AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Mm-hmm. Mayliss said all the tile in the kitchen, sunroom, and bathrooms is original, too, but they added radiant heating beneath.”
“No shit? Damn. They lifted all that tile? That’s a helluva job.” The house still had radiators. “So the radiators are just there for old-world charm?”
“Nope, they work too.”
The price was seven-point-seven-five million. “It’s beautiful, Playboy, but over your budget.”
“Mayliss is sure they’ll come down.” He scrolled to the financial history. “The owners paid less than half that eight years ago and put a mil into systems updates and restoration. They put it on the market seven months ago. Two early offers fell through, and the sellers haven’t had a serious bite in months. If we like it, I’ll make a cash offer.”
“Wow. Well, Aithan needs to see the pics and we gotta walk through it.”
“Mayliss said anytime. It’s empty now. The owners moved overseas four months ago.”
When Aithan got home, Drew showed him the place, then we piled into my car and headed for Queen Anne.
We spent over an hour walking through the house. The views were spectacular, even at night.
“Imagine sunsets,” Mayliss said as we stood on the deck outside the master bedroom.
I liked the house even more now that we’d been inside. It was stunning and not nearly as cold as I’d expected, even with the heat set low. It had everything on our wish list, including a home theater.
“We can convert that wine cellar into a sex dungeon,” Aithan remarked as we discussed the pros and cons of the house on our way home.
Drew snickered. “I think we’re all in agreement that this is the house. Yeah?”
“No complaints from me,” Aithan replied. “The master bedroom closet is larger than the bedroom in my last place.”
“Brick?” Drew sat in the passenger seat and watched me, a little smirk curving his lips.
“I think it’s perfect.” I slowed to turn into the townhouse driveway. “It has everything we want.” I pressed the garage door opener.
“But?” Aithan asked from the back seat.
“But not if Mayliss can’t get the price down.” I pulled into the garage and parked.
Drew’s smirk turned into a grin. “No problem. They already accepted my offer. Six-point-six-five.”
“What?” I gawked at him. “When?”
Aithan shook his head. “Gówno.”
“As soon as I walked through the front door, I told Mayliss to put in the offer.” Drew held up his phone. “She texted the owners’ agent. He got back to her right away. Just gotta do the paperwork and get a thorough inspection, title search, and all that shit. Already have the funds set aside.” He shrugged, all casual, like he hadn’t just spent nearly seven million dollars. “Easy-peasy lemon squeezy.”
“Move in by Christmas?” Aithan asked.
“Shit yeah!” They bumped fists. Drew was giddy. “Merry Fucking Christmas to us!”
* * *
A waning crescent moon hovered beyond the kitchen window. The townhouse was quiet; Aithan upstairs and Drew in my office. We planned to drive to Bellingham the next morning, but the new house excitement buzzing through me made it hard to focus. I folded laundry, pausing to press my face against Drew’s clean, warm jeans. Of course he’d amassed a fortune, calculating his sales wasn’t hard with the right tools. But seeing him drop six-and-a-half million dollars without batting an eye, struck a chord in me. No wonder Aithan’s thirty-five-thousand-dollar hospital bill hadn’t worried him. That was chump change for Drew Katterman.
Everybody talked about how rich he was, but it had seemed like a distant truth. Probably because he didn’t flaunt what he had. He didn’t drive a sports car or wear expensive watches. He didn’t take exotic vacations or buy extravagantanythings. He dressed like a hipster but not a rich one and got thirty-five-dollar haircuts at a barbershop on Phinney.
I shook my head. We’d often joked about him being rich, but without context, it hadn’t really resonated with me. Walking through that house today, it finally did.
Drew Katterman was a very wealthy man.
“Huh.”
