“That’s still good. I could go all the way up to three and still have a hefty decorating budget.”
“True, but my job is to get it for you at the lowest price point possible.” He winked at me. “Come on. Let’s see if you even want it, first.”
Besides being beautiful, it had a lot of good points. There was a full butler’s pantry, plus extra storage on top of that. If I ever threw a party, that would come in handy. I could actually learn to cook, too. Then there were plenty of bathrooms, a downstairs office area, though it was small. Of course, the best part was the pool and hot tub. Outside living was a must, and this one was nice, though unlike the house I liked in St. Petersburg, it didn’t have a ton of lounging space or pool equipment storage. I wasn’t sure even a decorator could help with that.
There was a second floor, with laundry upstairs that included appliances and a door to the main closet. I hated hauling laundry around, so that was nice.
We found a comfy game room at the back, overlooking the pool area. It needed at least a dry bar and drink fridge added, but that was easy enough. I could see myself hanging out with Grant here. Maybe some new friends.
“If you’re into fitness, this is also very close to Davis Islands Trail for walking or running.”
“That’s nice to know. Hell, walking at sunset along the trail might become a favorite thing.” Maybe I needed a new hobby, like photography.
It wasn’t all great, though. For nearly three million, it was small, not that I needed a ton of space, but the other house was significantly bigger. Four of the bedrooms were upstairs, makingit seem a little cramped, but did I need that many bedrooms? Maybe I could lose one room and rearrange the floor plan a bit. I loved that door to the laundry, but if I moved it to the back bedroom, I could still get that and it would open the center landing up a lot, while making the game room bigger too. “How much do you think it would cost to move that?” I tapped on the door to the laundry.
“Not sure. We can get an estimate before we make a bid. I know someone I can call. You’re thinking this is tight?” He gestured to the landing we stood in.
“Yes. Some.”
“Right. You can make it what you want.” He shrugged. “Let’s go back down to the kitchen. I can hook you up with a designer. A good one who won’t overcharge.”
“The kitchen is a bit small, too. Don’t you think?”
He tapped the island. “Porcelain countertops.” He looked around. “You don’t need a bigger kitchen with all the prep space in the pantry.”
I didn’t know if that was true or not since I didn’t cook much. But it was also only me.
“Four butts can sit.” He gestured to the barstools staged in front of the island.
“True. But I’m probably going to lose the formal dining room.”
“Why?”
“I need to work out.”
Tyler looked at me skeptically but didn’t say anything. I took another look around the first floor to see what other changes I might make. “That’s probably all I would change here. I’d keep the kitchen as is. Seems like some wasted space with this bedroom and bath here, but it would be nice to open that to the outside.”
“Right, so you don’t track water through your house.”
“Exactly.”
“I like the way you think. Let’s see the garage.”
After looking at that space, we went back to the front of the house, and I looked up at it. “I’m not sure. I like it. But…”
“Hey, Vince. Take your time. I want to sell you a home, sure, but I want you to love it. Think about it. These multi-million-dollar homes don’t sell fast, but they also don’t come on the market as often. If you don’t like the ones we saw today, we can go back to the drawing board and wait for the perfect house. Or even buy a lot, like I said.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Sure.” He clapped his hand on my shoulder. “It’s a long drive back to the office. Let’s get going.”
Chapter three
March
Needing to blow off steam—as usual—I went to Afterglow. The house music pumped loudly and bodies gyrated wildly on the floor. I jumped around, getting my groove on, not thinking about anything other than the beat. My hair fell into my eyes, and I pushed the sweaty, purple locks out of my face. A few olderguys stood around the edges watching. One of them was Crow. Yummy daddy. I liked him a lot, but he was a bit aloof.
I danced my way over to him and grabbed his arm, using it to balance as I went up on tiptoe. “Wanna get outta here, Daddy?”
