Page 146 of The Sinner's Sanctuary

And finally, he starts playing the game, too, tossing around neighborhoods, and thoughts on ideal square footage, like he’s actually considering buying and selling real estate.

“Who’s your ideal renter?” I ask him while he lies on his back with his arms behind his head. His hair is damp and pushed off his face. He’s got his eyes on the sky, and I’m on my side staring at him with a finger hooked in one of his belt loops.

“Me,” he says. “A single doorman. All he needs is a small clean place, nice neighborhood. His own doorman. Good sight lines.”

“You’re so sexy when you talk about sight lines.”

“And it’s gotta be close to the subway. For days like this.”

“You wanna do it?” I ask, tugging the loop, wanting his eyes on me again.

He turns his head.

“You do it,” he says, grinning. “I just gave you an awesome idea.”

“It is an awesome idea, and I can walk you through exactly how to make it happen.”

“I already have two jobs.”

“Work for me full-time.”

“I do.”

“You know what I mean, smart ass.” I scoot closer to him, my hand sliding up his shirt to palm his stomach. “I don’t care if you want to be a doorman forever, and if that’s what you want, you can tell me to shut up, but you’re not half bad at this, and you don’t hate it.”

“No. I don’t hate it. Much to my surprise.”

“Then tell me—where do you see yourself in ten years?” I ask.

He blows out a sigh and looks up at the clouds again, squinting like he’s trying to picture it. “Maybe traveling? I want to be here, but notallthe time. And I’d love to be working less, not more.”

“I’m a bad example because I like working all the time, but I could easily take a year off to travel.”

“Would you really be off, though? Or would you be checking in all the time, working remotely?”

“I said I was a bad example, but the idea is, you find the right people who can keep things running without you, and you take all that money you made and follow your passions.”

“Maybe I’d rather inherit, self-publish a book, and wander aimlessly letting inspiration find me.”

“Sounds lonely,” I tell him with a contrived pout.

He stretches one of his arms out and wraps it around my back, pulling me to his side. “Ten years is a long time.”

“It goes fast. You’d be surprised.”

He faces me again, but this time, we’re much closer. “Where do you seeyourself?”

I hold his steady blue gaze and imagine deeper laugh lines. Maybe slightly softer flesh beneath my hand. Less elastically perfect skin. “Wherever you want me.”

He grins. “I get to pick?”

“I’ll consider your input.”

“Oh, well…” He turns to his side and lines his body up with mine. A gentle rain is falling, and a drop hangs from his lower lip. “If I had my way, I like the idea of you in Singapore. Some place like that.”

“With you?”

“If you want.”

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