Page 54

In the rearview mirror, I see Josie’s Jeep coming down the street. “Hopefully! They’re about to pull in, so I should let you go. Have a good practice.”

“Send me updates and try to convince Bryce to paint a wall lime green.”

“Absolutely not. That’s not the aesthetic we’re going for. I’ll talk to you later?”

“You’re no fun.” I can practically picture him pouting. “Go, do your job, and uphold the dignity of the aesthetic. I’ll call you tonight, beautiful.”

Blushing, I tell him goodbye and end the call. Gathering my stuff, I cut the engine, and get out of the car, making my way up the drive as Josie parks. She jumps out of the car before Bryce even opens the door, a bright grin on her face as she waves the keys in the air. My laughter grows as she practically tackles me in a hug.

“Welcome home!” I beam at them. Reaching out to pull Bryce into a quick hug when Josie lets me go. “Are you ready for this?”

Bryce is looking between me, and the house, conflicted. “Kat, I can’t let you do this for free. It’s going to be a lot of work.”

“Stop,” I firmly reply. “We went over this. This is a challenge for myself, to see if I could do this on the side, and I’m doing it for friends who have been nothing but great to me. If you really want to pay me something, wait until the club is up and running, then we’ll talk. Deal?”

He looks like he’s about to argue with me again, so I link my arm with Josie’s. “Please get the door unlocked before I fight with your boyfriend about money again.”

Laughing, Josie leads us up the pathway to the house. It’s a cute two-story brick house. On the left side, large bay windows accent both floors; from the listing, I know one of them is the main bedroom and already know Josie’s going to want a window seat to read in. The porch is small but is highlighted by white steps leading to a door that I cannot see them keeping. It’s a deep red with a muted stained-glass window.

As we walk up the porch, I release Josie to unlock the door and hang back a little. I want the two of them to have the moment of walking into their home for the first time. They weren’t done with the closing until late last night, so Josie told me they hadn’t gone over, too exhausted from a long day at the pool and with the realtor. Bryce rests his hand on the small of her back, both grinning as the door opens and they step inside. I follow, closing the door behind us.

“I hate that door.”

I can’t help but giggle at Bryce’s declaration, Josie nodding along. I wave the notepad I have in my hand. “It’s already on the list of things to go.”

After stepping through the front door, we’re greeted with the stairs to our right, and the living room to our left. We start in the living room, where there really isn’t all that much to change. It’s not a large space, but big enough to entertain their friends when they want to. There’s a fireplace that adds a cozy vibe to the room, but we all decide the color of the brick needs to be changed and the carpet needs to go.

To get to the kitchen, we have to walk through the laundry area, which Bryce absolutely hates. I soon realize that the kitchen will be his domain more than Josie’s as he starts talking me through what he wants and wondering how we can expand the space. The kitchen is small, the two of them would barely be able to cook together without constantly bumping into each other. I start walking them through all the ways we can change it. They have room to expand.

“I can take the laundry room out of the walkway,” I tell them, flipping my notepad to a new page so I can sketch as I talk. “If you guys are still okay with only having two bathrooms, we can move the laundry into the one that’s weirdly situated off the dining area, and then that’ll be gone. That’s giving you a ton of extra space without even needing to build on.”

Josie’s grinning at me, nodding along with what I’m saying. “I think that sounds great; we already knew the kitchen was going to be a total renovation.”

With Bryce’s nod of agreement, the three of us keep moving through the house.

Afewhourslater,the three of us are sitting at a booth in the back of Brick Tavern, waiting for Mia to arrive. Josie and I are already going over design elements after the successful walkthrough where I filled the notebook with pages and pages of notes. Most of them scrawled in my hasty handwriting, a couple in Bryce’s choppy writing, and even a few in Josie’s flowy script—it really was a group effort.

A couple of minutes after we get a table, Mia slides into the booth next to me. “How’d the walkthrough go?”

And that sets Josie off, telling her best friend all about the plans we’d come up with. I can’t help but smile at the two of them talking, knowing that I had a small part of it. Of bringing Josie’s dreams to life. It’s why I decided to enter this field, after all. Bryce smiles fondly, adding his own opinions occasionally, but then his gaze drifts to me.

“What?” I ask, taking a sip of my water. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Back at the house, you said you were using this as a challenge for yourself,” he reminds me. I feel my face flush. “A challenge for what? If Thomas won’t let you do projects like this, do you think you’re gonna prove something to him?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I just want to know if I’m any good at the whole flipping thing or creating something better out of something that mostly exists.”

“Are you thinking of branching out on your own?”

It’s not a new idea, it’s one I’ve had in the back of my mind for most of my adult life. It’s just something I’ve never really let myself think too much about. Lately, though, those thoughts have been more prominent and now that I’ve ended things with Will, I can’t shake them. Besides my job and a couple of work friends, there’s not really anything for me back in Charleston, but Columbia has all the people I care most about. Mainly Carter. Will it suck to leave Nadine? Absolutely, but she’ll also be the first person telling me to go.

Bryce is waiting for an answer I’m not sure I’m ready to give.

“It’s good to keep your options open.” I’m grateful that our conversation hasn’t caught Josie or Mia’s attention, because I’d hate for them to get their hopes up on something I can’t deliver. “Don’t you think?”

He nods, reaching for his beer. “You’re good at it, just so you know.” My phone buzzes on the table, where it’s sitting facedown beside me. Bryce smirks, nodding at it. “Ten bucks says it’s Carter.”

I roll my eyes, grabbing the phone. “I’m absolutely not taking that bet.”