On the Market (The Ballard Brothers of Darling Bay Book 1) Read online

  This was so not Beverly Hills. The show would want a shabby-chic seaside vibe, but not in a Coney-Island-in-winter way. Hopefully they wouldn’t need footage here.

  Liam stopped in front of the basketball courts. “This is it.”

  Once Felicia had gone to the Cinque Terra in Italy to scout a possible vacation reality show. The idea had ended up tanking, and she couldn’t even remember the premise for it, but she’d never forgotten the old man she’d met at the water’s edge in Vernazza. He’d been impressively short, dressed in an old blue suit. He’d chattered at them about his loves, all of them. I’ve had so many loves in my life. And look, here are a few of them. He’d opened a bag and started setting down kibble right onto the pavement. Dozens of cats—who had been invisible until that moment—appeared from every direction. They ran at him, mewing and crying, and Felicia thought she’d never seen anything sweeter. An old man, surrounded by fifty-plus cats, all of whom loved him (or at least who had loved his treats).

  The boys on the basketball court reacted to Liam the same way. Two balls that had been in play bounced by themselves to a stop as they crowded him. The kids seemed to come out of nowhere, more of them every time she looked.

  “Quick!” He handed her a heavy paper bag. “Crustless, these ones here. One goes to Timbo—”

  “Me!” A boy tall enough to be a man with a face too juvenile to allow him to buy cigarettes raised his hand. He leaped at the sandwich she held out in its plastic bag. “I’ll take two! No, can I have three?”

  Liam gave her a quick nod. “Jones and Logan get crustless, too.”

  Quick hands shot out and relieved her of her burden.

  “Who else? Jimmy, you like grape, right?”

  “Thanks, Liam!”

  “Thanks, lady!”

  “This is Felicia, say hello…”

  But as quickly as they’d arrived, the boys were gone, all of them chewing and jumping and leaping, taking huge bites while simultaneously throwing the retrieved balls at the backboards. Even the cats in Vernazza had taken longer to finish their dinners.

  “Okay, that’s taken care of.”

  “Is one of those kids yours?”

  Liam balled up his paper bag and shot it at the trash can, making it easily. His fist pumped. “Two points! You ready?”

  Felicia blinked. Liam was easy on the eyes, all right. He’d be great in front of the camera. His smile was wide, his teeth white and straight. Even though he was ostensibly the paper-pusher of the brothers, it was obvious that his blue button-down shirt hid a muscular chest and a flat stomach.

  She needed to stop staring. “Yeah.”

  Back in the car, Liam was more talkative, as if the brief visit with the boys had relaxed him a bit. She hadn’t noticed he was nervous—and most regular people were, talking to networks reps—but he must have been.

  Now, though, he’d loosened his tie a notch. His elbow stuck out the open window as he narrated their drive. “Down there is the main fire station. See, where the flagpole is? They’re about to do their boot drive, and that’ll be fun.”

  “Boot drive?”

  “Once a year, they stand at every intersection in town holding a uniform boot, and people throw money at them. For every balled-up dollar bill that lands in the boot, they have to do a quick dance.”

  “Is that a punishment for something?”

  “You kidding? Those guys love to show off. Two of them know how to break dance. They put those guys at the stoplight.”

  “The stoplight? Singular?”

  “We just need one.”

  “Wow.” Felicia did a calculation in her head. “When does this happen?”

  Liam’s smile faded a little. “Why? You want to get that on camera or something?”

  “I have to tell you, Darling Bay seems almost too good to be true. We want stories, and everything you say seems to be the start of a good one.”

  “Well.” Liam turned his head, and Felicia couldn’t see his expression. “Let me show you the properties I had in mind before you get too excited.”

  “I don’t get too excited.”

  “Oh, really?” He sounded amused.

  “Unflappable.” She wouldn’t admit that she was feeling more hopeful than she normally did on scouting trip.

  “Is that as fun as it sounds?”

