On the outside, Lance’s townhouse shined among its neighbors. Inside, a devil of destruction had swept through, and I understood what he’d meant by barely habitable. I couldn’t take a step without dodging evidence of construction. On a coffee table, the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle waited for attention, and he’d separated pieces by what they might be, and he’d even assembled the matting. “Wow. I’m really impressed with your puzzle skills, Lance. I would still be trying to assemble the edge.”
“It doesn’t hurt I like puzzles and build them for fun.”
Nice. I had accidentally stumbled on something he liked. “The construction crew isn’t here today?”
“Not today. They’re at another job. They’ll be here tomorrow and for the next week. I’ll show you the original bathroom since they haven’t torn it out yet. They’ll do the toilet first so I don’t, in Renato’s words, have to suffer through a hotel for the entire week, although he states I’d be happier at a hotel. Tomorrow night I’ll go find a hotel for the night, and I’m thinking I’ll add an extra day just to get out of their hair, coming here only to work on my puzzle.”
“My spiders are still at the office, my apartment is empty, and there’s no construction work. It can get a bit nippy, but it’s cheaper than a hotel.”
There was only one bed, and while I had a couch, I’d follow Julian’s advice and make it clear Lance was welcome to join me.
“Can I show you the library first?”
I laughed at the hopeful tone of his voice. “As a matter of fact, yes. You can.”
The staircase didn’t look like it could handle my weight let alone Lance’s, and true to his claim, he white-knuckled his way up the steps, which elevated the staircase replacement on my list of things to do. I had no idea how I’d deliver a staircase—or the start of one—to his office, but I’d figure it out.
Or I’d keep him at my apartment and find a way to prevent him from returning to his home until construction was complete.
The upstairs was even worse than the downstairs, and I worried for Lance’s sanity while he worked on the renovations. “Please tell me you got a really good deal on this place.”
“Three hundred and fifty thousand.”
My mouth dropped open, and I staggered to a halt, my eyes going wide. I lowered myself to my knees and bowed before him. “I’m not worthy.”
“I’m paying for the cheap price tag in painful renovations and a long time of living with this. Once I’m done? It’ll be worth it. But yeah. There’s a reason the realtor and the bank was willing to let it go for that much off foreclosure. Only an idiot would pay anything for this. I’ve already put in a lot of work on it.”
I bowed again. “I’m not worthy. I’m not worthy.”
“I thought about asking Chloe for advice on how to decorate, but then I remembered she’s almost as crazy as Julian. If you have any suggestions, I’d appreciate it.”
I got up and dusted off. “I think you’re doing just fine, Lance. Just be flexible about it later. If you want to share your space, leave space for them to come in. Or make space for them when they move in. Either works.”
“I think there’s plenty of space. It’s going to be difficult enough filling it up to begin with.” Lance led me to a huge room with a fireplace in it. The floors were in a state of gross disrepair, and I wondered how I’d possibly be able to transform it from disaster area to study in a week. Would Renato be able to bring in enough people to make it happen?
I examined the fireplace, which was in dire need of replacement, too. A modern fireplace designed to keep all smoke in the chimney might do the trick, although it’d be a huge investment. “How many bedrooms did you take out to make this?”
“Three and a study,” he confessed. “And a small bathroom. That was part of the rewiring work I had done. There used to be pipes over there.” He pointed at a corner of the room. “One of the pipes had cracked, so when I had the structural repairs done, those pipes were all removed, and the plumbing below was completely replaced.”
“I’m going to give you a lot of credit here, Lance. You may have a nightmare renovation on your hands, but you’re doing it right.”
“I’d do it faster but I just don’t have the money to do it all at once. The place has so much potential, but it was a disaster waiting to happen.”
“I’m going to show you my bra at my apartment, as I don’t want to get sawdust in my clothes.”
“I’m seconding that. Want to see the rest of the place in its disastrous glory?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
Lance gave me the tour, and when I saw his kitchen on the first floor, which was easily three times the size of mine and would be a work of art once done, I put my hands on my hips and considered my options. “I’m handy with a wrench, but I can’t promise I wouldn’t fiddle if left unsupervised.”
“Like to cook?”
“When you see my apartment, you will understand.”
“Small?”
“Miniscule. It was affordable. I’ve been thinking about an upgrade, but I just bought a new car and like having a buffer.”
“Yeah. I was in your shoes when I bought this place. I figure I’ll be broke for the next ten years of my life, but I’ll stay in this house until the day I die. I like New York too much to leave, and this has all the space I need. There’s a lot of room in here.”
“Yeah, there really is.”
“There’s a basement, too.”
My brows shot up, as I was fairly certain he had at least three thousand square feet between the first and second floor. He’d mentioned three thousand square feet, and what I’d seen had met my expectations for the space.
“How big?”
“Big enough. Another thousand square feet I guess? It’s actually beneath the garage. The previous owner was quite possibly a psychopath. Or the original contractor. There’s a storage cellar beneath the garage, which I had reinforced because I’d rather not have my cars fall into my basement, and since that’s not crazy enough, there’s a another basement beneath the back yard. That one is only seven hundred and fifty square feet or so.”
