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Chapter Three

Saturday afternoon, Lacy showed up at Zack’s house at the appointed time, three o’clock, with a single tote bag of groceries in hand. It was obvious the man was in construction, having taken a typical Little River Valley home and remodeled it into something amazing. A large porch wrapped around the entire house, promising a huge back patio. He’d painted the structure a trendy gray and highlighted it with beige-and-stone-colored river rock-posts. The double front cherrywood doors with added stained-glass sidelights covered nearly half of the front of the house and made quite an impression. Lacy stopped briefly in her tracks to take it all in. Wow. He knew what he was doing, and she’d hire him in a minute—if she could afford a renovation.

Emma must have been watching through the large add-on bay window, another feature Lacy loved, because the little girl opened the door before Lacy reached the top step.

“Hi!” Emma said, looking tiny in the travertine-tiled entry.

“Hey you. Are you guys ready for me?” Having admitted on the drive over to a boatload of nerves about seeing Zack Gardner off duty made Lacy try particularly hard for a cool and breezy greeting. She stepped through the threshold into a surprisingly modern looking step-down living room. The floor changed to hardwood or maybe an upscale laminate that looked like wood but could handle heavier traffic. Not that there’d be that much going on with a small family, but maybe the Gardners threw a lot of parties? That didn’t ring true, still she wondered. There was recessed lighting, and the open floor concept led right to the kitchen. Nice. Homey. Surprisingly so.

Zack appeared from down the hall, a warm smile on his face. “Hi. Welcome.”

He took her breath away just by showing up, immediately putting her on edge. “Thanks.” She tried her best to keep a calm facade. “Your house is gorgeous.”