quiet. I would have been nervous, but their matching grins told me that this was going to be a good surprise.
About ten minutes later, Leo pulled into the driveway of a gated community and stopped at the guardhouse. “Leo Sharpe,” he said confidently, and the guard gave him a smile before opening the gate for us.
“I thought you said it was just going to be the four of us,” I said to Hayle.
“It is. Patience.”
Patience. Right.
We drove down a windy road with tall trees on either side, elegant homes tucked between them on oversized lots. After a couple of minutes, Leo turned onto what appeared to be a newly paved road that ran along the water. At the very end sat a pristine two-story white house in a modern farmhouse style. It had large windows framed in black and a ruby red door.
Leo parked in the driveway, and when all three of the guys got out of the Range Rover, I followed, still confused.
“What do you think?” Tristin asked.
“About what?” I glanced around, trying to figure out what I was missing. There were no other cars or even signs of life at the end of this road.
“About the house,” Leo answered.
“For us,” Hayle added.
My pulse accelerated as I glanced between the three of them before turning to study the house. Though it was nowhere near as large as the mansion, it still looked huge to me. It had a five-car garage and was situated on what looked like at least several acres of land directly in front of the water.
“Are you serious?” I eventually managed to ask around my shock.
All three of them nodded, still smiling.
“But only if you like it,” Tristin said. “We’ve been house hunting for the last month, and after looking at everything on the market that was at all interesting, this was the only one that felt like us. Still, you have veto power. We can keep looking until we find the perfect place.”
Leo slung his arm around my shoulder. “You might not have noticed, but the townhouse is a little cramped for all four of us.”
I’d noticed, and now that I thought about it, it made sense for us to upgrade. Especially now that we had access to our trust funds. But this wasn’t merely an upgrade. It was a forever kind of home.
Home.
My nose stung with the threat of tears as I realized that I was contemplating the existence of a home. My home.
Leo moved his hand to the small of my back, urging me forward. “Let’s go check it out.”
Finally finding my voice again, I asked, “Don’t we need to wait for a realtor or something?”
“Nope. I sweet-talked her into letting us take a private tour.” He winked at me. “It pays to be a Sharpe.”
He punched in a code and opened the front door, swinging it wide and waiting for me to enter first. As soon as I stepped past the threshold, I was met with the scent of fresh…well, everything. From the soft gray paint to the gleaming hardwood floors, the entire house looked brand new.
“The interior was just completed last week,” Tristin said, answering my unspoken question, as he stood at my back, also taking it in. “But if there’s anything you really want to change, we can get a crew in here before we move in.”
I gave him an incredulous look. Like I would ever mess with a brand spanking new house. Maybe it was due to how I’d grown up, but the idea was utterly ludicrous to me.
He chuckled. “Got it. No crew needed.”
As I made my way farther into the house, I realized the floor plan was the opposite of what I expected. The dining room was right off the entrance, followed by the kitchen, with the living room at the back. The rooms flowed into each other without being a single open space. And, on the right side of the first level was a set of double doors that led into what I guessed was an enormous master suite.
Though the overall design was contemporary, the black accents, dark hardwood floors, and wood beams gave the space a homey feel. I could already picture how it would look with furniture and artwork. It would be clean but comfortable. Like our townhouse, but much, much larger.
Taking note of the huge kitchen island that would have plenty of room to seat four around it, I wandered into the living room. A wall of windows overlooked a huge greenspace with