Why? “The wall will take a couple of days. I think I’ll live.”
But one thing was for sure. I was sleeping at my office once I’d left the apartment. In no fucking way was I sharing a bed or pullout with Nathan. My initial plan had been to sleep on the couch while he was upstairs, but that was clearly not happening anymore.
A week later, I met up with James outside his house after work.
Yup, hello, Cape Cod.
At first glance, his neighbor’s house looked perfect. Yeah, it needed some fixing up—the roof, for instance, and the garage’s exterior. I didn’t know the last time they’d painted the house either, and white got dirty fast. But I saw the potential. Hell, I saw Nathan’s dream home. He’d always wanted a big porch like that.
“My neighbor is keeping her fingers crossed,” James said, twirling a set of keys on his finger. “The house was just put on the market yesterday, but she’s hoping for a quick sale.”
“Then, here’s to hoping I can afford it.” I followed him toward the house. I liked that the garage had enough space for two cars. “What’s she askin’?”
“Five seventy-five.”
That was within my budget, but it begged the question. What else needed renovating? Most houses in this area went for over six hundred.
“You wouldn’t mind having your boss next door?” I joked.
James smirked to himself and shook his head. “No, sir.”
I couldn’t lie. I enjoyed the times he threw out a sir. It was the Southerner in him. He’d moved here from Nashville some fifteen years ago, when he and his sister had inherited a house from his grandparents. James’s sister had been happy to sell her part of it to buy a condo.
I liked James. Getting to know him this year had been a highlight. We didn’t spend much time outside work or anything, but he’d tagged along with Dylan and me for golf a couple of times, and we’d met up to shoot hoops with his nephew too.
“Where’s the old lady now?” I asked when James unlocked the door.
The porch needed some TLC too, I noticed. Some of the boards had to be replaced.
“Her daughter’s family is helping her get settled in Phoenix,” James answered. “I guess she wanted the new home taken care of before she tackled this project.”
Once he’d shut off the alarm, I walked in farther, and the place definitely smelled like old people.
I liked that the hallway wasn’t so narrow.
“Kitchen here to the left.”
Just like at home.
Not my home anymore.
“Damn.” I loved the kitchen. I mean, the space. Big and open. Some things could actually be saved too. No need to buy new cupboards; I’d just sand these down and repaint them. The kitchen island needed a new top. The lady—or someone—had managed to put an actual crack in the marble.
Nate would’ve loved this too.
Hideous walls, though. The floor had to go.
Enough space for a kitchen table that seated six. That was great. Windows that faced the street.
We moved on, and the more I saw, the easier it was to picture myself living here. I was keeping the old wooden floors. They only needed some love and oil. Big living room, with sliding doors opening up to the patio—fuck me, there was actually a pool.
“Before you get excited, that pool needs relining.”
Yeah, whatever. It wasthere. It existed.
Nathan would’ve wanted the house based on the front porch and the fireplace in the corner alone.
And sure enough, a home office that could be turned into my bedroom.
