Page 97 of The Summer of Us

I paused, looking at the concept model. “I was going to add a pool, but I was advised against it. So I’m donating the funds to enlarge and upgrade the one in town, and I’m adding a second one at The Sunny Place.”

“Wow. So you, ah, have enough…” She let the words trail off.

“Remember I told you I tripled the estate?”

“Yes.”

“I’m good at finance, Sunny. I keep his money away from mine. I never touch it. It will pay for this and fund it for decades the way it is structured.”

“Wow.”

I tilted up her face and kissed her. “Yeah. Wow.”

She indicated the table. “I am so excited for the town, and for you. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

I ran my finger down her cheek, my heart racing in my chest. “I have more to share.”

She bit her lip, picking up on my nervousness. “What next, I wonder?” she quipped, but the tremor in her voice gave her away.

I walked behind the table, placing my hands on the lid. “The future,” I said. “Our future.”

26

Sunny

Something in Linc’s posture made me tense. An underlying hint of nerves in his usually calm voice set me on edge. But I wasn’t prepared for what he revealed as he lifted the cover on the larger of the two boxes. I was prepared for a concept model. But not this.

It was a house. Even as a model, it took my breath away. Shaped like a U with a courtyard in front and a large secluded backyard, it was spectacular.

For a moment, I was stunned and silent. I couldn’t move, Linc’s words playing and replaying in my head.

“Our future.”

I blinked. This was the house he wanted to build for us? A home for us to share? I tore my gaze from the model to meet his eyes. His warm, filled-with-love eyes that assured me what I was thinking was exactly what he meant.

“For us?” I questioned.

He set down the lid and leaned on the table. “For you,” he replied.

I blinked at the moisture gathering in my eyes. “I-I don’t know what to say.”

“Let me show it to you.”

“Okay,” I sniffed.

He hurried around the table and pulled me into his arms. “If you hate it, I can change it all. I promise.”

I shook my head. “I already love it. I’m just overwhelmed and confused.”

He winked. “Let me help.”

He bent over and carefully lifted off the roof. Unlike the community center, this model was fully developed inside.

“This side of the house—” he indicated the left “—is bedrooms. Our master suite, and two others. The right side has two more guest rooms or extra kid rooms and a home office for me. The center of the house has a kitchen on one side, and a huge family slash dining room on the other.”

“All one floor?”

“Yes. All the front-facing rooms will have huge windows to let in the view and the light. In the front courtyard, there will be a deck with lots of seating. The backyard off the kitchen will be fenced in and private with lots of room for the kids to run around. Sliding doors that open fully on the back and front to let the breeze blow through. A pool and maybe a hot tub out back.”