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.I felt my face flush, as if he knew what I’d been thinking, but I looked toward the house, my face averted from him, so he couldn’t see my embarrassment.“It has good curb appeal,” he said as he turned off the car.I nodded.“There’s Russell,” he said.I saw Russell’s car pull into the driveway and I reached for the door handle.“Let me get that, Lily,” Marcus said.I turned to him, a smile on my face.“I appreciate you being such a gentleman, but we’re going to be getting in and out of the car quite a bit today.Maybe you should let me do this myself?”He grinned.“Yeah, I suppose that makes sense.” He paused.“I’ll get Natalie out.”“Thanks.” I climbed out of the car and watched him gently extricate Natalie from the straps of her car seat, then hold her against his shoulder.For a moment I envied the closeness to Marcus that my daughter enjoyed.“Hey there, Marcus,” Russell said as he walked toward us.“What a nice surprise to see you.”They shook hands, then Russell turned to me and started giving me the stats on the house.We all walked into the house and looked through the rooms.“What do you think, Lily?” Russell asked when we’d gone back out front.“It’s okay.It looks like it’s in good shape, but it’s a little small.” I glanced at Marcus before looking back at Russell.“I know it’s just Natalie and me, but whatever I end up buying, I plan on staying in for a long time.And I hope to expand my family one day.”“Sure,” Russell said.“I understand.I have another place I want to show you that I’d like you to consider.”“Okay.”He gave us the address and we all climbed into the cars and drove to the house.As we pulled up, I immediately noticed that the front yard needed some work, but the house looked larger than the last place.We got out of the car and Russell met us on the driveway.“Now, you need to keep an open mind,” he said to me.I didn’t like the sound of that.He told me how much the seller was asking and it sounded like a good deal for the amount of square footage.“What’s the catch?” I asked.He smiled.“It needs a little work.”I groaned.“I told you I can’t afford to hire anyone to fix a place up.”“Let’s go inside and have a look around, okay?”“Well, I’m here, so I might as well.” I glanced at Marcus, who was holding Natalie, but he didn’t say anything.A moment later we all walked into the house.A small entry opened up into a comfortable family room.Stains dotted the carpet, but I knew that could be changed out.A wood-burning fireplace was nestled in the corner, and a large sliding glass door led out to the backyard.Russell slid open the door, and we walked out onto a large, covered concrete patio.My gaze went from side to side, taking in the large, weedy yard.“It definitely needs some work, but it’s a good size,” I said.“Lots of room for Greta to run around.” We went back inside and into the eat-in kitchen.“There’s plenty of cupboards and counter space.” I looked at the floor.“The vinyl floor looks a little beat up, so I’d want to put in tile, but it’s workable.” I turned to Russell, a feeling of home washing over me.“I’m glad you brought me here.”He smiled, clearly pleased with himself.“I thought you might like it.” He pointed back to the entry.“There’s a good-size living room off of the entry.”We walked back to the entry and into the living room.Again, the carpet needed to be replaced, but the room was spacious, with a picture window looking out over the front yard.“I like it.” My gaze took in the walls.“I’d want to paint, but I can do that.” I glanced at Marcus and smiled.He smiled back as if he could sense my excitement.My gaze went to Natalie, held securely in his arms, and I felt an overwhelming sense of peace.Not sure what that meant, I tucked it away for later evaluation, and followed Russell to the hallway, which led to the bedrooms.“There are three bedrooms, including the master, but they’re all a pretty good size,” he said.“Plus there are two full bathrooms, and one of them is part of the master.”I looked into the two guest rooms and smiled.“Decent closet space.” I peeked into the first bathroom.“Needs some updating, but it’s okay.” Next we went into the master, and my gaze went around the room.“There’s plenty of space in here, though it needs a coat of paint, and the carpet is gross.” Then I went into the master bath.“It’s not too big, but it will work.And again, I’d want to update it.”I turned to face Russell and Marcus.“I like it.I’m not quite sure how I’ll manage all the work that needs to be done, but it feels like home.” I thought about Cameron’s statement that he wasn’t handy at all, and wondered who I could hire to do the work—and how much it would cost.It didn’t matter, this place felt right.“Are you ready to make an offer?” Russell asked.Fresh excitement swept over me as I realized I was about to buy my first house.I glanced at Marcus, who had been silent the whole time.“What do you think?”“I think you like this place,” he said, smiling.My smile widened.“Yes, I do.”