Page 11 of Housebroke

“Wow. You’ve done a lot. This couldn’t have been easy doing it all yourself.”

“It wasn’t too bad. Plus some of the members of one of the local churches came by and picked up the appliances since they were still in working order, so all that was left was taking down the cabinets and counters, and pulling up the floors. Now that that’s done, I can start rebuilding.”

He made it sound easy when she imagined it was anything but.

“And you have it all planned out.”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Will the layout be the same?”

“No. I’m changing things up. Now that the wall is down between the kitchen and living room, I can expand the space.”

“Really. That’s a great idea. Are you putting in an island?”

“Of course.”

“That’ll be so much better than the peninsula that was herebefore. What will you put on the island? A cooktop? Sink? Or will it be bare? And if so, where will everything else go?”

He grinned. “Would you like to see the blueprints?”

“I’d love to.”

He grabbed a rolled-up stack. “Come on. We’ll spread them out on the table on the patio.”

She followed him outside where all the dogs surrounded them, sniffing them as if they’d just arrived from some secret location they’d never been, even though they’d just come from inside the house where the dogs had been so many times before. But dogs had to be sure.

Linc spread the blueprints out and leaned over the table, his triceps bulging as he did. Not that she noticed those kinds of things. Except how could she not? Instead, she studied the blueprints, checking out the layout for the new kitchen.

“Lots of counter space, which is so helpful. The island is huge, and I like that you’re not putting a stove top or sink there, which will give someone a lot of room for meal prep and serving.” Her eyes widened. “Double ovens? Be still my heart.”

“I’m adding a good-sized pantry over here, too,” he said, moving closer to her so he could point it out.

“Great idea. There was a definite lack of storage in the former kitchen, though you’ve added more cabinetry, too, including in the island. There can never be enough drawers and cabinets in my opinion. And with an extended island, the parties here will be killer.”

“I can do that now that the wall is gone. The living room wasalready oversize anyway, so taking some space from there and adding it to the kitchen is no big deal.”

She nodded. “And you already have a dining area over there, so you’ll have this amazing open concept for entertaining. I like it.”

“Thanks. Since you like to cook, anything you’d change, layout-wise?”

She gazed at the blueprints, imagining herself prepping food and cooking in this new and improved kitchen.

“You could add a spice cabinet, maybe... here.” She pointed to the drawers under where the cooktop would be. “If you take a little space there and put in a pull-out spice cabinet, the new owners will love you.”

“Show me what that would look like.”

She went and grabbed her phone, typed in the search, and showed him her dream spice cabinet. She handed the phone to him. “It doesn’t take up a lot of space, but it holds so many spices. Being right there by the stove, it saves so much time rather than fumbling through larger cabinets searching for spices. And instead of two cabinets here under the stove top, I’d suggest two deep pot drawers.”

“I like these suggestions. I’ll make the changes.” He tilted his head and smiled at her. “Thanks.”

Her heart did a little leap at the way he looked at her. “Hey, no problem. I have all kinds of ideas and would be happy to spend your money. All you have to do is ask.”

He laughed. “Good to know.”

She stood. “I should start dinner. I thought tonight we’d have pan-seared sea bass, along with colorful carrots and rice.”

“Sounds amazing.”

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