Mr. Big Love (Mr. Big 2)

We spent the rest of the day searching for apartments and drinking coffee, planning our lives together.

What started off as a bad weekend turned out much better.

On Monday, Luke and I made several appointments with real estate agents to look at apartments, hoping to see the five we'd picked out of all the ones available. My favorite was the most expensive one on Park Avenue that Luke preferred, but I felt guilty wanting it. Luke didn't even think twice about it.

"The price is well within our range," he said, like we had any kind of budget. "We'll check out the local neighborhood and decide based on that and how much we like the apartment."

"Okay, if you say so."

"I say so, but seriously, Alexa. My mother has gotten under your skin. She's making you feel undeserving and guilty. You are not and you shouldn't."

"What will I be contributing to this? If we were any other couple, we'd be sharing rent."

"We aren't any other couple," Luke said firmly. "We're us. I am who I am, Alexa. I'm rich. You have to get over your prejudice against wealth because if you marry me, you'll be wealthy, too."

"I know," I said and stopped him as we went to the hotel's front entrance, where our limo was waiting to take us apartment shopping. "It's just that I feel guilty that I'm not contributing. I always considered a marriage to be a partnership. You know, fifty-fifty."

"In most partnerships, people bring different qualifications and skills. In this partnership," he said and held my hand, brushing hair off my forehead. "I have the money. You make killer poached eggs."

He grinned and then bent down to kiss me.

I finally smiled when he broke the kiss and pulled back. "I do make killer poached eggs. It's my superpower."

"I can think of others, too." He wagged his eyebrows and I laughed because only earlier that morning, he'd praised m

y skills with my tongue and lips.

"I'm sure you can."

We took the limo, giving the driver directions to our first property. It was the one on Park Avenue and was Luke's favorite. It was the nicest and the one farthest from Columbia, but it was still only a twenty-minute drive -- if traffic was light. I would only have to be on campus three days of the week for classes and to teach my seminar, so it wouldn't be onerous.

The limo drive took about twenty minutes with heavy traffic on Monday morning, but we finally arrived at the building, which had a colonial façade for the entrance in white stone, a canopy over the entrance, and was red brick.

Park Avenue was jammed with cars and delivery trucks. The buildings were all similar, and the neighborhood was very wealthy.

In other words, Luke belonged there.

Like he said, if I married him, I'd belong there, too, so I swallowed back my sense of inadequacy and left the limo, standing on the street in front of the building, glancing around in awe.

"It's so nice," I said. "All the buildings are nice."

"It'll do," Luke said, grinning.

Our real estate agent was named Nathan, and welcomed us, shaking our hands. After introductions, he took us inside the building and up to the apartment, which was on the top floor.

"You're lucky," he said, ushering us into the apartment. "It's one of the best in the building with a nice patio on the rooftop. Great views and a brand-new kitchen. Plus, lots of room."

We spent some time walking around, while Nathan described the place, noting the great floors, the windows with a view of the city, and then took us out onto the patio. Seriously, the apartment was really nice -- for Manhattan.

"It's a steal," Nathan said.

"Hardly," I whispered to Luke.

Nathan heard me, despite my attempt to only whisper. "In Manhattan real estate terms, it is," he replied with a grin.

Nathan showed us the other four apartments closer to Columbia, and they were all nice in their own way, but felt smaller, and of course, didn't have such a nice patio. One had access to a shared rooftop space, and the others had balconies. But none had that brick patio with a view of the city.

As we said goodbye to Nathan and took the limo back to the hotel, I knew in my heart which place Luke wanted.