“Then you should go for it.”I looked around the space and felt my smile falter a bit.“I have to admit, I’m a little worried about the work that needs to be done.”He adjusted Natalie in his arms.“What is it that’s worrying you?”I bit my lip.“I’m just a bit overwhelmed about where to find people to do the work.I’ve never hired anyone to do this kind of thing before.” I paused.“And I’m a little worried about the cost.Buying the house will take almost all of my budget.I won’t have much left over to hire someone.”He shook his head, his face relaxed.“Don’t sweat it, Lily.I’ll help you.”I wasn’t sure what he meant, but felt confident that he would come through for me.I nodded, then turned to Russell, my earlier excitement returning.“Let’s do it.”We went into the kitchen and he drew up the paperwork for the offer.“I’ll submit the offer and let you know as soon as I hear anything,” he said.Relief that I’d found a place for me and Natalie flooded me, and I grinned.“Great.”A few minutes later Marcus, Natalie, and I were back in my car.“It’s a good area,” Marcus said as he drove out of the neighborhood.“Yes, I think so too.” My gaze examined the houses and yards near the house I wanted to buy, and I felt confident that this would be a safe place to live.I turned to Marcus.“Thanks for coming.”He smiled.“I don’t think I did much to help.”I laughed, then said in a soft voice, “It was just nice having you there.”He looked at me and his smile faltered a bit, then he looked back at the road without speaking.My brow creased.I was confused by his reaction.Did he regret coming? Was he afraid I might think he wanted more than friendship? Of course I did, desperately, but I knew it was out of my hands.I looked out the passenger window, my excitement about buying my house tempered by my sorrow over Marcus.A short time later we pulled into my driveway.I climbed out of the car before Marcus had a chance to open the door for me, then walked around to Natalie’s side, where Marcus was unbuckling her car seat.He kissed her cheek, then handed her to me.My heart flip-flopped to see him treat her like he would surely treat his own daughter, and my sorrow that he would only be a friend intensified.I held her to me, and breathed in her baby scent, comforting myself that she would always be my daughter.“Thanks again, Marcus.”“No problem.Let me know when you hear back from Russell.”“I will.” I hesitated.“Do you want to come in?”He shook his head.“No, I’ve got some things I need to do.”I nodded.Chelsea.Of course.“Okay [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.I felt my face flush, as if he knew what I’d been thinking, but I looked toward the house, my face averted from him, so he couldn’t see my embarrassment.“It has good curb appeal,” he said as he turned off the car.I nodded.“There’s Russell,” he said.I saw Russell’s car pull into the driveway and I reached for the door handle.“Let me get that, Lily,” Marcus said.I turned to him, a smile on my face.“I appreciate you being such a gentleman, but we’re going to be getting in and out of the car quite a bit today.Maybe you should let me do this myself?”He grinned.“Yeah, I suppose that makes sense.” He paused.“I’ll get Natalie out.”“Thanks.” I climbed out of the car and watched him gently extricate Natalie from the straps of her car seat, then hold her against his shoulder.For a moment I envied the closeness to Marcus that my daughter enjoyed.“Hey there, Marcus,” Russell said as he walked toward us.“What a nice surprise to see you.”They shook hands, then Russell turned to me and started giving me the stats on the house.We all walked into the house and looked through the rooms.“What do you think, Lily?” Russell asked when we’d gone back out front.“It’s okay.It looks like it’s in good shape, but it’s a little small.” I glanced at Marcus before looking back at Russell.“I know it’s just Natalie and me, but whatever I end up buying, I plan on staying in for a long time.And I hope to expand my family one day.”“Sure,” Russell said.“I understand.I have another place I want to show you that I’d like you to consider.”“Okay.”He gave us the address and we all climbed into the cars and drove to the house.As we pulled up, I immediately noticed that the front yard needed some work, but the house looked larger than the last place.We got out of the car and Russell met us on the driveway.“Now, you need to keep an open mind,” he said to me.I didn’t like the sound of that.He told me how much the seller was asking and it sounded like a good deal for the amount of square footage.“What’s the catch?” I asked.He smiled.“It needs a little work.”I groaned.“I told you I can’t afford to hire anyone to fix a place up.”“Let’s go inside and have a look around, okay?”“Well, I’m here, so I might as well.” I glanced at Marcus, who was holding Natalie, but he didn’t say anything.A moment later we all walked into the house.A small entry opened up into a comfortable family room.Stains dotted the carpet, but I knew that could be changed out.A wood-burning fireplace was nestled in the corner, and a large sliding glass door led out to the backyard.Russell slid open the door, and we walked out onto a large, covered concrete patio.My gaze went from side to side, taking in the large, weedy yard.