Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“How do you know that much about cats?”
“I wanted to be a vet. Cat allergies destroyed that dream, so I went to my back up dream of getting to drive a car with sirens.”
“I bet you were an interesting child,” Lark said with a laugh.
“I’m sure my mom will have stories to share with you.”
“Am I going to meet your mom?” she asked, looking at him in surprise. Did he consider this relationship that serious already?
“Definitely.”
Lark leaned back in her seat as she tried to gather her whirling thoughts. His hand covered her knee, lending supportive warmth.
“Don’t panic on me, Lark. I promise, I’ll take care of you.”
She nodded and looked down. Her gaze locked on her phone and she seized at the opportunity to move the conversation toward a less intimate topic. “You’ll want to turn left at the next stoplight.”
He squeezed her knee gently before moving his hand to the steering wheel. “Tell me about this first house,” he urged.
Grateful to focus on the papers in her hand, Lark read the details noted on the sheet. “It’s three years old. The owners are being transferred to another state. There are four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a large entertainment area in the basement, and a huge master suite. One room is attached to the master bedroom. It’s currently being used as a nursery, but you could easily change it into an extra walk-in closet.”
“That sounds amazing.”
He followed her directions and soon parked in the driveway of a modern-looking home that balanced between looking new and blending in to the wooded lot it sat on. The house sat a distance from the front entrance that was controlled by an electric gate with a keypad.
“Lots of trees. I hope you like raking in the fall,” she joked.
“I love jumping into piles of leaves. I’ll take on the raking.”
“You jump into leaves?”
“Of course. It’s important to have fun. I bet I could put a fire pit in the backyard.”
“There already is one. That’s one of my surprises. The landscaping in the back is incredible. Want to go see it first?” she asked when he opened her door to help her out.
“No. Let’s look at the house. Maybe the yard will be icing on the cake.”
“You’ve been hanging around Little Cakes too much,” she joked.
“I think things there have settled down now. I’ll look forward to being a loyal customer. I’m going to get one each of Ellie’s flavors and try them all to find my favorites.”
“That sounds fun. You probably burn off all those calories easily.”
“Oh, I’ll need a gym somewhere in the house. Let’s go in and check it out.”
Lark opened the door with the code provided for agents and walked in, pushing the door wide. She said nothing, allowing him to enter and let the house make its own first impression on him. In her experience, this was the most important moment. Wyatt would either love the house or decide on another one.
She looked around quietly, allowing the interior to talk to her as well. Lark had seen the interior of many houses. Some were horror traps of garbage and pet droppings everywhere. Others were so ornately decorated she took her shoes off to walk on the pristine white carpet that no one could keep clean in everyday life.
This house was empty of furniture. That always made it harder to imagine someone living in it, she’d found. The warm wooden floors gleamed in the sunlight that streamed through the windows. She smiled at the sight of the large great room and immense, open kitchen. Clients loved to raise families or entertain in this kind of layout. The entire space could be seen from the kitchen, which welcomed guests to gather with a glass of wine.
"This is amazing, Lark. I can see myself here easily. It’s new enough to have all the latest appliances and be in spectacular shape,” Wyatt commented.
She loved the smile on his face as he looked around. “Wander around. Look in all the rooms. The master is on this level and there are more bedrooms above.”
Wyatt strolled down the hallway, looking into a guest bathroom before stepping into the large owner suite. It was painted simply in a warm gray color with white shutters folded back at the windows to allow dappled sunshine to stream inside.
Lark stepped to the windows to look out and checked off a box in her head. He’d wanted a wooded lot. A few large trees dotted the back, attesting to the skill of the builder in maintaining some of live features of this lot while erecting the house. A distinctive line illustrated where the lot ended and the natural terrain began.
“What’s the land behind the house zoned for?” Wyatt asked as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
Looking down at the paperwork in her hands, Lark answered, “A dedicated preserve. They won’t ever doze that down to put in a mall. Or, they won’t be able to without some intricate court proceedings.”