Should’ve Known It’s You (Not You Again #7)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

KENNEDY

A t the beginning of the week after discovering my dream property, I arrived at the old, stately mansion with coffees in hand and an excited energy buzzing through me. Austin and I had an appointment to view the place today, and I couldn’t wait to get inside and take a look around.

Checking my watch, I unlatched the garden gate and wondered if he was here yet. He’d agreed to come with me and to bring his realtor so we could talk logistics and see if something like this would even make sense, and since I was only five minutes early, I was sure he would already be waiting.

The wrought iron gate in the brick wall surrounding the property was unlocked. The latch stuck a little for being so rusted but gave way when I bumped at the gate with my hip. I grinned and took a deep breath. As I pushed it open, I sent up a quick prayer that this place turned out to be everything I hoped it was.

From the outside, it was difficult to see onto the property. A row of towering trees obscured the view of the house from the street. But once I stepped into the front garden, I felt like I’d emerged from the back of the closet into Narnia.

It was like being transported into another world, one filled with wonders from a different time, where grand fountains still sat at the center of cobblestoned paths leading to front doors. My jaw dropped and my heart raced as I took a look around, immediately knowing that the place truly was everything I had hoped it would be—and then some.

The garden was wildly overgrown and the hedges were out of control, but it was easy to picture the way it would be with a little TLC. The fountain at the center of the cobblestone path was beautiful, dry, but gorgeous, a stone angel spreading her wings with her face tipped toward the sky.

A rustling behind me yanked me out of my marveling and I spun to see a man wearing a fancy suit coming through the gate. His gaze zeroed in on me and he extended his hand. “Ms. Sweet?”

“Kenny,” I said, doubling back to shake hands with him and carefully balancing the coffees in the drink holder with my free hand so they wouldn’t spill. “Are you Austin’s realtor?”

“Brady James,” he said as confirmation. “Is he here yet?”

“Nope, but I’m sure he will be any minute. I brought coffee and hope you don’t mind it black.” At least, I hoped he would be. After handing over one of the coffees, I turned to take another look at the garden. “It’s amazing, isn’t it? It doesn’t even feel like we’re in the city anymore.”

The guy made a humming noise at the back of his throat that could easily have been either agreement or disagreement, but he didn’t seem interested in letting me know which it had been. Instead, he took a quick sip of his coffee and dove right in.

“Okay, well, we can catch Austin up when he gets here, but I’ve spoken to the city council about the idea of hosting a fundraiser here and potentially opening a business. I have an in with the council, which is probably why Austin pulled me in on this to begin with.”

I opened my mouth to tell him that I was sure that wasn’t true, but the guy didn’t look at all bothered about possibly having been used for his contacts. He looked around, sliding his free hand into his pocket as he scanned every inch of the place from the outside.

“I was met with mostly positive responses,” he said, and the excitement in me grew before his tone turned into one of warning. “It’ll be a lot of work to make it happen, though. The only way the city will let this fly is if we get all our permits and ensure that the place is safe to host an event. I’m sure you know this, but it’s been empty for a long time. It’s bound to be a mess of potential hazards, and if we can’t pass inspection, the fundraiser won’t be allowed to happen.”

My heart plummeted to my feet when I realized what that meant. Given our limited timeline, we would have to send out invites to an event that could fall through at the last minute if every box wasn’t checked.

As excited as I was stressed, I simply nodded at the realtor, wondering how soon we could get started. We had to wait until Austin arrived, obviously, but if I had my way, I was going to start fixing whatever needed to be fixed by tomorrow.

Brady took a couple of calls while I set down Austin’s coffee. Clutching my own drink, I took a closer look around the front yard. When Austin eventually arrived, he parked right in front and climbed out of a flashy sportscar, wearing a tailored suit and dark sunglasses—and looking hot as hell as he strode toward me.

