Page 72 of This Time Around

“Obviously, the dancing peppers have to go. These cabinets are still in excellent condition, but they’ve probably been painted a few dozen times. Stripping off the paint probably isn’t feasible at this point, so I either sand and repaint them or replace them altogether.”

“What about this wall here between the kitchen and what I presume is the living room. Can it come down to open up the space?”

“It’s not a structural wall, so yes.”

“Show me the rest, Slugger. Tell me what you see that appeals to you so much.”

“It’s not so much the looks but the feeling I have when I’m here. It just feels…”

“Right,” I finished for him.

“Yeah.”

“Eat your lunch then you can give me the grand tour.” Bull suddenly looked alert once he got a whiff of the bacon in Andy’s BLT sandwich. “What do you think about the house, little man?” Bull wagged his tail and barked. “I bet he loves that big backyard.”

“He really does. Alli Cat would love the big windows with wide sills all throughout this house.”

“Are you saying my cat is fat?”

“I’m saying your twenty-six-pound cat needs sturdy window sills for squirrel and bird watching. You can take from that whatever you want, but it’s the truth.”

The enthusiasm in Andy’s voice was endearing as fuck, but I tried to play it cool. The truth was, I’d most likely live in a tent if it meant sleeping beside him each night. I mean, it would need to be a lavish fucker with silk pillows and plush bedding, but still.

“Show me the good stuff,” I said after Andy threw our empty lunch wrappers and cartons away.

“You don’t have much time left on your lunch break, so I need you to pick between the good stuff dangling between my legs or the house.”

“House now, sex later.”

As much as I teased Andy, I knew exactly what he was talking about when he said the house felt right. I liked the house I bought a few years ago, but it never felt like a forever home. Of course, that might’ve had a lot to do with a certain man missing from my life.

“This is my favorite room,” Andy said then opened the door to a decent-sized guest room. “The window seat isn’t as grand as the one in Maegan’s house.”

“Yet,” I stressed. “I have complete faith in your ability to make this window even better than hers.”

“Are you always so competitive with your sister?” Andy asked teasingly.

“Always, Slugger. Maegan’s mini mansion is going to be tough to beat, but I believe in you.” I raised up and kissed his mouth. “Show me the rest of the good stuff.”

Andy showed me the master bedroom and a smaller bedroom next to it that he wanted to convert into a master bathroom. “It will have a large walk-in closet for your vast wardrobe over here,” he said walking over to the left of the room. “And over here, I see a large soaker tub big enough for two and one of those fancy walk-in showers, also big enough for two.”

“I like the way you think, Slugger,” I said, looking around the room and seeing exactly what he described. “What about the rest of the rooms?”

“Well, there are two more bedrooms and a Jack and Jill bathroom between them.”

“Awww, Mae and I shared one of those when we were kids.”

“The first floor is a living room, kitchen, dining area, and a half bath for guests to use instead of having to traipse up the steps.”

“Or piss off the porch,” I mumbled.

“I’ll need an engineer to double-check that this isn’t a support wall,” Andy said when we returned to the first floor. If it is, we can still take down the wall, but we’d have to put beams across the ceiling, and there’d need to be support posts. There are plenty of ways to do that without it looking as tacky as you might imagine. I can show you pictures of the various options.”

“This fireplace,” I said as I walked into the living room. “It’s beautiful. I love the old, weathered mantle just the way it is.”

“I do too,” Andy agreed. “And what about that big bow window? Won’t Alli Cat love that?”

“Yeah, she’ll have a blast watching birds, rabbits, and squirrels from that window. That front yard has a lot of potential for beautiful landscaping. I can have this looking like the prettiest house on the block in no time.” I turned toward the love of my life standing in a shaft of sunlight pouring through the window. “I love it too.”