  “Less,” she admitted.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The first house should send her running, although Liam personally loved it.

  It was a clumsy seventies build, twenty-two hundred square feet of awkward space. The rooms were small and poorly painted, but the structure seemed solid, and the termite report was clear. It was on a quiet residential street, and from the master bedroom balcony a person could just see a glimpse of the marina if he leaned the right way.

  “Water view, excellent.” Felicia checked something off from her list and snapped a photo with her cell phone.

  “As you can see, it’s a little dated, but it’s move-in ready.” Liam closed the sliding-glass door and a small black piece of its handle dropped to the ground. “Whoops.”

  Felicia cleared her throat and tapped her pencil on her clipboard. “How much did Natasha tell you about the concept of the show?”

  “You bring us an interested buyer. We find them a house at the high end of their price range, I haggle the seller down, and then my brothers fix it up.” Liam would be the guy wearing the suit, not the tool belt. As usual. It was too bad he couldn’t hammer a nail without driving it through his thumb.

  “That’s kind of close…”

  “Wait. So that’s the Property Brothers part.” Liam clicked the plastic piece back into place where it belonged on the cheap handle. “What was that part you said about The Bachelor?”

  Felicia smiled, but something in her jaw was tight. “You’ve seen the show, I’m assuming?”

  He led her back into the living room. The pink fireplace was so egregious it hurt his soul. “Nah. Not my style. But I’ve got a pretty good idea what it’s about. Thirty women, one guy? Not bad odds, I guess.”

  “Right. Well, this would be different.”

  The show was about love, right? Ostensibly. Having never seen an episode, Liam couldn’t be totally certain, but he was pretty sure it was more about lust and looks and backbiting gossip. It was about who could attract a man the fastest.

  How did you mix that with a show about selling and fixing up a house?

  But hell, he didn’t actually care that much. That Natasha boss-woman had roped him into showing these properties, and he’d been mildly curious, but the more he thought about being on camera the more he didn’t like it. And Liam didn’t want to be inside this house that smelled like oven cleaner and damp carpet much longer. “You’ve seen enough?”

  “I have. I’ll send my boss the pictures as we drive.”

  The next property was close enough that they could have walked, but he didn’t mention that to her. Liam wanted his car close by, in case he needed to haul them back in a hurry.

  Felicia was tense, too. He could feel it coming off her gorgeous, light brown skin. Then he banished the thought and pressed the accelerator harder. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner he could tell her they were out. The Ballard Brothers were not for sale.

  She leaned forward as he slowed. “Is this the next one?”

  “Yep. Property number two.”

  It was a newer home with wide wooden floors and big picture windows. The bedrooms would need redoing—a buyer could combine the two small ones into a room big enough for a master bedroom or even a double office. The neighborhood was great, and while there was no ocean view, there was a small hill on the back of the property that held an old orchard. Who could resist homegrown apricots in summer and apples in fall?

  “Can’t wait to see it.” She gave him that rapid smile again, the one that made Liam feel like he was a little off balance.

  “You’ll love the backyard.”

  But Felicia barely looked at the place. T
rue, she nodded in all the right places, and she made notes on her clipboard, but she wasn’t paying attention to the words he was reeling off at her.

  And that was fair. Liam wasn’t really thinking about them either. He led her outside and showed her the ripe strawberries.

  “That one’s a peach tree, I think.” Liam pointed at the tree which was covered in avocados.

  “Mmm.” She took a photo of it. “Great.”

  Okay. He didn’t really care about the show, since they weren’t going to do it, but he wanted to know. Liam turned to face her. Over her head, a small plane rose from the local airport and climbed into the bright blue sky. “What’s with The Bachelor thing?”

  Felicia didn’t glance up from her paperwork. “Sorry?”

  “Tell me. I can’t figure it out.”

  Felicia didn’t meet his gaze. Instead, she looked up at the plane. “It’s no big deal. You help an eligible woman buy a house and fix it up. Hopefully one of you falls in love with her.”