“So you have two basements?”
“Basically.”
“Show me!”
Compared to the rest of his house, the basement was in good condition, although I suspected he’d done a lot of work on it for structural purposes when he’d purchased it. A staircase led to a landing, which had two doors and another staircase going down.
“This leads to the garage and the basement that’s beneath the back yard.”
When I thought about it, I realized Lance’s driveway dipped to his garage, which likely made winter interesting on snowy or icy days. “How do you keep your driveway sane in winter?”
“A lot of salt and careful clearing.”
Some sacrifices would be made, and my new car would like hiding in his garage during the entirety of the scary winter months. “With the basements, how much square feet do you have?”
“Should I add the attic nook, too?”
Attic nook? He had an attic nook? “Is the attic nook accessible?”
“It’s big since it takes up the entire attic. It’s the only room in the house actually finished, but…”
Oh, right. Heights. “Can you turn around while I look in the attic?”
“If you fall, you’re selling your soul to me for a period of however long it takes to heal whatever it is you break when you fall, and I’ll charge you one month of soul time per bruise acquired, and I will expect to count them myself. And if you actually fall, I may count some freckles. Freckles, bruises, it’s hard to tell the difference. And I get to count every single bruise I find.”
Attorneys were harsh negotiators. As I still had four distinct bruises left over from the latest round of face repair, he’d get my soul for a minimum of four months. “I’ll do my very best to keep from falling.”
“Good. So, here’s the first basement.”
A genius with a vaulted ceiling complex and no conception of common sense had built the basement, and it even had a fireplace. Unlike the one in his future library, it looked new, had a stack of wood lined up beside it, and had seen recent use. A plush rug made it clear Lance liked to lounge in front of the fire, as there was nothing else in the room, which was easily large enough to fit a second library.
“How much ground is over the roof of this basement?”
“You could park a fully loaded transport on top of this thing and it wouldn’t budge. I had it inspected by the city and a lot of private contractors. It’s solid. The basement below the garage is solid, too. The second basement seems to have been built as a bomb shelter during World War II. I didn’t have to do much reinforcement to make it stable, although I did some pipe replacements to make sure there wouldn’t be any problems.”
“It’s a pity the previous owner let it decay so much.”
“Yeah. It was a horror show when I first got a tour of it. I have pictures, but I don’t recommend looking at them. You might get sick.”
Ew. “I’ll just commend you now on your cleanup efforts.”
“Thank you.”
Keeping with the fireplace theme, Lance had an electric fireplace installed in the lower basement and another fluffy rug for his lounging pleasure. All things considered, I didn’t blame the guy for having hiding places from the clutter and construction mayhem of the main floors. “Is this going to be the comic room?”
“The dining room on the first floor was going to be the comic room.”
I shook my head. “This is your comic and gaming room. Dining rooms are for dining. The upper level basement can be an entertainment room or reading room or whatever you want, but you don’t want smoke near the comics, so this would be your comic room and gaming room. I’ve seen how much room games take up, and comics have to take up a lot, too. Seal the room up tight to protect it against moisture and use this room. You’ll be happier, and it’s more spacious.”
“But it’ll get cold down here.”
I pointed at the fireplace. “Add a second one of those.”
“My electric bill!”
“Some prices are worth paying.”
“The lighting is shit down here.”
I agreed with him on the lighting; the dinky fixture barely offered enough light to make out everything in the room. “That can be corrected.”
“Maybe I should have you tell Renato what to do.”
“You could do that. I’m sure I could help him make this a very nice space. I’m good at making every square foot of space useful in my little apartment.” I needed to. My spiders needed a lot of space to be happy spiders. “You can tell him I’ll be giving him a call. From all accounts, you love your comics as much as Julian loves his board games, so it seems to me that your comic room should be one of the best spaces in your house.”
“You don’t think I’m crazy?”
“Oh, no. I know you’re crazy, but it’s the fun kind of crazy. I like spiders. That definitely makes me crazy.”
“But a fun kind of crazy. Right. Okay. So you think this room for the comics and games?”
I nodded. “It could be really cozy, have sufficient space for it, and keep them away from potential smoke damage. The library fireplace will need to be a really good design and the chimney will need to be swept at least twice a year to protect the books, but there are ways to do it.”
“You know a surprising amount about this.”
I couldn’t help it. I rubbed my hands together. “I love books.”
He sucked in a breath and his eyes widened. “I’ve heard that tone before. That’s the tone of an enthusiast who just revealed their passion and is about to get serious.”
I poked him in the chest to emphasize each word. “I. Love. Books.” I then smiled my sweetest smile. “Comics are books with pretty pictures and fun stories, entertaining light reads between more serious fare. And you do not give books bad houses, Mr. Lance McCarthy.”
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
I laughed. “Good. If you want help with renovation ideas, I’d be glad to pitch in however I can.”
Or just make his dream home magically appear when he wasn’t paying close enough attention. I appreciated the truth of his pranking lesson, however.
