Page 43 of Will Bark for Pizza
“Is he your next book inspiration? Oh my God, he’d make such a sexy vampire. Is that your inspiration for Mateo?”
“He’s a friend of the family.”
“A very delicious-looking friend. Look at all those tattoos,” she cooed. “Are you sure you’ve sworn off men?”
“I have to go.”
“You’re calling me back later with details.”
“There are no details.”
“You’re such a liar.”
“Am not.”
“Babe, who’s taking the picture?”
Damn Lila and her uncanny ability to notice details with detective-like accuracy.
“I’ll call you this weekend.”
“If you don’t, I’m coming there myself to meet thisfriend of the family.”
“Bye, Lila.” It was a good thing I avoided FaceTime. I could feel the blush heating my cheeks and neck. It was just a harmless little crush. One that would lead to nothing. One no one needed to know about—Lila included.
“Or you,” I said to Husker. Though, I suspected my dog had a bigger crush on him than I did.
FIFTEEN
BECKETT
My arms fucking achedfrom moving around sheets of drywall for the past two days. I was fortunate enough to have both Luke and Connor’s help this afternoon. Both of them seemed to enjoy hanging drywall. Both also hated taping and mudding, so I knew what the next few days held in store for me. One day, I might have a team of my own assembled. For now, I was grateful for some help over no help.
“Last one?” Luke asked, nodding at the board leaned against the living room wall.
“Last full sheet.”
He looked at the drywall board, then at the staircase it needed to go up, then back at the board. “Let’s just fucking get it done.”
I looked forward to the nice hot shower in my future tonight, almost as much as I looked forward to having the least favorite part of this flip done.
When I first moved to Bluebell Springs, I focused onbuying homes that needed minimal work. They were quicker to convert into rental properties, and all but one I purchased was a quick flip. This house, a short three-minute drive from downtown, was a complete gut job. But the location in this tourist town couldn’t be beaten. It was close to the restaurants and shops, as well as an easy distance to Glimmerstone Lake. I hadn’t decided if I’d rent it to a long-term tenant, or make it a vacation rental.
Madeline would quickly volunteer herself as tribute if she got to decorate a vacation rental. My sister had many talents. Which reminded me, I needed to give her a call. She’d gone eerily quiet today. Madeline quiet was much more concerning than Madeline blowing up my phone.
Luke and I lined up the last full sheet of drywall in the main bedroom, holding it still while Connor knelt to screw it into the studs.
“Owen show you that house on Blue Spruce Lane?” Connor asked.
“Going to see it early next week. They’re not quite ready to show yet.”
It was convenient having a buddy who was a realtor in town. I often got the scoop on new listings before they hit the market.
“You’re going to buy up the whole fucking town before the year’s over,” Luke said, shaking his head in amusement.
I’d only purchased three houses, one condo, and the commercial building that was recently converted into Pizza Patty’s. Though Bluebell Springs barely boasted a thousand residents, there were hundreds of houses. Somein town, some on the outskirts, and some around the lakes. That didn’t include the dozens of commercial buildings.
Until Nana insisted I was overlooking a stellar opportunity, I didn’t consider adding commercial rentals to my portfolio. She was the reason I might be adding the corner bookstore building to my list of current projects. Though I wasn’t sure it’d remain a bookstore for long.
