“Orange? Dude, it’s a mix of rust water and centuries-old dried blood. It’s vile.”
My mouth thinned.“What color would you paint it?”
He tapped his lips.“Oatmilk.”
“Oatmilk?” I snorted. “Isn’t that something people put in tea?”
Tristan scoffed.“It’s a warming color. Think darker than cream but lighter than mocha, it’ll make the room inviting. The other thing I would do would be to lay a thick, cream carpet. Living rooms need to be cozy, and wooden floors arenotcozy.”
I glanced around, imagining what the room would look like with those two changes.“I could seethatworking. What else?”
He put his cup down on the table and spun.“I’d upgrade the fireplace. This has so much potential, but the old oakmantelpiece doesn’t go with the modernization of the house. But if you ripped it out and replaced it with a black and white marble one, andthenput a long mirror above it to reflect the light coming in from the bay windows, it would make a good feature.”
The enthusiasm in his tone made me smile. I’d never seen this side of him before.“You’ve got a good eye, Bug. Ever thought of going into interior design?”
“Kinda. When I was younger, I used to watch all the home decor programs, but one day, I’d like to get into flipping houses. You know, buy a run-down property, do it up, and sell it for profit.”
“Why don’t you?”
He snorted.“Have you seen how expensive house prices are? I can’tevenget enough money together for a deposit on a studio apartment, let alone a house.”
It wasn’t something I’d ever thought about. When Jake and I went into business together, he invested in several properties, one of which he let me live in until I could afford my own place. I’d never had to save up for a deposit because when I came to buying my own place, I had enough money to buy it outright. But it had never occurred to methatTristan couldn’t afford to move out of his parents’ house; I’d alwaysjustassumed he lived there because he wanted to be with his sisters.
I didn’t know what to say to him; I didn’t want to come across as bragging. Instead, I waved to the other wall.“What else would you do?”
His lips lifted into a sly smirk.“If this wasmyhouse, I’d mount a cinema-sized TV on this wall. The room is big enoughthatit wouldn’t look obscene. And of course, it would have to have a banging surround sound system.”
I rolled my eyes.“You and your banging sound systems.”
He chuckled before continuing.“Over here—”he crossed to where my couch was“—I’d have a huge sectional couch, big enough to seat 15 people.”
“Do you know 15 people?”
“Ha ha. Yes,”he replied dryly.“But I wouldn’t want them all sitting on my couch.”
“Then why do you need a couch that big?”
“To lay on,”he said, like the answer was obvious.“I’m a tall guy, I’d be able to stretch out while I’m watching TV.”
I scoffed,eventhough I was liking the image he was building more and more. I could imagine the enormous couch and the TV on the wall, but in my image, the two of us were on the couch, cuddled up while we watched his favorite film.
“Andthendown here,”Tristan said, pulling me from my thoughts. He took several strides to the other end of the living room, where it was almost barren apart from a cheap-looking bookcase.“I’d keep a bookcase here, but not this one. I’d have onethatran the whole length of the wall.”He twisted to face the opposite wall.“And here, I’d have an aquarium filled with all sorts of tropical fish.”
“You want fish?”
“Yeah.”His cheeks turned the faintest tint of pink.“I always wanted a pet, but we could never afford one. I’d rather have a dog, though, but all the time I’m out at work every day, I wouldn’t be able to have one, so I’d settle for fish.”
I didn’t know why, but I made a mental notethatone day, he wanted a dog.
“Anything else?”
Tristan stepped toward the floor-to-ceiling windowsthatlooked out into the garden.“Yeah, the final touch would be to replace the windows with bi-folding doors, so on a summer’s day, you can open them and let the warm air into the house.”
He beamed at me, and all I could do was blink back. Never in a million years would I have been able to come up with the vision he’d created, and somewhere deep inside, a little voice whisperedthatI should demand he redesign the entire home. But not for me.
For us.
“So, what do you think?”
