Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 122(@200wpm)___ 97(@250wpm)___ 81(@300wpm)
“Wow.” I drop my head back to take in the historic brownstone. I forgot how beautiful this part of town can be. “Meadow told me that you and Heath lived over here. I thought the two of you would be in some fancy condo.”
“I enjoy my space.” He keys in a number on the lock. “It’s 1026,” he informs me. That will be easy to remember since it’s mine and Meadow’s birthday. Heath must have set it up. I glance to my left and then right, wondering which one belongs to Heath and Meadow. “I’ll need to set up the alarm on your phone too. Then you can come and go.”
“Well, you have my phone so…”
“I shouldn’t give it back to you,” he grumbles, pushing the doors open, and I go in after him.
“Holy crap.” I glance around the entry, and I’m stunned at how gorgeous it is.
Off to one side is an office, and the other has a sitting area. A beautiful staircase leads up to the next level, and although the space is updated to be modern, it also holds historic touches of the original brownstone.
“It could use some color,” Mace says, and I can feel him watching me. Is he nervous about what I think of his home?
“It’s still breathtaking, but some color wouldn’t hurt. If you like it this way, then who cares? Some people want a muted feel.”
“It needs more. I wasn’t sure what yet, so I left a lot of it bare.”
It’s a big place for a single man, but I think he wanted to be next to Heath. His twin already had a plan, and that included my sister and making a family. If Mace wanted to be close, I suppose he didn’t have much of a choice.
“A designer could help,” I say, and Mace nods for me to follow him.
“I have someone coming to put gates on each set of stairs for the kittens.”
“How many are there?”
“Four. The roof has a nice outside space.” Mace sets the crate down on the floor as I take in his giant kitchen. He reaches out and gets the terrarium from my arms and then sets it on the massive island.
“I love a kitchen island.” I run my hand across the cool stone. “This is massive.”
“You’re always in the kitchen at the beach house cooking.”
“If you feed everyone, they will come,” I joke, but it’s really true. If I fill the kitchen island up with food, everyone ends up around it more often than not.
“You have free rein here.” He motions around the open space.
“Thanks. I’ll try and get my crap together after the wedding.”
“There is no rush.”
“Mace—”
“Come on, let's put the kittens upstairs in one of the rooms until we get the gates up and they get used to the house.”
“Their own room. You’re going to spoil them, and then they’ll never want to leave.” I chase after him because I don’t have a choice. He’s got my kittens.
“Julian is going to bring pet supplies after he sees to the gates.”
“Julian is quite helpful.”
“That’s what an assistant is for.”
“I don’t think your assistant is supposed to handle kitty litter.” I’m wrapping more people into the mess I made. I hope Meadow doesn’t find out about this.
“Trust me. Julian hasn’t stopped asking me about the kittens since I brought them up. He’s nosy. You’ll like him.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Am I nosy? I guess I could be labeled as that.
“He’s talkative.” I want to deny his comment, but I am pretty talkative. “Does this room work? It’s next to the master.”
“Ah, yeah, anywhere is great. Thank you for doing this.”
Mace places the crate on the hardwood floors to let the kittens out. “We can put Mace in the master while we’re gone.”
“His name is Bingo,” I say, and Mace cocks his head to the side.
“I’m not sure if I’m disappointed or not.”
“You want to be named after a grumpy cat?” I laugh.
“It only proves that I’m on your mind.”
Then he doesn’t need to be disappointed. Mace is on my mind way more often than he should be.
EIGHT
MACE
“Shouldn’t I unpack first?” Briar looks at the bags we bought from her place, but I just wave them off.
“Don’t worry about that. We’ve got a meeting with the florist.”
“Oh God, I’m already forgetting stuff.” She rubs her forehead, but I take her hand and lead her to the front of the house.
“That’s why we hired Rosy as the wedding planner. She’s there to remember the things we forget and also do the heavy lifting,” I remind her, and she seems to relax.
“You’re right,” she admits, and I grin from ear to ear.
“Can I get that on a T-shirt?” I cut in, and she narrows her eyes. “Sorry, I’d just really like to immortalize this moment.”
“Don’t get used to it.” She turns her nose up as she goes to stomp outside, but movement next door catches her attention. “Oh hey, you two.”