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than Ryan’s had dodgy building
applications.”
    “ Tell me about this house you
wanted to buy,” she said, abruptly changing the subject.
    When Noah left Kitty an hour later, he felt a
lot better about life. Okay, so he wouldn’t get the house on Broad
Street, but there’d be others. He’d work harder than ever and raise
the necessary capital without depending on his boss’s non-existent
goodwill. He’d made Kitty happy tonight and got one over on Ryan
Watts in the process, which did a lot to restore his damaged pride.
Not only that, but his investments had increased by over a hundred
quid thanks to the money Ryan had given him. Not bad for one
night’s work.
    When he put his hand in his jacket pocket to
search for the keys to Ryan’s car, he discovered that he’d earned
even more than he’d initially thought. A small smile tugged at his
lips as he withdrew four neatly folded fifty pound
notes.
    Apparently he really had turned himself into a
gigolo.

Chapter Four
    A week later Noah received a call from Kitty
on the cell phone he’d reluctantly forked out for. A necessary
expense if he and Joey wanted to attract customers for their
private work. Kitty needed to talk to him about something important
and asked him to meet her in his lunch break at a café off the
market. Noah was in no mood to socialize, but Kitty was
insistent.
    He made his way briskly on foot to the
meeting, consumed by resentment. The auction including the house— his house — on Broad Street was scheduled for today. He
wouldn’t be there, and his plans would remain a pipe dream for the
foreseeable future. Damn it, he didn’t have time to wait, watching
others cashing in on a prime property market and making fortunes
for themselves. He was a man in a hurry, and wanted part of the
action now.
    Brooding on his grievances he didn’t
immediately recognize the elegant woman standing outside the café,
scanning the street with her eyes and consulting her watch every
few seconds.
    “ Hello, Kitty,” he said, raising
an arm in greeting when he realized who she was and recovered from
his surprise. “Am I late?”
    “ You’re just in time.”
    As she smiled, Noah noticed subtle differences
in her. She’d had her hair cut and styled to make her look younger
and her clothes were different, too. She looked good, and he told
her so.
    “ Why, thank you, sir!”
    Noah opened the door to the café and stood
back to let Kitty through it first, but she had turned away and was
walking briskly in the other direction.
    “ Wait!” he called, catching up
with her. “I thought we were going to—”
    “ Oh no, that was just a convenient
meeting place.” She kept walking. “We have to be somewhere, and
there’s no time to spare.”
    Intrigued, Noah humored her. Before he knew it
they were at the doors to the auction house where the property on
Broad Street would go under the hammer.
    “ What the hell are we doing here?”
he asked, pulling at her arm.
    Kitty ignored him, strode into the auction
room and consulted a catalogue he hadn’t noticed her
carrying.
    “ Ah, good, we’re just in
time.”
    Noah watched in stunned disbelief as his house came up for sale and Kitty calmly bid for it. She
exuded confidence as she beat two opponents and won it for almost a
thousand pounds less than Noah had anticipated it would sell
for.
    “ Your name please, madam,” the
auctioneer asked.
    “ The house has been sold to Mr.
Noah Fenwick,” she said in a clear voice, dragging a bemused Noah
in the direction of the office to complete the
paperwork.
    With the formalities out of the way, Kitty led
a still dazed Noah to a nearby pub to celebrate.
    “ Now, would you please tell me
what the hell’s going on?” he pleaded when they finally sat down
with their drinks.
    “ Gladly.” She clinked glasses with
him. “Congratulations, Noah, you are now a property
owner.”
    “ Evidently.” He shook his head.
“But I don’t understand.”
    She patted his hand.