But he also looked on edge. His phone was pressed to his ear and he paused to listen. Then he sighed and shook his head. “Yeah. Okay. I have to go. Call me if there’s an update.” As he hung up, he flashed me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry I’m late. There’s a small crisis at the office and one of my colleagues might get fired.”

“Tate?” I asked and handed him his coffee.

“You know it,” he replied. “And it’s about time. Screw that guy. Where’s Brady?”

I inclined my chin to where the realtor was standing in the corner, still on the phone until he spotted Austin and ended his call. He grinned and smacked his palm into Austin’s when he reached us. “How are you, bro? Sorry about that. Duty called.”

“It’s sorry’s all around today, then,” Austin said as he shook with the guy. “I got held up at the office. Should we do this?”

“Let’s.” Brady motioned for me to precede them and I did it gladly, more than happy to take my first look around while he got Austin caught up on the news from the council.

Brady passed me the keys when we got to the front door, and my palms were sweaty as I inserted the antique, brass key into the lock and twisted, this time praying that the place inside wasn’t as dangerous as the council seemed to think.

As Austin and Brady kept talking, I pushed open the door and stepped inside, and I nearly shrieked again when I got a look at the grand foyer. It was spacious and beautiful, with an antique wooden side table, an ornate coat and hat stand, and a lovely chandelier hanging overhead.

Sure, the place was dirty inside—everything that wasn’t covered in white cloth was under a thick layer of dust—but I could clean. Hell, if cleaning was the only thing required, that would be a dream come true.

I raced in ahead of the men, utterly enthralled by the place. The foyer opened up into a couple of large, high-ceilinged living areas, a lavish dining hall, and a kitchen that would have to be refitted but definitely had potential. In fact, everything about the place had potential.

A moment later, I heard someone come up behind me and I didn’t even have to look to know it was Austin, the expensive, spicy scent of him having become a little too familiar to me. It made my stomach flutter as I felt him step up close to my back.

“What do you think?” he asked with amusement dancing in his tone. “Is it everything you hoped it would be?”

“It’s incredible,” I murmured, finally tearing my gaze away from the vintage pendant lamps hanging over the dining table in the kitchen and spinning to face him. “Can we go explore the rooms yet?”

“Have fun,” Austin said, grinning as he offered me his arm. “Actually, I’ll come have fun exploring with you. Brady said to go crazy, but be careful. He had to take a call from a client and he said it might be a while, so he told me to go ahead.”

“Excellent.” I beamed as I grabbed his hand without even thinking about it, pointing out all the potential as we moved from the kitchen to the main staircase. “Look at that fireplace. It’s so grand. Everything is.”

“It’s a brick fireplace,” he replied. “What’s so grand about that?”

I laughed, shaking my head at him as I dragged him up the sweeping staircase. “Don’t you get it? This place is old-world elegance combined with that homey feel you’d get if you stepped into your rich grandmother’s house.”

“I don’t have a rich grandmother.”

I pursed my lips to keep from smiling. “Neither do I, but you know what I mean. Who wouldn’t want to come home to this?”

“Fair point,” he finally agreed, chuckling. He finally twined his fingers around mine and kept up with me easily as I flitted from room to room.

There was even rooftop access, and I almost burst into tears as I looked around, picturing string lights winking overhead and a comfortable but glamorous outdoor lounge. Austin turned to me once I’d finished taking a look around the space.

“So, what do you think? Do you still think this is the place?”

“It’s definitely the place.” I didn’t even need a moment to consider it. “I want this, Austin. I want it badly.”

“I’ll make it happen, then.” He looked deep into my eyes, a smile playing on his lips as he squeezed my hand. “We’ll have our work cut out for us, but this is your dream. If this is the place, then this is the place.”

My heart pitter-pattered in my chest, growing at least four sizes. I was so, so excited and so grateful, and yet, I also had so many concerns. “What happens if the city stops the event when we’ve already planned it? Brady said they won’t let us go ahead if we don’t pass all the inspections.”

