A Kiss to Build a Dream On by Kim Amos Page A

about him these days. Was he married? All these years, and she still selfishly thought of Burk as hers in some way. It never occurred to her that he’d find someone else, though of course, that would only be natural.
    “A big project like this would take time,” she said. “It might keep you away from…Mrs. Olmstead.”
    Burk paused. “There is no Mrs. Olmstead.”
    Relief flooded her. It shouldn’t have mattered. But it suddenly did.
    “This is no small thing,” Burk said, barreling ahead. “If you want to sell, now’s the time. I would even discuss that option with you.”
    Willa felt her eyes widen. “You? Want to buy this house?”
    “I’d consider it. I’d make you a fair offer. I’ve been taking care of it all these years, after all.”
    Willa studied him. If she sold, she could take the profits of the house, mix them with the little bit of money she had left, and…what? Start over somewhere else maybe. And do…something. She didn’t know what. But maybe she could think of a new plan. Even if it meant shirking her dad’s financial advice.
    “What do you think is a reasonable price?” she asked.
    “I would say one twenty-five. In this town, that’s solid. Respectable. And this place needs a lot of fixes.”
    “One hundred twenty-five thousand?” she asked, her voice tight with incredulity.
    “Yes.”
    She drew her brows together. “Are you kidding me? In New York, that would buy a closet. With a rat’s nest in it. And no bathroom. This house is more than three thousand square feet. It sits on nearly an acre of land.”
    “We’re not in New York. This is White Pine, Minnesota. And a house just down the street with no problems and no issues just sold for one forty. So I’m telling you, one twenty-five is a very fair price.”
    Willa shook her head. She could remember a day of shopping for clothes where she’d spent close to what Burk was offering for an entire home . It made no sense. That couldn’t possibly be right, could it?
    “No. That’s too low. I wouldn’t take any less than five hundred.”
    Burk’s mouth made a little O. “Are you kidding me? A half million dollars for this dump?”
    “No less,” Willa said, sitting up straighter. “And while we’re at it, you seem like you’re inflating a lot of the repairs here. I think maybe I need a second opinion on this job.”
    Burk’s face reddened. “That’s not necessary.” He seemed to be struggling for words. “My crew—they’ll do a good job here. They want this project.”
    Willa wondered what Burk wasn’t saying. Was there something more going on here? “A good contractor finds a way to work with their clients,” Willa said, “not against them.”
    “I am a good contractor.”
    “We’ll see.” She knew she sounded like a bitch, but she also knew she needed to keep costs down, too. And the best way to do that was to have Burk think she could give the project away to anyone else at a moment’s notice. “We’ll revisit estimates as they come up. I also want to be able to pick out kitchen cabinets, as well as floors and paint. I don’t want you doing any of that.”
    Burk scoffed. “I don’t care about kitchen cabinets.”
    Willa stared at him. “You know, I realize I don’t deserve a warm homecoming from you. But this whole grumpy contractor routine is really grating.”
    There was a flash of something behind his eyes. Hurt? Surprise? “I never thought I’d see you again,” he replied stiffly.
    “Disappointed?” She forced a playful smile onto her lips, even though her heart was racing. It wasn’t fair to bait him like this, she knew. For crying out loud, she’d fled. She’d hurt him. No matter that her hands were clenched together with regret under the table. No matter that New York had failed her, Willa had failed herself even, but Burk Olmstead had never once failed her. Not ever. And now she’d just tempted him to say yes , that he was disappointed she was back around. It was a terrible