Mr. Big Love (Mr. Big 2)

We ended the call and I turned to Alexa. "Well, that's done. We should have word back tonight about the place and I can call Nathan and let him know we'd like to put in an offer."

"Sounds good," Alexa said with a smile. She exhaled like it was stressful and I laughed.

"Hey," I said and put my arms around her, squeezing her. "It's really okay. As long as he says the price is fair market value, I'll get it."

She nodded. "I've never bought a property before. My parents only bought a house ten years ago. It's all new to me."

"It's only my second place, so I'm no expert."

"Now what?" Alexa asked, her arms slipping around my neck.

"Well, I have a few ideas..." I smiled, my eyes narrowing.

"I thought you might."

For the next hour, we forgot all about buying houses.

I got a call back from Rod in less than an hour, while Alexa and I were lying on the bed, watching news.

"Hey, just wanted to say that my guy said that the house is listed at fair market price," Rod said. "You can go ahead and buy it without worrying that you're overpaying. In fact, my guy said it's a good deal, considering the location. It's actually one of the more modest homes for sale in the area."

"It is, but it's all we need for now. We will probably keep it as our Manhattan apartment. When my fiancée is finished with her PhD, we'll likely be commuting between Southern California, Florida and Manhattan depending on my business activities. Hell, we may end up in The Hague, depending on what job she ends up getting."

"The Hague? She one of those international relations majors?"

"Yes," I said with pride. "Wants to work for the UN."

"Ambitious," he said. "Well, if you need anything else, let me know."

"Thanks, Rod," I said and ended the call.

I gave Alexa a thumb's-up.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked. "It's a big decision."

"I'm sure."

I dialed Nathan to give him the news.

"Hey, Nathan," I said. "I just checked with my banker and he says that the Park Avenue apartment is a good deal, so we want to go ahead and put an offer on it."

"Fantastic," Nathan said and I could hear his mind doing the ka-ching calculations on how much he'd net off the sale. "It's my listing so I'm exceptionally happy you decided on it, of course."

I laughed. "I guess. When is the possession date? We're currently living at the Hilton and would be interested in moving in as soon as possible."

"The owners said they could do thirty days, if the price was right."

"Okay, then. Make sure the price is right. We want it. Thirty days would be amazing, if they can do it."

"They've already bought a place upstate and can move in any time, so it's just a matter of arranging a moving company and cleaners. No problem."

"Great," I said. "How long before you think you'll hear back?"

"I can draw up the papers and have you sign them electronically. Then, I'll talk to them and send the papers right away. If they like your number, I'm sure they'll say yes.”

I thanked him again before ending the call. Then, I turned to Alexa and smiled.

"I think we might just have us an apartment. If they accept our offer, we can move in thirty days."