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He doesn’t say a word. I take his silence for agreement.
I park in the driveway. “This home is ten thousand square feet. There are five bedrooms with three of the bedrooms en-suite, eight bathrooms total. There is an indoor basketball half court. Three fireplaces, hardwood floors. As you can see there is enough parking for Dante, Cesare, and several more guests, including a three-car heated garage for Chicago winters.”
It’s hard not to sigh with relief when he follows me out of the car. Keying in the code for the small box to unlock the house, I step inside and hold the door open. God, he’s huge. He’s in a steel gray silk suit cut to perfection, a pale blue shirt highlights his deep olive skin, his silk tie is a dove gray. “Marble entry, half bath.” I gesture to the large living room. “A formal living room, there’s another family room off the kitchen.”
“When was it built?”
“2005, newer with classic design though, as you can see. With the chair rails, the staircase—"
“What’s that?”
“An elevator, there are four levels in the house.” His mouth quirks up. It can’t be called a smile, not really, all at once I’m desperate to see him smile.
“Bethany would love this place. She loves the elevator in Che and Alicia’s place.”
“If you don’t like this place, I’ll make sure to put this on their list. This kitchen is gorgeous, the stove is amazing. Dante mentioned all of you were taught to cook and do it often. This island is a great place to spend the afternoon making pasta, a marble countertop will make it easy.”
He shrugs. “Keeping marble clean is a pain in the ass.” He walks toward the French doors. His eyes are on the park behind the house.
“You can put up trees for privacy, this backyard will fit a pool, with plenty of room. The lot is six thousand two fifty.”
“Price?”
“Four million two fifty, they are at market. It’s priced to sell.”
His eyes roa
m the backyard. Without another word he goes back inside. “You said four levels?”
“Yes, the next level has the master bedroom, another bedroom, an office with a terrace off of it.” I work to keep up with his long legs. “This bathroom is amazing, the bathtub—”
“Is too small.” I bite my tongue. He hates it. The next ten minutes pass in agony, his frown deepening with every step.
As we walk out of the house, he shakes his head. “No.”
Forcing a deep breath, I simply nod. “On to the next one.”
I double back to Lincoln Park. When we pull in front of the home I keep one eye on Enzo. He’s frowning and shaking his head. “You don’t even want to go in? It’s eighty-two-hundred square feet, six bedrooms, five and a half baths, built in 1989—”
“No, this street is off the main but it’s still busy, there’s no parking.” He shakes his head.
I sigh but don’t bother arguing. “Fine, hold on, let me make sure he’s okay with us going by this early. I didn’t think we would go through almost all of the properties in less than an hour.” I text the owner and wait.
“The next one isn’t for sale?”
Shaking my head, I keep my eyes on my phone. “Nope, but it could be. His response to my question was make him an offer.” The answer comes through. “Got the go-ahead, they have a housekeeper who will let us in. This was sold last year for eleven nine. I sold it. It’s a beautiful property with a huge lot with plenty of room for a pool.”
I ring the doorbell, and within seconds the door is open. A pretty older Hispanic woman opens the door. “Hello, Mr. Chang, he told me you are coming. Every room is open to you. If you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen.”
“Thank you.” She nods as she quietly leaves us in the foyer. “This home is eight thousand square feet. There are six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and it was built in 2013. As you can see it’s classic in design, a lot of hardwood, chair rails, crown molding, and everything was done with attention to detail. These hardwoods are wide plank oak.”
Enzo follows me, his eyes touching on everything, missing nothing. No frown until we get to the kitchen. “I don’t like all the wood. It feels heavy in here even with the white cabinets.”
As I look around, I nod in agreement. “The fronts could be redone, it wouldn’t be cheap but—”
“You said it sold for eleven nine, and it’s only eight thousand square feet.”
“It did sell above market. Market in most areas of the city varies from three hundred to right under five hundred per square feet. Some of the homes in this area of Lincoln Park can go as high as eight hundred. Anything more is over market. But this has everything you asked for, you won’t have to buy any other houses to get what you want. This is on three city lots, that’s where the price is coming from.” I turn, gesturing. “The kitchen opens to the family room, then out onto the back.” I open the huge arched doors then step out onto the terrace. “You have a fourteen-foot deck and enough room for a pool.”