Austin took it in stride. “All business ventures involve risk, Kenny. If you want it that badly, you have to put your neck on the line. That’s how it works.”

I took a moment to think about it, trying to ascertain whether I’d be able to forget about this place and let it go now that I’d seen it. In the end, there was no question, though. “Alright. Show me the line and I’ll put my neck on it.”

He laughed, then released my hand and strode back to the door to poke his head in. “Brady? We’ve got an answer for you when you’re ready.”

It only took the realtor a couple of minutes to emerge, his phone still in his hand, but he slid it into his inside pocket as he walked out to join us. “What’s the word?”

“Confirm everything with the city,” Austin said. “We’d like to secure it as a fundraiser location, and since it’s in the city’s possession, I suppose we’ll have to wait for the official go-ahead before we can move forward, but we’d like to do that as soon as possible.”

“I’ll get back to you as soon as I have a formal answer,” Brady said, extending his hand toward Austin and shaking with him again before he nodded at me. “Ms. Sweet, I’ll be in touch. Austin, I’ll see you around.”

“See you.”

After he spun around and disappeared, I frowned at Austin. “What do we do with the keys when we’re done?”

“Keep them,” he said, sending me a smile full of anticipation. “You’re going to need access to start working as soon as he gives us the go-ahead, aren’t you?”

I grinned so widely, it felt like my cheeks might split. “Can I buy you a celebratory lunch?”

“Absolutely, but I’m buying. You’ve worked hard to get to this point, Kenny. You deserve to be celebrated.”

I nodded, my heart thumping and my body begging to break into a victory dance. My phone rang and I grinned when I saw Benji’s name on the screen. I glanced up at Austin. “This is my sister’s boyfriend. They’re probably wondering how the viewing went and he was the one who found this place, so I should take it.”

Austin waved for me to go ahead and I took the call, but as I pressed the phone to my ear, I realized almost immediately that this wasn’t about the venue. “Kenny? Kennedy? Are you there?”

Benji sounded panicked, and immediately, ice infused my bloodstream. “I’m here. What’s wrong?”

“I’m at the hospital with Winrey. She’s asking for her sister. Please come.”

“I’m on my way.” I swiped my tongue across my lips and tried to force my suddenly frozen limbs to move. “Austin?”

“Yep?” He turned to me, his face falling when he saw whatever expression was on mine. “What is it?”

“I have to go. It’s my sister.” My voice was so hushed I could barely hear the words myself, but Austin nodded, so he must’ve heard me. I stammered through the rest of the explanation as I finally convinced my legs to move and rushed to the door. “She’s pregnant and she’s in the hospital. I don’t know why. I need to get there. We’ll have to have lunch another time. I need to get to the subway station.”

“I’ll drive you,” he said without a second’s hesitation, somehow still right behind me even though I was running now, racing through the house to the front door. “Which hospital?”

I told him, and we barreled to his car. I practically threw myself into it, yet Austin was one step ahead me, already turning over the engine while I was still buckling up. He put his foot to the floor to get me to her, and once we arrived, he careened into an emergency parking spot and rushed through the hospital with me to the maternity ward.

I ran to the nurses’ station, panic lacing every drop of my blood as I stared at the nurse in charge. “My name is Kennedy Sweet. My sister, Winrey, is in here.”

She nodded. “I’ll show you to her, but only family is allowed in.”

The woman peered past me at Austin, then glanced at me again. “Is he family?”

“I’ll wait,” Austin said before I’d even answered, his own features hard with stress as she led me past him. “Good luck, Kenny. I’ll see you soon.”

I dipped my chin in a nod, tears brimming in my eyes. What on earth was my sister doing in the hospital? “Thanks for getting me here so fast.”

As I said the words, I flashed him a tight smile, then rushed after the nurse, fighting the tears and begging every deity out there to ignore every other request I’d made recently. All I wanted right then was for Winrey to be okay.