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If I thought the living room was well thought out, it has nothing on the kitchen. An open concept with ceiling-height cabinets and an eight-foot island separating the kitchen from the dining area. Two small chandeliers hang overhead with more exposed wood beams.

“I could make a lot of Lean Cuisines in here,” I joke as I walk over to the stainless steel appliances and open the refrigerator. “This refrigerator is massive.”

“What can I say? I like to stock a lot of food.”

I close the door. “I thought this was a place you were selling.”

His hands slide into his front pockets. “I am. I just like to picture myself living here. That’s how I am with all my properties. Even the home I’m in now. It’s not decorated as I’d like, but the layout and the craftsmanship is all me. Do you want to see upstairs?”

“Yes,” I say way too eagerly.

I’m not disappointed. There are two bedrooms, each with the same walnut-stained, wide-plank flooring as downstairs and large closets with sliding barn doors. I look in the hallway in the bathroom and see it’s a shell of a space, waiting to be remodeled, but am impressed with the laundry room that has a newly laid floor of damask tile.

At the end of the hall is a closed door. Dean opens it, and I walk inside the pièce de résistance of the entire home. The master bedroom. A cathedral ceiling with a wagon-wheel chandelier hangs over a king-size bed that faces a wall of windows. I walk over to the bed, which is enormous and made to sleep in. It’s surprising to see in here since the rest of the house is so vacant.

“I stay here when Amanda’s not home,” he answers my unasked question. “My house is too quiet without her there, and here, I can sit outside and listen to the birds at night or simply look at the water.”

“It sounds peaceful.”

He smiles. “More than you can imagine.”

There’s a small hallway on the far side of the room. I walk through it, passing a walk-in closet and into an en suite. I can’t help the groan I let out at the two-person Jacuzzi in the corner.

“I take it, you like baths,” he says as I stare at the jets. All ten of them.

“In my old apartment, I had this amazing Jacuzzi tub. I’d get a book and a drink and just lounge in there for an hour.”

“Well, it’s yours whenever you want it,” he offers. It’s a sweet gesture.

“Thanks, but that would be kind of crazy. Imagine me knocking on your door and asking to take a bath.”

He lets out a smoldering grin. “I would never say no to that.”

His comment has my stomach doing flips. I place my hands over my belly as I walk back into the bedroom and toward the double sliding doors that lead to a back deck. When I get outside, I am nothing less than stunned at the panoramic view of the Hudson Valley, and the lake in the foreground with the copper hues of autumn leaves reflecting in the water.

Dean’s heavy footsteps sound behind me as he steps outside.

“You didn’t lie,” I say, taking in the sight of the entire lake and hilltops in the distance. The sun is breaking through the dark clouds that are rolling in. “This is beautiful.”

“It is,” he says.

When I turn to look at him, I see he’s not staring at the lake.

He’s looking at me.

“Dean, this home is amazing. Thank you for showing me. When will it be finished?”

“I don’t know. I’m not in a rush. Just savoring the process of watching it come back to life.”

I close my eyes and smile because it feels like he’s no longer talking about a house.

A raindrop falls onto my face. A single morsel escaping from the ominous cloud. Tap, tap, tap comes one drop after another. The steadfast pacing of rain comes sooner than I expected. I open my eyes just as the sky opens up.

I should run for cover, but I don’t.

It’s not because I’m confused or scared.

It’s because I feel alive.