“I’m good with that,” I said honestly, choosing vanilla and actually feeling excited about it. “There really is nothing like a decent vanilla. It has stood the test of time for a reason.”
He arched a brow at me and got the same before he turned to face me while I paid. “I think I need an ice-cream maker for the kitchen. What do you think?”
“I think we need to become friends if you’re getting one. There are so many recipes I’d love to experiment with, but I didn’t want to buy one because it takes up so much space for something that might end up being a white elephant.”
“You bring the recipes and I’ll risk losing the space to a potential white elephant,” he said decisively. “I think I want to go with a more family-style kitchen. Maybe a big old table in there and plenty of work space.”
“We can do that,” I agreed. “That kitchen is perfect for it, especially if we open it up. We could have a more formal dining area for those events you might want to host, but you can definitely put a nice big table in the kitchen itself. I love that kind of feel in a house. It’s so homey.”
“Homey,” he repeatedly softly. “That’s exactly what I want. For all of it, not just the kitchen. Can we do that while retaining the character of the place?”
“We sure can.”
After we got our gelato, we walked away from the stand with no specific destination in mind until we saw a park nearby. We made our way to a bench along the edge of it, sat down, and watched the traffic for a few minutes while we ate.
We were on the corner of the two main streets of the town, but it was still remarkably peaceful. “You’re going to be very happy here, even if you do just come out for weekends.”
“I think so,” he replied. “It’s also nice that it’s such a popular weekend destination for city-dwellers looking to get away. I could generate some income with it that way if I don’t end up coming out here that often.”
“That’s a good idea. It’s a popular town for antiquing, foodies, and art-lovers. If you want, we can put elements in the house that will appeal to those crowds. It might help you rent it out if you ever decide to do it.”
“Can I get back to you on that?” he asked. “I haven’t quite decided if I want to do it. It might be something I consider later on, but I’m not looking to put it on as a short-term rental right away.”
“Sure. No pressure. It won’t be difficult to add a few touches and change some things if you decide to do it.”
“Okay.” He nodded a few times, seemingly deep in thought until he turned to look at me again. “I need to get something off my chest.”
“Go ahead,” I said. “That’s why we’re meeting today. I need to know everything going on inside your head about this property.”
“It’s not about the property. It’s about us,” he said. “I should’ve gotten your number before we left the lake house. I’ve been regretting that, and I know we have a professional relationship now, but you’ve been on my mind, and I don’t want to miss out again, so how about it? Will you give me your personal number?”
Butterflies stretched their tiny wings in my stomach and I smiled, holding out my hand. “Give me your phone.”
A wide grin spread on his lips, and those blue eyes lit up as he did what I asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket and handing it over. Our fingers touched when I took it from him, and I let my hand linger against his as that same spark I’d felt with him before raced through me.
So I wasn’t imagining things.There was something there with us, and maybe this time, we’d actually go ahead and explore it.