Cold Nose, Warm Heart by Mara Wells

Author:Mara Wells
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2019-11-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Caleb helped himself to a towel from the hallway bathroom, patting at the water still clinging to his hair and skin. He smelled extra-girlie after using Riley’s shampoo and body wash. The sheer number of bottles in her shower had at first confused him. What were they all for? He’d inspected a few and found multiples of the basics, plus body scrubs, bubble bath, shower gels, and something called a hair mask that looked nothing like a mask and was really just a jar of thick, green goo that smelled like something had gone bad in the fridge. He didn’t touch the mask, choosing the plainest bottles for his own use, but he still smelled like a fresh spring day and possibly roses.

His khakis stuck to him in an uncomfortable way, but remembering how he’d helped her dump the ex’s stuff, he knew his choices were be uncomfortable or be naked. It seemed a bit presumptuous to greet Riley in the nude when she returned from her managerial duties, although he was seriously hoping that was the direction they were heading. Coffee, more kissing, less clothing.

He kicked off his waterlogged shoes. Funny how being around Riley was hard on his wardrobe—and even funnier how much he didn’t mind. New shoes were easy to come by, but moments like they’d shared at the park were priceless. She was something else, something outside his previous experiences with women. What was the word he was looking for? Caring? Genuine? Real? What the hell, all those words and more. Maybe the only word that described Riley was, well, Riley. He peeled off damp socks and stuffed them in the likely ruined shoes and padded back into the kitchen, towel around his shoulders, to finish his cup of coffee.

Riley’s laptop was open on the small dining table, printouts and notebooks fanned around it. The top sheet caught his attention—financial records. A quick scan showed they were for the Dorothy, no surprise, and if he nudged the top sheet aside to look at the whole pile, it wasn’t an invasion of privacy because they were in plain sight and the building belonged to his family so they were, in a sense, really his documents, right? Plus, her worries about the plumbing situation troubled him. Upgrades should’ve happened years ago. What was going on with the Dorothy’s financials? Now was as good a time as any to investigate.

He automatically ran calculations in his head, troubled by how the numbers added up but unable to say precisely why just yet. Intrigued, he gave up on trying to be casual and spread the documents out on the table. The picture they painted was indeed grim.

But why? The residents paid on time, for the most part. Every building had a certain margin built in for late payments, and the Dorothy was well within that percentage. Sure, the building had expenses, but with lower occupancy rates, the electric and water bills should also be lower. But they weren’t. Year to year, no matter the occupancy, the utilities steadily increased.

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