh, who was she kidding? It didn’t erase her sense of responsibility towards John. The way he’d treated Rick was beyond the pale, but there had to be a reason for all of this—something they couldn’t see yet.
She forced her eyes open. ‘Can we please get back to the task at hand?’
His lips twisted. ‘Gladly.’ He gestured to the wall. ‘This looks like damage caused by something hard or heavy being banged against it.’
That’d be the removal men her father had hired to pillage the house of its expensive antiques.
‘I can replaster it and then paint the entire room.’
That was even worth putting up with Rick’s mockery!
‘Then you have yourself a deal.’
He laughed. ‘You have no idea, do you?’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘So far we’ve nailed down about a week’s worth of work.’
Was that all?
‘I’ll fix the guttering that’s falling off the outside of the house—that’s another day’s work.’
Wow. Um... ‘What about painting the outside of the house?’ It was badly in need of it.
He shook his head. ‘That’s too big a job for one person. Given the style and heritage of this place, it’d be best left to the professionals. Besides, I’m not sure you could afford the materials at the moment if money is tight.’
Her mouth dried. ‘How much would it cost?’
‘For paint, scaffolding and labour? I wouldn’t expect you to see any change from twenty grand.’
So much? She needed to sit down. Only there wasn’t a stick of furniture in the room. And yet if she were to put her plan into action it would need to be done.
‘I can ring around and get some quotes for you if you like?’
She nodded. ‘I’ll need it for the business plan I mean to take to the bank.’
‘I know this is none of my business...’
She glanced up at him.
‘But is this place really worth going into so much debt for?’
‘Yes.’ She’d made a promise—a promise she had no intention of breaking. Her hands clenched. She could make this work!
Rick walked across to her with that indolent loose-hipped stride that could make her mouth dry in a millisecond. He stopped less than two feet away. His hands went to his hips—lean, sexy hips—and he leaned in towards her with narrowed eyes. ‘What are your plans for this place?’
A husband and babies—a family. Lots of laughter. And love. But until then...
‘I’m going to turn Whittaker House into the most in-demand venue for high tea parties that Sydney has ever seen.’
He blinked. She waited for him to laugh and tell her she was crazy. Instead, he turned back to survey the room. ‘That’s a nice idea for an old place like this. What rooms are you planning to use as public rooms?’
‘These two front reception rooms—the parlour and the drawing room—the dining room as it opens onto the terrace, and the library. They’re all large rooms. For more intimate gatherings, there’s the morning room and the conservatory.’
She took him through each of the rooms. They ended the tour in the dining room—a grand room with French windows that led out to the terrace. Rick walked around the room’s perimeter, checking skirting boards, picture rails and the windows and doors. ‘Everything looks in pretty good nick, just the odd minor repair here and there—nothing that some putty and a screwdriver wouldn’t fix.’
She let out a breath.
‘It could do with some freshening up, though.’ He pursed his lips. ‘I could paint the two front rooms and this dining room in a month.’
Her heart didn’t leap with the same unadulterated joy as it had earlier.
He shuffled his feet. ‘Actually, throw the library in too—there’s not much to do in there.’
She bit her lip. ‘How much will the materials cost?’
‘Depends on the kind of paint you want. You’ll need something durable. What colours were you after?’
‘The Victorians weren’t afraid of colour and these rooms are big enough to bring it off. I thought a peacock-blue and a jade-green for the two front rooms, maybe coral in here. The library is lined with bookcases and there’s not a whole lot of wall to paint so maybe just a cream to prevent it from becoming too dark in there.’
How much would it all cost, though?
‘This room opens onto the terrace and lawn. You might want to consider making this the green room to fit in with the garden theme and have the coral room at the front.’
‘Oh, that’s a nice idea.’ She pulled in another breath. ‘But how much is this going to cost me?’
He tapped a finger against his jaw before straightening and naming a figure that made her wince. She nodded. ‘Okay, I can manage that.’ Just. ‘Rick, it looks as if you have yourself a deal.’
He sent her a sly smile. ‘Not so fast, Princess—negotiations aren’t over yet.’
They weren’t?
‘You drive a hard bargain.’
He’d have had an easy one if he hadn’t been so honest.
‘In exchange for all of this slaving away on your house, I now have an additional demand.’
She folded her arms. ‘Which is?’
Just