Intel truly was king, and I had a lot better of an idea of what he was up against, and it came bundled with a glimmer of hope he’d forgive me once I finished making his father’s final wish come to life.
Lance showed me where the attic access was, at the end of the hallway near his library. He used a stick to pull down the cover and lower the rickety ladder. I doubted it’d hold my weight let alone Lance’s. “This thing is being replaced with a spiral staircase or similar.”
“That sounds only marginally better.”
“You won’t be expected to go into the attic.”
“That’s something.”
I tested each rung before I scrambled up, poking my head inside the space. In what I could only guess was a severe lapse of judgment, he’d transformed the space into a cozy bedroom, but instead of a bed, he’d strung a pair of hammocks and embraced rustic to an alarming yet charming degree.
It cinched most deals for me. I’d move into his attic, and I’d be a good house mouse. I’d only emerge to borrow his bathroom and kitchen before retreating to my niche in his attic. “This is amazing. This is your attic? This is brilliance. It’s now mine. I’m claiming it as my space.”
“I see you like hammocks and my decorating choices. Well, Renato’s decorating choices. He took pictures because he couldn’t get me to go up there.”
I wiggled into the attic. “I’m never leaving. I live here now. This is my attic.”
“Is staging home invasions a modern tradition for women now? I’m a bit rusty on modern traditions.”
I turned around and stared down at him through the attic access. “If it’s not a tradition, it is now.”
“Julian says Chloe invaded.”
“Not true. Julian tried to keep her from leaving. She just cleverly made it look like she invaded when he actually had held her hostage for weeks before letting her escape his clutches. I’ve heard both sides of that story. While you successfully lured me to your domain, this attic is the reason I’m staying. How much is the rent?”
“I don’t think it’s fair to charge you rent on a run-down townhouse. The kitchen is barely functional, and I won’t have a bathroom for a week.”
“You can borrow my apartment for a week starting tomorrow. I do need to do some basic tidying after I evict you for the evening.”
I also needed to get Mr. Kenton to remove all evidence of my misdeeds before Lance stayed for more than a visit.
“Would it work better if I dropped you off at your place so you can do your basic tidying and returned after a few hours to fulfill my end of the bargain and take you to a nice albeit late lunch?”
I could have the apartment cleaned out of evidence given a few hours. “That could work well. You need time to pack your clothes. You can’t stay here until you have a bathroom. Please let me talk to Renato about your minimal needs before this place is actually habitable. Please.”
“It bothers you.”
Thinking on my feet would land me in trouble and possibly offend him, but I had a very good way of accomplishing all of my goals right under his nose. “Only in that this isn’t good for your health. I think I can get the basics covered in three weeks. You can waive rent to pay me back if you’d like. But this attic? This attic is mine. You set the amount of rent, I’ll tell you how much I spent making it habitable. Then we’ll use my rent to renovate the house.”
“That is shockingly sensible. It’s not charity because you’d be paying rent to keep your attic, and it moves the renovation timeline up again.”
“And I have access to the funds because of the settlement. I’m not going through more surgery, and the cosmetic surgery they offered was ridiculously expensive after the basic repairs, which my health insurance covered. I still got the payout based on what I would have had to pay if it hadn’t been covered. I can handle the cleanup bill. It’ll get the sawdust out of here, the proper flooring in, and the basics.”
After all, I had to leave room for the prankster trio to help.
“After I drop you off, I’ll skip back to the office and draw up the paperwork. Sound like a plan?”
“Yes, it does. In good news, my lease is up in two months and I haven’t signed the renewal yet.”
“How does your current rent leave you financially?”
“In decent shape.”
“Decent enough we can set that to your rent for here?”
“I pay $1,650 a month at current, and that’s for a tiny place, as you’ll see soon enough.”
“New York is so expensive,” Lance complained.
“Which is why you got a cheap but rundown place to fix. And all that money will go into renovations.”
“I was unaware angels were gingers with soul collections.”
“And who knew attorneys could be decent men while still dressed as sharks?” I countered. “Fierce sharks. With teeth.”
Lance chuckled. “You don’t seem very afraid of me.”
“You’re going to be afraid later when you see my bra.”
“I don’t think afraid is the word I’d use. Does after dinner sound like an appropriate time for the demonstration of your bra? I’ll even be a gentlemen and offer to take you to one of these stores that carry the mythical lingerie. I’ll even buy you a set under the condition you have to model it for me.”
I liked math when it involved him, me, and nudity. “Are you going to do a freckle and bruise count during the modeling process?”
“I can’t say I’ve ever had an opportunity to count an authentic ginger’s freckles before.”
“They’re everywhere.”
Lance checked his phone. “I have to drop you off at your apartment, go to work to draw up paperwork, and figure out where to wine and dine you twice today. Then I have to take you to a good store so freckle counting can begin. How long do you think I should book for freckle counting?”
“All night,” I replied, giving my new attic another look before sliding down the ladder. He’d have to work for it if he wanted my soul, but I swore to make the most of the day—and what was looking to be a long evening.