for his fish-out-of-water ruse. He sighed in relief.
“Take it or leave it.” She slapped her palms on the table with all the finality of a judge’s gavel. “It’s my best offer. I wish I could do more for you, but I can’t.”
Griff narrowed his gaze on her, his brow furrowing. She was offering the bunkhouse as if it were somehow an answer to prayer.
If Griff believed in the power of prayer—and he didn’t—having the opportunity to bunk down with a bunch of rowdy cowhands would not have been what he considered a legitimate answer to his problems. The trouble was, he couldn’t think of a better option that wouldn’t reveal that he had the means to pay for housing indefinitely, that his bank account was bigger than he was professing it to be.
He leaned forward on his elbows, steepling his fingers under his chin. His mind was spinning, scrambling for a way to salvage this conversation. He’d all but thrown down the gauntlet to her. If he wanted to maintain the slim facade he’d offered, what choice did he have but to accept?
Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. And he had no one to blame but himself.
“Okay. Er, thank you for the offer.” He flashed what he hoped was a confident grin. “I always wanted to be a cowboy.”
She stared at him speculatively, gnawing on her bottom lip.
“What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
He suspected he was going to regret accepting her offer. In some ways he already did. If he had a lick of good sense he would just walk out of here right now and bunk at the nearest five-star hotel, even if it was an hour’s drive away. What he lost in the convenience of the short proximity to the town he could make up in the extravagance of his surroundings.
And why was his heart so set on this particular town, anyway? Surely there were dozens of other places just like Serendipity. Did he really care if he made his home here or somewhere else?
He couldn’t entirely explain it, but the answer to that question was yes. He did care where he landed, and this town was it. Vivian had been full of stories about the town of Serendipity and the folks who resided there. According to her, the town was small. Quiet. Unassuming. Becoming a recluse here would be easy, and the surroundings would be peaceful and beautiful. It was a gut feeling more than anything, but he’d learned over the years to follow that internal leading. Why should one small bump in the road cause him to change lanes?
Years before, when the thought first occurred to him that he ought to leave his unfulfilling life in the city and move to a small town to raise horses, he’d simply tucked it into the back of his mind. His subconscious mulled over it, occasionally spearing him with the desire to make that dream a reality. He’d had the means, but he’d been too focused on his career to do anything proactive to make that change.
Then in one painful fell swoop he’d been scammed by a beautiful con artist. Caro had taken what little faith in humankind he’d built up over the years and dashed it against the sharp rock of her conniving schemes. At this point he carried nothing with him but what was left of his shattered heart and the great deal of money he’d made through a career he was no longer interested in pursuing.
He needed Serendipity. He didn’t want to find another town. All he had to do was to grit his teeth and get through the next couple of weeks until he found a place to call home, somewhere out of the limelight where he could find rest and peace, where his best friends would be of the equine variety instead of the human kind. He could live with the wranglers. Who knew, they might be able to help him in his quest to launch a ranch of his own. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise.
“You won’t be sorry,” Alexis assured him with a genuine smile that flooded his senses.
“I’m already sorry,” he muttered under his breath, even though he wasn’t certain it was true.
Alexis’s grin didn’t waver, though sparks momentarily filled her eyes. “Don’t be. I’m not sure exactly what you’re looking for, but I can assure you that you’ll be able to pick up some fine property for only pennies on the dollar. You’re going to find your perfect home here, I just know it.”
Her enthusiasm was contagious. Griff fought to tamp back his excitement, afraid to allow himself to get his hopes up. They’d been dashed so many times before.
“I’ve saved my whole life for this.” That was the absolute truth, though probably not in the way in which Alexis would interpret it. He cleared his throat and broke his gaze away from hers. He didn’t want to see his future in her eyes. Not until it was signed, sealed and delivered, in triplicate.
“What made you choose Serendipity?”
Griff chuckled. “Your sister. I’m sure you’re aware that she can be quite animated about a subject she’s particularly interested in. And persistent, too. She knew I’d been looking for a place in which to settle down and buy a ranch. And she really, really loves her hometown. Once she got it in her head that Serendipity was the right location for me to make a place for myself, she wouldn’t let up until I agreed to visit.”
“She can be pretty persuasive,” Alexis agreed with a warm chuckle, but a moment later her brow furrowed and she compressed her full lips. “Sometimes a little too much so. Once she gets an idea into her head, she won’t let it go. I apologize on her behalf. She has the distressing tendency to get on a person’s last nerve.”
Griff raised his eyebrows at her stark admission. “I didn’t say that. Your sister is really sweet. A little deceptive, maybe, but I’m sure she was just trying to be helpful.”
Or maybe not so much. What had been her plan, sending him out here to the house where her sister lived? She probably had her reasons, but he had no clue what they might be. He was beyond being able to tell, where women were concerned. Whatever. He was here, and that was the point of the matter.
Alexis’s lips quirked. “Oh, I’m sure she was trying to help you. The problem is that her idea of ‘helping’ is focused on what she thinks is in the other person’s best interest, whether or not the person she’s supposedly helping would agree. And she usually pushes the option that helps her the most in the end. I’m sure you’ve noticed that she can be a little…” She paused and brushed a strand of her long, straight blond hair back behind her ear. “Self-absorbed.”
“Really?” Griff struggled not to laugh. In his opinion, all women were self-absorbed. Men, too, for that matter. Always looking out for old number one. And who could blame them? He was no different. “You think she had an ulterior motive for sending me here?”
Had he been played? It kind of felt that way, although he couldn’t figure out any legitimate reason for Vivian to have acted deceptively. His mind scoured over the details of his visit. What reason could Vivian possibly have for sending him here, if not primarily to help him find the home he so desired? Viv’s boyfriend, Derrick, was the closest thing to a friend Griff had ever had, and they’d both been enthused by the idea.
“You have to admit the circumstances are rather telling,” Alexis said, thoughtfully tapping her chin with her index finger. “I don’t think it’s an accident that Vivian led you to believe I was a guy. She would have had to have been awfully careful not to slip up and refer to me as her sister.”
“She used the word twin, not sister. And she called you Alex.”
“Well,
