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Sophie appreciated that Tessa was being so kind and encouraging. She hadn’t seen much of this side of her, and it helped lift her mood a little.
“How was your week?” Sophie asked her.
“It was good, really good actually. I had a couple of referrals, one for a buyer and a new listing and the buyer might be into the new listing. That almost never happens. But I’m still doing an open house and emailed my list. I’m not counting on that happening. But it would be great if it did—it’s like a double deal.”
“That’s awesome. How much is the listing?”
“Just under four million,” Tessa said.
Sophie did the math quickly in her head and the size of the commission was staggering.
“That’s so much money. Are you saving a lot?”
“I’m starting to. Last year I paid off my college loans and my car. Now I’m saving to buy something.” She grinned. “But I want something really nice, like this place. So, it may be a while.”
A few minutes later, Caroline padded into the kitchen and murmured hello on her way to the coffee machine. She made herself a cup, took a sip and leaned against the kitchen counter. And then she noticed Sophie and Tessa sitting side by side at the island.
“What are you two up to?”
“Sophie just got some bad news,” Tessa said.
“Both of my buyers just made offers—not through me.” Sophie filled her in, and Caroline looked so sympathetic that Sophie almost felt like crying. She appreciated the support though.
“That stinks. Don’t let it get you too down though. Just keep moving forward,” Caroline advised.
“That’s what Tessa said, too. It’s good advice.”
Tessa grinned. “You could always go back to the reception desk.”
Sophie smiled. She knew Tessa was teasing, but she did keep it in the back of her mind, that if this didn’t work out, she could always go back to reception or temp elsewhere. But she wasn’t anywhere near ready to give up yet. If anything, she was even more determined to make this work. She really believed it was possible.
Sophie put all thoughts of real estate out of her mind for the rest of the day and went with Caroline to the grocery store to get everything they needed to make lasagna. Caroline had her mother’s recipe in an old cookbook on a sheet of paper that was oil-stained from frequent use.
“I almost know this recipe by heart I’ve made it so many times,” Caroline said. “But I still like to double-check and make sure I don’t forget anything. She showed Sophie how to make it and the kitchen smelled so good when Caroline pulled the lasagna out of the oven. It was late afternoon and they planned to reheat it before everyone arrived.
Sophie got her garlic bread ready to go into the oven at the same time. She split a loaf of crusty Italian bread and slathered softened butter, crushed garlic, parsley and a little parmesan over it, then she put the two loaves together again and wrapped it all in foil. When she baked it later the outsides would be nice and crusty and the tops all soft and buttery.
Tessa had a showing that afternoon and then hit the gym before stopping at the wine store and coming home with an assortment of red wines.
“They were having a tasting in the store, so I tried a few and got the ones I liked. I need to go jump in the shower now.” She was still in her gym clothes.
An hour later, they put the lasagna and garlic bread in the oven to warm up. Tessa opened two of the bottles of wine. “We can let them breathe a little and open up before everyone gets here,” she said.
Sophie found a big bowl and pulled a tossed salad together and set it on the counter. Everything was ready and a few minutes later, Caroline’s boyfriend arrived, followed five minutes later by Cody and last of all, ten minutes later, Max knocked on the door.
Sophie let him in and noticed immediately that something seemed off about him. He wasn’t his usual cheery self. He seemed quieter than usual and looked a little down. She registered that all in a few seconds and realized she might be making the wrong assumptions. It’s just that Max always greeted her with a big grin, he was generally sunny and upbeat. But not today.
“Hey there. Come on in. Millie couldn’t make it?”
He shook his head. “No.” He didn’t elaborate and handed her a bottle of red wine. It was Austin Hope. He’d remembered that it was one of her favorite ‘splurge’ wines. It usually ran about $50 a bottle, so as much as she loved it, she didn’t have it often.
“Thank you, Max. That’s so nice of you.” Sophie brought it in the kitchen and set it with the others on the counter. “We have some red already open, would you like a glass?”
He nodded, “Sure.”
Sophie poured him a glass and introduced him to Cody and Ed. Caroline had set out a bowl of salted mixed nuts and they nibbled on those while they sipped their wine, and everyone chatted while the food heated up.
When it suddenly smelled amazing, Sophie guessed that it was time to take it out of the oven. Caroline was already on it and checked to see if the lasagna was ready. It was, so she put it on the stove top and set the garlic bread next to it. She cut the lasagna, while Sophie sliced the garlic bread. Everyone helped themselves and settled at the dining room table.
