“For what?”
“For putting up with me…I can be difficult to take sometimes.”
He was wrong. “I’ve got you, big guy.”
Axel’s lips tipped up just enough for me to see as he stood. Picking up his coffee, he took a sip. “Thank you again.” He held up the cup, then trotted off to his bedroom.
Half an hour later, we pulled up to a three-story Mediterranean-style home on a quiet street, priced at a cool 5.3 million dollars. “It looked bigger in the photos,” Axel said, opening the car door. I followed as he got out of my car and stood in the middle of the driveway, looking up at the balconies. The realtor came out the front door with a big smile until he saw my car sitting in the driveway. It was almost comical to watch his face contort into a forced smile.
“Hello, welcome.” He extended his hand to Axel. “My name is Javier Devareux, Devareux Real Estate.”
“Axel Hughes.” The man eyed me as I strode up in my khaki pants and non-designer shirt. Axel introduced me. “This is Luca Vaughn.”
Javier’s strained smile and a nod almost made me laugh. “Well, let’s go have a look, shall we?” As we followed behind him, he turned to Axel. “Have you already been pre-approved for a mortgage loan?”
“No. I’ll be paying cash,” Axel replied, walking through the front door.
The realtor eyed his athletic shorts and T-shirt as he entered the house. “Let me show you the…”
“No. We’ll look around and let you know if we have questions.” Axel didn’t wait for his approval. Instead, he reached for my hand to pull me through the foyer into the large kitchen.
“I think he wanted to come with us,” I whispered into his shoulder.
“That’s unfortunate,” he said, pulling me into the large family room.
As we went from room to room and floor to floor, our realtor followed along, keeping an eye on us from afar. It took us ten minutes to tour the house and the backyard. With this one, he’d have his jacuzzi, heated swimming pool, and two-car garage. Not to mention a separate pool house. “No plunge pool,” I pointed out. “Guess you’d have to fill up that giant bathtub with cold water.”
“Hmm,” Axel replied. “What do you think? Do you like it?”
“What’s not to like? But it’s not my decision.”
“But if it were, would you like living here?”
I snorted. “Uh, yes.”
Axel took another look around the grounds as we walked back to the car. He motioned for the realtor who had been lurking behind us. “How soon will it be available?”
“That will depend on your bank and the paperwork.”
“No bank. Cash offer. $5.2 million.”
It was entertaining to watch the smug as fuck realtor’s eyes pop out of his head.
“Cash, sir?” He looked him up and down. “I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?”
It was my turn to happily supply that information. “Axel Hughes,” I said, as if I were somebody. “Starting center for the New York Nighthawks. You know, the NHL team.”
Fireworks shot off behind his eyes. “Oh yes! The Nighthawks.”
“I’ll have my attorney contact your office,” Axel said, opening my car door. That was new. I got in as he walked around. “I want to close next week. Can you make that happen? If not, I’ll find a realtor who can.”
His eyes widened like saucers. “Yes, sir. I can. No problem, sir.”
Axel got in and closed the door. He put on his sunglasses and grinned over at me. “Man, I’m glad that’s over.”
Shifting in my seat, I looked at him. “It took you over a month to finally look at a property, and you bought the first one you saw.”
His smirk made my heart do stupid things in my chest. I might have to get that checked out. “I know what I want when I see it, Vaughn.” He lightly tapped the end of my nose with his index finger. “Let’s go. It’s hot in here.”
