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I looked at Noah and fought a laugh. “I rattle around in my place, man, and it’s just two.”
Noah raked a hand through his hair. “I know. I get it. But I just…”
Steven cleared his throat. “Why don’t you think about it and get in touch? We can come back and walk through again any time. Obviously, properties like this don’t tend to fly off the market, so there’s no reason not to take your time.”
“Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Steven. I appreciate it.” Noah shook Steven’s hand.
I nodded at the guy and followed Noah out onto the street. We stood by the historic marker sign, hands in our pockets, as Steven locked up. He sent Noah a cheerful smile as he walked past us and down the street to a silver sedan parked near the end of the block.
“Dude.”
“Iknow.” Noah blew out a breath. “Is it weird that I kind of love it, though?”
“Yes. It’s weird. Possibly delusional. It’seight thousand square feet. What are you going to do with that? You have a family of twelve stashed somewhere I don’t know about?”
Noah chuckled. “No. Flip side, there’s a lot of work that would still need to be done. So it’s not all ready to live in anyway. Maybe by the time it’s done I’ll know more what I’m doing.”
“And what? You sell it and move into a condo?” I honestly couldn’t see where he was going with this. “Since when do you want to live in a reno anyway?”
Noah shrugged.
I narrowed my gaze. “Wait. Does this have anything to do with Jenna?”
“No. Why would you say that?” Noah shook his head and crossed his arms.
“Defensive much?” I let out a short laugh. “I don’t know why I didn’t see it.”
“There’s nothing to see. Jenna and I are old friends.” Noah turned to look at the front of the building. “But you have to admit, renovating a place like this would be right up her alley.”
“You should come back with her and get her take.” I wasn’t sure why I didn’t drop it. I was the last person to start pushing about someone else’s relationships. I sure didn’t want anyone doing that to me when it came to Megan. At the same time, there was that whole saying about too much protesting, and it fit Noah to a T.
“Maybe. She’d have ideas. She could even tell me if the plans the sellers are leaving are the right way to go. Some of the ideas seem dumb—did you catch that dressing room?” Noah laughed. “Why would anyone in their right mind need a space that big to get dressed in?”
“It’s also the walk-in closet for the master.” But yes, he had a point. It was a big room that could easily be another bedroom. Not that the house needed to have seven bedrooms instead of six.
“Maybe I will talk to Jenna about it.” Noah faced me. “I still appreciate you coming along.”
“Still happy to do it. Especially since you’re going to help me stuff invitations for the gala in exchange.”
“What? No.” Noah held up his hands and backed away two steps. “Not happening. I don’t want to have anything to do with that. I don’t want Mr. Ballentine or Jackson getting the idea that I’m their next sucker. Event planning is not, nor will it ever be, my forte.”
“Like it’s mine?”
“You seem to be making it work, so yeah.” Noah shrugged. “Those save-the-date cards were top notch. All the women have been chattering about how excited they are to have it at the Torpedo Factory. So you sure picked a unique venue. Maybe you ought to volunteer to do the summer fundraiser, too.”
“No. I didn’t come up with any of this on my own. It was all Megan. If there are props to give, they go to her.” I hoped my voice was neutral, but given how Noah was looking at me, I might have let too much warmth seep in.
“Megan, huh.” Noah eyed me. “Been spending a lot of time with her, I guess?”
My shoulders wanted to hunch. “Maybe a little more than usual. But she’s been a big help. Like I said, anything I’ve managed to make happen has been her. Well, and I guess the rest of you when you helped choose desserts last week.”
“That was fun. If you need more help like that, be sure to let me know.” Noah grinned. “What are you doing with the rest of your Sunday afternoon?”
“Not sure. Go home and hang out, probably. See what’s on TV. You?”
“My folks are in town. They’re staying at the Marriott downtown. I’ll head that way and hang out with them. Maybe we’ll hit the pool or go walk around the Smithsonian Mall. Whatever they want to do.” Noah checked the time. “I guess I should get going. I told them I’d be there, for sure, by three.”
I glanced at my phone and laughed. “Yeah. You’ve got an hour. Why did you schedule this walk-through today with your folks in town?”
