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igniting a fire of
comforting warmth when his voice came to her.
    “Forgive me, Miss Alexander. Come on into my
office.” He slung his jacket over a shoulder and motioned for her
to come his way with his free hand.
    In spite of her legs turning to jelly, Betsy
advanced toward him. Her breath caught in her throat when her arm
brushed against his on her way inside the room.
    Betsy couldn’t help but notice the cluster
of sweat beads that had formed above his upper lip. Once again he
twisted at his tie as he moved out around her and stopped behind
his clutter free glass desk top.
    “Since we’re going to be working together, I
suggest we drop the formal stuff and call each other by first
name.” His words came out in one quick breath as he flung his
jacket haphazardly over the back of his desk chair before sitting
in it.
    “The working together part is why I’m here.”
Betsy felt herself jump from the unexpected sound of her own voice.
But now that she remembered she had one she wasn’t about to stop
until she said it all. “After closely evaluating our previous
encounters, Mr. Blakewood, I feel it would be in the best interest
of all parties to decline your offer of representation.”
    Skylar leaned forward. His voice came at her
with that same coolness that had riled her before. “For one thing,
Miss Alexander, you can’t afford not taking me on as a client.” He
kicked back in his chair, appearing more relaxed and even a bit
amused. “Secondly, you managed to convince me you have the
determination and persistence required to get the job done.”
    Betsy was prepared to tell him her financial
affairs were none of his business until his last statement quite
literally swept her off her feet and she dropped on one of the high
back chocolate colored leather chairs in front of his desk.
    “I’m sorry for my behavior on our two
previous meetings. I was downright rude from the start.”
    Betsy saw those light blue eyes flash with
sincerity before darkening.
    “Perhaps what I did was unforgivable. But I
had to test you, Betsy. My homes deserve every penny of their high
price tags. It is important the agency I choose to represent them
understands that, as well as who pays their commission.”
    “I’ve always tried to get the seller his
asking price. And I’m well aware of who pays me, Mr.
Blakewood.”
    He snickered. “You made that quite clear at
the open house the other day. But I needed to know you weren’t one
of those agents who tell buyers the seller will take less than the
asking price.”
    “I could lose my license if I did that.”
    “That doesn’t seem to enter every Realtor’s
mind when he’s trying to put together a deal.”
    Betsy couldn’t argue with the man. For the
first time she had to concede and agree with him. The real estate
business was no different than any other business. There are always
those few who regard the almighty dollar as their boss.
    “Suppose I was to forgive you for your
downright rudeness. Would you be signing on with our agency to sell
all forty homes?”
    Skylar chuckled. “I have to confess. I
wasn’t thinking too clearly when I told you there would be forty
homes instead of twenty.”
    So his childish temper tantrum had been real
yesterday. Maybe the man was the arrogant, rude and self-centered
person she had encountered right from the start.
    “But when you mentioned wasting valuable
building land on Christmas trees--”
    “I don’t see a hillside coming alive in a
splendor of greenery and smelling of pine a waste. Never mind the
shelter those trees would provide to our wildlife. Need I continue,
Mr. Blakewood?”
    Skylar slouched in his seat. “I’d say you
made your point, Miss Alexander.”
    If his humble tone was a true indicator,
Betsy felt she’d managed to quell any thoughts he might have about
making another statement in regard to her idea being a waste.
    It became Betsy’s turn to shrink a little as
Skylar worked his large frame upward and sat