Cindy laughed. “Didn’t even consider it.”
“Bitch.”
“You know you love me. Did Jonas tell you guys about the land we looked at, and think you should, too?”
“Yep, we drove out this morning. We like the land, for sure, just not sure how interested we are in building from scratch. We’re going to do a bit of research, see how complicated that is. But we’re definitely interested. And we’ve confirmed with the landlord for this house that she’d like to sell.”
“Excellent. It’s all coming together. You guys have fun tonight. Call me tomorrow and tell me all about it.”
They said their goodbyes and Cindy checked the time as well as her link to Jonas. He was on his way, she could tell. She switched to a different playlist and danced her way back to the kitchen, made a small pitcher of the Tom Collins, tested it. Delicious. She poured two glasses and added a cherry and slice of orange to each.
When she felt him close, she listened for the car on the driveway, and went to open the door, drink in hand to meet her mate.
After an amazing meal, a wonderful time divesting Cindy of her fantastic apron, and a very good night, Jonas woke up refreshed and more than ready to face the day. He kissed his mate and set up with his laptop on the couch. There was a nice chair in her office, but he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to resist interrupting her a hundred times if he was in there.
He could make out the soft sound of her music from down the hall, and the clicking of her keyboard. She was a bit hard on the poor thing, he was fascinated to discover. Maybe he should consider investing in a keyboard company.
After researching her list of realtors for a while, he settled on a couple he liked, made some calls. Then he made some sandwiches and stuck his head in her office.
“Baby, I made sandwiches. Ham and cheddar. You want one now, or I can leave it in the kitchen for you later?”
She looked up from her monitor and stared at him for a second before adjusting her brain. Then she checked the clock and smiled. “I’ll eat with you.”
She joined him in the living room, where he’d already set out a soft drink for her.
“I checked the realtors. There are two in the city that I liked. We could go out there when you have an afternoon, meet with them, have a nice restaurant dinner, and come back. Should be about a forty-five minute drive.”
“Right, that’s where the Target is. And the county clerk’s office.”
He laughed. “Exactly.”
She took a couple of bites and pulled her phone out to check her schedule. “What are the chances both of them have tomorrow free?”
“Chances are excellent, as of an hour ago. One isn’t available the next day, the other not available on Friday, but other than that, they’re pretty open.”
“Jeez, let’s not go into the real estate business.”
“Good plan. Not in this area, at least.”
“I can totally make tomorrow work.”
He leaned in to kiss her. “I’ll set it up. And find a restaurant that looks good.”
She cocked her head. “I’m so used to doing all the planning and organizing for my life. I kind of worried that a mate would just be more work for me. But you make things so easy.”
“I aim to please. Besides, talk about easy. You make dinner more than half the time. You make an amazing cocktail. And you buy aprons just to make me crazy.”
“That’s true. We’re pretty awesome together.”
He helped Jen with a project at her house the next morning, made quesadillas for lunch, and packed Cindy into the car in plenty of time to swing by the clerk’s office before their afternoon appointment with the first realtor.
Two meetings later, they made it to the seafood restaurant.
“So, what did you think?” she asked, after they’d ordered.
“Number one was okay, but I liked number two better. She seemed pretty sharp.”
“And more used to working on deals well outside of town, though I don’t know how much of a difference that might make.”
