Page 1 of Drop the Mitts

Chapter

One

Grace

The empty hallwayswallowed the sound of Grace’s heels, the sharp clicks softened by layers of drywall dust. She should have scheduled another walk-through with her contractor this week, but what was the point? Every time she stepped into this building, another problem surfaced.

She entered the first condo on the right, the door still missing a knob. The plumbing needed updating, and it seemed to have been installed by a Yukon dead set on burying those pipes so deep in the walls they’d never be one cold snap away from bursting.

She sighed. It could’ve been worse.

Troy Bowen knew exactly what he was doing when he left her this place, and if she ever had any doubts that he loved her, this put them to rest. Who was she kidding? She knew he loved her, but that had never been the problem, had it?

Troy loved everyone. Specifically women. More specifically, women with hourglass figures and asses you could bounce aquarter off of. Hers had qualified five years ago, but she was quite certain she’d been kicked out of the coin-flicking club sometime after her thirty-second birthday.

Grace crouched and inspected the new baseboards, running a finger along the sharp, clean edge. Flat-profiled, five inches high, with a crisp, modern finish—they were the kind of understated but intentional detail that made a space feel polished without drawing attention to itself. The contractor had pushed for something trendier, maybe a shaker-style or craftsman cut, but she’d shut that down immediately. The goal wasn’t to make a statement.

She stood and straightened her slacks. Troy may not have been willing to commit romantically, but he’d left her this Kensington condo building in his will. It was the only complex of its kind in this part of the city, a unicorn in Calgary’s real estate market. The architecture alone made it valuable, and once she got through months of permits, renovations, and legal headaches, it would be worth a small fortune.

A part of her wondered if this was his way of winning after all. Finally convincing her to move to Calgary when she’d refused to years prior.

The joke was on him. She wasn’t going to keep this building. Grace had all the know-how to hire a management company and put these units up for rent, but she’d never wanted to be a landlord. She wouldn’t start now in a city across the country from home.

She strode back into the hall and pushed open the next unit, inspecting the new drywall and finished tile on the kitchen backsplash. The units on this floor could be used to make a time-lapse video of the renovations, all in varying states of disarray. But blowing up at the contractor wasn’t on the table. At least not until people took their Christmas lights down.

Grace’s phone buzzed, vibrating in her purse. She pulled it out and glanced at the screen. Jenna.

She grinned, already prepping herself for the gushing and unadulterated bliss Jenna doled out these days. Whoever said a woman has to be pregnant to emit glowing life energy never met a new adoptive parent.

“Checking in to make sure I haven’t been buried alive under drywall?” Grace answered, wedging the phone between her ear and shoulder as she paced toward the window.

Jenna’s laugh was bright. “Thought I’d remind you there’s life outside that mess you keep calling an investment.”

Grace snorted, glancing at the city stretching out beyond the glass. “You say that like I don’t have averyfull social calendar with my contractor.”

“Wait, are you sleeping with him?”

“No! I meant?—”

“I know what you meant, I was only hoping.”

Grace scoffed. “Have you met Matthew?”

“What, is he gross?”

“Not gross, just extremely married.”

Jenna blew out a breath. “Well, what the hell are you doing, spending all your time with a married man?”

“It’s a strategy. That way, I don’t have to hang out with single men.”

Jenna laughed out loud. “Well, you’re probably not going to like my proposition then.”

“Which is?”

“We have an extra ticket to the Blizzard game tonight. A “thank-you” for all the legal wizardry you did with Hope’s adoption.”

“Is that . . . reverse bribery?”

---