Page 35 of Can We Try?

“Agreed. We definitely need to consider all possible nicknames.”

“Look at us, already killing this parenting thing,” she teases.

“You know it.” I wink at her, and dive back into my lunch, enjoying her company.

“Come on in,” Lana, the realtor, says as we follow her into the house. “The owners moved for work, so it’s vacant. Lachlan, we talked on the phone about the specs. Do you have any questions?” she asks.

“Not currently.”

“Great. I’m going to hang out on the front porch and reply to some emails. I don’t like to hover so you can discuss. I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

“Thank you, Lana,” I say, and turn to Maggie.

“I like her.” She grins.

“Me too. I hate a pushy salesperson.”

“Well, first impression?” she asks.

“I love the open-floor plan. It’s bigger than it looked in the pictures online.”

“You had an online listing I could have looked at? You’ve been holding out on me. I see how it is.”

“I didn’t even think about it.” I laugh. “Come on, you.” I hold my hand out for her, and she takes it.

Friends hold hands, right? We do, because she never turns me down when I offer her my hand. Maybe she’s more ready for me to tell her I want for us to try to be more than I think.

“Wow, this kitchen is incredible. It’s got a breakfast nook for a small table and a dining room. You could host everyone here for sure.”

“It’s crazy how you just read my mind,” I tell her.

We walk through the house. The laundry room is a decent size, with a small counter to fold laundry, which is nice. I usually fold mine on the couch or my bed; that’s if I fold it.

“I wonder where this goes?” She pushes open the door in the laundry room and turns to grin at me over her shoulder. “It’s a huge closet.”

“Go in. See where the next door goes,” I tell her. I already know because I studied the images for far too long last night, but I won’t tell her that. I like seeing the smile on her face as she discovers new aspects of the home.

“Lachlan! This is the primary bedroom. What a great idea to have them connected.”

“Nice,” I say, following her into the primary bedroom. “That closet is massive, and this room is too. It’s the size of my entire house,” I tease.

“Stop it.” She chuckles. “It’s not that big. That must be the bathroom.” She points to another door, and I can’t wait to see her face when she walks in. Even if I didn’t already love the house and the location, especially since I’ll be neighbors with Maddox and Brogan, this bathroom would have tipped the scales in the where do I sign direction.

“I feel like I’m on that Cribs show,” she says. “Look at this.”

“Much better in person,” I tell her. It’s gray-and-black tile, black fixtures, with a walk-in shower that has a rain shower head, and inside the glass enclosure is a clawfoot tub. It’s all one glassed-in area of the room, and she’s right—it reminds me of some celebrity home show.

“The owners bought it as a fixer-upper and completely remodeled it before a job change; at least, that’s what Lana told me on the phone. They’re motivated to sell too. Since they’re paying two mortgages.”

Maggie turns in a circle, and the smile on her face is captivating.

“Come on. Let’s go check out the upstairs before we go to the basement.”

“I think this is called a Jack-and-Jill bathroom,” she says.

“It is. Two bedrooms that both have access to the bathroom from either side.”

“This landing area is nice extra upstairs living space. It would be a good hangout with a TV, a small couch, maybe,” she says, tossing out ideas about the upstairs landing area.

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