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“Her house is huge and beautiful,” he said. “But there are two of them there.”
“She bought it alone when she moved here. Had a big down payment. Cooper sold his childhood home that he’d lived in. Morgan’s house is better equipped for raising a family. Bigger and more modern.”
“My house isn’t as big as many here, but it’s a good size. More than enough space for me.”
“You didn’t grow up in Paradise Place. Not if you went to school with Brian because he didn’t go to the school district attached to this.”
“No,” he said. “I didn’t grow up here. My mother had friends who lived here. She talked about it all the time. How it’d be a great place to live and raise a family.”
They pulled into his driveway and he hit the button to open his garage.
Once he was parked, they got out and he opened the door to a mudroom.
“I’m not surprised that is why you bought a house here,” she said.
He just nodded his head. No reason to say anymore. It was obvious she figured out most of what he did in his life was to hold onto things that gave him a connection to his parents.
“My kitchen,” he said, holding his hand out as if he was on a game show pointing out new appliances.
She started to laugh. “You’re a riot. This is nice and big for someone who doesn’t cook.”
“I wasn’t fussy about what my kitchen looked like other than I wanted it to be modern. The house is about ten years old and, as I said, I’ve been here a while. I haven’t done much to it other than paint.”
He showed her around the three bedrooms, two full baths, living room, family room, office and dining room on the first floor. He had a three season room he loved too.
“This is big. Is your basement finished?”
“It is,” he said.
They went downstairs. “I’m not surprised you have a big bar down there. I bet this is where you entertain people that come over.”
“I do,” he said. “When I have people over which isn’t often.”
They moved to the main level and then the stairs to a loft. “Okay, this is cool. If I was a kid, I’d want this to be my space.”
He looked around the open area with workout equipment in it. He’d turned it into a gym.
“It would have been a cool space growing up,” he said. “But since it’s only me, it works. There is a three-piece bathroom and a spare bedroom too. Who knows, maybe someday kids will be up here.”
He hoped. If he could find the right woman to have a family with.
Someone that shared his values and understood that just because he had money didn’t mean he was going to throw it away on a fancy and flashy lifestyle.
At the root of it, he was who he was and wasn’t changing for anyone.
Though looking at Mia, the scary thought popped into his head, he might change for her.
He only hoped she wouldn’t want him to.
13
PLANS FOR THE NIGHT
“Are you taking Harper out trick or treating?” Mia asked Brian on Halloween.
“I am. Not far. Just to my parents and sister’s, and Robin’s brother’s house. Our neighbor in the back, Blair, has a son that is the same age. Not much more than that.
“Sounds like fun. I miss doing that. I mean I used to love to hand candy out when I was a teen. Not many came to my place where I lived before this.”
