Page 106 of PSYCHOlogical

“Four hundred and fifty if you want to bicker. Four twenty-five if you’re paying cash. Somewhere in between if you’re looking to finance and want to wait past the new year to close. I priced it for a quick sale.”

My heart raced. It may have been small, but it was in the perfect location and priced at half of what we’d looked at so far. Granted, it was half the home, but it was exactly what we both wanted.

Vincent looked at me.

I nodded eagerly and mouthed the words, I love it.

“We’ll take it,” Vincent said.

Mickey gripped the handrail with each hand, gazed out at the ocean for a moment, and then met Vincent’s gaze. “Which of those categories do you fall into?”

“We’d be the category that pays cash.”

Mickey grinned. “Care to stay for dinner? Haven’t had a dinner guest since Frank went to the village.”

“We’d love to,” Vincent responded.

We enjoyed dinner together, staying long enough to watch the sunset from the back deck. When the night ended, we shook Herb “Mickey” Kramer’s hand, and bid farewell.

Two days later, the three of us began our new lives.