A week later, Elise was at home with her parents. Her dad had been home from the hospital for a few days, but she couldn’t stop worrying about him.

“Will you two stop hovering, please?” her father asked. “I am perfectly capable of getting up and getting my own food and water.”

“Ward, you don’t mean that,” her mom said as she tried to fluff the pillow behind her husband’s head.

“Yes, I do. I feel like I can’t breathe with the two of you here. And I can certainly adjust my own pillows,” he said, yanking it away from his wife.

“Dad, we just care about you, is all.”

“Well, if you cared about me, you wouldn’t have canceled your plans, and you’d leave the house.”

“I didn’t—” Elise started.

“I know you were supposed to go on a shopping trip with your friends this weekend.”

“I didn’t want to go anyway,” she lied.

It was supposed to be a trip with her new friends, Tera and Heidi, along with Rachel. She’d been disappointed about not joining them, but she couldn’t leave her dad and mom.

Her father gave her a pointed look, but Elise was saved from lying further when her phone rang.

She picked it up and looked at the display. It was her realtor. Elise frowned. She had called and canceled with Cara a few days earlier. She’d had to leave a message, and since she hadn’t heard anything, Elise had assumed that Cara had received her message.

“Hello?”

“Elise, please tell me you have an hour free.”

She didn’t answer directly, instead asking, “Why? What is going on?”

“Remember that house you told me you liked? The one that, if you could buy it, you would?”

Of course she did. It was her dream home. It had everything she wanted, and it was in a great location. It was the example she’d used when Cara asked her what she wanted in a home. It belonged to a couple she used to babysit for, which was the only reason she knew what it looked like on the inside. They’d lived there for as long as Elise could remember, and there was no way they’d ever move.

“Yes.”

“A house just came on the market today that is almost identical. I did some research, and they were built by the same builder. It might need a few updates inside, and it’s a little farther away than your dream home, but I think you’d still be happy with the location. Do you have time to come look at it? There is already at least one offer on it, but I don’t want you to miss out.”

Elise looked to her father. He must have known what she was thinking because he motioned for her to leave.

“Text me the address. I’m on my way.”

Her father looked relieved.

“Excellent,” Cara said.

Elise pulled up the address on Maps on her phone and laughed. It was probably ten minutes from Rachel and Luke.

“What’s so funny?” her mom asked.

Elise looked up. “Nothing. I have to go. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

As she left the room, her father yelled, “Take your time!”

Elise grabbed her purse and rushed out the door.

When Elise pulled up, Cara was already waiting for her. The house was beautiful on the outside. She dared to say she liked it even more than her dream home.

She climbed out of her car and shut the door. She strolled up the walkway, taking her time in looking around.

“Hi, Elise.”

“Hi, Cara.”

“As you can see, it is very well-maintained. The roof was replaced less than two years ago, and they painted the outside last summer.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“I agree. Let’s go inside.”

Cara let Elise inside. The front opened to an entryway with a dining room to their right, a living room to the left, and stairs straight ahead of them.

“Let’s go this way first,” Cara said, heading toward the dining room.

She led Elise from the dining room to the kitchen, which was nice and large with plenty of cupboard space. The cabinets and countertops were a little old, but they could easily be replaced in a few years. There was a sliding glass door that led to a beautiful fenced-in backyard and a door to the garage. The kitchen also opened to a family room. The family room came through to the living room at the front of the house, where they made a full circle.

Upstairs, there was a master bedroom with an en suite and three smaller bedrooms with one additional bathroom. Both bathrooms were a little outdated, but it was, again, something she could fix.

When they finished looking at the garage and basement, Cara asked, “What do you think?”

“I love it. It’s perfect.”

Cara sighed with relief. “I was hoping you’d say that. Now, it’s a little more than what you originally wanted to pay, but because the inside needs some work, it’s significantly less than what you could be paying for it. And, since there is another offer on it, I suggest you offer full price.”

“What are they asking?”

When Cara told Elise the price, some of her excitement dimmed. It was more than she had originally planned to spend. But she already knew she was in love with it. She hadn’t come close to feeling this happy about any of the previous houses she looked at.

Cara sensed her hesitation. “Is there someone you can call to come and look at it with you? A second opinion with someone who is a little more objective?”

That was an excellent idea. But who to call? Rachel, Tera, and Heidi were out of town, and Kristen was busy with her own family. Her parents would come, but she wasn’t going to make her dad leave the house. Plus, she didn’t know if she really wanted her mom’s opinion. She was kind of picky. That left one option, and surprisingly, it was exactly the person she wanted to call.

Luke sat up on the bench and used the bottom of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face. “Your turn,” he told his friend Nate.

