"It's always good," I said with a smile.
It always was.
"It was perfect," he murmured against my neck. I could hear the amusement in his voice.
"It was," I replied, closing my eyes and lifting my arms over my head, enjoying the moment.
It was the perfect way to start the year together.
After we cleaned up, we snuggled together, naked still, our arms around each other, the covers pulled up around us so that we were almost covered. It felt like our cocoon against the rest of the world and we two were all that mattered.
8
Josh
Ella and I spent the next week off from work searching for a new apartment that we could call our own.
When I was engaged to Christie, we had planned to live in the penthouse my father owned on Central Park West, with a stunning view of Central Park. After the engagement was called off, I never wanted to set foot in the apartment, despite how perfect it would be for me. Instead, Christian got it in the will and for that, I was happy. He didn't have bad memories of it, so he could live there -- if he wanted -- and raise a family there in the future.
Ella and I wanted something that would be good for us as a new couple -- with at least two bedrooms, preferably three, so we could bo
th have an office and a master bedroom. Since money was no object, we decided to buy something close to the Macintyre building on 5th Avenue.
There were a few properties we were interested in and arranged viewings the week before we went back to work. Of course, Ella was shocked at the price of the apartments, because she was used to properties in New Hampshire, which were much more affordable than those in Manhattan. You got so much less for your money -- but of course, that was the price people paid for living in one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in the entire USA.
After viewing about seven properties, all in the Central Park area, we settled on three and had to decide among them.
One penthouse apartment near was perfect and had everything on our list, including a roof-top patio for summer barbecues. Completely modern in decor and design, it was my pick for it looked brand new, with sparkling new appliances, and four bedrooms. It would mean we could each have an office and a guest bedroom for visitors -- or a baby.
Ella also liked a penthouse apartment that was more traditional with more of a Victorian design and decor. Everything looked like it was out of a 18th or 19th Century apartment in London or Paris. Also four bedrooms, it had a totally different character than the apartment I preferred. In the end, if Ella was happy, I'd be happy, so I told her that the choice was up to her. The price was close -- within a couple of million dollars -- and so it really didn't matter to me as long as we had what we needed.
The only other choice was for us to buy in an old building that was being renovated and design the apartment from top to bottom. It would be less expensive to buy but would require a few months of renovations before we could move in. We stood in the old apartment on the day of our viewing and tried to imagine what we would do with the place. Whoever owned it before had rented the apartment out for most of the past three decades and it was not kept up to date with appliances or paint, flooring. But it was a totally blank canvas.
We could make it completely our own.
"What do you think?" Ella asked me, taking my hand and squeezing. "Are we completely stupid to get this place and have to do all the work to get it the way we want?"
"No," I said. "That's Michael's business, building and renovating. I'm sure he'd love to take on the project and would make it perfect for us."
"Should we get him here to take a look at the place before we decide?"
I nodded. "Good idea. I'll call him and make an appointment for him to come and see it with us. We can talk about what we want done and he'll decide if it can be done."
* * *
We made another appointment and took a risk that our other choices would remain on the market for the time it took to see the fixer-upper with Michael. Luckily, he was available for a viewing the next afternoon.
Michael took his time looking at the place, inspecting all the fixtures and appliance hook-ups, and taking note of the layout and floor plan.
"Tell me what you want. I can do pretty much anything you like. The place needs new floors, new plaster, new fixtures, new appliances, paint, wallpaper. The bones are good, the layout is decent. You could open up the dining room and living room if you want a more open-concept layout. Or you can stick with the current plans and make it more formal and traditional."
I glanced at Ella, figuring she'd prefer the more traditional look. "Well?" I asked, squeezing her hand. "You like traditional."
"Would it bother you?" she asked, making a face of doubt. "I've always wanted a formal dining room where we could have big family meals. I don't want the kitchen and living room to be all one big mess."
"I'm fine with whatever makes you happiest." I bent down and kissed her to reinforce my words. Then I turned to Michael. "Traditional, it is. Maybe do some really nice plasterwork and antique fixtures. A professional kitchen with top of the line appliances and lots of space for cooking. One thing I do want to insist on is the view. I want to keep the huge picture windows that span the living areas, but maybe put new windows in that are more weatherproof and fit the decor. Maybe tall arched windows so we keep the traditional feel, but lots of light."
"Yes," Ella said and squeezed my hand. "I love the floor to ceiling windows in every room, but they need updating. Can you do that?"