I worked late last night, which means that Emma spent the night in my bed. I wake up early the next morning and leave her sleeping peacefully in my bed, the sun only just creeping in the window. I spend a long while looking through my realtor’s website, looking at prices and saving the properties that I like.

I might not be buying this house with Asher, but Forest did light a fire under my ass. Real estate is the way of the future, it seems. So I talked with a realtor about a week ago, and now she has me on her website, trying to figure out what I want.

I want at least two bedrooms. One for me, one for guests, or maybe an office. Also, I’d like a nice yard, big enough that I can grill in. Big enough for a nice swing set, some day in the distant future.

It seems kind of weird to be planning for something years ahead of time, but I’m doing it anyway. When I finally get a list of places that I want to see together, I email them to my realtor. Almost instantly, she responds asking if I have time to see them today.

Today? I try not to panic. I mean, I do have the day off today. All I was going to do was try to convince Emma to surf. I think about it for a minute, then put my laptop aside.

Heading back to my bedroom, I creep in. Emma stirs in the bed, her long dark hair splayed out on her pillow. For a moment, I admire her dark lashes against her pale cheek, the soft petal pink of her lips.

I sit down beside her, and the movement makes her open her eyes a little. She sees me, and she smiles. Something stirs deep inside me, something raw and emotional.

“Hey you,” she whispers.

“Hey.” I lean down to kiss her, and she rises to meet my lips.

After a moment, she breaks away. “Is there a reason why you are already up?”

The corner of my mouth lifts. “Yeah, actually. How do you feel about looking at houses today?”

She seems surprised. “You mean, houses for you?”

“For me to buy,” I clarify. “And live in.”

Emma sits up. “I had no idea that you were even looking.”

“I’m not, but I think I should change that.” I glance at the sheet that she has tucked under her arm, to protect her modesty. It’s barely hanging on. I tug it just a little, and I’m rewarded by seeing her full, pert breast.

“Jameson!” she scolds, plucking at the sheet.

I reach out and cup her breast, my fingers finding the nipple and tugging it gently. She looks irritated, but her nipple pebbles under my touch. When I bend down and take that pouty pink nipple in my mouth, she makes a soft sound.

Her fingers find my hair, playing with it lightly as I abrade her nipple with my tongue. Her eyes close part of the way.

“You are so bad,” she says.

I suck on her flesh just a second longer, then release her. I left a nice bright pink mark on her areola, which I like seeing.

“You didn’t answer my question, though.” I slide my hand over her side, down her hip.

“About going to look at houses? Yes, of course I’ll go. I love looking at an unfinished space.” Her eyes open, more green than ever. “What time should we go?”

I’m distracted by pulling the sheet away from her body, though. “Later.”

I get a good grip on her hips and kiss my way down her body. For a good long while, I’m lost in her throaty purrs and sighs of pleasure.

When my brain winds down again enough that I can think of the realtor once more, the sun is blindingly bright coming through the windows of my bedroom. I dig around for my phone and email her back, letting her know that today is good for me.

A couple hours later, Emma and I are standing in the front yard of a ranch home, holding hands and blinking into the sun. The house itself is unimpressive and bland, and the yard we are standing in is mostly sand and dirt.

“This home is great!” crows Ally, our middle aged realtor. She tugs on the hem of her too-short bright red power suit. “Two bedrooms, two baths. A recently remodeled kitchen. You guys just have to see the inside.”

I just grunt, unsure about the suitability of the house so far.

Emma nudges me with an elbow. “We would love to see it.”

Ally grins broadly and walks up to the front porch, wrestling with a lockbox on the front door. She grimaces as she pushes the door, which only opens with a long scraping sound. “You can see that this house is sort of a handyman’s special. It has a lot of potential, but it’s priced really reasonably…”

Emma glances at me. “This is your show. Do you want to go in?”

I hesitantly nod. “Yeah, I guess so.”

I lead Emma inside, blanching a little at the green wallpaper and orange shag carpeting that greet us. It’s straight out of the late seventies.

“This is a great starter home,” Ally says. “It just needs some love and attention to be beautiful.”

I clear my throat. “Are most of the homes in my price range so… in need of work?”

Ally smiles. “Not all of them. This one needs more work, but it’s also bigger than a lot of the places on your list. Come in a little further and look around. I think you’ll find that the house has really good bones.”

We drift through the house while Ally describes how the kitchen has been remodeled, how the bedrooms can look amazing with very little work. The bathrooms are hilariously out of date, but there is enough space for an office. Plus there is a pretty large back yard, which could easily house the grill and swingset that I envision.

Ally leaves us alone in the back yard for a bit. Emma looks at me, curious.

“You haven’t really said much the whole time. What do you think about this house?” she asks.

“I don’t know,” I say, sighing and running my hand through my hair. “Ally keeps talking about how much potential the house has, but I have trouble seeing it. What do you think?”

