“Ready.”
Pushing open the door, I step aside and watch her. I want to see her reaction. It’ll tell me everything I need to know.
“Oh. My. God. Sam.” She moves in slowly, her eyes on the floor-to-ceiling windows at the back of my place. “That’s the lake.”
“It is.”
I don’t think she’s really taken notice of the interior of the house, because she makes a beeline for the windows. “This is amazing.” Her voice sounds breathy.
Moving to her left, I pull open the oversized French doors that lead to the deck. “Come out here. This is the best part.”
On the deck that spans the entire back side of the house, I show her where a large seating area will be just off the living space. Right now, there are two folding chairs and a small table in that spot. “There’s the start of a screened-in porch off the main bedroom, and down there,” I point at the lake, “there’ll be a dock and a boat lift.”
“Wow.”
“Come back inside. Let me show you around.”
The inside isn’t finished. It’s been drywalled and the subfloors are ready for flooring. It’ll probably take another six months to finish up the interior due to the fact my company is busy on other jobs. I lead her into what will be the kitchen and show her what the basic layout is going to be, pointing to the plumbing for the sink and the gas line for the stove. It’s nothing special—a basic kitchen layout with a large island that looks out into the whole space. Next, I point to the large living space and the dining area. I gesture to the hole in the wall that will be a grand fireplace.
Down a long hallway, I point out the guest bathroom and then what will be the main bedroom. “More windows,” she says, stepping over to the view again.
“And that screened-in porch.”
“That’s great. I bet the bugs get bad in the summer.”
“They do.” I point to her left. “Here’s the main bath.”
This room has been drywalled. The tub is in, and it’s obvious where the large walk-in shower will go, but I point it out anyway. “There are two walk-in closets.” I point left, then right. “His and hers.”
“Walk-in closets?” She squeaks as she steps through the opening into closet one. “This is huge.”
Hopefully she didn’t miss the “his and hers” statement.
“Let’s go upstairs.”
“What’s up there?”
“You’ll see.”
I show her the two additional bedrooms and the bathroom. Then I push open the third door. “This will be the office.”
Her reaction is exactly what I’d hoped. I’ve done the most work in here already. Finish carpentry is the thing I enjoy most in the building process, so I gesture the wall behind her. “That wall will have built-in cabinetry for books and other things. I think the desk should go in front of the windows. Don’t you think?”
There’s awe in her voice. I love it. “This is the perfect office space.” She’s staring out the huge window that overlooks the lake. “I’d never get anything done there, though.” She laughs. “Maybe the desk should face the other way. You could put a cozy seating area here so when you wanted a break, you could do that here.”
I look at the opposite wall, then at the spot she’s talking about for seating. “That’d work.” I smile at her. “You’re good at this interior design stuff.”
She blushes. “I love those home shows.”
“I knew you’d be the perfect one for this job.” I reach down and take her hand. “Come on. Let me show you why I asked you here.”
“Oh, right. You needed help with something.” She frowns. “I hope you don’t want me wielding a hammer or anything. I’m not handy. Dangerous is more like it.”
Chuckling, I raise her hand and kiss the top of it. “No, but it’s good to know.”
Back downstairs, I lead her through the kitchen into the garage and press the button. The large door begins to open. This is ground zero for the build. My personal tools are here, along with two long tables. One that holds the plans for the house, and the other stacked high with materials.
“What’s all this?” She’s staring down at the materials table.
