Page 80 of Why Not Both?

She laughs. “You don’t even want to look at it first? At least learn the asking price?”

“No. Just write it up.”

“I will. But there’s an open house this weekend. They’re not accepting offers until next Tuesday.”

“They want a bidding war.”

Now she sighs. “Everyone does. The market is hot.”

“What can we do?”

We discuss a few options, including how much over asking price I’m comfortable offering. We decide to do a home inspection on Monday before the offer goes in to keep it out of the conditions.

“I also heard from their realtor they’re looking for a fast closing,” she says.

“We can close tomorrow if that’s what they want. I don’t fucking care.”

“You don’t need time to give notice to your landlord?”

“No. I don’t have anything to sell. And my landlord is my best friend. I rent a bedroom from her.”

“Okay. I’ll get the home inspection booked and let you know what time. Will you be available for it?”

“Yes. I’ll make sure I am. Just let me know when.”

I hang up with Sam and find Vic in her office, typing away on her computer. I close the door and sit down, my knee jumping in anticipation. She looks up at me with concern.

“We have a lot to do today for you to be taking a break,” she says.

“I want you to come with me on Monday.”

“Where?”

“I’m getting a home inspection done on a condo I’m going to buy.” I decide not to jinx it by using conditional words. I’m going to buy this place.

She lifts her hands from the keyboard and sets them flat on her desk. “Did you buy a place?”

“Not exactly.” I explain what’s going on.

“And you want me to come and not Lis.”

“Lis has already seen this place. Sort of.” I pause, taking a deep breath. I lace my fingers together in front of me, squeezing them tight. “I’m not doing this for her. I’m doing it for me. I think I’ve been scared to take any steps in my life. But this is the right one at the right time. It’s a good place. Everything I’d put on my list because of her are things I want, too. I want to be able to have a pet. I want to be able to get a car. Did you know it only takes thirty minutes to drive to Grouse Mountain?”

Vic rolls her eyes. “You want a car so you can go hiking?”

I shake my head. “No. I want the option of having a car in the future because one day…” I hesitate, swallowing past the nerves. “One day, I want to have kids and I figure a car would be a good thing to have in that case. This place gives me that option. And it’s big enough that I could start there and then move to something bigger later if I need to.”

“You’ve thought a lot about this and what you want.”

I nod. “Out of all the places I’ve seen, the first one felt right. It felt like a place I could live and be happy. I just wanted a couple of little tweaks. This place has those exact tweaks.”

She leans back in her chair, folding her arms over her chest.

“Okay. You’ve convinced me. So why me and not Lis?”

“Because, while I—” I stop myself from saying love. I’ve admitted what I want in the future out loud. An out loud declaration that I’m in love with Lis isn’t something I’m exactly prepared for today. I clear my throat. “While I like Lis and hope to get her to change her mind about the relationship status, you are still my best friend.”

She rolls her eyes again. “You sure know how to lay it on thick.”

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