Twenty-three minutes later, give or take, I climbed out of the car and watched it veer away through traffic before turning and looking at the brownstone behind me.
Was this the right place? Should I call the car back and go home? I was still considering that when Leif trotted down the steps onto the sidewalk. In dark blue slacks and a cream sweater, he looked good enough to eat.
"Sable, you look beautiful," he said, placing his hands on my biceps and kissing my cheek. "Are you okay?" He leaned back to stare at me.
"I'm fine," I said quickly. "I'm just wondering why you brought me here."
"I thought you might like to see a work in progress." He took my hand and led me back up the steps and into the brownstone.
"You're decorating this place?" I looked around, taking in the bare studs and subfloor. By the look of it, the place had been gutted, ready for a complete renovation.
"I am," he said, "for a very special client." He put extra meaning behind his words.
"Oh?" I glanced over at him.
He grinned. "Myself. I bought this place. For asteal. The previous owner met an unfortunate demise. People often get twitchy about places like this. Me? I see it as an opportunity. I mean, look at the square footage." He gestured around.
"It's big," I agreed.
"Yes, and so is the house." He gave me a look of mock innocence. "Let me show you what I'm planning. Back here is going to be the kitchen. I'm thinking ten foot island. Lots of marble. Black and white. With hints of bronze here and there."
I could easily see what he was describing. It was a nice big space, perfect for entertaining a bunch of people. If entertaining was your thing.
"That flows to the outside area," he said. "Once these doors are removed and replaced with ones that open all the way. Imagine this in summer. People sitting around drinking. Listening to music. Enjoying each other. I’m putting a hot tub in that back corner." He pointed.
"That sounds perfect." I sighed softly. "Let me guess, you're going to put a big screen TV up there on the outside wall so you can sit in the hot tub while you watch hockey?"
He snapped his fingers.
"You know what? That'd be perfect. We could have watch parties in the hot water." He grinned and added, "Nakedwatch parties."
"How will you know which team people are cheering for?" I asked, jokingly.
He laughed. "I guess we'd have to write it on their foreheads. Let me show you the living areas." He gave me a quick tour, describing his vision.
"It's going to look amazing," I said. "I’m starting to wonder what my apartment would look like if it was torn apart like this."
"Like a job site," he said with a grin. "It's a long process, but it's worth it. If that's what you want to do, I'm one hundred percent on board for it. I love nothing better than stripping something right down to the bare bones."
Why did I get the feeling he wasn't talking about buildings?
Oh, right, because he wasn't.
"Over here," he said, "I'm going to put a leather couch. I'm partial to leather." He nodded down toward his leather boots. They looked like the soft kind, buttery.
"I like it myself," I said, raising my elbow to indicate my leather jacket. It was getting old now, but it was comfortable. Worn in. I didn't really care it was the fashion from a few years ago. Everything came back in eventually, right?
"I thought you seemed like the discerning type."
"I have my moments," I agreed. "How long is this renovation going to take?"
"About nine months," he said. "Some of the materials are more difficult to source than others, like all the lumber we need, and the floorboards. And the window frames. And…"
"I'm sure it'll be worth it when it's done," I said.
"One hundred percent worth it." He nodded. "Let me show you upstairs."
I hesitated.
