Page 223 of Just Wait

“I love you.” She stretches up onto her tiptoes, kissing my cheek. “Even if you’re dreadfully old-fashioned.”

Technically, we kept our contributions to a minimum because we wanted Lumen to be able to match our investment without any financial strain. She’s saved up quite a respectable nest egg over the last two years, but we were in the industry long before she was.

It only seemed fair to the three of us that we should pay for our first real house. We also didn’t want to piss her off, so we just went with it.

The guys love to joke that she usurped me as pack leader, but they must not understand Dom/sub dynamics. The sub is always in control. The Dom just learns how to set the rules within the confines of a sub’s limits.

Lumen was very particular on some of the details. She wanted more than three thousand square feet, but less than five thousand.

How did she come up with that number?

By learning the square footage of our condo and declaring it too big for her liking. To be fair, it’s an entire floor of the building, but we got a great deal because the entire thing had to be remodeled. We were able to coincide the renovations with our first tour, and it was nearly done when we got back.

Lumen has made herself at home there, but we all know she’s been dreaming about moving somewhere cooler than Florida.

As it turns out, all four of us love the mountains of western Virginia.

I probably would have gone for somewhere around seven or eight thousand square feet, but she said she didn’t want to get lost while tracking us down for lunch, and that changed my mind real quick.

Her only other requests were a pool or Jacuzzi and her own office for when she’s writing.

Malcolm wants a view of the mountains and a fenced-in yard for the theoretical dog he thinks he’s going to adopt.

Hell, he might.

Then we’ll have to find a pet sitter or drag the poor thing around on tour with us four months out of the year.

Riser was much more reasonable in his request, simply asking for a breakfast nook.

Why he wants a breakfast nook?

I have no idea, but being part of a pack requires compromise.

The realtor clears her throat.

“Sorry, we got distracted again,” Riser says. “You can start the tour at any time.”

“You guys stacked the deck with two just okay houses so this one would stand out as the clear winner,” Lumen says, quirking an eyebrow as we stand on the back deck. “Didn’t you?”

Mal brings his hand to his chest, faux gasping. “Baby doll, we would never.”

“Sure, buddy.” She jabs him in the chest. “I think we’re all in agreement? Right?” She gestures at the small pool with both hands. “I mean, it has a pool and a Jacuzzi.”

“I love the brick exterior and the breakfast nook,” Riser says.

“I’m going to get a Golden Retriever.” Mal nods, surveying the yard. “Hell, with how big this backyard is, I might get two.”

“How about we compromise on one dog, and we get something small enough to travel with us when we go on tour?” I counter.

Lumen points at me. “That sounds like a solid plan. We should test whether we’re pet people before committing to multiple animals.”

She and I grew up very similarly.

I never had pets.

My grandma could barely afford to help out with raising me. She certainly wouldn’t have spent her cigarette money on an animal, but I couldn’t blame her for that. She’d already raised her kids. It was supposed to be her time to enjoy her golden years.

Lumen didn’t have animals growing up, and she’s already brought up how unfair she thinks it would be to a pet with how often we travel.