Nate took Luke’s spot on the workout bench, lay down, and picked up the barbell while Luke spotted him. Neither of them said much as Nate benched his set with Luke throwing in a few encouraging words now and then.

Nate and Luke had been friends since elementary school, having first bonded over their mixed races in a school where there weren’t many minorities, and years later, they didn’t feel the need to fill the silence.

Nate had just finished his set when Luke’s phone rang. Nate picked it up before Luke could get to it.

“Elise?” he said, reading the screen. “Is this the girl you’ve been fucking?”

Luke had used that very word to describe what he’d been doing with Elise, but for some reason, hearing it come out of Nate’s mouth rubbed him the wrong way.

He gave his friend a come-here motion. “Hand it over.”

Nate smirked at Luke and swiped the green button. “Luke’s Palace of Sexual Favors,” he said into the mouthpiece.

Luke sighed. “Dude.”

“This is Nate. Luke’s busy with a client, but I’m available. I’m not as good in the sack as Luke, but I’ve got a bigger dick, so I think that makes up for it.”

Luke could hear Elise laughing through the phone, but he couldn’t make out her response.

Nate laughed and pulled the bottom of the phone away from his mouth, grinning. “She told me to prove it. Where’d you find this chick?” He didn’t wait for Luke to answer and moved the phone back to his lips. “I think we can arrange that.”

Over Luke’s dead body.

If people thought Luke was a player, it was only because they’d never met Nate. Nate was one hundred percent womanizer and a dog. He was one-quarter black, one-quarter Mexican, and half-white with a shaved head that he Bic’d every day because he didn’t even have stubble. He had light-brown skin with tattoos covering his whole left arm and crystal-blue eyes that stood out against his tan skin. He was about the same height as Luke with a slightly slimmer build but still muscular. He was forever making jokes about Asian dicks being small and black dicks being big, saying that was why women should date him over Luke. Ladies loved him. A lot.

And Luke wasn’t entirely comfortable with him and Elise bonding.

“Can I have my phone now?”

Nate held up a finger. “Uh-huh,” he said into the phone. He was nodding, and his face was serious. He suddenly grinned. “Babe, you came to the right guy. We’ll be there in five minutes. I just have to tell Luke to get dressed,” he joked.

Luke rolled his eyes.

Nate hit End on Luke’s phone and handed it to him. “We’ve gotta go. Your fuck buddy needs us. She said she’d text you the address.”

Luke picked up his bag. “Please don’t call her my fuck buddy. Especially to her face.”

Nate grabbed his backpack off the floor and looked at Luke. “Dude, you must really like this girl. Either that or she has a magical pussy.”

Luke didn’t answer. “Let’s just go.”

Nate raised his brow but didn’t say anything.

They hopped in Luke’s SUV and made it to the address Elise had given him in seven minutes. When they pulled up, she ran out of the house.

“Hurry.” She motioned them inside. “We don’t have much time.”

Luke rushed toward the house. “What’s going on?”

“I think I’ve finally found a house I want to buy,” she said, full of excitement.

Luke looked around the front yard for a For Sale sign.

“It just went on the market,” she explained as Nate reached them. “You must be Luke’s friend.” She held her hand out for Nate to shake.

He took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Now, I get it,” he said.

“Get what?” she asked, confused.

“What Long sees in you. You look sweet with your big, innocent eyes, but I bet you’re a wildcat in bed.”

Elise laughed in disbelief and stuck her thumb out at Nate. “Is this guy for real?” she asked Luke.

Luke smacked his friend on the back of the head. “Unfortunately, yes. I shouldn’t bring him out in public, but he insisted on coming along.”

“Hey, I’m right here,” Nate said.

Elise laughed. “Come on in, guys.”

They entered through the front door where they were greeted by an attractive woman who was about five years older than Luke.

“Cara, this is my friend Luke who I called, and this is his friend Nate.” Elise turned to Luke and Nate. “Luke, this is my realtor, Cara. Nate, this is Cara. She’s married, so no hitting on her.”

Luke laughed and elbowed his friend. “Boy, does she have you pegged.”

Nate pouted but didn’t object.

Cara extended her arms with a smile. “Go ahead and look around. I’ll let Elise show you everything. I’ll be out front, making a few phone calls.” She looked at her watch. “You have about forty-five minutes to make an offer,” she told Elise before stepping outside.

Nate flung his arm around Elise. “Show us the way, FB.”

“FB?”

“It’s nothing, Elise,” Luke told her. “Shut up, Nate.”

Nate dramatically rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

Elise shook her head and laughed. “You two are weird. Come on, let’s go look around.”