“That means a lot, coming from you.” He knew better than anyone how much she wanted to succeed in this business. She glanced around and had to agree. Ms. Velda was special, and she wanted to make her proud. A wave of sadness hit her. Once the house sold, she most likely wouldn’t be able to visit and sit out back facing the lake or spend time in the “ladies’ room,” as Ms. Velda called the shed she’d turned into her personal space.
“Hey, everything all right?” Antonio touched her hand.
“Yeah. Don’t mind me. Just having a sentimental moment. I have so many memories here, it’s hard to imagine that I won’t be able to stop by whenever, that’s all. If I had the money, I’d buy it myself,” she added with a wistful smile. She made a good living and had a decent amount of savings in her account, but this was a little out of her budget. Clearing her throat, Natasha asked, “Do you know how much longer before you’ll be done?”
Still scrutinizing her, he said, “We should be done by the end of the week. There are only a few things we have to touch up.”
“Okay. That means I can most likely get a selling price from Chase and get it listed by the end of next week. I’ll probably do an open house the following week, most likely a Saturday to get the largest number of people.” She got so lost in her planning, she completely forgot about Antonio standing there until she heard his phone.
Antonio checked the display and frowned. “Hey, Grandma Nora. Are you okay?”
Natasha could only hear his side of the conversation, but he seemed concerned. She hoped nothing was wrong with her or Papa Fred. She searched his face when he ended the call. “Is she all right?”
“Yeah, she’s good. I promised to take her to visit Grandpa tomorrow morning because my dad and Uncle Charles are gone fishing and won’t be back until Wednesday. She hasn’t seen him since Saturday and doesn’t want to wait that long.”
“I can’t say I blame her. They’ve been together more years than not, so I can imagine how difficult this must be for her. I wish we had something here. Maybe Ms. Velda wouldn’t have to leave the only place she’s known, either,” she added, gently running her hand over the fireplace mantel.
“It would, and Grandma has already mentioned it to me.”
She whipped her head around. “Wait. Are you planning to build one here?”
Antonio dragged a hand down his face. “I wish I could, but we’ve already started on the condos, and there’s no way I can do both. But I also don’t want to have to wait two or three years to get it done. I don’t even know if he’ll—”
Natasha hugged him tight. “I get it. You want them to have as much time together as possible. But, baby, there’s only one of you, and you can’t do it all. Right now you’re doing the best thing, and that’s making yourself available to drive her to Napa.”
“I know, but I plan to make calls to a couple of buddies who work in the field.”
She nodded. “Hopefully they can help or know someone who can.” Surveying the room one last time, she said, “I’m done, so we can head back.” They closed up the house and got in the truck.
“By the way, Grandma also reminded me that I’m supposed to invite you to my family’s Sunday dinner,” he said after several minutes. “And before you say anything, my mom was the one who extended the invitation. She’s as bad as your mother, so be warned.”
“Nobody can be that bad,” she said with a shake of her head. “And I’d love to come to dinner. What time?”
“Usually, they’re around three or four, but I’ll confirm with her and let you know.”
“Sounds good.”
“When we talked earlier, you said you wanted to show me something.”
“Oh, shoot. I completely forgot. I’ll show it to you when we get back.” Between the mess with Kathleen and the side trip to the inlet, the brochure had completely slipped her mind. Three minutes later, he turned onto the street and parked in front of her office. She retrieved the brochure from her tote. “I started working on the designs for the condos and wanted to get your opinion. I’ve only done six so far.” She bit her lip nervously as she waited while he flipped through the pages.
“These are amazing, Tasha. I know you enjoy being a Realtor, but you have a gift and really should be doing interior design full time.”
She released the breath she’d been holding. “You think so?”
Antonio flipped back a couple of pages. “I really like this one. I may have to hire you to design my home.”
“Whenever you decide to buy or build, I’ll be happy to work my magic,” she said brightly. But inside she wondered whether she’d be the one living there with him or decorating it for some other woman. The thought didn’t sit well with her, and she didn’t want to analyze the reasons for that. Her stomach growled, and she placed a hand on her midsection to muffle the sound.
“Maybe I’d better drive you over to the bake shop to get your sandwich,” Antonio said, a grin tugging at his lips.
“You heard that?”
“Hard not to when it was loud enough to rattle windows.”
She burst out laughing and punched him in the arm. “Shut up.”
“Dang, girl.” He rubbed the spot on his arm.