“It definitely needs some work, but it’s a good size,” I said.“Lots of room for Greta to run around.” We went back inside and into the eat-in kitchen.“There’s plenty of cupboards and counter space.” I looked at the floor.“The vinyl floor looks a little beat up, so I’d want to put in tile, but it’s workable.” I turned to Russell, a feeling of home washing over me.“I’m glad you brought me here.”He smiled, clearly pleased with himself.“I thought you might like it.” He pointed back to the entry.“There’s a good-size living room off of the entry.”We walked back to the entry and into the living room.Again, the carpet needed to be replaced, but the room was spacious, with a picture window looking out over the front yard.“I like it.” My gaze took in the walls.“I’d want to paint, but I can do that.” I glanced at Marcus and smiled.He smiled back as if he could sense my excitement.My gaze went to Natalie, held securely in his arms, and I felt an overwhelming sense of peace.Not sure what that meant, I tucked it away for later evaluation, and followed Russell to the hallway, which led to the bedrooms.“There are three bedrooms, including the master, but they’re all a pretty good size,” he said.“Plus there are two full bathrooms, and one of them is part of the master.”I looked into the two guest rooms and smiled.“Decent closet space.” I peeked into the first bathroom.“Needs some updating, but it’s okay.” Next we went into the master, and my gaze went around the room.“There’s plenty of space in here, though it needs a coat of paint, and the carpet is gross.” Then I went into the master bath.“It’s not too big, but it will work.And again, I’d want to update it.”I turned to face Russell and Marcus.“I like it.I’m not quite sure how I’ll manage all the work that needs to be done, but it feels like home.” I thought about Cameron’s statement that he wasn’t handy at all, and wondered who I could hire to do the work—and how much it would cost.It didn’t matter, this place felt right.“Are you ready to make an offer?” Russell asked.Fresh excitement swept over me as I realized I was about to buy my first house.I glanced at Marcus, who had been silent the whole time.“What do you think?”“I think you like this place,” he said, smiling.My smile widened.“Yes, I do.”“Then you should go for it.”I looked around the space and felt my smile falter a bit.“I have to admit, I’m a little worried about the work that needs to be done.”He adjusted Natalie in his arms.“What is it that’s worrying you?”I bit my lip.“I’m just a bit overwhelmed about where to find people to do the work.I’ve never hired anyone to do this kind of thing before.” I paused.“And I’m a little worried about the cost.Buying the house will take almost all of my budget.I won’t have much left over to hire someone.”He shook his head, his face relaxed.“Don’t sweat it, Lily.I’ll help you.”I wasn’t sure what he meant, but felt confident that he would come through for me.I nodded, then turned to Russell, my earlier excitement returning.“Let’s do it.”We went into the kitchen and he drew up the paperwork for the offer.“I’ll submit the offer and let you know as soon as I hear anything,” he said.Relief that I’d found a place for me and Natalie flooded me, and I grinned.“Great.”A few minutes later Marcus, Natalie, and I were back in my car.“It’s a good area,” Marcus said as he drove out of the neighborhood.“Yes, I think so too.” My gaze examined the houses and yards near the house I wanted to buy, and I felt confident that this would be a safe place to live.I turned to Marcus.“Thanks for coming.”He smiled.“I don’t think I did much to help.”I laughed, then said in a soft voice, “It was just nice having you there.”He looked at me and his smile faltered a bit, then he looked back at the road without speaking.My brow creased.I was confused by his reaction.Did he regret coming? Was he afraid I might think he wanted more than friendship? Of course I did, desperately, but I knew it was out of my hands.I looked out the passenger window, my excitement about buying my house tempered by my sorrow over Marcus.A short time later we pulled into my driveway.I climbed out of the car before Marcus had a chance to open the door for me, then walked around to Natalie’s side, where Marcus was unbuckling her car seat.He kissed her cheek, then handed her to me.My heart flip-flopped to see him treat her like he would surely treat his own daughter, and my sorrow that he would only be a friend intensified.I held her to me, and breathed in her baby scent, comforting myself that she would always be my daughter.“Thanks again, Marcus.”“No problem.Let me know when you hear back from Russell.”“I will.” I hesitated.“Do you want to come in?”He shook his head.“No, I’ve got some things I need to do.”I nodded.Chelsea.Of course.“Okay [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]