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“I’m coming.” He exits the bedroom looking freshly shaven and clean. Mmm, god he’s tasty like a Little Debbie’s zebra cake.
I turn and open the front door. “Gloria!” I sing and air-kiss her cheeks. “How’s my girl?”
“TJ, good to see you again.” She giggles and squeezes my arm.
“I’d like you to meet my husband, Connor.”
“It’s nice to meet ye, Gloria.” Connor shakes her hand.
“Oh, TJ gushed about how handsome you were, but your accent tipped the scales for me.” She laughs and shrugs out of her coat, handing it to me. “I can’t believe I said that to a client.”
“Oh, Gloria, no shame here. He is the total package.” I wink at Connor and his cheeks pink up. He’s so adorable. “Can I get you a bev? I’ve got spring and sparkling water, wine, beer, coffee, tea,me!”
Gloria falls into a fit of giggles. I love making her laugh.
“TJ, you are something else. I’ll have a coffee if it’s not too much trouble.”
“Trouble is my middle name.” I wink at her.
“I don’t doubt that.” She beams.
“You and Connor can chat and then we’ll give you a tour of the place.”
“Sounds delightful.” She smooths her black slacks as she sits down in a chair in the living room. She opens her satchel and pulls out a file. “Connor, tell me a little about yourself.”
I busy myself in the kitchen trying to catch pieces of what they’re saying, but the darn coffee machine is too loud. I make Gloria’s coffee and bring it into the living room to find the pair smiling and giggling over Connor’s baby book. I set the coffee on the table next to her.
“Wasn’t he adorbs?”
“Still is, TJ.” She scrunches her nose adorably and I give her a high-five. Connor squirms in his seat. He slams the book shut and stands.
“Well, that’s enough pictures and compliments about me. Would ye like a tour, Gloria?”
Gloria stands and picks up her coffee. “I’d love one.”
I point out the guest bathroom and laundry room, Connor’s office, and our bedroom, saving the second bedroom for last. “And this would be the baby’s room.” I swing the door open and cringe at the basic gray walls, the black furniture from my single days in California, and the muted carpeting. “It’s not decorated how I’d want it, but this is all new for us. We use it as a storage room for right now. But of course, we’d get it ready for a baby. It has an ensuite bathroom with a tub.”
Gloria peeks into the bathroom. “And don’t forget to baby-proof it.”
“Of course, yes,” I quickly say.
“And what’s with the fabric glued on the wall for?” She steps up to the wall where Jean Paul Pierre Luc threw his hammer through the drywall and then hastily tried to paste fabric over the hole as if we wouldn’t notice.
“Oh, that.” I laugh. “Unfortunate accident with a designer. It will be repaired properly.”
She nods and turns. “Well, your home is beautiful and very tidy. I noticed you have a cat? There’s a litterbox in the laundry room.”
“Ah, yes, Bartie, our Tortie. She loves kids, but she’s hiding under our bed right now. Is that a point against us?”
Gloria hums. “I think it’s important for children to be around animals. I believe it teaches them to be responsible and kind. It also shows me that you are caring. Do you own your place or are you renting?”
“We own it,” Connor says.
“But we’re thinking about buying a house,” I say hastily, panicking that being in a high-rise might be a point against us.
Connor turns to me, arching an eyebrow. “We are?”
“Well, something on the table for discussion. We can’t live in a condo forever with little ones, can we, Gloria?”