  “What?” Liam took a step backward.

  “You’re under no obligation, of course.”

  “To fall in love?”

  Felicia pulled a glasses case out of her bag and pushed black sunglasses onto her face. “Bright out here.”

  “That’s insane. That’s the premise?”

  “I believe Natasha said you came up with it.”

  “No way.” Oh, god. A memory as skinny as a dime filtered to the surface—him, drunk as a skunk’s uncle in The Golden Spike, roaring with laughter at what the big city television producer was going on about. Something about finding love in the sticks. “She told you I was drunk?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She told you why?”

  “Something about getting dumped?”

  “That’s a polite word for it, yeah. Jilted.”

  Felicia pushed her sunglasses farther up her nose. “So it was recent?”

  “Nah, a year ago. More now. My brothers and I were celebrating a year of me being single. Kind of like a reverse anniversary.”

  “Was it at the altar? That she jilted you?”

  “Night before.” He’d called Brandy to see why she was late to the rehearsal dinner. She’d sent a text. Wedding’s off. I thought you were the right guy, but I was wrong. Sorry.

  And the funny part was that he was the one who hadn’t quite felt ready to get married.

  “That must have been hard.” She looked down at her feet and shifted her weight. “Anyway, Natasha was just glad she met you all that night. She loved each one of you.”

  “Even Jake?”

  Felicia smiled. “The fisherman, right? Even Jake. She came up with the property angle, but she said you were the one who came up with the love angle. That’s what sold her.”

  “Yeah, see, the bar has this signature drink called a Golden Spike. Two of those and you think you can fly to the moon on your bicycle. I think Dixie made me six of them. That I remember. I would have agreed to marry an orangutan.”

  “You’re lucky that didn’t occur to you.”

  “Are we sure it didn’t?”

  That same smile flashed across her face again. It was so pretty, but there was a tightness at the corners of her mouth. What did it take to get her to really cut loose and laugh? “She didn’t mention anything like that. She just said that the three of you are bachelors, and that you all look alike.” Felicia slid her glasses down a moment and looked him from head to toe. “Do you?”

  “Well, yeah. And I’m the handsome one.”

  Her lips twitched. He was getting closer. “Ah.”

  “I still don’t get it. So what, like The Dating Game?”

  “Natasha would hate you to think her glossy show would be anything like a seventies game show, but maybe you’re right. The network would pick a woman we like. She’ll be someone who’s looking for a home to buy, a woman starting her life over in a new place. She’s probably independently employed, with enough money but not overly wealthy.”

  “Or else why would she play?”

  Her voice was dry. “Exactly. The three of you help her find and fix up the house of her dreams. And in the meantime, the network pays for extravagant dates, should any of you decide that would be fun.”

  “Fun.” This was getting more and more bizarre. “What’s extravagant mean to you?”

  “You’d make that call, but I can imagine something like while the house gets a new kitchen installed, you and she fly to Paris for two nights. Or if it’s Aidan who’s hitting it off with her, they go to Venice while you’re working on securing the loan and talking the seller down in price. Jake—sorry—what does he do again? Natasha was a bit unclear. You’re the realtor and Aidan’s the builder, but Jake?”

  “Who knows?” Liam’s little brother Jake fished. He built boats. He took long naps. Sometimes he helped them with whatever it was they needed—he wasn’t bad with an Excel spreadsheet, and he was ace with roof repair. “He helps.”

  “Fine. And just to confirm—you’re all single.”

  “For the moment. Aidan will probably have a girlfriend by the end of the week and then another one by the week after that.”

  Felicia jotted something down. “So he’s the player?”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “And Jake?”

  “He gets serious about girls and then they break his heart.”

  “Like you.”

  Sometimes Liam wished his heart really had been broken by Brandy instead of just sucker-punched and insulted. “I guess.”

  “And you’re all straight?”

  He felt his eyebrows fly upward. “Sorry?”

