Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 153946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
She rushed to the kitchen island and picked up a thick file, which she laid in front of me with a flourish. Then she sat down in the chair next to mine and reached for her coffee again. “Go on. Open it.”
The way my day was going, odds were low I’d be as excited as she was, but I opened the folder anyway. Right on top of the pile was a printout of a two-story house I vaguely recognized. “This is right around the corner from here, isn’t it?”
“Yes!” She slid it over to reveal more pictures of the house’s interior. “They let me come in and take these myself. It has a three-car garage, Wade. Did you know I was practically neighbors with a retired football player? Because I didn’t. He and his wife built this house with big-guy comfort in mind. The kitchen is huge. The doors are all extra wide. The upstairs is a man-cave-style game room and the bathtub is basically a swimming pool. Oh…” She shuffled more papers. “The backyard has pool too. A lap pool and a built-in outdoor kitchen with a grill. It’s got everything you wanted and then some.”
It was a nice house—really nice—and I’d been sort of interested when I thought she and Gene might be thinking of upgrading to move there themselves. Then the “everything you wanted” caught up with me.
“Why am I looking at pictures of someone else’s house, Morgan?”
“Because it’s going to be yours.”
Damn it, she was beaming like Anna showing Kristoff his new sleigh (I’d lost a bet and had to watch Frozen with Phoebe. It wasn’t that bad).
“How do you figure that?” I asked carefully.
“Since your real estate agent wasn’t helping and the rental site wasn’t offering you anything you liked, I started asking around. It was no trouble. It turns out they only decided to move out of state after the hurricane. They were planning to put it up for sale next week, but I caught them before they could, and now they’re holding it so you can make an offer. Don’t worry, I made sure it was in your price range. Gene says he can’t wait to barbecue over at your place and lounge in the pool.”
She’d already shown this to Gene?
They were holding it? For me?
It really is a great house.
I pushed the papers away. “I appreciate all the effort you went to, but you should tell them to go ahead and put it on the market.”
She stared at me for a moment, looking genuinely confused. “I don’t understand.”
“The apartment is fine for me. With the race and work and the baby coming, I don’t have the time or energy to do a big move, buy furniture, and shop for lawnmowers at the moment. I don’t want to rush into anything.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What’s going on right now?”
Shit. “I just told you.”
“And I just put your dream home right in front of you, after you’ve spent the last four months describing to me in detail what you wanted. That apartment is too small for you to turn around in comfortably, and you already know Bernie and I can help you with the furniture shopping. So, I repeat: What is going on right now?”
“I’m happy where I am,” I told her impatiently. “If it’s still available when I’m ready to move, I’ll think about it again. But right now, I’m saying no. Don’t push this.”
“Sure. Fine. That makes total sense.” She got up and gathered the papers back into the file, her temper making the simple task more violent than it should have been. “I only wasted a week and invaded these people’s home while getting their hopes up for nothing.”
“You should have talked to me first.”
“I have talked to you. For months. What’s changed since the last time you said this was what you wanted? Phoebe was still pregnant then. You were still working then. A race was still going to be happening then, because a race is always happening. If you’re staying at the apartment as some favor to me and Mom because you’re worried August won’t be able to cover her bills next—”
“That’s enough, Morgan.” I stayed in my chair, aware of my size and my anger, my fists clenched on the table. “I’m doing this for me. I’m not ready to leave her yet. I’m sorry that doesn’t fit in with your plans and schedules, but I am capable of making my own decisions for my own damn life.”
She deflated like a balloon, dropping the file on the table as her anger gave way to dawning awareness. “You’re not ready to leave her yet? Is there something going on between you and my sister, Wade?”
Well hell. I hadn’t wanted her to find out like this. “There is.”
She sat back down without her usual grace, her big eyes wide and a little glazed with what looked like shock. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting that. I mean, I didn’t think she was your type or I would have been setting you up with very different women over the years.” She hesitated. “August is another story. You know she had a crush on you when she was younger, right?”