Page 109 of When Ben Loved Jace

“Thank you.”

I follow him outside to the deck. Greg spins around with an eager expression. “What did you decide?”

“It’s a beautiful house,” my husband says, “but we’re looking for something smaller.”

“Muchsmaller,” I emphasize. “We only really need one bedroom.”

Greg’s face falls. “But you wanna start a family!”

“Someday,” Jace says gently. “For now, smaller would be good. A stepping stone on the way to buying a house like this.”

Greg takes the news well. He straightens upand nods in determination. “Got it. Just give me a few minutes to line something up. I’ll meet you out front.”

“See?” I say encouragingly as we leave him in the backyard. “That wasn’t so hard.”

“Not at all. I just really…”

“Love your best friend?”

He smiles and nods. “Yeah.”

Greg’s enthusiasm has rebounded, along with my optimism, by the time we climb back into his SUV. He drives us downtown, right into the heart of the city, which piques my interest because I enjoy the culture there. The car slows next to a tall building before making a right turn into the parking garage beneath it.

“Now this isn’t a house,” he says, “but it is small and would be a great starter place.”

Jace glances over at me. I shrug and nod. We take an elevator to the top floor. The hallway there only contains two front doors. My stomach sinks as soon as we walk inside one of them. The industrial loft deco is awesome, but I can already tell from the sprawling room sizes, and the floor-to-ceiling windows, that it’s probably outside our price range. I’m absolutely certain when Greg mentions a private rooftop terrace. The kitchen appliances are state-of-the-art. The bathroom has a freaking bidet!

“And here’s the bedroom,” Greg says, ushering us in. “Just the one, as promised. Check out that view! Imagine looking at that while getting it on. Doggy-style would be perfect, so you can both enjoy it at the same time.”

I walk to the windows where half the city is on display, but I’m not interested. I only want to ensure that Greg can’t see my expression. I’m especially glad I did so when he tells us the price.

“That’s almost as much as the last place!” Jace says in shock.

“Yeah, but your utilities won’t be as much. You’ll save on gas too, since you can walk to all the restaurants and stuff.”

“That’s true,” Jace says, as if it’s even remotely a realistic option. He doesn’t point out that we wouldn’t be able to afford to eat at those restaurants. Or anywhere else ever again.

“What do you think, Ben?” Greg prompts.

I turn around with a tight smile. “We’ll have to talk it over.”

“Cool! I’m starving. Who wants lunch? We can scope out some of the local flavor. My treat.”

That sounds good to me, since it will be one of our last mealsif my husband doesn’t start being more direct with his best friend. We walk to a nearby grill with a trendy interior, the menu prices confirming that people around here have a lot more disposable income than we do. After we’ve placed our orders, Jace excuses himself to use the restroom.

“So what do you think?” Greg asks me. “I know you still need to talk it over, but give me your personal top three.”

“None of them,” I admit. “They’re all too expensive.”

Greg shakes his head in confusion. “Jace told me that the bank approved a loan of—”

“I know, and we were surprised too, but if we take them up on it, we’ll be paying off the mortgage for the rest of our lives.”

He peers at me in confusion. “Are you sure? Jace is getting those sweet international routes now. And you work at the hospital. That has to pay well.”

My days of slinging frozen yoghurt are well behind me. I work as a speech language pathologist, which is extremely gratifying. I get to teach young people how to manage speech impediments and help adults regain communication skills after injuries and illnesses. Allison alerted me to the position while in residency for the counseling work she does. Being a pathologist wasn’t something I ever envisioned myself doing, but I absolutely love the work. There’s just one downside. “The hours are only part-time. I don’t even get benefits. What I make is barely enough to cover rent and utilities, so I’m not bringing much to the table.”

“Well sure,” Greg says, “but Jace has been living for free in Adrien’s driveway for all these years. And with me before that.”