  “We’re thinking of calling it On the Market. Do you like it?”

  “We’re straight but—”

  “Not that it would be a real problem. Our audience doesn’t mind same-sex couples, and if they do, we don’t really care. And actually, a coming-out story would be great if we could pull it off—”

  “Good to know that you’re progressive.” He couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

  “I apologize for having to ask.”

  Liam wished she weren’t wearing those glasses. He really wanted to see her whole face. “Our step-dad was gay, and he was the best man we ever knew.”

  She gave a brief nod. “You have to know that if we go ahead with this, you’ll be subject to a lot of scrutiny. A lot of people will have opinions about your lives, and you’ll be able to do nothing to change any of it. At all.”

  “So why the hell would we be interested in doing this?” If it had any potential at all to hurt his brothers, Liam was even less interested than before. The money would have been nice, but was it really enough? To risk any kind of pain to the people he loved? He should drive her back to her car right now. This was a waste of both their time.

  Felicia pointed out the side gate. “Can we get to the next place? This isn’t interesting to me. Avocado tree aside.”

  She had been paying a bit of attention, then. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  She nodded briskly. “The figure Natasha mentioned to you and your brothers?”

  The figure that had made Aidan’s jaw drop, the sum that had made Jake hoot like a monkey? “Yeah?”

  “Ask for double.” She walked past him, her stride long and confident. Over her shoulder, she said, “And don’t ever tell her I said that.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Why did she even just say that? Felicia ate, slept and breathed the network. When she saved them money, she felt more satisfaction than she did when she got a bonus. Confessing how much the network would actually pay was something she’d normally never do. But something about Liam Ballard threw Felicia so far off her game she wasn’t sure what they were playing.

  Why the hell had she told him to ask for double?

  The brothers would get the price if they asked for it, she knew that. This town was as darling as its twee name, and if Liam’s brothers really did look anything like him, the show would be solid gold. Liam was built
like a mountain climber—no, more like a Scottish highlander. She could imagine him striding the summit in a kilt, letting the wind blow where it may. Liam was hot as hell, wide and tall and rangy with those light blue eyes that reminded her of summer mornings and faded denim. And he was the money guy, the one who was more pocket-protector than tool belt. Natasha said the other two brothers were even more rugged.

  Gold.

  And if you added the element of potential love and attraction? The Ballard Brothers starring in On the Market would be the hit of the year. The men could literally name their price.

  Felicia needed to pull herself together. Sure, she fell halfway in love with every male reality show star she’d ever put in front of a camera. It was the same kind of love she felt for the guys on The Vampire Diaries or Jessica Jones—they were all comfortably far enough away to be enjoyable with the added bonus of being click-off-able with her remote control.

  She was scouting. She was putting together the package, making it something the network would salivate over while at the same time making the primary players feel like it was too good to be true (and it usually was—no one expected how much their lives would change from being a household name). Felicia Turbinado came in and got the job done. Emotions didn’t come into it.

  So it was just plain weird that she felt nervous. Why? It couldn’t be just sitting next to this Liam. Hollywood was packed with hot men. Her pool guy had cheekbones that would make Michelangelo weep.

  Maybe she was just tired. She wanted to close the deal, make it back to her bed and breakfast, and call it a day.

  Surreptitiously, Felicia watched Liam’s legs as he drove. It was a fancy car—leather seats and dual climate control and Wi-Fi—he’d chosen it to make clients comfortable as he drove them around. But he’d bought a manual transmission as if he didn’t need to make things easy for himself. He sat far from the wheel, holding it with one hand, and his left leg flexed as he shifted. His nails were short and not buffed. Felicia would bet her last dollar he didn’t shave his chest like most of the men she knew in Southern California. Poor guys—they’d gotten off so easy for so long in the grooming department. That was all different now. But Felicia herself preferred a natural guy, one who went scruffy on the weekends, one who smelled like himself after a day’s work.