“Is there ever going to be a time when you don’t think of me as a little girl, Wee? Because I’ve been a grown-up for a while now. I drive a car and vote and do all kinds of grown-up stuff.”
He snorts. “Yeah. Nah. Doubt it. You’ll always be the baby sister to me. And don’t talk about doing grown-up stuff. It creeps me out. Anyway, Josh is thinking about buying a place. He thinks he might’ve found a beaten-up old Federation cottage in Manly.”
“I didn’t know there were any left.” Pretty much the whole of Manly has been ‘gentrified’ to within an inch of its life, and not always in a good way, in my professional opinion.
Will chuckles. “The open house is this Saturday. I’m going with because, obviously, my opinion is gold. And I thought since you’re in the business, so to speak, you could come along—give him a few ideas on how much it might cost to make it liveable. I gather it needs a lot of work. You free?”
“Yeah, sure, I can come. What time?” I do a little shimmy of excitement in my seat as I open up the calendar on my phone. This is a great opportunity to spend some time with Josh and maybe show him I’m more than his best friend’s little sister.
“I’ll pick you up at eleven. Open house is at noon. Maybe we could have lunch and a drink afterwards.”
“Perfect. See you then.” Yes, perfect.
I fill Jess in when she gets back to the table.
“How convenient. Precisely the opportunity you were looking for,” she says, and I don’t miss the sarcasm. “Just don’t get carried away, yeah?”
The look on Josh’s face as I climb out of Will’s Jeep on Saturday morning tells me he had no idea I was coming. It was quick, but I didn’t miss the way his gaze travelled from my head to toes and back again, his expression going from relaxed to tense in a heartbeat.
Speaking of heartbeats, mine picks up as I take him in. If you didn’t know Josh, you’d think he was a bit wild. And, okay, he is in some respects. But even though I haven’t seen him for years, I know who he is at his core, and he’s kind and honest and a bit squishy in the centre, a fact he would no doubt deny. Which doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the rugged look he’s got going on. The tattoos, the messy man bun and the chunky boots cause a chain reaction from my eyes, to my lips, to my lady parts. Magnificent is the only word for it.
“Thought I’d bring Gee along,” Will explains. “She can maybe help you with what you’d need to do. And how much it might cost. Which, from the looks of it, might be a lot.” Will gives the front of the little house a look of thinly veiled disgust. His taste runs much more towards sleek, modern and minimalist.
Josh rolls his eyes. “Thanks for the expert opinion, Wee.”
Stepping between Will and Josh, I take their arms in a Dorothy-style grip and start towards the front gate of the run-down old house partially hidden by a huge for sale sign. “I love Manly. The beach, the restaurants. There’s always something going on. Investment-wise, you can’t go wrong in an area like this.”
As I drag the boys up the short path, I enjoy the effect I seem to be having on Josh. His arm is pressed firmly against my right breast, and I can feel his muscles tensing. Unfortunately, the narrow hall forces me to let go of both Josh and Will, but maybe I’ve made my point.
Josh loosens up as we work our way through the house, dodging other potential buyers. Even though it’s in sad repair, it still has most of the original features intact, and the sight of the old bones of the house gets my mind spinning. I’m all business, pointing out opportunities as well as some potential structural issues that look, even at first glance, like they might cost quite a bit of money to put right.
“Well? What’s the verdict?” Josh asks as we stand under the bare branches of the spectacular jacaranda tree at the back of the overgrown yard.
I can’t wipe the grin off my face. I came with Will as an excuse to see Josh. But I adore this place. The little gingerbread-house features at the front, the bay window with the original stained glass still intact, the old trees in the back garden. It even has enough room for a carport in the front yard, which is worth its weight in weedy concrete in an area like Manly.
If Josh buys this place, I hope I get to help him restore it. Because to say it would be a labour of love would be no exaggeration. And it feels good to have Josh ask for my professional opinion.
“Maybe we should talk about this over lunch?” I suggest, not wanting the other buyers wandering around to get wind of the things I have to say.
We walk down the hill to the centre of Manly for a meal and a beer at the pub.
Will heads to the bar to order our drinks while Josh and I settle in at a table on the end of the verandah, where we can catch the warmth of the afternoon sun, balanced by the salty sea breeze.
I can’t wait for Will to get back to the table before I burst.
“Josh, your house is fantastic. It’s got so much going for it. I can’t smell any sign of dampness. The rooms are a good size, and it has a north-easterly aspect, which is great. Not to mention space for a carport.”
“Slow your roll. It’s not mine yet.” Josh laughs. “I know it needs a lot of work, but you really think I can do something with it?” His eagerness to hear my professional opinion adds another layer of connection to my feelings for him.
“Absolutely. I think it’s got enormous potential.” I picture the sagging roof and rotten stairs at the back of the house. “There’s a lot to spend, but the bones are great, especially at the front. And there’s plenty of room for an extension.” I can already see an additional storey, which would possibly get water views, and a massive entertaining area where now there’s a patch of half-dead weedy grass, a square of cracked concrete and a rusty, lopsided old Hills Hoist.
“Seems like a lot of hard work to me,” Will complains as he brings our drinks and the food menu to the table. “Why don’t you buy one of those new apartments in the tower near the wharf—great views and no need to do any work?”
“Great views and zero character.” Josh and I shoot back in unison. Will’s roar of laughter gets annoyed looks from the middle-aged couple at the table next to us. My gaze connects with Josh’s, and I know he feels the frisson as strongly as I do before he drags his eyes away.
After we order lunch, I pull out the research I did during the week and hand the printout to Josh.
“I did a bit of research into the market after Will called. This gives you an overview of what’s been sold in Manly recently.” I point to the second page. “And there you can see the price difference between renovated and unrenovated properties. Honestly, you’ll probably have to spend quite a bit to get the house up to scratch, but you can see from those numbers, it would be almost impossible to overcapitalise on a house in that position. Unless you do something over the top.”
