I explained the outlay. “The main floor has an open area where kids can hang out. A kitchen area where kids can be taught how to cook or, if needed, be given a meal. Learning rooms—free tutoring, computers, that sort of thing. I added an art studio. There will be counseling available. Someone to talk to if they need it.”
She squeezed my arm. “Linc, love, that is amazing.”
I blinked. Sunny had never called me a pet name before. I rather liked it. I squeezed her hand back. “Upstairs is all library. It will hold three times the number of books the one in town does. The place is open to everyone, Sunny. Anyone who wants to walk in the doors is welcome.”
I paused, looking at the concept model. “I was going to add a pool, but I was advised against it. So I’m donating the funds to enlarge and upgrade the one in town, and I’m adding a second one at The Sunny Place.”
“Wow. So you, ah, have enough…” She let the words trail off.
“Remember I told you I tripled the estate?”
“Yes.”
“I’m good at finance, Sunny. I keep his money away from mine. I never touch it. It will pay for this and fund it for decades the way it is structured.”
“Wow.”
I tilted up her face and kissed her. “Yeah. Wow.”
She indicated the table. “I am so excited for the town, and for you. Thank you for sharing it with me.”
I ran my finger down her cheek, my heart racing in my chest. “I have more to share.”
She bit her lip, picking up on my nervousness. “What next, I wonder?” she quipped, but the tremor in her voice gave her away.
I walked behind the table, placing my hands on the lid. “The future,” I said. “Our future.”26SunnySomething in Linc’s posture made me tense. An underlying hint of nerves in his usually calm voice set me on edge. But I wasn’t prepared for what he revealed as he lifted the cover on the larger of the two boxes. I was prepared for a concept model. But not this.
It was a house. Even as a model, it took my breath away. Shaped like a U with a courtyard in front and a large secluded backyard, it was spectacular.
For a moment, I was stunned and silent. I couldn’t move, Linc’s words playing and replaying in my head.
“Our future.”
I blinked. This was the house he wanted to build for us? A home for us to share? I tore my gaze from the model to meet his eyes. His warm, filled-with-love eyes that assured me what I was thinking was exactly what he meant.
“For us?” I questioned.
He set down the lid and leaned on the table. “For you,” he replied.
I blinked at the moisture gathering in my eyes. “I-I don’t know what to say.”
“Let me show it to you.”
“Okay,” I sniffed.
He hurried around the table and pulled me into his arms. “If you hate it, I can change it all. I promise.”
I shook my head. “I already love it. I’m just overwhelmed and confused.”
He winked. “Let me help.”
He bent over and carefully lifted off the roof. Unlike the community center, this model was fully developed inside.
“This side of the house—” he indicated the left “—is bedrooms. Our master suite, and two others. The right side has two more guest rooms or extra kid rooms and a home office for me. The center of the house has a kitchen on one side, and a huge family slash dining room on the other.”
“All one floor?”
“Yes. All the front-facing rooms will have huge windows to let in the view and the light. In the front courtyard, there will be a deck with lots of seating. The backyard off the kitchen will be fenced in and private with lots of room for the kids to run around. Sliding doors that open fully on the back and front to let the breeze blow through. A pool and maybe a hot tub out back.”
“Kids?”
He grinned. “Until we have them, I’ll chase you. Naked.”
I giggled at the image.
“There’s a large laundry room on our side, and a smaller one on the other side for the guests.” He winked. “They can do their own damn laundry.”
“Or as the kids get older and move across the house, they can do it themselves,” I stated wryly, getting into the spirit.
“Yes,” he laughed. “Perfect.”
“Where will you build it?”
He touched my nose. “Right here.”
I gasped. “Here?”
He smiled, stroking my hair, letting a curl wrap around his finger.
“This place holds the memories that got me through those years away from you, Sunny. It was the happiest I had ever been after my mom died. It’s special to me. It was the summer of us—and now I want it to be our future.”
“You’d really build here?”
“Right here. This would be your view for the next several decades. Favorite trees and all. The house has been designed around them.”