Page 128 of The Man I Hate

I turned toward Giselle. “Sounds like a unanimous vote. Tell them it’s sold.”

“What?!” Anna screeched.

I looked at her and grinned. “You said you wanted it.”

“Yeah, but—”

I kissed her. “Yeah, but nothing. I love it. If you like it, and the Old Man can live with one of the upstairs bedrooms for a while, there’s no sense in looking at anything else. Agreed?”

She kissed me. “Agreed.” She looked at Hap. “Are you going to be staying with us for a while?”

“Maybe for a bit,” he said. “I’d hate to be driving back and forth to San Diego just to have dinner at Marge’s. Hell, I’d be on the road 8 hours a day now that they’ve opened up the freeways.”

“Any contingencies?” Giselle asked.

“15-day occupancy, full ask, all cash, no inspection, no contingencies.”

“Jesus,” Hap said, whistling through his teeth. “Rubbing elbows with the stars has its privileges.”

“It has a few,” I said. “Might have to come out of retirement after this buy.”

He laughed. “I know you well enough to know you’re not spending your last dime on this house.”

I grinned. “You know me well.”

“I’ll tell them the news,” Giselle said. “I’ll be in touch.”

I glanced around the home. It was perfect. “Call them and tell them now,” I said. “I want an answer before we leave.”

She excused herself and walked onto the deck.

“This is insane,” Anna said the instant Giselle was gone. “I can’t believe we might be living here.”

“We will be living here,” I said. “In 2 weeks.”

She looked ill. “It’s just. It’s hard to believe. I feel like I’m going to barf.”

Giselle opened the sliding glass door. She looked at me and smiled. “They accepted your offer. Congratulations.”

I looked at Anna. “Congratulations, my dear.”

She dove against my chest.

I nearly toppled over.

She kissed me. “Thank you. It’s going to take some time for this to sink in.” She glanced over her shoulder and gazed toward the watery horizon. “It still feels like this is all a dream.”

“If it seems like a dream now, just wait 13 days,” I said. “You’re going to faint.”

Giselle cleared her throat. “I thought you said 15-day close?”

“I did.”

“I’m confused,” she said.

Anna looked at me funny. “Me, too.”

“Makes perfect sense to me,” Hap said.