Читать книгу The Celebrity Doctor's Proposal - Sarah Morgan - Страница 7

‘SUBSIDENCE.’

‘Sorry?’ Anna juggled several bags and her mobile phone as she tried to concentrate on what the surveyor was saying. She still had one more house call to make before she finished for the evening.

‘This cottage that you’re hoping to buy has subsidence.’ The man stepped back and angled his head. ‘Didn’t you notice that the windows are crooked?’

Anna followed his gaze, squinting against the bright evening sunshine. ‘It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with it. Crooked windows add to the character, Mike. They’re what makes it quaint.’

‘They’re what makes it dangerous and a complete no-no for your mortgage company.’ The surveyor looked at her sympathetically. ‘I hope you’re better at diagnosing patients than you are buildings, Doc. If this was an animal and you were a vet, you’d be putting it down.’

Anna groaned and dropped two of her bags. ‘Mike, no! I don’t need this. Tell me you’re joking. You have to be joking. This is my new home.’

Her dream.

Her cottage by the beach.

‘Not joking.’ He shook his head solemnly, stepping back to look at the cottage with a gloomy expression on his face. ‘It’s a bad lot, Anna, love. Let it go.’

‘Let it go? No way.’ Anna stuck out her chin at an angle that made the surveyor sigh.

‘Determination and backbone isn’t going to fix this one, I’m afraid. The only way this is going to be yours is if you put up all the cash yourself.’

Anna almost growled with frustration. ‘You know I can’t do that.’

‘Or find a rich man.’

Anna kicked a stone at the mere thought. ‘I don’t attract rich men. Rich men want useless trophy wives who’ll agree with everything they say.’

Mike laughed. ‘Not much chance of that with you. In which case, I think you’re looking at another house, Anna.’

Anna shook her head in denial and disbelief. ‘But it’s all going through. I’ve chosen the curtains …’

Mike shrugged. ‘Hang them in your next house,’ he advised, ‘but you have to give this one a miss. It’s a bundle of trouble.’