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“And please wish yourprofesorgood househunting.”
“Si, Papi.”
He waved as he drove off, letting the music on the radio cool his fever. He’d been half hard all morning after talking to Jax, and despite his best efforts, he couldn’t keep the zing of excitement from streaming through his veins at the idea of spending time alone with him. He’d even packed a small duffel for an overnight stay … assuming he could get Jax to agree. Was he moving too fast? Maybe, but he was so done waiting. They had a decade of love to make up for, and he wasn’t prepared to waste anymore time.
The question of what he’d do with the rest of his life, aside from laying siege to Jax’s heart, was something he was still avoiding thinking about. He didn’t mind giving private lessons, but he couldn’t spend the rest of his days in what felt like mindless work. He needed a challenge. Maybe he could go back to school? But what would he do?
The British-accented GPS speaker directed him onto the highway while he was still mulling over the answers to those questions. He didn’t want to attach himself to Jax while he was still broken, without purpose or direction. He needed to be an equal partner in whatever they built together, which meant he had to choose a path … which meant he had to get off his ass, stop feeling sorry for himself, and get back in the game. Having to leave the quartet would hurt—it already did—but he was more than his ability to play the violin. He just had to figure out what his Plan B would become.
There wasn’t much he could do about his newfound outlook while he was driving, so he let himself sink into the music being piped through the speakers. Orchestral music always soothed something untamed and elemental in him. By the time he was pulling up to the address that Jax had sent him, he was almost Zen-like in his chill. Yes, this was how he wanted to be around Jax … calm, cool, confident, collected.
He turned between the elegant lamps resting atop the tall stone columns that bracketed the driveway and followed it for a few hundred yards to a reasonably-sized yet comfortable-looking two-story house surrounded on the sides and in front by lush lawns and gardens and dotted with tall trees. In the back, he could glimpse the glint of sunshine on the water and as he watched, a boat sped by with a skier in its wake. The ghost of happy laughter drifted tohis ears.
He stayed in the car. Jax’s car was not the one parked in front of the shallow steps leading to the front door, so he’d wait for his lover to turn up before exiting his truck. He wound down the window and let the heat and sounds of summer drift into the cab. Birds chirped cheerfully and butterflies flitted by in graceful aerial dances. The growl of an engine caught his attention, and he watched in his rearview mirror as Jax pulled in behind him and got out of his car.
Noah’s heart rate kicked up at the sight of his man striding toward him. He got out of the truck just as Jax reached him, and they embraced as though they hadn’t just seen each other the night before.
“Hey! Thanks for coming.” Jax leaned in and pressed his lipsto Noah’s.
“Thanks for agreeing.”
Before either of them could lean in for another taste, the sound of a door opening had them pulling apart. Noah looked over to the front door from which a woman was emerging with a clipboard inher hand.
“Come on. Let’s go see what’s up.”
Noah followed Jax up the steps to where the woman stood with a welcoming smile onher face.
“Mary Morgan, meet Noah Santiago. Noah, Mary’s the realtor who’s helping me find some place to lay my head when I moveup here.”
They shook hands, and Ms. Morgan turned briskly. “Let’s begin out here since we’re already standing on one of the best features of this house.” She turned and spread one arm. “This is a wraparound porch. And as you’ll see in a few, there’s even a porch swing inthe back.”
The swing was painted an innocent white, but the cushions adorning it were flaming red and gold, immediately brightening up the entire space.
“Wow! Those cushions sure make this space pop,” Jax commented. “Do you know how old this feature is?”
“The swing was built at the same time as the house was, but the cushions have very recently been replaced. And as you can see, there’s room for any other furniture you might wish to put out around the house. The firepit got regular use, and the outdoor kitchen was recentlyupdated.”
Noah’s head spun. How would Jax afford to rent this place? He knew the man had been working for a long time, and he knew that he was a frugal man, but this house was shaping up to be a major expense, and they hadn’t even gone inside! His eyes wandered down to the lake, which was quite large and dotted with homes on both sides.
“Let’s go in now. I think you’ll love the inside even more.”
Noah let his mind wander as they trailed after the realtor. The kitchen was huge, a chef’s kitchen apparently, which prompted Jax to ask who had owned the house before.
“They were an older couple whose oldest son is a chef. He gifted them this kitchen when he opened his second restaurant.”
“This is a great location, and the outside is very beautiful. Why would they want to sell this?”
Noah wanted to know the same thing as they walked through to the family room.
“The husband had a heart attack, and their children persuaded him that a move to a smaller place in a warmer climate would be best for his health. For now, they’re only willing to rent it, but if the right person comes along with an offer they can live with, they’ll sell itoutright.”
“You said it was a rent-to-own deal,” Jax reminded her while Noah admired the bright colors in the airy living room.
“If they like the renter, they will start a conversation.”
“Why wouldn’t their kids want to live here, or at the very least keep it as a vacation home?”
The house was gorgeous, inside and out. Large windows let in a lot of light, and the almost old-world charm of the furnishings that remained, as well as the elegance of the spaces they were passing through, made it feel like a shame to let it slip away from the family. Noah’s thoughts went to his dad’s little bungalow and though it was nowhere near as large or expensive as this place, he couldn’t imagine giving it up altogether. Once his father had decided that he’d winter in Florida, they had agreed to rent it out for the months that he wouldn’t be in residence as a way to augment his retirement income.