“Me? I don’t know.” She bites her lip.

I look at her. “You have an opinion, Emma. It could very well be your house, in a not too distant future. Can you imagine living here?”

She flushes bright pink. “Is that what you think?”

“What?”

She looks down at the ground. “That this could be my house some day.”

I hesitate, confused. “Well, yeah. I’m asking your opinion because it actually matters whether or not you could see yourself settle in here someday soon. Moving in is the next step, isn’t it?”

“It is…” she says, but she still won’t look at me.

“Emma,” I say, gently grasping her wrist. She looks at me, seeming conflicted. “Am I crazy in thinking that we’ll eventually want to take that next step together?”

Her eyes mist over as she looks at me. When she speaks, her voice is a little choked up. “You are definitely not crazy. I just… I’m just happy to hear that you feel the same way, I guess.”

I draw her in, closing my arms around her. “Of course I do. I might be a stubborn ass, but I feel like… like since we got past the whole being broken up thing… I don’t know, I just thought…”

She presses her face against my chest, nodding. “I understand, I think. You feel like we’ll just keep going, now that we cleared that one big hurdle.”

“Exactly. That’s it exactly.” I couldn’t say it myself, but she knew what I meant anyway. I can’t express my gratitude enough through words, so I just hug her harder.

We stand like that for a while, her face pressed into me, my arms around her shoulders. Eventually Ally sticks her head out of the back door.

“Are you guys doing all right out here? Do you want to see some more houses?” she asks.

I pull back, looking down at Emma. The corners of her lips lift upward.

“I think we’re ready to see another house. Right?” I ask.

She doesn’t skip a beat or break eye contact. “Definitely ready.”

“Great! I have another house that may be more up your alley,” Ally chirps. “It definitely has more curb appeal than this house, for sure.”

I take Emma by the hand, leading her through the house and out the front door. She is all smiles as we get in Ally’s car and drive to the next house.

We drive until we’re only a few blocks from Redemption Beach. I look at the sandy yards of the little bungalows with the white picket fences we’re passing, my interest piqued. When we pull up out front of the place, I stare at the house for a full second.

It’s a tiny cottage that’s been painted bright yellow, with a neatly maintained sandy yard and a perfect white picket fence.

“Isn’t it great?” Ally asks, looking back at me. “It’s from the 1930s, all original inside too. And it’s obviously on this super cute street of houses.”

“I… it is great,” I say, getting out of the car. I feel Emma as she gets out behind me. “This is what I imagine, when I imagine a house I could buy.”

“Wait until you see the inside!” Ally says. “It looks cute as a postage stamp out here, but inside it’s roomy, too.”

Emma slips her hand into mine, squeezing my fingers. I follow Ally through the fence and into the yard.

“You’re going to like the back yard area too,” Ally says as she unlocks the door. “It’s nice and big. It’s even shaded by a couple of big trees.”

Ally steps inside, opening the door into a sunny living room. The whole place is bare, but it’s not hard to imagine it full of furniture. A couch by the wall, bookshelves on either side of the window. I guarantee that I look like a little fool, standing there with my mouth agape, letting my mind run away with me.

“Whoa,” I say, because that’s all that comes to mind. I look at Emma, and find her smiling.

“This place… this is cute,” she says, releasing my hand to walk past the living room.

I am right on her heels, walking into an in between space, followed by the all-white kitchen. The bedrooms and bathroom branch off the in between room. The ceilings aren’t that tall, maybe only a foot taller than me in some places, but I am willing to overlook that.

Emma pushes open the French doors that lead into the back yard. She looks back at me with such a joyful expression. “It’s perfect.”

And it is. There is a patio area with a fire pit in the middle on one side, and a big open area on the other side. As promised, there are two big shady trees in the back yard, arching over everything.

“You can almost see yourself throwing a party here,” Emma murmurs.

“Or putting together a swing set right over here,” I say, pointing to the empty area. Emma and I trade glances, her eyes widening a little.

“You think so?” she says, flushing a little.

I glance at Ally. “This is the one.”

“Jameson—” Emma says. “It’s the second place you’ve seen. Be reasonable.”

I look her dead in the eye, unwavering. “When I see what I want, I’m going to get it. Once I’ve made up my mind about something, that’s it. There isn’t even any point in discussing it.”

Emma blushes bright red, catching my double meaning easily. “You should still look around a little. Sleep on it for a few days.”

I grab her by the waist, drawing her close so that I can kiss her lips, slow and sensual. Emma squirms a little because Ally is here, but I refuse to bend, holding her in place. When I release her lips, she’s a little breathless.

I look down into her eyes. “It’s decided.”

She peers up at me. “Is it?”

I give her another kiss, then turn her loose. I look to Ally.

“I have to call my finance guy, but this is the house.”

She looks surprised, but pleased. “Okay. This is the house! Yay!”

Emma and I follow her back through the house, and I feel immensely satisfied.