He closed his eyes for a second like he was seeing the whole thing being erected in his head.
I raised my eyebrows.
“Okay, so in this section,” he said, walking to the far side of the room, “I’m going to have some equipment.”
“What kind of equipment?”
“Stuff for physical therapy; weights, elastic bands, maybe a nice Pilates reformer.”
I nodded.
“I’ll probably put a big mirror on the wall right here.”
I tilted my head and tried to picture it. “So your clients can check out the receptionist while they do their exercises?”
“No,” he said. “So they can make sure they’re using proper form and because it’ll make the space look bigger and reflect the natural light coming in.”
“That’s what I meant.”
“I know,” he said.
“And what about the rest of the space?”
“I think I’ll probably put a small bathroom in at that back corner,” he said, pointing. “And I might squeeze in one more office so I can take on another physio to share the workload. That will free up my time so I can focus on growing the business and doing some essential marketing stuff.”
“I see.”
“And part of the remaining space will be designated for storage. I just haven’t decided exactly what layout would work best.” He put his chin in his fingers and scowled at the back of the office space like he might be able to intimidate the answer into existence.
“Is that just a closet?” I asked, pointing at the door on the far wall.
“No.”
“So where does that door go then?”
“I’ll show you that in a second,” he said, crossing the room and returning to my side. “But first, tell me what you think so far.”
“I think it’s amazing,” I said. “I love the location and the fact that everything is so clean and new. I can’t wait to see how it looks when all the parts of your vision come together.”
He slipped his hands around my waist. “You mean you can’t wait to meet the receptionist.”
I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. “That too.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he said. “I was hoping you would think I’d made a good choice.”
I laid my hands on his chest and looked up at him, relaxing into his arms where they were resting around my lower back. “Of course you made a good choice,” I said. “You have impeccable taste.”
He pulled my hips against his and kissed my hairline. “So do you, Lucy.”
“So what’s behind the door?” I asked. “A water heater or something?”
“God I hope not,” he said. “That would be a pretty anticlimactic end to the grand tour.”
“So what is it?” I pressed my hands against his arms so I could go see for myself but he locked his fingers together.
“Ah-ah.”
“What?”